What Depop Protection covers on your label
You know which side of Depop's exclusion each order sits on, and a lost parcel has a claim route that does not depend on Depop.
Checked against Depop's Depop Protection for sellers on September 13, 2026.
Before you start
- The shipping method the listing was sold on
- The drop-off receipt for the parcel
- Your carrier's claim window and its evidence list
Steps
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Check which method the order used
Depop Protection covers sellers "who ship using a Depop Shipping label". If the receipt shows your own method, the order sits outside it.
You should see either a Depop Shipping label on the order, or your own method on the receipt.
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Read the exclusion as written
Depop excludes "items sent using any method other than a shipping label purchased through Depop". There is no partial cover and no appeal route in the policy for this.
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Decide the cover per order, before you buy the label
US cover on a Depop label runs to $300, and the label has to be used within 5 days. Above that value, your own insured service is worth more than the protection you would be giving up.
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Keep the shipping receipt
Depop asks for "proof of shipping e.g. your shipping receipt" when a buyer reports a parcel missing. Photograph the counter receipt at drop-off.
You should see an image you can produce inside Depop's reply window.
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Open the carrier claim
On your own shipping the parcel is your claim to make. Start it the day tracking stops moving, because carrier windows are shorter than the argument usually lasts.
You should see a claim reference you can quote to the buyer.
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Refund the buyer if the parcel is lost
Depop's position on this route is that you refund in full, since "This shipping method is not covered by Depop Protection".
If it goes wrong
- Expecting Depop to split the loss
Depop's article on a missing parcel is explicit: "This shipping method is not covered by Depop Protection" (depophelp.zendesk.com, checked 13 September 2026). The refund comes from you.
- No proof of shipping on file
Depop's own statement is that no response or no proof means the buyer is refunded. A tracking number that never scanned is not proof by itself, which is why the receipt image matters.
- Forgetting the fee side
Depop charges the boosting fee against your shipping cost too when you do not use their label. Fold the postage into the margin before deciding the route.
What happens next
The practical rule is a value line. Under $300, a Depop label carries protection you would otherwise self-insure; above it, the cap stops helping and your own service with cover on the parcel does more. Either way tracking has to reach the receipt within 10 days of the sale, or the order cancels and the buyer is refunded before any of this matters.
Tracked USPS and UPS, bought in the app
Every USPS and UPS label we sell is a tracked service, bought from your gold balance. The tracking number stays on screen to paste onto the Depop receipt, and nothing is written back to Depop for you. Weight comes from your saved product presets or from what you type once.
Related questions
No. Depop excludes "items sent using any method other than a shipping label purchased through Depop", and covers sellers who ship on a Depop Shipping label.
Up to $300, on an order shipped with a Depop label that is used within 5 days.
Send Depop the proof of shipping it asks for, file the claim with your carrier, and expect to refund the buyer in full. Depop's article states the method is not covered.
Yes, through your carrier or an insurer, and above the $300 cap that is the only cover that scales. Arrange it when you buy the label so the declared value is on the shipment from the start.