As of August 2026 a UK private seller pays no selling fee on Vinted, Depop or eBay: Vinted has never charged one and puts a Buyer Protection fee on the buyer (typically 3% to 8% plus 30p to 80p); Depop removed its 10% selling fee for UK listings created from 20 March 2024 and charges buyers up to 5% plus up to £1, though UK sellers still pay payment processing of 2.9% plus 30p; eBay made selling free for UK private sellers from October 2024 and since 4 February 2025 has charged the buyer a Buyer Protection fee (10p plus 7% up to £20, 4% from £20 to £300, 2% from £300 to £4,000). Business sellers are different: eBay charges a final value fee by category - 11.9% on clothing, 12.9% on handbags up to £800, 12.9% on watches up to £750, 14.9% on jewellery up to £1,000 - plus 0.35% and 30p or 40p per order, ex VAT; Vinted Pro is free but requires business registration; Depop publishes no separate business fee tier. Vinted sells volume fashion at low prices, Depop sells vintage and streetwear to under-30s, and eBay sells anything with a serial number, a brand premium or a price over £300, with Authenticity Guarantee on watches from £1,500.

Every fee below was read from the platforms' own fee pages on 19 August 2026 and is linked under Sources. Where a platform blocked our access to a page we say so.

The comparison table

Vinted Depop eBay (private) eBay (business)
Seller fee None None on listings since 20 March 2024 (UK, GBP sales) None (excl. vehicles); 300 free listings a month, then 35p Final value fee by category, 9.9% to 14.9% typical, plus 0.35% regulatory operating fee, plus 30p (orders £10 or less) or 40p per order; ex VAT
Payment processing Included 2.9% + 30p (widely reported; Depop's help page blocked our fetch) Included Included
Buyer-side fee Buyer Protection fee, "usually 3% to 8% + £0.3 to £0.8" Up to 5% + up to £1 10p + 7% to £20, 4% £20-£300, 2% £300-£4,000, 0% above None; Buyer Protection "included at no cost" on business listings
Example: £100 item Seller keeps £100; buyer pays about £103-£109 Seller keeps £96.80 before postage; buyer pays up to £106 Seller keeps £100; buyer pays £104.70 Clothing: seller keeps about £87.35 before VAT on fees (11.9% + 0.35% + 40p)
Example: £2,000 watch Seller keeps £2,000; buyer pays Buyer Protection (fee capped per Vinted's list) Seller keeps £1,941.70 Seller keeps £2,000; buyer pays £2,046.70 Seller keeps about £1,858 (12.9% on £750, 3% above, 0.35%, 40p) before VAT on fees
Payout timing To Vinted Balance 2 days after delivery or when buyer confirms; then withdraw 2-3 working days after delivery for established sellers, about 10 working days for new (reported) Within 24 hours of payment for eligible private sellers since 6 August 2025; otherwise 2 days after delivery Available about 24 hours after payment; daily/weekly/fortnightly/monthly payout schedule; 0-4 days to clear
International fee n/a (UK site) n/a 3% if delivery address outside UK 1.05% Eurozone/N. Europe, 1.8% US/Canada, 2% elsewhere
Business account Vinted Pro, free, must be a registered business No separate fee tier published - Must register as a business seller
Authentication Item Verification £10 per item, paid by buyer None Authenticity Guarantee, watches from £1,500 Same
HMRC reporting Yes, from 1 January 2024 Yes Yes Yes

What does each platform actually charge a UK seller?

Vinted. No listing fee, no commission. Vinted's UK price list says the Buyer Protection fee "typically includes a percentage of the item's or bundle's price, as well as a fixed fee - usually 3% to 8% + £0.3 to £0.8", paid by the buyer. Sellers can pay to bump listings or for a Showcase, priced at checkout. Vinted Pro, for registered businesses, is described by Vinted as "entirely free" to list and sell on.

Depop. Depop's newsroom announcement of 21 March 2024: zero selling fees for UK sellers on new listings from 20 March 2024, GBP sales only, and "a fee for buyers in the UK from 15 April of up to 5% of the item purchase price (plus a fixed amount of up to £1, excluding taxes and postage costs)". The announcement says payment processing "will still apply" without a rate; the 2.9% plus 30p figure is quoted consistently by third parties and by Depop's own fee calculators, but Depop's help centre returned 403 to our requests, so treat it as unconfirmed by us. Boosted listings are an optional extra percentage on sale.

eBay, private. "It's now free for UK-based private sellers to sell on eBay (excluding motors)". 300 free listings a month (400 with a £19.99 Shop), then 35p a listing. A 3% international fee if the buyer's address is outside the UK. Optional upgrades cost: £2 subtitle, £2.50 Gallery Plus, 4% of a reserve price. The buyer pays the Buyer Protection fee, built into the displayed price. eBay's page was last updated 1 October 2024.

eBay, business. Fees page last updated 4 August 2026. One final value fee on the total sale including postage, plus 30p or 40p per order, plus 0.35% regulatory operating fee, all "exclusive of VAT". Category rates that matter to a reseller: Clothes, Shoes & Accessories 11.9%; Women's Bags & Handbags 12.9% up to £800 then 7%; Trainers 11.9%, 7% if £100 or more; Jewellery & Watches 14.9% up to £1,000 then 4%; Watches, Parts & Accessories 12.9% up to £750 then 3%; Collectables 10.9%. Shop subscriptions: Basic £27, Featured £77, Anchor £437 a month, with free listing allowances and cheaper extra listings.

