Mercari Review [2025]: Is It Worth It for Sellers?

Mercari is an online marketplace and platform for selling a variety of different items, including electronics, toys, and apparel. It's easy to get started as a seller on Mercari, and the seller fees are competitive with other platforms such as eBay and Poshmark.

With over 23 million monthly active users, there's no shortage of people to sell to. But watch out for the confusing shipping options, and don't plan on selling big-ticket items worth more than $200 since Mercari offers no shipping protection for them. All things considered, we suggest Mercari for selling smaller, less expensive goods and getting your items in front of a lot of people. It's also a good choice for buying resale items at affordable prices.

Let's jump into how Mercari works and what online Mercari reviews say to see whether it's worth it for you to sign up as a seller.

What is Mercari?

Mercari is an online marketplace for reselling and buying items via both a website and well-rated mobile apps. It was founded in Japan in 2013 by Shintaro Yamada, who remains its CEO. Mercari is one of the most popular online marketplaces in the U.S., with over 23 million regular users. 

The Mercari mobile app is available for both Android and Apple devices, and it has a rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars on Google Play and 4.8 out of 5 stars in the App Store. The platform has an average rating of 1.3 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot, with negative reviews often related to poor customer service experiences. 

Year founded	2013
Number of users	23 million monthly active users
Features	Mercari Authenticate Seller protection Buyer protection Buy now, pay later
Fees	Listing fee: $0 Selling fee: 10% (including shipping costs; only charged when an item sells) Buyer Protection fee: 3.6% (including shipping costs) Payment processing fee: None (previously 2.9% plus $0.50 per sale) Mercari Authenticate: $5 to $10 Cancellation fee: 5% of the item price ($25 maximum) Direct Deposit Fee: $0, $2 for failed deposits Instant Pay Fee: $3 for each completed Instant Pay transfer
Customer support	Via Mercari's Help Center Via the Contact Us page

Who can use Mercari?

Mercari is available to U.S. residents who are 18 or older in all states except Alabama and Nebraska, where the age of majority is 19, and Mississippi, where the age of majority is 21.

The platform generates a Form 1099-K for any seller who meets the threshold requirements for taxes in a calendar year. This means that making over $600 in sales from Mercari in a year produces a Form 1099-K to include with your tax filing.

Mercari pros and cons

Is Mercari worth it?

Selling on Mercari isn't for everyone, but we do consider it a good fit for dedicated sellers who want an easy-to-use platform to list their items. It also makes sense if you simply want to make extra money selling your secondhand stuff because it's free to sign up and has a large user base (though much smaller than juggernauts like eBay and Poshmark). For buyers, we've found it to have very low prices.

Mercari is a legit and thriving online marketplace that's easy to use for both buyers and sellers. It's a good fit for sellers looking for a diverse market to sell just about anything at competitive seller fees. However, one major limitation is the lack of shipping protection for big-ticket items over $200, and it's worth noting that Mercari's 10% selling fee wasn't always charged but was reinstated in early 2025.

How does Mercari work?

Mercari is an online marketplace similar to Amazon, eBay, Poshmark, Etsy, and many other platforms. You can participate as a seller or buyer. As a seller, you list items for other users to buy. As a buyer, you purchase items from other users.

Mercari has a huge range of products you can sell and buy. In fact, you can sell just about any item. This includes clothing, electronics, toys, collectibles, home decor, sports equipment, handbags, tools, and much more.

Learn more: Resale Site Comparison: Is Poshmark, Mercari, Ebay, or StockX the Best for Buyers and Sellers?

Mercari for sellers

Selling on Mercari only takes a few minutes. You simply need to set up an account and list an item.

You can sell just about anything you want except for prohibited items, including:

• Anything illegal
• Medicine
• Food
• Weapons
• Alcohol
• Tobacco

Listing an item requires uploading photos and filling out product information. Make sure you upload clear photos of each item you list and write out detailed descriptions to help your items sell.

You also have to choose the delivery method when creating a product listing. This part can be confusing because there are so many options to choose from, including different shipping carriers, such as FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Previously, you could also do local deliveries, but that option has been discontinued.

Keep in mind that Mercari provides shipping protection of up to $200 for its shipping options, which is why we recommend against listing more expensive items. Imagine sending out a gaming console or prized vintage clothing find, and it gets damaged en route. You'd be out of luck if you relied on Mercari's shipping protection to cover all the costs.

Another potential drawback of selling on Mercari is that the return policy can be abused. This is an unfortunate but common occurrence for many online marketplaces.

Mercari for buyers

It's straightforward to set up an account and buy items on Mercari. You can freely browse the marketplace, save items, and chat with sellers. When you're ready to make a purchase, you need to add a payment method.

Note that sellers have three business days to ship an item after it's purchased. You can request a refund if the item isn't as described, damaged, or never shipped. But you have to request a refund within three days of confirmed delivery. And make sure you don't rate the seller until you're happy with your purchase since taking this action will mark your order complete.

Mercari accepts these payment methods:

• All major credit cards
• PayPal
• Apple Pay
• Venmo (a more recent addition)
• Zip
• Mercari credit
• Mercari balance

Note that Mercari doesn't accept payment methods outside the U.S.

How much can you earn with Mercari?

