Mercari is a place to say ‘goodbye’ to the things you’re no longer using and ‘hello’ to delightful new finds. Mercari is a great place to sell items online, with over 250 thousand new items listed every day. Mercari has approximately 23 million active users in the United States.
In this article, we will delve into everything you need to know about selling on Mercari. From setting up your account and listing items to navigating shipping options and maximizing your sales with smart pricing and offers, we've got you covered.
Main Takeaways
- Mercari is a top resale platform with over 23 million active users and 250,000+ new listings daily.
- Listing is free and selling fees are just 10% of the total sale price, making it budget-friendly for sellers.
- Shipping is flexible with options to use Mercari's prepaid labels or ship on your own.
- Smart Pricing and Smart Offers allow sellers to automate price drops and negotiations to boost conversions.
- Free shipping and relisting improve visibility and increase your chances of making a sale.
- Vendoo streamlines sales by helping you crosslist, manage inventory, and automate offers to likers.
What is Mercari?
Mercari is an online marketplace that allows users to buy and sell a wide variety of items. It's known for its user-friendly interface and flexibility in listing and shipping options. With a growing popularity among online reselling platforms, Mercari provides a convenient way for individuals to declutter their homes and make some extra cash.
Creating a Mercari account takes only seconds, and the app is simple and user-friendly. You can sell almost anything on Mercari, with top sellers being electronics and media, toys and games, and apparel.
Mercari is pretty straightforward, but I recommend reading the terms of service before selling anywhere.
You might also be interested in the article Top Selling Items on Mercari in 2024.
What Can You Sell on Mercari?
You can sell almost anything on Mercari, with top sellers being electronics and media, toys and games, and apparel.
Certain items are prohibited on Mercari:
- Illegal or Regulated Items: Drugs, firearms, explosives, and other illegal goods.
- Counterfeit Items: Fake or unauthorized replicas.
- Hazardous Materials: Flammable liquids, toxic substances, and batteries.
- Perishable Goods: Food and beverages that can spoil.
- Personal Information: IDs, credit cards, and personal records.
- Live Animals: Pets and other live animals.
- Human Body Parts: Organs and remains.
- Prescription Medication: Drugs requiring a prescription.
- Adult Content: Pornographic and explicit materials.
Can You Sell Food on Mercari?
No. Food of any kind is prohibited on Mercari. For a full list of prohibited items, review Mercari's terms of service.
You might also be interested in the article What Sells Best on Mercari in 2024.
What Are Mercari Selling Fees?
Mercari selling fees are ten percent of the sale price, with the sale price including the cost of the item(s) as well as shipping.
For example, if you sell a pair of jeans for $20 and the buyer pays $7.19 for shipping, the Mercari fee will be $2.72, and you will make $17.28.
Mercari's fees are substantially lower than other peer-to-peer marketplaces.
You might also be interested in the article A Reseller’s Guide to Marketplace Fees
How to Sell on Mercari
Selling on Mercari is simple. Here's a brief guide to help you get started and make the most out of your selling experience on Mercari.
1. Create a Mercari Account
- Sign up for a Mercari account on the website or app.
- Provide basic information such as your email address.
- Create a username and password
- Verify your identity with your ID
- Set up your seller profile with a clear picture and a brief bio to build trust with potential buyers.
💡Tip: Looking for a Mercari Coupon? Receive $30 to spend when you sign up for Mercari here.
2. Prepare Your Item
- Choose an item you want to sell and ensure it's in good condition.
- Clean the item thoroughly and ensure all accessories or parts are included.
3. Take Photos
- Take high-quality photos from different angles to showcase the item.
- Include close-ups of important features and any imperfections.
- Use good lighting and a clean background to make your item stand out.
You can upload up to 12 images of your item and select a cover image for your listing (videos are not supported at this time).
💡Tip: Mercari strictly disallows stock photos. Don't use them, they do not give many “strikes” before permanently banning your account.