Are you a private seller or a business?

This decides the fee column, and it is not your choice. HMRC's test is whether you are trading: "You're probably trading if you sell goods that you have bought intending to sell for a profit." Someone sourcing stock to resell is a trader on day one. eBay requires traders to register as business sellers; Vinted requires them to use Vinted Pro; Depop publishes no separate business fee tier, but the consumer law duties that fall on a trader (the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013: returns, accurate descriptions, your identity shown) apply to you there as well. A reseller running a "private" eBay account to avoid final value fees is breaking eBay's rules, is exposed on consumer law, and the platform is reporting the sales to HMRC anyway.

What does HMRC see, and what is the trading allowance?

Since 1 January 2024 UK digital platforms have had to collect and report seller details to HMRC; the first reports, covering 2024, were due by 31 January 2025, and they are annual. Platforms do not report a seller who "make[s] fewer than 30 sales of goods in a calendar year" and receives "less than 2,000 euros (about £1,700)" for them. Above either line, Vinted, Depop and eBay send HMRC your name, address, date of birth, National Insurance number, bank account and quarterly totals net of fees, and must give you a copy. The rules did not create a new tax; they changed who HMRC can see.

The tax itself: the trading allowance lets you earn £1,000 of trading income a tax year without telling HMRC. Above that, you register for Self Assessment and pay tax on profits. Selling your own possessions is not trading (though an item sold for over £6,000 can raise Capital Gains Tax). Buying to sell is. If your turnover passes the VAT threshold you register for VAT, and second-hand stock bought from private individuals goes through the margin scheme with a stock book.

Where does each category actually sell?

No platform publishes sell-through by category, so this is the trade's working knowledge rather than a verified number.

  • Everyday fashion under £50: Vinted. Largest UK buyer base, no seller fee, and the buyer-side fee is small at low prices. Depop second for anything with a youth or vintage angle.
  • Vintage, Y2K, streetwear, designer at £50 to £300: Depop, where the buyer is under 30 and shops by aesthetic. Vinted is catching up and is cheaper for the buyer.
  • Designer handbags: eBay for anything over £300, because of buyer trust, Authenticity Guarantee on eligible brands and the reach of business-seller tools; Vinted for the £100-£500 band, with Item Verification at £10 giving the buyer some comfort. Depop for contemporary brands.
  • Watches: eBay. Authenticity Guarantee from £1,500, serious buyers, and the 12.9% to £750 then 3% fee structure is tolerable on a four-figure sale. Vinted and Depop are not watch markets. For serious pieces, compare with Chrono24 and the trade. Check the serial before you buy, not after.
  • Jewellery: eBay for branded and precious (14.9% to £1,000 is steep; private sellers pay nothing); Vinted for costume and fashion jewellery.
  • Trainers: eBay (Authenticity Guarantee from £100, 11.9% or 7% over £100) and Depop.
  • Electronics, collectables, parts: eBay. Vinted has added electronics with £5 verification but the depth is on eBay.

Buyer protection and what it costs the seller

All three hold the buyer's money until delivery and refund the buyer if the item is not as described. The seller-side consequences differ: Vinted releases funds "within 2 days" of delivery unless the buyer raises a claim; eBay's Money Back Guarantee applies on all three account types and is separate from the Buyer Protection fee, which funds "24/7 customer service" and "risk monitoring and fraud detection" in eBay's words; Depop's buyer fee is described as funding buyer protection. The practical cost to a seller is returns on "not as described" claims, which is a photography and description problem, and the hold on funds for a new seller, which on Depop is about ten working days and on eBay two days after delivery until you qualify for 24-hour release (10 sales and £150 in five years, no more than two open cases).

The decision

  • Clearing out, under 30 sales a year: Vinted, then eBay for anything with a serial number.
  • Part-time reseller, fashion and accessories: Vinted and Depop, cross-listed; eBay for the odd high-value piece. Keep the HMRC thresholds in mind.
  • A business: register as one. eBay for watches, jewellery, bags and anything over £300; Vinted Pro for volume fashion at no fee; Depop if your stock suits its buyer. Price the 12% to 15% eBay fee, plus VAT on the fee, into the margin before you list.

What we could not verify

  • Depop's payment processing rate (2.9% plus 30p) and payout timings. Depop's help centre returned 403 to every request. Figures are from third-party fee guides and Depop's newsroom; confirm in your Depop Balance screen.
  • Vinted's exact Buyer Protection percentage and its cap on high-value items. The price list gives a range, not a formula.
  • eBay Authenticity Guarantee thresholds for handbags and jewellery. The watches figure of £1,500 is from WatchPro; eBay's help page timed out for us.
  • Category sell-through. Not published by any platform; the "where it sells" section is trade knowledge, not data.

Sources

This is general information, not tax advice, and platform fees are not a quotation. Fees were read from the platforms' pages on 19 August 2026 and all three have changed them more than once since 2024. Check the live fee page before you price, and take questions about trading status, Self Assessment and VAT to your accountant.

Milleso is our product, for UK watch, jewellery and luxury resale businesses. It lists to eBay, Chrono24, Shopify and WooCommerce from one serialised stock record, tracks the platform fee against each piece so the real margin shows, and keeps the VAT treatment and stock book a VAT-registered reseller needs.