The competitive focus of secondhand fashion e-commerce is shifting from the products themselves to logistics costs. According to e-commerce industry news roundups, over the past few months, Vinted and Depop have been locked in a fierce battle over shipping fees in the US market, with the two platforms taking turns offering free shipping and steeply discounted rates, aiming to further lower the barrier to purchasing low-priced secondhand clothing.

This trend is not an isolated event. During the same industry weekly roundup period, another secondhand trading platform, Depop, is facing a new class-action lawsuit, with plaintiffs alleging that its Marketplace Fee involves "drip pricing," meaning fees are not fully reflected in the listed price. This is one of several similar lawsuits Depop has recently encountered—two months ago, another similar federal lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff.

The battle over shipping and fees reflects the competitive logic of resale platforms: in the low-ticket secondhand apparel category, logistics and transaction fees are often the key variables determining conversion rates. Whoever can push down these two costs will more easily attract price-sensitive users.

It is worth noting that the ties between Vinted and Depop at the executive level and within the broader industry ecosystem are also increasing, including inside information about a Vinted executive being drawn into a financing event at another industry company—however, in accordance with this publication's previous practice, such individual cases unrelated to the secondhand trading platforms' own operations are not recorded as industry developments.

For the old clothing and secondhand apparel industry, the shipping subsidy war on the platform side means that demand-side customer acquisition efforts are still intensifying. The signal for upstream suppliers and recycling/sorting companies to watch is: consumption activity for secondhand apparel in the US market is expected to remain active in the short term, but whether the platforms' marketing cost pressure will be passed on to the supply side still requires further observation.

Source: Value Added Resource Week In Review 9-27-26 · Originally published 2026-09-27