4. Enter Item Details
Be sure to thoroughly fill out the title, description, and other relevant fields. An
Mercari allows 80 characters in the title and 1000 characters in the description, so you have plenty of room to optimize your title and description for SEO (search engine optimization). Include key details like brand, model, color, feature, and style and to attract buyers.
There are a few drop-down boxes and character fields, including up to five hashtags. Be sure to fill out these fields thoroughly to optimize your exposure.
💡Tip: Mercari does not allow emojis in titles or descriptions 😥
5. Set a Competitive Price
On Mercari, you want to price competitively to maximize your chances of making a sale. Remember that your items will be next to similar items when a buyer performs a search, so you don't want yours to be the highest-priced listing. For pricing suggestions, you can browse Mercari for similar items to get an idea of the market.
Be sure to check out Mercari’s pricing guide for tips and tricks.
💡Tip: Consider using Mercari’s Smart Pricing feature to automatically adjust your price.
Mercari Smart Pricing
Mercari's smart pricing feature allows you to select a “starting price” and a “bottom line” price. It continuously updates the listing price until it hits the floor price, promoting and exposing the listing to potential buyers at each update. Here’s how it works:
- Set the price that will appear on your listing
- Set a floor price (your minimum price), and let Mercari AI slowly drop from your set price to your floor price over time.
💡 Tip: Don't set your floor price at your very bottom line. Remember, in time that will be the price that is displayed on the listing, so buyers expect to be able to send and receive offers.
Mercari Smart Offers
Smart offers are another great tool for making sales on Mercari. They allow you to set a bottom-line price for your items.
If you have smart pricing turned on, and a buyer makes an offer, Mercari will automatically respond:
- If the offer is at or above your bottom-line price, Mercari will automatically accept the offer.
- If the offer is below your bottom-line price, Mercari will automatically send a counteroffer at your bottom-line price.
Smart offers save time and help you make more sales!
💡Tip: If you use Vendoo, you can establish Smart Pricing and Smart offers as defaults, so you never forget to utilize these features!
6. Select Shipping Options
As a seller, you have many ways to ship on Mercari. You can decide whether to:
- Ship with Mercari or ship on your own;
- Offer free shipping or charge shipping; and
- Use USPS, FedEx, or UPS.
If you ship with Mercari, they will provide a label upon sale. However, the approximate weight and dimensions of the item in the packaging are required when listing. Mercari is very strict; if you do not put the correct weight in the listing and your package is even a single ounce over, you will be charged the difference, and Mercari is not exactly known for affordable shipping. 🥴
Electing to ship on your own requires purchasing a shipping label and providing Mercari with the tracking number for the package. Usually, the rates on PirateShip are significantly more affordable than those on Mercari. So, if you’re offering free shipping and must pay out of pocket, it might be worth considering self-shipping to reduce costs.
Shipping with Mercari labels is more convenient, and your packages qualify for Mercari protection. If you ship on your own, you don’t necessarily have Mercari protection, and you might consider adding insurance to your parcels.
💡Tip: Ship with Mercari prepaid labels. While they are a bit pricier, you cannot beat the convenience of printing the label and shipping the item! Time is money, too. Plus, you are offered greater shipping protection.
Can you Change a Mercari Shipping Label?
Unfortunately, you cannot change a Mercari shipping label. Mercari pre-paid labels are created by Mercari with the information provided by the buyer. They cannot be altered or amended by the seller.
7. Publish Your Listing
Double-check your information and photos before submitting. Then, complete the listing process by filling out all required fields.
8. Manage Inquiries and Offers
Be sure to stay tuned to your notifications to respond promptly to questions or offers from prospective buyers.
Respond Promptly: Answer buyer inquiries as quickly as possible to maintain interest and build trust.
Maintaining good communication will help you secure more sales.
9. Ship the Item
Ship as soon as possible after you make the sale. In Amazon Prime days, everyone wants their order as quickly as possible.
