How Much Does Mercari Really Take? (Fee Calculator)

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Mercari Fee Calculator

Results

Selling Fee: $0
Payment Processing Fee: $0
Instant Transfer Fee: $0
Total Fee: $0
Total Payout: $0

Every time new sellers use a platform they freak out about the fees. Mercari is no different. Because I’ve seen a divide between all the people who think Mercari is amazing and the people who are irate about their “hidden fees” I’ve decided to dissect the issue.

The first part, however, I think we can all agree on, while they may be necessary, fees suck.

This is why I choose not to think of the fees that I pay to Mercari, eBay, and the other platforms I sell on as “fees”. More like advertising costs or a membership payment that I give them to support the site and in return, they allow me to use it to sell things.

Tons of people complain about how much it costs to sell on Mercari but let’s use my sales numbers and think of it this way:

Mercari: Hey, do you want to use our platform? It costs $400/month and you’ll have $3,000 in sales.

Most People: What the heck?! No way! I’ll just go somewhere else…or build my own platform.

Smart People: $400 to allow millions potential buyers to purchase my products? Heck yes!

Having spent tens of thousands of dollars on Facebook and Google Ads I know how much it costs to get a pair of eyeballs onto your item.

So, unless you just want to have an eternal garage sale and sell your crap off your lawn, let’s talk about how much Mercari fees are, how they work, etc.

The short answer is this:

Selling on Mercari costs $.30 per sale plus 12.9% of the sale price (10% seller’s fee plus 2.9% payment processing fee). There is no listing fee or fee to transfer money unless you choose to pay $2 for an instant transfer.

So what is each fee all about? And how else do they get you?

How Much Does Mercari Take: The Breakdown

Mercari Selling Fee: 10%

The Mercari sales fee is what most people think of when they ask how much it costs to sell on Mercari. When you sell an item you get charged based on the final price. Unlike eBay, this fee does not include shipping costs.

Payment Processing Fee: 2.9% + $0.30 Per Transaction

As of October 1, 2020, Mercari charges a Payment Processing Fee for every transaction that happens on their site or app. Unfortunately for you and me, it’s the seller that pays for this out of their earnings. Effectively this changes the selling fee to 12.9% + $0.30.

Money Transfer Fee: $2 Flat Fee

When I wrote our recent article about How To Get Paid On Mercari I noted that there actually isn’t a fee to cash out your balance. However, if you want your money faster (in minutes rather than days) then you’ll have to pay a $2 fee. I’m not sure if this is simply a convenience fee or goes to processing but if it’s worth it, go for it!

Just note that you’re limited on the amount of money your can transfer instantly ($500/month) so it pays to save up your balance and make a single larger transaction if you’re going to the instant route.

So How Do Mercari Fees Work?

mercari fees example screenshot

If you sold on eBay before the advent of eBay’s Managed Payments you’ll remember the feeling of getting a fee invoice every month. We used to get hit with a fee invoice as high as $3,000 at the end of every month.

While this meant that we had great sales, it still hurt. Luckily, eBay now follows the example of Mercari (and most other platforms) and doesn’t let fees build up like that.

Mercari takes all of its fees out automatically before giving you access to any of the money from your sales. When an item sells, they hold the money until you’re rated by the buyer. They then subtract all of their fees and put their remaining amount onto your balance. This way there is no option for scammy sellers to sell on Mercari for free. And it’s a load off my mind because I can never forget to pay my bill!

Other Mercari Fees You Might Run Into

As you can imagine, no selling platform whose life is sustained by fees would be content with only 3 ways to get money from you.

In addition to the Mercari selling fee and processing fee, you might also get hit with:

  • $2 Instant Transfer Fee (mentioned above)
  • $2 Rejected Payment Fee (if your “free” direct deposit transfer fails it’s no longer free…)
  • $2 Fee To Transfer A Balance Under $10 (don’t do it…)
  • Varies…Mercari reserves the right to charge you for extra shipping charges if you put in the wrong size/weight when listing the item. This can take place even after the item is delivered.

As far as I have experienced and can tell, those are the only reasons you should ever have money leaving your balance. If you’ve ended up with less money for other reasons be sure to comment below so I can add it in!

How Do Mercari Fees Stack Up To eBay & Poshmark?

When it comes to reselling it’s pretty hard to avoid fees. After all, why would any platform want to give you free access to their business? The best approach then is to find a platform that provides excellent seller support, a large user base, and overall value for the fees that they charge.

On this front, Mercari fees are right in the middle of the pack. Let’s be honest, their customer service isn’t world-class. I haven’t had any significant issues with them but have heard several horror stories. Other platforms have more support but typically have higher fees.

eBay fees are very comparable to Mercari’s while Poshmark’s are significantly higher.

If you really want to avoid fees, your best option is to try out local classifieds such as Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. A garage sale is always an option as well!

So Is Selling On Mercari Worth It?

I hope that, after seeing the above fees you’ve also come to the conclusion that, not only is selling on Mercari worth it, it might be the best opportunity you have. If you have your listing mainly on another platform such as eBay or Poshmark, remember that there is no listing fee on Mercari so you don’t have much to lose by cross-posting!

If you are going to crosspost, be sure to check out our review of List Perfectly, our favorite cross-posting software which helps you create listings on Mercari from other platforms in seconds. You can also check out their website here and use our code ResellingRevealed for 30% off your first month.

Best of luck out there!

2 thoughts on “How Much Does Mercari Really Take? (Fee Calculator)”

  1. I really like your analysis! I started selling on Mercari relatively recently, and I was pretty confused with all of the extra fees at first. I love how you think of the fees as an advertising or marketing cost, instead of money coming out of your earnings. That makes it seem so much more worth it to use a platform like this for reselling.

  2. It seems like since ebay started using the managed payment system like Mercari I am making a lot less money now than I did before. It’s also very disorganized as they keep removing and mixing up fees. Has me pulling my hair out trying to keep the books.

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