10 Reasons Why Your Mercari Sales Are Down These Days – What To Do
Last Updated on by Bree
You might be wondering why your Mercari sales are down these days.
I wonder, too.
Because it’s been a while since I made a sale.
But as for me, I’m guessing it’s also because I haven’t listed anything new in a while. Lol.
However, some of us are listing regularly and still making no sales.
So, in this blog post, we’ll explore reasons why you haven’t made any sales recently.
Let’s dive in.
AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links. This means I earn small commissions when you make purchases using the links at no extra cost to you.
10 Reasons Your Mercari Sales Are Down
There are several reasons why your sales might be low or nonexistent on Mercari.
But we’ll explore a few that I believe are practical.
1. People don’t have money
We all know the economy has been upside-down recently.
And it’s affecting some of us more than others.
Also, those of us who do thrift shopping aren’t only looking for treasures for less.
We’re also trying to reduce our spending on fashion and other items.
So when the economy takes a hit, it’s only normal that we’d reduce our spending, too.
And maybe that’s why you haven’t made any sales on Mercari recently.
2. You’re not reposting your items enough
Another possible reason you haven’t sold anything on Mercari recently could be that you’re not reposting your items.
After several weeks or months, you should remove a listing and repost it.
This will help you weed out people who like your items but aren’t ready to buy them.
It also helps you target new buyers.
Besides, when your item has been listed for a while, some buyers think you’re inactive.
And won’t be interested in messaging you to ask if it’s available. How much more buying it right away.
Like some listings I see on Mercari that haven’t been updated since April 2023.
Though it’s the same year, it feels like the seller is inactive.
And some buyers aren’t patient enough to message and ask if your item is available.
Instead, they move on to the next seller.
So maybe try to relist your items regularly, and maybe your sales will improve.
3. Your prices are too high
Maybe your prices are too high, so you haven’t made sales on Mercari.
It’s important that you list to sell while also making some profit.
But if you list to make a fortune, your prices will chase buyers away.
Also, remember that we’re reselling to get rid of stuff and make some money.
And if you’re pricing your items too high, it defeats both purposes.
Which is to get rid of things you don’t want, sell your inventory, and make money.
So let’s keep our prices just right.
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4. Mercari shipping is too high
Compared to other reselling marketplaces, I discovered that Mercari has one of the highest shipping rates.
And when the cost of shipping is triple the cost of the item, most buyers won’t purchase it.
I’m not saying it’s your fault.
And I’m guessing some sellers use a shipping scale and set the shipping cost accordingly.
However, some sellers accept Mercari shipping suggestions.
Which I think is not okay.
Besides, Mercari shouldn’t be suggesting shipping costs.
But that’s a post for another day.
My point is that Mercari shipping costs can affect your sales.
5. Sellers have moved to other platforms, and some buyers followed
With the increase in Mercari shipping rates, it’s difficult to buy things on Mercari.
I can’t justify paying $12.30 for shipping on Mercari or anywhere.
The same item that ships for $12.30 on Mercari will ship for $8.99 on Poshmark.
Sometimes, I ask a seller if the dress or shoes weigh so much for me to pay that much for shipping.
It puts me and the seller in an awkward position, I know.
But it just doesn’t make sense to pay $9.50 for shipping a simple casual dress.
Especially when the dress costs $3 like the one above.
Remember, I’m a seller and buyer on Mecrrai.
Anyway, my guess is that sellers aren’t getting lots of buyers because of the high shipping costs.
So, they moved to marketplaces with a bit lower shipping rates.
And buyers like me have moved with them.
I do more shopping on Poshmark these days than at Mercari.
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6. Buyers are buying directly from retail stores as secondhand shopping shipping rates are too high
Another reason I think your sales are low, if nonexistent, on Mercari is that buyers are purchasing directly from retail stores.
Again, the high shipping rates you pay for secondhand on Mercari aren’t worth it.
When you can buy several things from retail stores and pay under $10 for shipping.
So, if you were the buyer, wouldn’t you choose the platform that lets you pay less for shipping?
7. Buyers are window-shopping
Whether we like it or not, there are window shoppers on marketplaces.
And they scroll through Mercari, looking at things and liking them.
But again, they’re not ready to buy them.
Not in the near future.
They’re using it to pass the time.
So your listings might get lots of likes but no sales.
It’s annoying, I know.
But that’s window-shoppers for us.
8. Some buyers are still looking for free shipping
Another reason you haven’t made sales recently is because some buyers are looking for free shipping.
Which is odd, considering that Mercari increased the shipping rates.
So, if a pair of boots costs more than $10 to ship, the seller can’t offer free shipping.
But some buyers won’t understand because we’re all trying to spend as little as possible.
9. Sometimes, sales are slow
Sales can be slow, depending on the time of year.
During the holidays, most sellers see a spike in their sales.
But it also depends on what you’re selling.
If you sell items that people need during the fall or winter, then you might make more sales.
But during the summer, you might not make any sales.
Also, during the summer, people travel, vacation, and probably shop at retail stores.
So maybe that’s why your sales are low.
10. Mercari processing fees make it impossible for you to offer lower prices
Another reason your sales are low on Mercrai is possibly because of the selling fees.
I’ve made it clear several times how I feel about the introduction of Mercari processing fees.
So imagine that after paying the regular selling fees, you must pay extra for Mercrai to process the payment.
All of that is taken from your profit.
Which can make it almost impossible to reduce your prices.
It’s like all these hurdles are in your way of making profits.
So, the only way to make more profit is to add the processing fee to the cost of your listings.
That’s what I’d do, too.
How do I increase sales on Mercari?
Now, these are suggestions.
They’re not guaranteed to improve your sales.
But I think they’re worth the try.
Price your items to sell fast
The first tip to improve sales is to price your items to sell quickly.
Don’t make the price so low that buyers think the item is rubbish.
But also not so high that they’re discouraged.
So, find a middle ground.
If I’m going to accept $5 for an item, I’d list it for $8.
Some buyers would pay $8 immediately, and some would offer $6.
Use Mercari smart pricing
Another thing you can try to improve your Mercari sales is to use the smart pricing feature.
The smart pricing shows you the price of similar listings to yours that have sold recently.
And it sets a floor price for your listing based on demand.
This means the price adjusts according to the number of searches it gets.
Which can increase your chances of making a sale.
It doesn’t always work, but sometimes it does.
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Relist or repost your items regularly
I’m not sure if you sell on Mercari part-time or if it’s your only source of income.
But if it’s the latter, then you must put more effort into it.
This includes relisting or reposting your items after several weeks.
So, it appears at the top of the search results, possibly before interested buyers.
Which can help you sell more.
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Add cents to your prices
Recently, Mercari introduced adding cents to your prices.
So now you can list your products or send offers with cents. For example, $7.60.
Which Mercari claims will increase your chances of making a sale.
I’ve seen lots of listings like that.
So try it and see how it goes.
Try other marketplaces
You can keep reducing your prices, sending offers that never lead to a sale, or relisting and reposting.
It can be exhausting.
So, if all else fails, maybe you can explore other marketplaces.
You don’t have to close your Mercari store.
But you can use a cross-posting app like crosslist to list your items on other marketplaces.
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Conclusion
So that’s my two cents on why your Mercari sales are low these days.
If you find this post helpful, please share it.
And if you have any questions, leave them in the comments.
I’d do my best to answer them.
Have your Mercari sales been up or down?
Please share your tips to improve sales.
Thanks for reading.
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