eBay is making a BIG change to take on Vinted and Depop – and it’s great news for people trying to sell their old clothes

eBay is making a huge change in the UK, which could be great news if you’re trying to sell old clothes online.

As of today, all second-hand clothing sold via the digital marketplace is free of purchase and sales costs.

That means you have the freedom to flog your old clothes without having to pay eBay’s 13.22 percent fee.

The change could help eBay compete with its newer rivals, Vinted and Depop, both of which have waived seller fees.

Kirsty Keoghan, General Manager of Global Fashion for eBay said: ‘Free fashion sales have come at the right time for a country sitting on billions of pounds worth of unwanted clothing.’

eBay has announced that it is waiving all additional fees for used fashion, including listing, final value and the new legal fee.

Secondhand clothing includes everything from items that have been worn for years to items that are new with tags and have never been worn.

This will even apply to items listed on eBay before April 8, meaning it will now be much cheaper to buy clothes through the platform.

The only exceptions to the new rules are for sports shoes, watches, handbags and jewelry, for which the existing rates will be maintained.

Previously, eBay sellers faced a base seller fee of 13.22 percent plus 30 cents on all items.

While it is free to list up to 1,000 items per month on eBay, there was also a 35 cent fee added for all items afterwards.

However, this change puts eBay on par with its modern rivals Depop and Vinted.

Depop previously charged a 10 percent fee on the total transaction costs, including shipping costs, a ‘standard transaction fee’ of 2.9 percent and a 30 cent surcharge.

However, Depop reduced all seller fees in March, meaning sellers keep all profits from items sold.

Instead, Depop is introducing a UK marketplace fee of up to five percent of the item price plus a flat fee of up to £1, paid by the buyer from April 15.

Vinted, a used clothing marketplace founded in 2008, charges no fees to list or sell items.

According to eBay, the changes are aimed at making it easier to buy and sell second-hand clothing and thus prevent clothing waste.

The changes put eBay on par with its rival Vinted, which also doesn’t charge fees to sell or buy second-hand clothing

eBay estimates that the average British consumer has around £400 worth of clothes they don’t wear.

This means that Britain as a whole is holding on to £16.3 billion worth of unworn clothing.

Ms Keoghan said: ‘By encouraging more people to buy and sell used clothes, we are diverting more clothes from landfill, while collectively enabling a circular economy for fashion.’

According to eBay estimates, selling on the platform alone saved 1.6 million kg of clothing from landfill in 2023.

Every year, millions of garments end up in landfills around the world, especially in countries like Ghana, where much of America’s unwanted clothing ends up.

However, recent studies have shown that choosing to buy second-hand can have major environmental benefits.

Researchers estimate that selling a pair of jeans to a thrift store can reduce carbon emissions per wear by 90 percent.

eBay says the changes will make it easier for people to avoid waste by buying and selling old clothes instead of throwing them away (file photo)

In addition to waiving fees on second-hand clothing, eBay has also introduced AI-powered listings.

This new feature gives users the ability to add an ‘appealing item description’ at the touch of a button.

eBay says this feature will significantly reduce the time it takes to list items on the site.

Ms Keoghan says: ‘We know selling clothes can sometimes be a chore, so free sales and new updates like new AI-powered ads will help more of us sell clothes with ease, putting more money in our pockets .’