How To Sell On Mercari: How Mercari Works For Sellers
Are you thinking of selling on Mercari and would like to know how it works for sellers?
Don’t worry, I gat you.
Selling on Mercari is fairly easy, and a good way to make some bucks from home.
So if you want to sell on Mercari but it seems overwhelming to you, read on.
In this post, I’ll show you how selling on Mercari works, tips to make sales, and how to protect yourself when selling on Mercari.
Let’s get started.
How To Sell on Mercari
You need to create an account to sell on Mercari
Just download the Mercari selling app from the Google play store or App store.
Then create an account with your email or sign in with Facebook, and you are ready to start listing and selling.
Make sure to sign up with my link for a $10 bonus.
You don’t need a computer to sell on Mercari but you can use it if you like.
Now create your first listing.
How to list on Mercari
- Take a picture of your product from different angles
- Choose a category
- add the title, color, measurements if applicable, the price and shipping rate.
- Also, add the condition of the products.
Here are some abbreviations for selling on Mercari.
- NEW – The item is new
- NWT or BNWT- New with tags or brand new with tags
- NWOT – New without tags
- LIKE-NEW – in like-new condition
- SZ – Size.
You may also enjoy How To Start A Reselling Business With No Money.
Selling on Mercari is free
Yup! You don’t pay anything to list and sell on Mercari.
But when your item sells, Mercari takes 10% of the sale, and the rest is yours.
Check out other Mercari selling fees you should know before you start selling.
What you can sell on Mercari
There are so many things you can sell on Mercari. From fashion to toys to electronic gadgets, kitchenware, and lots more.
But make sure to check the list of items you can’t sell on Mercari when in doubt.
Shipping on Mercari
As a Mercari seller, you can choose to ship on your own or use Mercari shipping.
And if you choose to go with Mercari shipping, there are several rates (and companies) to fit the weight of the package.
And if you prefer to cover shipping for your buyers, you can use the free shipping option.
You may also like 13 Reseller Supplies You Need To Sell Online For Beginners.
How to ship on Mercari
After you make a sale, you’d receive a Mercari prepaid shipping label (in your email) to ship the item. And you have 3 business days to do that.
If you don’t ship within three days without any communication with the buyer, then the buyer can request to cancel the other.
And Mercari would contact you with that request, and if they don’t hear from you, the order would be canceled, and the buyer refunded.
So just pack the product in a shipping box or mailing envelope, attach the label and drop it off at the nearest post office.
Better still, schedule a free pick-up on USPS online. The following day, the mailperson would pick up your item for shipping.
When Mercari sellers get their funds
Mercari sellers don’t get paid until the buyer rates you.
But if the buyer has not rated you after three days, Mercari would give you a rating and release your funds.
And after rating, the buyer cannot request a return or refund.
How you get paid on Mercari
I see a lot of people ask “so how does Mercari pay you?”
Well, Mercari sellers usually get paid through direct bank deposits. And it takes up to 5 business days for the payment to reflect in your account.
Though Mercari buyers can pay with PayPal, Mercari does not pay sellers through PayPal.
So make sure to add your bank details correctly to receive your funds.
If you make a mistake on your bank information and the transfer was reversed, Mercari would charge you.
Also, remember that for any deposit below $10, Mercari would charge the seller a $2 transfer fee.
Okay moving on…
How To Protect Yourself When Selling on Mercari
Thorough listing descriptions
Describe your listings thoroughly. If there are any flaws, mention and show pictures of them.
Add the color, and the condition. Don’t say it is like-new when it is just good.
Also, if you list a clothing item, make sure the size is accurate. If it is a regular women’s size or for juniors, mention it.
What kind of home you’re selling from
If you own pets or you smoke, make sure buyers see that in your description that the item is from a pet-friendly and smoking home.
And if you don’t, let customers know your products are from a non-smoking pet-free home.
This is to make sure buyers are not returning your products after purchasing.
You don’t need that drama. You want to make money as a Mercari seller.
Say no to returns
Yes, Mercari buyers are allowed to return orders but you can mention that all sales are final and that you don’t accept returns.
The thing is, some buyers would read descriptions, ask you questions, you give them satisfactory answers, and still, they’d try to return the item after being fully aware of the condition or specifications of the product.
I hope you understand what I mean.
Though I have not experienced it, some sellers claim that some buyers don’t return your items but still get a refund.
From what I know, if you have not received your returned product, Mercari would not release the refund to the buyer.
Tips To Make Sales On Mercari
1. Take clear pictures
Make sure to take pictures of your items with natural light, and show the flaws, if any.
With natural light, buyers see the actual color of your products. And showing and mentioning the flaws can help prevent misunderstandings, bad ratings, and returns.
2. Describe your items clearly
Take time to describe your items to avoid confusion.
For clothing items, if you are not sure of the fabric, take pictures of the labels so that buyers can see these things for themselves.
