How to sell on Mercari

Mercari is a nice app you can use for selling items you don’t need anymore. It is very well known in Japan and works like a flea market. You post the items you want to sell with a fixed price, and buyers can either buy them right away or try to haggle for a lower price.  

Selling on Mercari is pretty easy. You will need a Japanese phone number for registering an account though. After you have your account you just open the app, and click on the 出品 button. It leads you to a form where you can upload pictures, describe your item, set a price, shipping time, your location, etc.

Most items on Mercari are sold with shipping cost included in the item price. You can select to charge shipping separately but then your chances for selling are lower. The lowest price you can charge for one item is 300 Yen.

The item will be published immediately, and potential buyers can purchase it or contact you via the comment function if they have questions or want to haggle.

Even though haggling is not very common in Japan in general on Mercari it is rather common. Most people will try to ask for a price reduction. Whether you will go down with the price is up to.

If you are unsure about your price you can search for similar items and compare what other sellers are selling for.

If your item was purchased, Mercari will send you an e-mail. You will then need to send out the item. For shipping, there are several options. The post office and most convenience stores offer a special Mercari shipping option where both the seller and the buyer can stay anonymous. However, the regular mail option from the post office is the cheapest option in most cases.

After you shipped you need to send a shipping notice to the buyer via the app. After the buyer received the item they confirm receipt and give you a review. Then it is your turn to review the buyer and the transaction is finished. The amount you sold the item for will be credited to your Mercari account after deduction of 10% Mercari fee.

The money in your Mercari account can be used for purchases on Mercari or you transfer it to a bank account. However, a 200 Yen fee will be charged for the money transfer.