Depop Buyer Says Item Not Received: What Should a Seller Do?

What does the tracking actually show?

Open the sale under My Depop → Sold (or Selling Hub on Android/web), then check the carrier’s own record. Label creation, carrier acceptance and delivery are different events. If Depop and the carrier disagree, save both views.

Ten days after shipping is a Support contact trigger, not a declaration of loss. It is not a fresh ten-day wait after every scan. A live issue, an evidence request or an apparent delivery error still needs attention now.

Policy basis: My buyer hasn’t received their order — seller action and refund route; How to ship — UK labels and tracking.

What happens when the buyer raises an issue?

5 days

After purchase: the buyer can raise non-arrival in the app.

48 hours

From the issue being raised: your Resolution Centre response window.

30 days

From purchase: the buyer’s Depop Payments non-arrival claim window.

These clocks have different starting events. Do not ask the buyer to let their reporting window expire while waiting for a courier.

1. Find the actual issue

   Go to My Depop → My account → Support → Sold item issues. Read the notification and save its deadline. A reply in ordinary chat does not replace answering the issue.

2. Respond with facts and a resolution

   Provide requested shipping proof, tracking and the current result. If appropriate, refund; if you disagree, explain why and provide the evidence rather than just repeating “posted”.

3. Buyer accepts, or escalates

   Acceptance closes the issue. If your response does not resolve it, the buyer can reject it and escalate to Depop Support. Support follows up by email; answer within the time stated there.

4. Do not let the response expire

   Without a response in 48 hours, the buyer is refunded without needing to escalate. Depop also warns of automatic refund if you cannot prove shipment.

Supplying a tracking number can answer a shipping question while leaving a delivery problem unresolved. Depop can still investigate and may issue a refund on your behalf.

Policy basis: Resolution Centre for buyers — issue timing, response and escalation; I haven’t received my order — non-arrival reporting rules; Resolution Centre as a seller — access and response options.

Build one seller evidence file

• Sale receipt: order ID, date, buyer username, address and full transaction amount. This ties the parcel to the sale.
• Actual label and booking: the label you used, where it came from and the service purchased. Selecting Depop Shipping is different from using its label.
• Proof of shipping: original postage receipt, drop-off confirmation or acceptance record showing date and reference. If a receipt only proves payment for postage, identify that limitation.
• Tracking history: number, carrier link, latest status and dated screenshots. Keep the last physical scan and any delivery record.
• Buyer and Support messages: what is missing, checks already made, issue notification, deadline and any resolution offered.
• Investigation and money records: enquiry reference, written findings, refund status and any protection decision.

This is a practical checklist. Supply the documents Depop requests and identify gaps honestly. Without a receipt, check the booking account and original confirmation emails; do not recreate a missing handover record. A receipt can support dispatch without proving arrival.

Policy basis: How do I sell safely? — address and shipping records; My buyer hasn’t received their order — seller action and refund route.

Depop Shipping or shipping your own way?

Do not send the buyer away with “it’s the courier’s responsibility now”. Keep dealing with the order. A carrier investigation does not pause Depop’s response deadline.

For UK transit loss/damage, the main protection checks are a BUY-button sale, the actual Depop label, dispatch within five days, the receipt address and a transaction total no higher than £250 including shipping and taxes. Prohibited items and independent labels are excluded; Depop decides whether protection is granted.

Regional check: the separate UK Shipping Policy is for its defined UK Mainland Ship with Evri arrangement. Confirm your route fits that definition; its carrier conditions are not universal UK Seller Protection rules. See the regional and carrier-limit explanation.

Policy basis: How to ship — UK labels and tracking; My buyer hasn’t received their order — seller action and refund route; Depop Protection for sellers — eligibility, limits and discretion; Evri — sender, recipient and third-party-label contact routes; UK Shipping Policy — defined Mainland scope and separate carrier terms.

For service-specific context, see Evri tracking not updating, or the sender route in our courier claims guide.

When might there be a refund, and what happens to your funds?

A buyer message alone does not tell you the financial outcome. Open the sale and Depop Balance: distinguish a refund requested, a refund processed and any protection credit.

When Depop confirms transit loss or damage on its shipping route, its seller help describes a full buyer refund debited from your Depop Balance, and compensation under the protection rules. Check the refund-to-compensation flow; a debit alone does not establish that your protection assessment is complete.

Depop’s terms allow it to refund and recoup Depop Payments funds. Paying out earlier therefore does not settle a later dispute. If your available balance is too low, its refund/balance guidance explains top-up funding and possible recovery from the connected bank account. Check the actual notification and ask Support about an unexplained adjustment.

For a seller-initiated Depop Payments refund, use the app’s sold order → Refund sale. Check whether a refund has already been processed before doing it again. PayPal-paid orders are refunded through PayPal.

No fixed compensation credit date or universal dispute-hold duration is confirmed here. Ordinary UK payout timings are separate from a disputed order’s outcome; use the account’s current status.

Policy basis: My buyer hasn’t received their order — seller action and refund route; Terms of Service — dispute decisions and recouping funds; How do I refund a buyer? — in-app refund and funding; Depop Balance, top-up cards and adjustments.

What should I say to the buyer?

Adapt this to the actual tracking and actions taken. Remove anything you have not verified; use the issue response as well as chat if a case is open.

Thanks for letting me know the parcel hasn’t arrived. I’ve checked [carrier / reference]. It currently shows [exact status] at [date/time]. I handed it over on [date] and have [receipt / acceptance record].

I’m [contacting Depop about its shipping label / asking my postage provider to investigate]. I’ll update this order by [a realistic date I can meet], even if I’m still waiting for their reply. I’ll also respond through the open Depop issue and supply the requested records.

Give an update commitment you control. Avoid promising delivery tomorrow, a guaranteed protection payment, or refusing a refund simply because you posted it.

If the facts change, change the response

Tracking turns delivered but receipt is disputed: switch to the delivered-dispute guide. Loss or damage is confirmed: check Seller Protection and compensation. The parcel arrives after a refund: tell Depop, attach the new tracking and buyer confirmation, and ask for instructions before requesting another payment.

A refund has already happened: ask Support for the decision reason and whether a separate Seller Protection assessment is outstanding. Send the missing evidence in the existing support thread. No universal appeal deadline or reversal is promised by the pages checked.

Buying instead? Our general delivered-but-missing guidance is written from the buyer’s perspective; Depop’s own buyer non-arrival help supplies the marketplace rules.