Depop Parcel Lost or Damaged: Does Seller Protection Cover You?

Am I within the Seller Protection rules?

Work down this table with the actual sale receipt and label. Treat an unknown answer as a record to find, not a “yes”. This checker identifies policy conditions; Depop decides eligibility and any award.

Protection is not insurance, a warranty or a guarantee. Depop decides whether to grant protection and the amount. Meeting the published conditions is not a promised payout.

Policy basis: Depop Protection for sellers — eligibility, limits and discretion.

Choose your next action from the facts

1. Tracking merely stopped? Establish the status

   For Depop Shipping, contact Support if tracking has not updated 10 days after shipping. This is a contact trigger, not an automatic loss finding. Continue answering any live issue.

2. Actually used a Depop label? Take the protection route

   Send the evidence to Depop and ask it to investigate transit loss/damage and assess the sale against the eligibility rules. Depop handles the carrier compensation claim.

3. Used independent postage? Take the booking-provider route

   Keep the Depop order response active, but investigate and claim through the carrier or provider that sold the label. Check that service’s cover and exclusions.

4. Condition or evidence missing? Identify it explicitly

   Ask which record or condition remains unresolved. Do not assume choosing Depop Shipping in settings means the generated label was used.

If tracking already says delivered and receipt is disputed, first use the delivery-scan investigation. For managing the buyer’s issue before loss is established, use the INR seller action sequence.

Policy basis: My buyer hasn’t received their order — seller action and refund route.

What evidence should I keep for loss or damage?

Start with the sale receipt, actual label, dispatch/acceptance record, full transaction value, buyer messages and the live tracking link. Then add the records that answer this particular transit problem.

Ask the buyer to report damage from the purchase receipt in the app. Eligible Depop Payments buyers need to report within 30 days of purchase. Keep your own Support thread active and follow the instructions given for any return.

Ask the buyer to preserve the damaged item: Depop says disposal can prevent a refund. Keeping packaging also preserves potential investigation evidence. Do not ask them to repair, discard or return it before the handler gives instructions.

Depop’s contact form asks for an image when damage is reported, or tracking number and courier for a lost item. The broader list above is a practical preparation checklist, not a claim that every document is mandatory. If the buyer has already discarded packaging or you have no dispatch photos, state that; do not recreate the missing originals.

Separate transit damage from an existing fault. Compare the listing and pre-dispatch condition with what arrived. A disagreement over description needs the relevant Depop item-dispute process; it does not become a carrier-damage claim merely because the buyer wants a refund.

Policy basis: Contact Depop Support; Depop Protection for buyers — reporting window and delivered-tracking limits; How to ship — UK labels and tracking; Evri direct-service terms — evidence and service conditions.

Who refunds the buyer, and how does seller compensation work?

1. Investigation establishes the outcome

   A stalled scan or claim reference is not confirmation. Ask for the written loss/damage finding and protection decision.

2. Buyer refund is processed

   For confirmed Depop Shipping transit loss/damage, Depop says it refunds the buyer in full on your behalf and debits your Depop Balance.

3. Eligible seller compensation is assessed

   UK compensation is up to £250 under the protection rules. Check the decision, amount and actual credit separately from the buyer refund.

4. Reconcile the records

   Save the refund entry, protection decision and credit. If a debit appears without a decision or expected credit, ask what remains outstanding.

A buyer refund and a seller award are separate entries and decisions. Do not promise the buyer that you must receive carrier compensation before they can be refunded. Do not issue a second refund without checking whether Depop already processed one.

The policy does not provide a universal compensation credit date or guarantee a full £250 for every eligible sale. Nor is the maximum a flat payment: ask Depop to explain the amount for your actual transaction. A low or negative balance may require funding under Depop’s balance and top-up guidance.

Policy basis: My buyer hasn’t received their order — seller action and refund route; Depop Protection for sellers — eligibility, limits and discretion; Depop Balance, top-up cards and adjustments.

