Mercari is a popular secondhand online marketplace for clothing, shoes, household items, electronics, plus so much more.
Mercari can be a great platform due to its large user base and ease of use. If you are interested in selling on Mercari, you’re probably wondering, “How much does Mercari take from my sale?”
In general, selling online can be a great way to earn extra money from home. Whether you are a new seller or a seasoned pro, it can be difficult to understand all of the rules, policies, fees, and more of each secondhand platform.
In this post, we will take a deep dive into understanding Mercari fees and how they stack up against other online marketplaces.
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Types Of Seller Fees
Mercari is one of the online marketplaces with two fees: a selling fee and a processing fee.
Selling Fee
The final value fee charged to sellers is 10% per item. For example, if you sell an item for $55, you will be charged a $5.50 selling fee.
The 10% fee is calculated based on the sale price only and does not include the shipping costs.
Processing Fee
In addition to the selling fee, Mercari also charges a payment processing fee. The most recent rate increase has the current fee at 2.9% plus a flat rate of $0.50.
The 2.9% fee is calculated based on the sale price plus the item's shipping price.
Therefore, at a minimum, you can expect to pay 10% + 2.9% + $0.50 per item sold on Mercari.
Listing Fee
Mercari does not charge sellers to list an item. Therefore, it is free to list an unlimited number of items.
That differs from Etsy, an online platform where sellers are charged for each listing they create.
Shipping Fee
In addition to the selling and payment processing fees, you may also have to pay the shipping fee. However, this is only if you decide to offer free shipping to your potential customers.
As a default, Mercari sets up the buyer to pay the shipping cost. However, you may stand out from the crowd if you offer free shipping on your items.
Other Mercari Fees
Mercari also has other fees not directly related to the sale of an item. These include the payout fees for certain methods of redeeming your hard-earned cash.
Direct Deposit Fee
Mercari does not charge a fee to transfer your earnings into your bank account if you transfer an amount of $10 or more. It does not have to be exactly $10, it can be any amount greater than that.
If you want to transfer an amount to your bank account that is less than $10, you will be charged a $2 fee.
Direct deposit transfers, when requested, will be processed the next business day. After processing, the money can take up to 5 business days to reach your account.
However, if you are wanting or needing your money faster, you can opt for the Instant Pay transfer option.
If you choose Instant Pay, the money will be deposited to your debit card within minutes. Mercari states it can take up to 30 minutes at most, depending on your bank.
With the ease, convenience, and timeliness of Instant Pay, you will be charged a $2 fee for the service. You can use the Instant Pay transfer option once per day, for up to $500 per month.
When you transfer your funds for the first time or if you need to transfer to a new bank account, make sure you double-check your account number and routing number. If you attempt to transfer your earnings to your bank account and the deposit is rejected, you will also be charged a $2 fee for this error.
Where Can I See My Fees?
To calculate your Mercari seller fees, you will need to start your listing on the Mercari marketplace. In order to create a listing, follow these steps:
- Navigate to the Mercari mobile app.
- At the bottom taskbar, tap “Sell.”
- Tap “List an item.”
- Add your pictures, title, and description, fill out all of the detail fields, and set your shipping preferences.
- Lastly, set your listing price. Here you will see the breakdown of exactly what you will earn after the selling fees and processing fees are taken out.
You are also able to see what your profit will be when you send and receive offers. This allows you to make an informed decision about the sale price.
Lastly, you can see the fee breakdown in your Mercari account after the completed sale. This is especially important for tracking sales and profit for business and tax purposes.
To see your order details:
- Navigate to the Mercari app.
- At the bottom taskbar, tap “Profile.”
- Tap “My listings.”
- Tap “Completed.”
- Find the item you are inquiring about.
- Tap “View order.”
- Scroll down and tap “Details.”
- Here, you will see the exact fee breakdown.
What If My Mercari Order Is Cancelled?
If your Mercari order is canceled by either the buyer or the seller, there will be no cancellation fee charged to either party. You also do not have to worry about being charged the selling or processing fee because the money will just be returned to the buyer.
What If My Mercari Order Is Returned?
Mercari has a limited return policy. Buyers can initiate a return request and may have their return approved if the item they purchased is proven to be not as described, if the item does not work as it should, or if the item sustains any damage during shipping.
A return scenario will operate similarly to an order cancellation regarding the fees. Since the funds are not released to the seller until after the buyer approves and rates the seller, you will also not have to worry about fees being taken from your account.
