Last Updated on by Buayifa
Are you wondering how Mercari works for sellers and how they make sales and all that?
Do you have items you want to sell on Mercari, but you’re not sure if anyone would buy them?
When I first started selling on Mercari, it was a bit overwhelming but after a while, I understood how Mercari works.
And I’ve been selling there for more than a year.
And in this post, I’d explain how Mercari works, plus tips to make sales.
Let’s get started.
How Mercari Works For Sellers
- Mercari sellers start by downloading the app from the Play Store or App Store.
- Sign in with Facebook or create an account with your email.
- You can sell just about anything on Mercari. But make sure to check the list of prohibited items before you start listing.
- Listing is free on Mercari, but the selling fee is 10% of the cost of the item.
- Mercari offers several shipping options and rates. So you’d be sure to find USPS, FedEx, etc.
- When you make a sale, Mercari sends you a prepaid shipping label to ship the order.
- Mercari sellers get paid through direct deposit into your bank account. It takes up to 5 business days for the payment to reflect in your account.
- For transfers that are less than $10, Mercari charges sellers a $2 processing fee.
- Unfortunately, Mercari does not pay sellers with PayPal.
- 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.
- Mercari sellers can promote their listings within the app for a fee or on social media free of charge.
- Sellers can make bundles or combine shipping for buyers.
- As a seller, you can choose to accept or refuse returns.
- Sellers can send offers to likers. They can also accept, counter, or reject offers from buyers.
You may also love Selling On Poshmark V Mercari. What Is Your Preference?
Tips To Make Sales On Mercari?
1. Take clear pictures
When taking pictures of your listings, make sure to use natural light, and show the flaws – if any – on the item.
This is to avoid buyer-seller misunderstanding and bad ratings.
2. Describe your items properly
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 flaws 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 or covered in pet fur to someone without their prior knowledge.
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.
5. Raise prices of your listings for promotions and offer 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 someone makes an offer or asks for free shipping, you’d not be doing any 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 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 from selling at the offered price),
- 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.
6. Let buyers know if you sell bundles
Some sellers don’t do bundles, and that’s fine.
But you should know that you can make more sales 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, add 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 Your Buyers
When Mercari 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, it shows in your ratings, and that attracts more buyers.
Final Thoughts On How Mercari Works
Boom! That’s how Mercari works for sellers and how to make more sales.
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 a Mercari Store?
Let me know in the comments.
Please share the images in this post on Pinterest.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
Detailed information here sis. Great job. I read and learnt everything better than on the phone.
That’s good. Thanks for the feedback, love.
Good information! I had never heard of Mercari!
Aww! Amy thanks for the feedback. You should try it, seriously.