We’ve Got the Top 10 Tips for Selling Items on Mercari
What is the Mercari app? How it works and top Mercari selling tips.
You might hear about people making bank from reselling items, and you might wonder, 'How the heck can I do that?' There are people with serious Poshmark side hustles, or people bringing in the dough on Mercari, a buying and selling app. Ebay, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist are other places people are starting side hustles by buying and reselling items—and turning around a serious profit. So how can you actually find selling success on apps like Mercari and become a power seller? We investigated.
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What is Mercari (and how does it work)?
Mercari is a free app that's available in the App Store and on Google Play. Listing an item could take minutes and once the item sells, a printable shipping label is emailed to the seller (no meetups). Listings are free but there is a flat 10 percent selling fee charged when the sale completes. You can buy or sell a wide range of items—from clothing to toys to accessories to collectibles. Over 45 million people have downloaded the app and over 100,000 new items are added a day.
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Is Mercari app legit?
Yes, Mercari is a legitimate app and marketplace for selling that is often compared to eBay. The selling process is easy—once listed, your item is available to ship nationwide, offering you a larger pool of potential buyers than if you had listed it locally on Craigslist.
How to sell on Mercari:
We went straight to digital and broadcast journalist Anna De Souza, a fashion and beauty lifestyle expert who serves as Mercari's Chief Stylist, to get her top tips for secondhand sellers on Mercari. Here they are:
What to Sell
You’d be amazed at what you can sell online. One person’s throw-away item really is another’s treasure. In fact, on Mercari, items in fair or poor condition generally sell faster than brand-new items. And it only takes about three minutes, on average, for Mercari users to create a listing. So jump in!
When to Sell
In-season merchandise always does best: avoid selling swimwear in January. Seasonal shopping surges—like Black Friday or back-to-school—are great times to sell. But for sellers of second-hand items, the periods following those big peaks can be just as fruitful—think of them as retail binge hangovers.
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Where to Sell
Different marketplaces work for different items based on their size, value or scarcity. Do you think you can find a local buyer, or do you want to reach a nationwide audience? Are you OK meeting a stranger to exchange the item for payment? On Mercari, everything ships anywhere in the U.S., and there are no meetups.
Help Buyers Picture It
Your listing will stand out with plenty of clear, well-lit photos. Position your item by itself, against a plain background and shoot from multiple angles. Avoid flash: it usually does more harm than good. If your phone’s camera has portrait mode, use it.
What Have We Here?
It doesn’t need to be long, but your listing should include the kinds of details you’d want if you were a potential buyer. If it’s clothing, how does the sizing run? If it’s a smartphone, how much memory does it have? Don’t lose buyers by omitting important information (including any imperfections). Brands and product names really matter in search!
Related: This Girlboss Made $30K Reselling Items on Mercari—Here's Her Selling Secret
Tell Us a Story!
Is it just a men’s red woolen sweater, size XL? Or is it actually Uncle Bobby’s infamous “Frank Sinatra sweater,” seen at holiday parties annually since 1994? If your item has a story, share it! Your listing will stand out from the others.
Price it to Sell
A common mistake for new sellers is pricing an item unrealistically high. Sure, you want to make as much money as you can. But take a few minutes to understand what people will realistically pay. Try searching Mercari for items like yours; you can see current listings and asking prices as well as sold items, with their actual sale price.
Make Shipping Simple
Listings that include shipping in the sale price tend to sell faster than those requiring the buyer to pay. Mercari has partnerships with USPS, FedEx and UPS for easy, affordable shipping options.
Related: Oh My Posh! Haley Gibbs Has Made Over $65,000 Selling Thrift Store Clothes on Poshmark
Get Paid
Payment and processing times vary among marketplaces (and many have you do an in-person handoff). Mercari is the only marketplace that allows sellers to be paid in a few minutes versus five days with Instant Pay.
Follow Up
Everyone appreciates a quick check-in. After you’re notified that your buyer has received your item, take a moment to send them a quick note thanking them and asking if they have any questions.
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