UK Seller Protection and UK Mainland carrier terms are separate

The Seller Protection page sets UK seller eligibility. Depop’s UK Shipping Policy adds terms for the defined UK Mainland “Ship with Evri” arrangement.

Its definition includes England, Wales, the Isle of Wight, Isle of Man and Scotland, but excludes the Highlands/islands listed in Schedule 4, Northern Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey and the Isles of Scilly. Check the listed postcodes; a UK address does not automatically fall within that service definition.

Clause 4.3 separately describes carrier liability up to £20, with a missing-parcel report to Depop within 21 days of the scan into the carrier’s network, subject to investigation and conditions. This is not the £250 Seller Protection limit and does not extend Seller Protection to independent labels.

That shipping policy also addresses packaging, labels, prohibited contents and excluded items without carrier compensation, including certain fragile goods. Check both the marketplace and shipping lists. Do not equate “allowed to sell” with “covered in transit”.

Policy basis: UK Shipping Policy — defined Mainland scope and separate carrier terms.

If a decision cites one set of terms but you expected the other, ask Depop to identify the scheme, condition and calculation used. For another route or region, obtain the conditions for the actual service rather than applying this Mainland carrier arrangement.

What if I arranged shipping myself?

Depop Seller Protection excludes self-arranged postage. This remains true for tracked Royal Mail, an Evri label bought separately, or another independently booked service.

For independent loss, Depop’s seller guidance says refund the buyer in full and start the carrier compensation claim. Carrier reimbursement depends on the booking’s service terms and evidence; it is not the Depop £250 programme.

• Identify the booking provider. Was the label bought directly, through a broker or another service? Use that account’s claim route. Evri directs third-party-label enquiries to the provider.
• Check the actual service. Note cover bought, value limits, contents/packaging exclusions and report/claim deadlines. Do not borrow a deadline from a different carrier or label scheme.
• Preserve loss/damage and value evidence. Supply original receipts, dispatch record, tracking and relevant photographs as requested.
• Keep the marketplace case current. Record any refund and carrier award accurately, disclose other payments and respond to Depop on time.

Our courier claims guide explains the sender route. For independently posted Royal Mail items, the Royal Mail lost-parcel guide provides service context; distinguish its buyer advice from your sender claim.

Policy basis: My buyer hasn’t received their order — seller action and refund route; Evri — sender, recipient and third-party-label contact routes; Evri direct-service terms — evidence and service conditions.

What about returns, or using a different label?

Seller Protection’s transit definition includes loss or damage on an arranged return. Keep the original sale’s eligibility records, the return authorisation/instructions, actual return label, handover record and tracking. Ask Depop how the return is being handled; this wording does not mean every privately arranged return or return label automatically qualifies.

If you selected Depop Shipping but posted using another label, the alternative method excludes Seller Protection and the order may be cancelled/refunded. Uploading another tracking number or using the same carrier does not turn that label into the generated Depop label.

If the buyer requested an address change, retain that conversation, but disclose where you actually sent the parcel. Do not present the chat address as the sales-receipt address.

Policy basis: Depop Protection for sellers — eligibility, limits and discretion.

What if the buyer was refunded but I have no compensation?

Use the existing Support thread. Ask whether the missing step is the transit finding, eligibility decision, evidence request or payment of an already-approved award. Attach the corresponding record instead of sending the whole case without explanation.

For sale [ID], the buyer refund appears on [date]. I used [label] and dispatched on [date] to the receipt address. The full transaction was [amount]. Attached are [relevant records].

Please confirm whether transit loss/damage and Seller Protection eligibility have been decided. If compensation is approved, please confirm the amount and credit status. If refused, please identify the condition and evidence relied on so I can address any factual error.

Do not treat an unanswered request as approval. Follow any actual review instructions and deadline; the checked pages do not establish one universal seller appeal window or payment turnaround. If the parcel reappears, notify Depop and the claim handler before arranging repayment, resale or return.

Buying instead? Our general buyer-perspective refund-refusal guide covers a different role; use Depop’s buyer policy for its marketplace conditions. For the wider Seller workflow, return to ParcelClaim for Sellers.