eBay's $9 Billion Bet on Gen Z Thrifting Is Paying Off

eBay and Depop generated $9 billion in U.S. fashion sales volume over the past 12 months, executives said on Wednesday's third-quarter earnings call — up in the mid-20% range from a year earlier, counting Depop's sales before the $1.4 billion acquisition closed in July.

The number is doing a lot of work for eBay. Depop's U.S. sales volume more than doubled year-over-year in the third quarter, and Depop contributed nearly three percentage points to eBay's overall Q3 gross merchandise volume growth of 15% — $23.2 billion, or nearly 16% excluding currency swings. Strip out Depop, and eBay's core marketplace grew at a considerably slower clip.

The customer base behind that growth is strikingly young. Nearly 90% of Depop's 7 million active buyers last year were under 34, according to eBay's 2026 Recommerce Report. And the platform is growing: CEO Jamie Iannone told analysts Depop reached 11 million active buyers over the trailing 12 months in Q3, up from 9 million.

"Gen Z aren't just embracing secondhand, they're redefining its place in fashion," a Depop spokesperson told Fortune. "On Depop, they're both the buyers and the sellers, and they're not just trying secondhand, they're coming back to buy and sell again and again."

What is driving Gen Z to secondhand?

Iannone attributes the surge to values as much as wallets. "The younger generation specifically is much more focused on sustainability and driving recommerce," he said on the call. "If you talk to Gen Zs, they'll tell you everything that you ever want already exists in this world."

The survey data backs him up, partially. Nearly half — 46% — of consumers ages 18 to 29 buy used goods at least every other week, compared to 28% of overall consumers, according to the Recommerce Report, which surveyed 10,523 people across 10 countries including the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, and Japan. That gap suggests younger shoppers buy used roughly twice as often as the average consumer.

Money matters too, whatever the sustainability framing. Some 76% of Gen Z respondents said secondhand helps them manage their budgets, compared to 70% of overall consumers — a smaller gap than the purchase-frequency figures would imply. Takeaway: the values story is real, but affordability is doing much of the lifting.

The trend shows no sign of cresting, at least by respondents' own intentions. Some 60% of U.S. consumers ages 18 to 29 expect to increase their secondhand purchases next year, versus 41% of American consumers overall, per the report. Self-reported intentions, of course, have a habit of outrunning actual behavior.

How is eBay integrating Depop?

For eBay, Depop is becoming a genuine growth engine rather than a trophy asset. Iannone said newer customer cohorts are buying and selling more than earlier cohorts, and that repeat purchases, relisting, and reselling rates all improved year over year.

"This shift is particularly evident in fashion, where eBay continues to see healthy performance in the U.S. and sustained strength in luxury, which is supported by the complementary nature of the Depop brand," an eBay spokesperson told Fortune.

The integration is still early. CFO Peggy M. Alford said eBay is directing more marketing resources toward Depop, and Iannone said eBay's negotiated carrier rates have lowered Depop's shipping costs. The company is also exploring what he called "supply and demand synergies between eBay and Depop" by experimenting with showing Depop listings to people shopping on eBay. The companies did not quantify what those synergies might add.

"We are managing eBay and Depop as a portfolio, preserving each brand's distinct experience and allocating investment toward opportunities that generate the strongest long-term returns for the combined company," Iannone said.

That portfolio framing matters. eBay paid $1.4 billion for Depop and is now spending marketing dollars and logistics leverage on it; whether the deal pays for itself depends on growth that has so far been reported in sales volume, not in the profit those sales produce. Neither executive detailed Depop's margins or profitability.

Who else wants this market?

eBay is not the only player chasing the secondhand dollar. Zara, Lululemon, H&M, and Levi's have all developed resale programs to capture purchases that would otherwise flow to third-party marketplaces like Depop, Poshmark, and ThredUp, as Fortune previously reported. The global secondhand apparel market is projected to reach $393 billion by 2030, growing twice as fast as the overall apparel market, according to ThredUp's 2026 Resale Report.

The projection comes from ThredUp, a competing marketplace with an obvious interest in a bullish forecast — a caveat worth holding onto. Still, brands building their own resale channels confirm that incumbents see the same shift eBay is monetizing.

Takeaway: eBay bought its way into the youngest cohort of fashion shoppers, and so far the growth is real; the untested part is whether that growth converts into durable profit under a $1.4 billion price tag.