Six syringes, one jar of cod liver oil and seven glass vials are neatly arranged on a blanket and photographed for listing on the second-hand marketplace app Depop. Two blister packs of fertility supplements lie next to them, covering a third pack with torn foil and missing capsules.
“Women’s Fertility Is Trying To Come Up With Vitamins And Supplements IVF,” reads a typo-laden caption for the items. “I’m not a doctor, take your own advice,” insists the salesperson, based in Milton Keynes, England.
The teen-targeted resale app allows buyers to browse hundreds of health products and supplements, ready to buy alongside second-hand clothing. Their suggested benefits, according to sellers, include “acne cleansing,” tanning, weight loss, erectile dysfunction help, and “skin whitening.”
What isn’t immediately apparent is that these listings are illegal and could harm users, experts say. “You’re not supposed to sell something that’s prepackaged once it’s unsealed,” said Katrina Anderson, a British e-commerce attorney at law firm Osborne Clarke, who specializes in food industry and regulatory issues. “If you have an opened product, it could be contaminated with something.”
Founded in 2011, Depop is one of the world’s most popular resale apps. The company says it has more than 30 million users in more than 150 countries, with 90 percent of active users under the age of 26. From vintage torches to handmade dresses, it has become synonymous with frugality and more sustainable shopping worldwide. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the user base more than doubled, according to data from Statista, while more than half of US and UK consumers spent more on health products, including supplements, according to Trustpilot. Interest extends to Depop, where users massively “like” and buy health-related items. However, the platform also hosts a growing unregulated market of nutritional products, with users thrashing second-hand supplements.
WIRED found at least 208 listings for supplements and nearly 100 protein products for sale in the UK, with more than a dozen making unfounded health claims, and there was no evidence that sellers were authorized to sell supplements. Supplements are legally treated as food in the UK, requiring sellers to register as a food business operator with their local council, a law that applies to anyone selling supplements online, including on marketplace apps. Yet all ‘stores’ were absent from the Food Standard Agency (FSA) food companies database and no registrations were found by local authorities. Depop did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
A London-based retailer advertised skin whitening products and supplements containing the antioxidant glutathione, an unproven chemical that may be dangerous, according to the Food and Drugs Administration. In the ad for whitening products posted to the site a year ago, the seller boasted that the product “can prevent dull skin problems from dark spots and increase skin luminosity” and “help reveal glowing skin.” The seller, who had a five-star rating and reviews raving about the products, appeared to have no food company registration. They also advertised “collagen caps,” featuring a photo of a teenage girl holding the supplements, claiming without evidence that “usually collagen alone can make skin whiter and cleaner,” “eradicate acne,” and “make nipple color more pink.”