When describing your items, mention the flaws so that your customer knows exactly what they are buying.
And they would not attempt to return the item because they were well aware of the condition before purchasing the item.
3. Let buyers know the kind of home your items are from
In your description, make sure to mention if your items are from a pet-free or pet-friendly home, a smoke-free, or a cigarette smoking home because some people are allergic to cigarette smoke and animal fur.
Asides from allergies, it is not okay to sell clothing reeking of cigarettes, pet odor, or covered in pet fur to anyone.
And believe me, buyers that are unsatisfied with their purchase would say so in your ratings.
4. Offer free shipping
Most buyers (including me) are attracted to free shipping. So your item is more likely to sell faster if you paid for shipping instead of the buyer.
But make sure to add the shipping rate to the cost of the item because shipping rates can quickly skyrocket from $4.99 to $9.99.
Another tip to make free shipping work for you is if you ship on your own with USPS on PayPal. I heard it is more affordable compared to shipping on Mercari.
5. Price your listings higher to leave room for promotions and offers to likers
Price your items more than the least amount you’d sell so that you can promote your listings, send and accept offers to and from buyers.
For example, if you would sell for $15, list it for $20. So that if a buyer makes an offer or asks for free shipping, you’d not be doing it at a loss.
How sellers send offers to likers on Mercari
If you notice a lot of likes on your listing, it means buyers may be interested but can’t send an offer, or they are window-shopping and saving stuff.
So you can send an offer with a lower price to likers. Now, this does not guarantee any sales, but there is a 50/50 chance that it works.
This is how to send offers to buyers on Mercari:
- Go to the listing and hit the promote button,
- Then choose offer to likers,
- Next, enter the price you are offering for the item (a lower price of course),
- Then hit next (this shows you how much you’d earn if the buyer accepts the offer),
- and lastly, hit send offer.
How to promote your listings on Mercari
- In your store, click on the listing you want to promote,
- then select promote, and enter the price, and hit send.
Your item would be promoted, would appear in recent search results.
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6. Sell bundles on Mercari
Another way to sell more on Mercari is by selling bundles or combining shipping.
Some sellers don’t do bundles, and that’s fine.
But you should know that you can sell several items at a go from selling bundles.
So in your seller profile and listing description, make buyers know that you are willing to make bundles for them.
And if you give discounts on bundles, mention it too. That would attract more bundle buyers.
See How To Bundle Items On Mercari (with pictures) – To make more sales.
7. Be responsive to buyers
When the Mercari selling app is installed on your phone, you’d receive notifications of messages, offers, etc.
Make sure you are checking your Mercari notifications as often as possible so that you don’t miss them.
But if you miss offers or messages from buyers, you can message them to resend.
8. Ship on time
If you ship on time, buyers won’t change their minds and cancel the order.
If you are shipping with USPS, schedule a free pick-up online. The next day, the mailman would pick the order from your home.
Also, when you ship on time, most buyers would mention in your ratings that you’re a quick shipper, and that attracts more buyers.
Final Thoughts On How To Sell On Mercari
Boom! That’s how to sell on Mercari, tips to make sales, and how to protect yourself from funny buyers.
Some other apps like Mercari you can explore are Poshmark, eBay, Depop, etc.
Check out selling on Poshmark, and also Mercari or Poshmark, which is better for selling.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask. I would be happy to answer them.
Sign up on Mercari with my link and get a $10 coupon.
Are you going to start selling on Mercari?
Let me know in the comments.
Please share this post on Facebook. Pinterest, Twitter, etc.
Thanks for reading.
Good information! I had never heard of Mercari!
Aww! Amy thanks for the feedback. You should try it, seriously.
Detailed information here sis. Great job. I read and learnt everything better than on the phone.
That’s good. Thanks for the feedback, love.
How do you access the offer to buyer option?
To make an offer to your buyers, you use the promote button. It will ask promote to likers only, or promote publicly. Choose promote to likers.
Thanks for reading, Lynn!
I see you have a Mercari and Poshmark store. Is there one that is better than the other? I am new to this and have a lot of items I want to try and sell. As for the shipping with the labels how do they know how much it will cost to ship to give you correct label?
Thank you very much. I’m looking forward to this adventure.
Lisa
Hi Lisa.
Honestly, I prefer Mercari over Poshmark. And that’s because I have made more sales on Mercari than Poshmark.
The same day I started my Mercari store, I made a sale.
On Poshmark I have made maybe five sales, and I joined Poshmark before Mercari.
And it was the famine in my Poshmark store that pushed me to look for alternative selling apps, and that’s how I found Mercari.
As for the Mercari shipping, you can weigh your item and pick the shipping that matches that weight. Then Mercari will send it to your buyer.
Just a tip: ship jewelry and very small light items with the cheapest shipping label.