Be sure to use secure packaging to prevent damage during transit. Use bubble wrap, sturdy boxes, and packing tape as needed. Then, print and attach the shipping label provided by Mercari or from a third-party service and attach it securely to the package.
💡Tip: If you’re shipping yourself, be sure to enter the tracking information on the sales screen.
You might also inform the buyer once the item has been shipped. In some transactions, this is the only opportunity to speak to the customer, providing excellent service and enhancing your chance of a great rating.
Want to scale faster? Explore new platforms in our Top-Rated Online Marketplaces guide.
How Do You Get Paid on Mercari?
Getting paid is simple on Mercari. After making a sale, your balance becomes available once the buyer receives and rates the transaction or in 72 hours (whichever comes first).
You can use your balance to shop on Mercari or transfer your funds to your bank. There are two ways to transfer your balance: direct deposit and instant pay.
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Direct Deposit: Transfers to your bank account are usually processed the next business day, but it can take up to 5 business days for the funds to be transferred and made available in your bank account. There is no fee for this service.
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Instant Pay: Receive your funds in just minutes. This requires verifying your identity but makes your funds available instantly. The fee for this service is $3
Learn more about the deposit options and requirements here.
Mercari Returns & Seller Protection
Mercari offers comprehensive seller protection.
As for returns, all sales are final unless the item(s) is not as described, damaged, or never sent. Mercari does not allow returns when an item is accurately described, so a buyer cannot return items that do not fit, that they do not like, because they have changed their mind, etc. However, buyers may attempt to initiate a return request, which takes several days to resolve, when your funds are held up.
Mercari has a reputation for favoring the buyer in all disputes, regardless of whether they violate their terms. They prioritize buyer satisfaction.
Overall, Mercari is a pretty good place to sell. Without a huge audience or collection of tools to increase exposure, Mercari might not ever be your best-performing platform. However, it is a good place to cross-list your inventory to achieve greater exposure and make more sales.
Did you know that with Vendoo you can crosslist your items in just a few clicks?
What is the Trick to Selling on Mercari?
Maximizing your sales on Mercari can can be simple with the right strategies. Here are some effective tips and tricks to help you boost your sales and increase your profits.
List, Delist, and Relist Daily
Consistency is important on Mercari, and recency is an important factor for search ranking. List daily for the best results.
Similarly, relisting is an excellent way to gain exposure. Because Mercado does not offer many promotional tools, there are few opportunities to get eyes on your older listings. Don't let your listings get stale; delist/relist every day with Vendoo!
Optimize SEO
Your entire description is searchable on Mercari, so include all the keywords and phrases to help buyers find your items. Accurate and detailed descriptions are perhaps the most important thing you can do on Mercari.
You might also be interested in A Reseller’s Guide to SEO.
Send Offers to Likers
Send a special offer to those who have liked your listing. The price must be reduced by at least 10%. However, to send a new offer (even to a new liker), you must always reduce the price by at least 10% lower than the historically lower price. Offers to likers expire after 24 hours.
How to Make an Offer on Mercari
You can send offers to likers from your newsfeed immediately after receiving a notification that a shopper has liked your item. You can also send them from your inventory screen.
Try to send offers as soon as possible after each "like" to catch the attention of potential buyers, and consider sending even larger offers on all items with likes every weekend.
👀 Did you know that with Vendoo you can automate sending offers to likers on Mercari? That's right! If you turn on auto offers, Vendoo will automatically send offers to likers on Mercari when your items are liked. Learn more here.
Promote Your Listings
Use Mercari's Promote feature to boost your listings in the search results and notify all likers about the promotion. It requires that you reduce the price by at least 5%. You can promote up to ten listings per day, and a single item can be promoted once every 24 hours (so long as the price is reduced by 5% of the lowest historical price each time).
Offer Free Shipping
Offering free shipping is recommended to allow you to be competitive. All listings with free shipping have a banner across the cover photo to indicate and advertise it! This can certainly be enticing. Mercari also has a search filter where buyers can search for items with free shipping.
