On February 18, eBay announced a deal that would acquire mobile apparel resale platform Depop from Etsy for $1.2 billion USD. The big-ticket acquisition demonstrates the sheer value that the secondhand apparel market has accumulated, clocking in just short of the $1.3 billion USD price tag Prada Group paid to acquire luxury label Versace.

“Depop has built a trusted, social-forward marketplace with strong momentum in the pre-loved fashion category, and we are confident that as part of eBay, Depop will be even more well-positioned for long-term growth, benefiting from our scale, complementary offerings, and operational capabilities,” said Jamie Ianonne, Chief Executive Officer of eBay, in the announcement.

The release highlights Depop’s outstanding performance: the company reported annual gross merchandise sales (GMS) of $1 billion in 2025. But Depop isn’t the only company seeing success in resale. According to the annual resale report conducted by ThredUp, the global secondhand apparel market is expected to reach $367 billion by 2029, a forecast backedup by impressive performance. In 2024, online resale grew at its strongest rate since 2021, accounting for 88% of all resale spending. Ultimately, resale grew 8X faster than the retail clothing sector as a whole.

So, why exactly did secondhand fashion turn into such a lucrative arm of the industry, and how is it evolving?

What began as a diverse landscape of resale platforms emerging from the 2000s to the 2010s is slowly evolving into a landscape ruled by megaplatforms.

Over the last decade or more, apparel resale has grown with the rise of digital platforms that have made both thrifting and consigning easily accessible to anybody remotely. Furthermore, factors like rising retail prices and degrading quality have driven many customers to platforms like Depop and eBay in search of not only better deals but better quality.

While platforms like The RealReal and Fashionophile (originally an eBay storefront) focus more on luxury products, it’s worth noting that the high-end resale arena has also grown alongside the general market.

Luxury customers may have more spending power, but they’ve not been immune to the headwinds caused by inflation and tariffs. The “luxury slowdown” of 2024 was a sure sign. However, in conjunction with saving, a surging nostalgia for archival luxury could be attracting customers to these platforms as well.

Grailed’s 2026 marketplace report showed that searches for Hedi Slimane’s archival eras at Dior Homme and Saint Laurent grew by +38%, alongside other designer names of the era like Giuseppe Zanotti (+253%) and Jeremy Scott (+52%).

Now, eBay follows in the path of streetwear resale channel GOAT Group, which acquired competitor Grailed in 2022. What began as a diverse landscape of resale platforms emerging from the 2000s to the 2010s is slowly evolving into a landscape ruled by megaplatforms. Indeed, Depop may very well benefit from the technological and financial infrastructure of eBay, but the shift prompts questions about how resale could change with fewer and fewer independent channels.

Among all of the fashion-focussed resale channels, Depop has emerged as one of the most attractive to Gen Z. As of the end of December, it had accumulated 7 million active buyers, 90% under the age of 34. Depop covers a wide base of brands, price points, and consumer demographics. With less spending power than their Millennial and Gen X counterparts, more accessible prices on Depop are an incentive for young shoppers. eBay’s CEO emphasised that the acquisition would enable the company “to reach a younger demographic across the expanding recommerce landscape.”

The platform’s 2026 trend report also signals a changing tone in resale. Among the closing remarks was, “Consumers are choosing quality over quantity, emotional connection over novelty and personal authorship over algorithm-driven churn.” Depop’s report showed a shift toward “dependable silhouettes and repeatable staples,” “blending fragments of the 70s, 90s and early 2000s,” and an “appetite for reworked and elevated sports staples.”

At the same time, casual brands are trying to take resale in-house. GapVintage launched in early 2025, tapping Round Two founder and designer Sean Wotherspoon as its curator. Just this week, Japanese retailer BEAMS opened its “Digroo” platform for, beginning with a 1000-piece drop curated by BEAMS employees. What these two initiatives share in common is the focus on expert and in-house curation.

Unlike Depop and eBay, where customers often buy from strangers, DTC resale enjoys the benefit of stronger trust in quality control and curatorial appeal from brands. However, if mega resale platforms continue to gain ground, one can imagine that some brands may scale back with their independent efforts and outsource resale operations to a company like eBay.

The signs tell us that resale could continue to consolidate, or we may see in-house resale take off as more companies establish their own channels.

The online apparel resale market stands at a pivotal point with two key directions. The signs tell us that resale could continue to consolidate, or we may see in-house resale take off as more companies establish their own channels. Currently, both seem like viable possibilities and could even coexist.

It shouldn’t be forgotten that resale is far older than the Internet, and its benefits go far beyond nostalgia and affordability. There’s a magic in the experience of classic in-person thrifting from mom-and-pops and stores like Goodwill, which are very much alive and well. There’s something irreplaceable about taking the time to file through each hanger with no algorithm to guide you, allowing you not only to see and touch an unedited selection, but to feel the excitement of discovering something new.