Merchant Machine

The Rise of Second Hand E-Commerce Apps


By: Ian Wright | Last Updated: April 25, 2025

Second-hand and vintage shopping have been on the rise in recent years, especially when issues like sustainability have been of the utmost importance. This is set to only increase, with ThredUp predicting the secondhand fashion market will be 1.5 times bigger than fast fashion by 2028.

Jessamine Hislop, Owner of Little Pickles Market said: “People are aware of using what has already been produced and keeping items in the loop ultimately helping to create a circular economy.”

Research conducted by the team at Merchant Machine reveals the most popular second-hand apps in the UK and further afield in Europe, America and Canada.

eBay still holds the crown as the largest second-hand e-commerce app

Although eBay is nearing it’s 30th birthday, the company takes the crown as the latest second-hand e-commerce app. Users on the Playstore and Appstore rate the app at 4.6 and 4.8 out of five respectively with the brand having 101,000,000 worldwide searches each month. 

Facebook, although not solely a resale app, does include Facebook Marketplace, which Mark Zuckerberg announced recently had 1 billion active users. Placed second in the ranking, it seems users are not happy with the experience of the app, with their Playstore and Appstore ratings being 2.3 and 1.8 respectively.

RankingAppPlaystore Download (Google)Playstore Reviews (Google)Playstore Rating (Google)Appstore Download (Apple)Appstore Reviews (Apple)Appstore Rating (Apple)Global Search VolumeUK Search Volume
1eBay1,000,0003,934,7424.61,000,0001,600,0004.8101,000,00013,600,000
2FacebookN/A119,670,5702.310,000,000142,5001.89,140,0001,000,000
3Vinted600,000486,3974.5600,00069,3004.913,600,000246,000
4Gumtree60,000175,4184.770,000431,2004.87,480,0004,090,000
5SUMISUN/A8354.7N/A344.71,60020
6GemN/A1554.6N/A364.71,830,00027,100
7Wallapop200,0001,272,9714.690,0003,8004.73,350,0004,400
8Depop100,00055,0434400,000379,7004.81,220,000368,000
9JawnFlip5,0001455,000151,60090
10CeX10,00017,6364.610,0002,5004.62,740,0002,240,000

Fashion app Depop is losing its crown

Apps designed solely to sell second-hand and vintage fashion have been on the increase after giant Depop was first founded in 2011. However, it seems that unlike eBay, this well-known brand hasn’t stood the test of time. 

Vinted, who have seen a recent marketing push, has taken Depop’s crown with 6x the number of Playstore downloads in July. Vinted also rates higher than its competitor, with 4.5 on Playstore and 4.9 on Appstore, compared to Depop’s 4 and 4.8.

The fashion re-sell app space is a gap that other competitors look to fill, with SUMISU and Gem taking second and third place. Although they have a small number of reviews, all users have ranked them both highly, cementing their position in the market.

RankingAppPlaystore Download (Google)Playstore Reviews (Google)Playstore Rating (Google)Appstore Download (Apple)Appstore Reviews (Apple)Appstore Rating (Apple)Global Search VolumeUK Search Volume
1Vinted600,000486,3974.5600,00069,3004.913,600,000246,000
2SUMISUN/A8354.7N/A344.71,60020
3GemN/A1554.6N/A364.71,830,00027,100
4Depop100,00055,0434400,000379,7004.81,220,000368,000
5JawnFlip5,0001455,000151,60090
6StockX100,00051,9134.5600,0009,3004.63,350,000201,000
7Remix Second Hand & Outlet8,0004,8854.75,000254.9550,0004,400
8Vestiaire Collective200,0009,0044.2200,00018,4004.6450,00040,500

Wallapop is more popular in Spain than Facebook Marketplace

eBay takes the top spot as the most popular second-hand e-commerce app in all six countries studied, showing how not only is it popular in the UK, but the brand’s reach is truly global. Vinted and Facebook tend to take second and third places in all of the countries, other than Spain. 

Wallapop is Spaniards second favourite re-sale app, after eBay. The brand has 3,350,000 monthly searches in Spain, and over 1.5 million reviews when Appstore and Playstore are combined.

AppSpanish Search VolumeItalian Search VolumeFrench search volumeGerman Search VolumeAmerican Search VolumeCanadian Search Volume
97th Vintage1702,90026021032070
Back Market368,00018,1001,500,000135,000135,0002,400
BKIE72010101017020
BLOC Vintage1,0004,4001,3008801,300140
Buy and Sell - Marketplace109010106,6002,900
CeX301,0002,240,0001,9002,4009,9001,300
CircleHood000000
Depop9,90060,50022,20027,100368,00040,500
eBay1,220,0006,120,0004,090,00016,600,00037,200,0001,220,000
ESOOKO000000
Facebook Marketplace9,90049,50074,00014,8007,480,000823,000
Friday-Ad7020707059030
Gem3,60027,10018,10012,100110,00027,100
GoEthical000000
Gumtree8,1005,40014,8006,60040,5004,400
JawnFlip10202050720170
Locby01010101010
Mädchenflohmarkt14070140110,0004010
Marktplaats8,1004,40018,10060,5003,600720
Plick708801407032040
Popsy2101101,3002601,000170
Preloved3204803905901,900880
Quoka2,9004,4004,4001,000,00014,8001,900
REBELLE1,0001,90033,10040,5005,4002,900
Remix Second Hand & Outlet2,9003,6005,4006,60018,1002,900
Reshopper102010202010
Reverb12,10040,50033,10014,800368,00033,100
Ricardo5,4005,40027,10033,10049,500135,000
SecondBook000000
SecretCloset10260102048050
Shpock48018,10088074,0002,900210
StockX110,000201,000246,000201,0001,500,000110,000
SUMISU40202026072010
Thrift+102020205010
ThriftBooks260390320590301,0009,900
Tise1101,0001,9002601,600210
Tradera1,3002,4001,3002,90012,1001,000
True Vintage2,90012,1004,4008,1006,6001,300
tutti.ch1,3003,6006,6009,9006,6002,400
UpGarm0201010100
Vestiaire Collective18,10074,000165,00033,10033,1005,400
Videdressing590590110,0001,600320260
Village4,4005,40014,8008,10074,00012,100
Vintage27,10033,10049,50074,000165,00022,200
Vinted450,000368,0007,480,000823,00022,2006,600
Wallapop3,350,0002,4009,9004,4004,400590
Zapper.co.uk1014010101010

Methodology

We collected app store data from nearly 50 apps from both the Google Playstore and the Apple Appstore. Metrics include the number of downloads, reviews and ratings. These metrics were combined to get an average score for each app to determine which is the most popular second-hand e-commerce app. To find out which apps are sought after per country, we looked at the search volume for each app in each country. Playstore and Appstore downloads relate to the month of July 2021.

Sources

  • Google Keyword Planner
  • Google Playstore
  • Apple Appstore
  • Sensor Tower

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