💡Tip: According to Mercari, a listing is 80% more likely to sell with free shipping. Many sellers choose to offer free shipping and to price their items in consideration of the shipping cost.
Crosslist with Vendoo
Cross-listing your items on multiple marketplaces increases your chances of selling by exposing your products to a broader audience.
Vendoo makes cross-listing easy by allowing you to manage your listings across multiple marketplaces from one place.
Elevate Your Mercari Sales with Vendoo
Selling on Mercari is straightforward, with its user-friendly platform, flexible shipping options, and no seller fees. By following the steps outlined, from creating an account and listing items to managing inquiries and shipping, you can effectively sell on Mercari and take advantage of its unique features.
Using Vendoo for cross-listing can take your selling experience to the next level. Vendoo streamlines the listing process, allowing you to manage your inventory and listings across multiple platforms from one place. By cross-listing with Vendoo, you can enhance your visibility, reach a broader audience, and increase your chances of making sales.
Vendoo not only saves you time but also helps you increase sales by utilizing features like smart pricing and offers. By managing your inventory efficiently and taking advantage of Vendoo's tools, you can optimize your Mercari selling experience and maximize your sales potential.
Try Vendoo today to elevate your Mercari sales and achieve greater success across multiple platforms. Start for free and discover how Vendoo can transform your reselling business.
List, manage, and grow - all in one place.
Do you sell on Mercari? Share your best tips and tricks below! 👇🏽
Selling on Mercari FAQ
What is Mercari and why is it popular for selling?
Mercari is a user-friendly online marketplace where people can sell items they no longer need. It’s popular among resellers and casual users alike for its simplicity, flexible shipping options, and relatively low selling fees. With millions of active users in the U.S. and over 250,000 new listings each day, it’s a great platform to reach new buyers.
What can you sell on Mercari?
You can sell a wide variety of items, including electronics, toys, games, and apparel. However, Mercari prohibits items like food, counterfeit goods, hazardous materials, live animals, prescription drugs, and anything illegal or explicit. Always check their terms for the most up-to-date prohibited list.
How much does it cost to sell on Mercari?
Mercari charges a flat 10% selling fee based on the total sale price (including shipping), plus payment processing fees. These fees are relatively low compared to other marketplaces, making Mercari an attractive option for sellers looking to maximize profit.
How do you list items for sale on Mercari?
To list an item, create an account, take clear photos, write a detailed description with optimized SEO keywords, set a competitive price, and choose your shipping option. Mercari also allows up to 12 photos per listing and up to 5 hashtags for better visibility.
What is Smart Pricing on Mercari?
Smart Pricing automatically lowers your item’s price over time until it reaches your preset floor price. This increases exposure and helps encourage sales without constant manual adjustments. Just be cautious not to set your floor price too low.
What are Smart Offers on Mercari?
Smart Offers automatically accept or counter buyer offers based on your bottom-line price. If the offer is at or above that threshold, it will be auto-accepted. If it's below, Mercari sends an automatic counteroffer. It’s a useful tool for speeding up sales without constant monitoring.
How to send automatic offers to likers?
With Vendoo, you can automate sending offers to likers on Mercari. Simply set your discount preferences, and Vendoo will automatically send offers when shoppers like your listings, helping you close sales without lifting a finger.
How does shipping work on Mercari?
You can choose to ship with Mercari’s prepaid labels or ship on your own. Mercari offers options through USPS, UPS, and FedEx, but you must enter accurate weight and size details. Self-shipping can be cheaper using services like PirateShip, but offers less protection.
How do you get paid on Mercari?
You get paid once the buyer rates the transaction or after 72 hours if no rating is provided. Funds can be used for Mercari purchases, transferred via direct deposit (free), or instantly with Instant Pay (for a $3 fee).
Can you change a Mercari shipping label?
Unfortunately, you cannot change a Mercari shipping label. Mercari pre-paid labels are created by Mercari with the information provided by the buyer. They cannot be altered or amended by the seller.
