EBay to buy resale fashion marketplace Depop from Etsy for $1.2b

EBay has announced it will acquire Depop, a resale fashion marketplace, from Etsy for approximately US$1.2 billion in cash, with the deal expected to close in Q2 2026.

Depop reported about US$1 billion in gross merchandise sales in 2025, with nearly 60% growth in the US.

It has 7 million active buyers, most under 34, and over 3 million active sellers.

Etsy said it will focus on growing its core marketplace after the sale.

The acquisition aims to strengthen eBay’s presence among younger, fashion-oriented consumers, and expand its resale offerings.

Depop will continue to operate under its name and culture, benefiting from eBay’s global scale and services.

The deal was approved by both companies’ boards and will be funded with eBay’s cash reserves.

🔗 Source: Etsy

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Etsy’s sale of Depop marks a costly retreat from its brand portfolio strategy

Etsy bought Depop for $1.625 billion in 2021. A sale to eBay for about $1.2 billion would lock in a loss of roughly $420 million 1 2.
The deal unwinds Etsy’s “house of brands” plan to broaden its reach. That pullback follows the June 2, 2025 sale of musical instrument marketplace Reverb 3 2.
Depop was not collapsing. Gross merchandise sales (the total value of goods sold on a marketplace) rose 39.4% year over year in Q3 2025, which makes the exit look like a choice to put resources back into the core Etsy marketplace 4.

The deal signals a strategic split in marketplace growth playbooks

Etsy shifts from buying growth to tightening focus. The sale frees cash for share buybacks plus AI-driven personalization aimed at restoring growth in the main marketplace 4.
eBay gains a brand with youth pull. The hard part will be folding Depop into a larger company while keeping its community feel for Gen Z users 2.
The transaction underscores how tough a “house of brands” approach can be for marketplaces. Unique network effects (the way a platform becomes more valuable as more buyers and sellers join) can collide, leaving companies to pick either more acquisitions or deeper investment in one core community 1.