And list some items with free shipping, they tend to sell faster.
Ship not so heavy shoes with the 4.25 or $5.25 shipping.
Sometimes Mercari will suggest the shipping cost/label. But if you know the item doesn’t weigh up to that, select the shipping label you believe would ship the item.
For boots, sometimes Mercari suggests the $11.00 shipping label. Don’t use that unless you are certain that the boots weigh that much.
Instead of using the $11.00 USPS shipping, go for the $9.90 FedEx shipping label.
I ship most of my shoes with the $5.25 label.
Imagine listing a pair of boots for $7 and shipping cost is $11.00, I don’t know about you, but I won’t buy them.
If you search Mercari, you would see lots of listings like that.
I wonder if the sellers do not know that’s the reason why the boots have not sold after months.
I hope this is clear.
Shipping on Poshmark is $6.79 for anything you buy or sell. No matter how big or small. In my opinion, it discourages some users including me.
Unless you send an offer to likers and offer to pay part of the shipping($1.80), then the buyer pays 4.99.
That takes even more from your profit.
Anyway, that’s it.
You will do well and you will make money.
Have fun and good luck!
Lot of great information in a concise and useful way. Thank you. I’m sure I’m going to have plenty of questions for you as I figure out whether to switch over from eBay to Mercari. You mentioned shipping rates. Would I be able to ship outside of Mercari or do I have to use what they offer? If I’m offering free shipping, can I go to the post office and get it shipped from there or even use another shipping app, like ShipStation, ShipEasy, or Paypal’s shipping label service?
Hi Amanda,
Yes, when selling on Mercari, you can use their prepaid shipping labels, and you also have the option to ship on your own as long as you provide a tracking number as soon as you ship.
If you are offering free shipping and shipping on your own, you can use PayPal USPS shipping label service, and schedule a pick up with USPS.
I have not used ShipEasy or ShipStation, so I’m not sure how they work.
I hope this is clear.
Feel free to reply if you have more questions, I’m here for you.
Glad you found my post about How Mercari Works For Sellers helpful.
Thanks a lot.
xx, BUayifa.
Thank you so much for that information. It sounds like shipping directly through Mercari might be less headache inducing. I have another question. I already have a Mercari account and pay through Paypal because of the added protection. I also just opened another checking account just to sell on Mercari. When a product I have listed sells, how does Mercari pay me? Do they pay me through paypal or do I have to put the checking account information under my account settings in Mercari? Thanks for any information.
Hi Amanda,
You’re so welcome.
If you are shopping on Mercari, you can pay with PayPal.
But as for getting your funds, Mercari only pays through direct deposit to your checking or savings account. So make sure to add your checking account to Mercari.
And they don’t pay to your bank automatically, so you have to click “my balance” on your profile, then click transfer balance, then confirm your bank details, and Mercari would transfer your funds to your checking account.
But Facebook Marketplace pays directly to your bank account as soon as your buyer gets their item.
I hope this makes sense.
xx, Buayifa.
Again, thank you so much. Okay, I’m trying to list an item and I am going to use Mercari shipping labels, but it seems to be a set price of $5.99 up to one pound. Since some of the items I am going to list are 3-5oz. is that adjustable when I sell the time? For instance, will I be able to put the shipping weight in when I am printing my label and get an adjusted shipping weight, which on ebay, cost considerably less than the $5.99, or is it just the one price?
Sorry, I typed fast and didn’t make myself clear –
I am going to list are 3-5oz. is that adjustable when I sell the item? For instance, will I be able to put the shipping weight in when I am printing my label and get an adjusted shipping rate, which on ebay, costs considerably less than the $5.99, or is it just the one price?
Hi Amanda,
The shipping rate you see when listing your items is set, and they cannot be changed when printing out your label. For any item that weighs more than 1pound, I normally use FedEx $7.99 instead of USPS $11. Check out this post for Mercari fees – Mercari Fees – What You Need To Know Before Getting Started
I hope this helps.
Buayifa.
Thank you so much for all this great info. Still trying to figure out how to list products and I don’t know why I am having a having such a hard time. I will use your discount link that you gave because on Mercari’s site they only offer $5 for first listing. Anyway, the info for selling is good but I see no option where I can opt out of shipping by Mercari alone. All I see on the listing page is who pays, you or buyer. Also, I can not find where I put my bank info. All I see is where I put credit card/debit card, under payment methods. Is there anyway to put my checking account information or do I need a debit card for my checking account? Since I only got a simple checking account I don’t have a debit card so would have to get one if that is my only option. Sorry, I’m driving you as crazy as I am driving myself right now.
Hi Amanda,
I understand Mercari may be overwhelming when you’re just getting started.
Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it soon.
After listing an item, and adding then description, go to shipping, and choose “who do you want to pay for shipping, select I’ll pay, then open shipping just above Who do you want to pay for shipping.