The sky is often the limit for how much money you can make on online marketplaces. However, that doesn't mean these platforms work well for everyone. It can take dedication and motivation to find items that typically sell on Mercari and for your listings to have more visibility than your competitors.

That being said, some sellers claim they made tens of thousands of dollars on Mercari. Let's break down some math to show you what it takes to make $20,000 on Mercari as a reseller.

Say you have a product that regularly sells for $50 that you can buy in bulk for $25 per item. This gives you $25 of profit for every sale, and Mercari no longer charges payment processing fees. However, you will pay a 10% selling fee on both the item price and shipping costs. After your fees, you'd profit $22.50. This means you need to sell about 889 items at this price to make $20,000.

While there are several factors to consider when selling on Mercari, that's generally how most online marketplaces work. You can make a bit of extra money on the platform with little effort or put in more effort to turn this side hustle into a serious business.

How to get paid

Once you sell an item, Mercari allows you to receive your money via:

• Direct deposit to a bank account
• Instant Pay to a debit card

Mercari offers payouts via two methods:

• Direct deposit to a bank account: Mercari charges a $2 processing fee only for every failed direct deposit. It can take up to five business days for an ACH direct deposit to process.
• Instant Pay to a debit card: Mercari offers this option, which typically takes a few minutes. You have to pay a $3 fee for each Instant Pay request, and you can only cash out up to $500 via Instant Pay per month.

Maximizing your earnings with Mercari

Learning how to make money with a side hustle can be difficult, so here are a few tips for maximizing your earnings with Mercari:

• Price items competitively: You may overprice your items to make more profit, but keep in mind that overpriced items likely won't sell because buyers will simply go for better prices. Check similar items' prices to ensure you're using competitive price ranges for your listings.
• Boost your profile: You may earn buyers' trust by ensuring your profile is updated and verified.
• Take good pictures: Most people aren't going to buy something that doesn't have clear pictures. You don't need professional shots, but clear pictures that show the necessary details are essential.
• Ship quickly: You have three days to ship out an item, but you can earn a seller badge by consistently shipping items in the first 24 hours.
• Be responsive: You can earn a seller badge for responding to messages in 12 hours or less.
• Be courteous: You may receive good reviews by giving buyers a good experience. Remember that good reviews typically equate to an easier time attracting potential buyers.
• Find the right items to sell: You can try out different items to see what typically sells. Focus on the items that sell quickly or more often.

Our tips for improving your Mercari profile

Creating a Mercari profile enables you to list items to sell, but by enhancing your profile, you may sell more items and earn more money. Buyers can see multiple things about your profile if you list an item for sale on Mercari. For example:

You can see several pieces of information, including:

• Name (blurred out in our example)
• Profile picture with a verified checkmark
• Star review rating
• Number of reviews
• Number of sales
• Number of followers and people they're following
• About section
• Seller Badges

As a new seller, you won't have any reviews, sales, or a star rating. But you can still go through the verification steps to show buyers that you aren't running a scam and can be trusted.

How to earn reviews

Any platform where people sell and buy items requires a bit of a customer-service mindset. This means doing whatever you can (within reason) to ensure buyers have good experiences.

This may include:

• Posting clear and helpful photos of your items
• Shipping items quickly
• Being kind and courteous in any interactions

Positive reviews are often a sign to buyers that you aren't a scammer and can be trusted. These reviews can be essential for selling more items and selling them quickly. That's why it is important that you do your best to work with a buyer to resolve any issue with an order.

Unfortunately, not every buyer will leave a review. But if someone leaves a review, the chances are higher that you'll receive a good review when you do your best to provide a good buying experience.

How to earn Seller Badges

Seller badges are provided by Mercari to sellers when they comply with certain guidelines. Here are the available seller badges:

• Member since 20XX: Automatically receive this badge when you create a Mercari account. The year displayed is the year you created your account.
• Quick shipper: Ship items within 24 hours of an order. This time frame doesn't include weekends or holidays and is based on the time a carrier scans your item for tracking.
• Reliable: Avoid order cancellations. A cancellation is when someone purchases one of your items, but then you cancel the order.
• Fast responder: Answer chats from buyers in an average of 12 hours or less.

Alternatives to Mercari

Mercari is far from the only reselling site. If you're thinking it's not for you as you read this, we suggest looking into eBay and/or Poshmark instead.

Mercari vs. eBay

Compared to Mercari, eBay reaches a broader audience with active users in the billions, making it a better option for selling internationally. It also charges fees differently. As an eBay seller, you'll pay fees based on not only the type of item you're selling (electronic, clothes, etc.) but also the sale price, with fees ranging from about 2.4% to 15%. You'll actually owe less for items worth more, with blended fee structures that depend on the sale price, compared to Mercari's flat 10% fee on everything. This is why we'd be more likely to recommend eBay for more expensive items.

Mercari vs. Poshmark

Poshmark has over 130 million active users, making it a lot larger than Mercari, but it's similar to Mercari in that it primarily caters to people in the U.S. (plus Canada). Unlike Mercari, Poshmark is largely dedicated to clothing reselling, so you'd be more limited in what you can list as a seller if you chose this platform. Poshmark also charges flat fees, but it takes a $2.95 cut out of all sales under $15 and 20% for bigger sales. Stick with Mercari for cheaper clothing options, but consider Poshmark if you have more valuable clothes as you might have an easier time finding interested buyers on Poshmark.

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