Mercari Fees Compared To Other Marketplaces
Mercari vs eBay Fees
eBay has one of the most complicated fee structures of all the online marketplaces. However, that does not necessarily mean it is not worth it to sell on eBay.
eBay charges both an insertion fee and a selling fee, which equals what eBay calls the final value fee.
Insertion fees can cost buyers $0.30 per item. However, all sellers can get up to 250 items listed for free, avoiding the insertion fee.
Alternatively, sellers can purchase a monthly subscription to an eBay store which increases the number of free listings, depending on the store type.
Regarding eBay’s final sale fees, the rate varies depending on the category and the transaction amount. In general, the percentage that eBay keeps varies from 6.35% to 15%.
For example, in the clothing, shoes, and accessories category, you can expect a 13.25% fee if you sell an item for less than $150. If sold for more than $150, the fee decreases to 8%.
However, if you are selling purses, jewelry, and/or watches, expect to pay 15% of the sale amount for transactions valued at less than $2,000.
The final fee value is calculated based on the total sale amount. This includes the item price, shipping and handling, sales tax, and any other additional fees.
As you can see, eBay fees are not as predictable as Mercari's.
Mercari vs Poshmark Fees
Poshmark is one of the more straightforward selling platforms when it comes to fees. Poshmark charges one fee for every sale: 20% of the sale price.
There is one exception, and that is when an item sells for $10 or less. If that is the case, the seller will be charged a flat rate transaction fee of $2.95.
The fees are taken off of the item sale price only. This does not include shipping or taxes.
Mercari vs Depop Fees
Depop fees are structured very similarly to Mercari fees. Depop charges its sellers a 10% fee on each sale. Plus, a payment processing fee is tacked on.
In the United States, you can expect to pay a processing fee of 3.3% plus an additional $0.45. For transactions through PayPal, the processing fees are 3.49% plus a flat fee of $0.49 per sale.
Depop offers buyers two ways to pay: directly through Depop payments and PayPal. When a purchase is made through Depop payments, the fees are automatically removed before the final profit hits your account.
If the sale is made via PayPal payments, you will receive the money and then be charged both fees by PayPal.
Like Mercari, Depop does not charge you to list an item. The fees come out only when the item sells.
Depop also has the option to “Boost” your listings to gain more exposure. If you opt-in for boosted listings, you can expect an additional 8% fee to come out of your final sale price.
Mercari vs Kidizen Fees
Kidizen is a platform marketed for parents to sell and purchase items for their little ones, and even for themselves! Because of that, buyers can expect to find items for both mom and baby/child on the platform.
Kidizen is another platform with relatively straightforward fees. Kidizen charges $12% plus a flat $0.50 fee per sale, taken from the list price.
Mercari vs Vestiaire Fees
Vestiaire Collective is a global secondhand marketplace for luxury items. Vestiaire structures its fees depending on the price of the item.
In the United States, items sold for a price between $80 and $13,000 have a fee rate of 15%. Items sold with a price below $80 are charged a $12 flat rate fee.
Additionally, sellers can expect a payment processing fee of 3% for higher-end sales (>$80) with sales less than $80 will have another flat rate fee of $3.
As you can tell, this platform is marketed for higher-end sales. Low-dollar sales are not able to come away with too much profit margin when compared to other platforms.
Mercari vs Facebook Marketplace Fees
Facebook Marketplace offers much lower fees when compared to the other platforms. In fact, it's the lowest of them all! Facebook takes 5% of the total sale price, including the item price, shipping fees, plus sales tax.
Yep, that's seriously it. No payment processing fee, just 5%. However, Facebook Marketplace is becoming an increasingly difficult selling platform due to sellers dealing with a lack of sales and nearly absent customer service.
Regardless, it is generally a good practice to crosslist your items to multiple platforms. I do this quickly and easily with Vendoo, a platform that houses all of my listings and allows me to upload my items to each marketplace mentioned above.
Fee Summary
So, to sum it up, here are all of the fees you will be charged as a seller on Mercari:
- 10% - Calculated based on the sale price
- $2.9% + $0.50 - Calculated based on the sale price plus the shipping cost
- $2 - Transfer fee for all deposits < $10
- $2 - Instant Pay transfer fee
- $2 - Failed bank transfer fee
As you can see, these fees add up! Luckily, many of the transfer fees can be avoided with a little planning and patience.
However, the selling fees are worth it for the exposure that the platform provides. Alternatively, you’d have to set up your own website, attract visitors, and would not have the Mercari seller protection when things go awry.
Do you think Mercari’s fees are fair? How have your sales been on Mercari? Comment below!
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