That’s where you’d find Ship on your own or prepaid label.
Apparently, if you are shipping on your own, then it has to be free shipping.
But I’d suggest you add the shipping cost to your listing price so that you can get your money back.
Does this make sense?
Happy selling.
Thanks a lot for using my link.
I’m currently am on Poshmark & my experience is very similar to yours. Thinking I’ll jump on the Mercari train and give it a go. Poshmark is so time consuming if you really want to market your closet.
Nice job! Thank you,
Janice G.
Napa, CA
Hi Janice. Please jump on the Mercari train. You’d be glad you did. I’m glad you find my post about How Mercari works, helpful. I wish you good luck with starting your Mercari store. Clear your closet, and make lots of money.
xx, Buayifa.
Wow I enjoyed reading your post. Very informative and helpful. I just started reselling online using Poshmark and Mercari. I’m mainly selling things from my own house and closet, then maybe I’ll venture out. One of the con I’m seeing with Mercari (and maybe this is because I haven’t figured out it yet) is shipping items that weigh over 1 pound. It jumps from $4.99 to $9.99. It is hard to include shipping on those items are pass it to the buyer. I love your blog post and going to read the rest of them. Thank you ?
Hi Meriem,
Selling from our homes is how most of us started selling on Mercari and Poshmark.
As for the shipping jump, that’s one of the reasons why Poshmark is better than Mercari.
Anyway, if you have to ship and the rate skyrockets to $9.99, you can’t afford free shipping, I suggest you let the buyer pay.
I think you’re probably putting yourself in the buyer’s shoes, and that’s cool.
I do that too because it pinches me to pay $9.99 for shipping, but the seller can’t cover it too.
But the truth is, some buyers don’t mind paying $9.99 for shipping.
So don’t worry too much about it.
I’m so glad my post about How Mercari Works For Sellers Plus Tips To Make Sales, helpful.
Did you get to download the Mercari and Poshmark Selling Freebies?
Make sure to check the Free Resources Library and download any printable you like.
You just made my day when you say you love my blog post. Thank you so much. Virtual hugs to you.
I wish you the best with your Mercari and Poshmark Closets.
Make more sales and money.
xx, Buayifa.
Hi. Great blog! How do I promote my mercari listing on the front page of Pinterest? When I go on it makes me pick l of my boards. Sometimes it says promote n it seems like it’s not going to their main page? I used to get 40k people looking at my stuff now it’s like 700? Thank yiu
Hi Julz.
Thanks a lot @ great blog.
#1 To share your listings to Pinterest, you need to choose one of your boards.
So I have a Pinterest board titled Mercari, that’s where I share my listings.
#2 If you want your listings to appear on Pinterest’s front page, you may have to promote them on Pinterest, but you’d still need to pin them to your board.
When it says “promote, it takes you to a page to set up billing because Pinterest charges users to promote and get their products to the front page.
I think the lowest for Pinterest promotions is $10 for maybe 10 days or so.
#3 The drop in engagement your items used to get can be a result of Pinterest’s ever-changing algorithms.
Maybe you can change the days and time you share your items, and see how it goes.
I hope this helps.
I’m here if you have any other questions.
So glad you enjoyed my post about How Mercari Works For Sellers.
Hello! Thanks for all this great information on how to sell on Mercari. I’m wondering if you have the answer to a question I can’t find anywhere else. When I’ve submitted an offer to a liker, as a seller, is there a place I can go to see my offers? Poshmark has that feature, but I can’t find it on Mercari. Thank you for your time!
Hi Morgan,
It’s true. Poshmark has that feature, but Mercari does not.
Thanks for even bringing it to my notice.
I had no idea there’s nowhere to see offers sent by sellers to buyers.
It’s crazy.
It would be great if we could see them, and maybe keep track of offers sent.
I actually had to send an offer myself to confirm that there’s no way to see sent offers from sellers to likers.
So sorry Morgan.
xx, Buayifa.
PS. I’m happy you found my post about how to sell on mercari informative.
I gave up on Mercari. Trying to do searches is damn near impossible. I have tried all the boolean markers, used the minus sign, quotes, more terms, less terms, specific terms etc. Forget it, I get a ton a crap I do not want or is relevant. No good.
Hello Rn,
I’m so sorry Mercari didn’t work for you.
You can try selling on Facebook or Poshmark.
You might like them.
I wish you all the best.
xx, Buayifa.
Hi there. Does Mercari charge for sales under $10 or if you transfer your Mercari balance to your bank with a balance under $10?
Hi Tb,
Mercari charges 10% for every sale you make no matter how low-priced the item is. Also, if you are transferring your Mercari balance below $10, Mercari charges you $2 for the transaction.
So instead of giving them $10, just wait until you sell something else, and then you can transfer over $10 without any fees.
I hope this helps.
xx, Buayifa.