Mercari vs Poshmark: Which Is Best For Sellers?

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It’s still surprising to me how many people are stuck selling things only on eBay. Whether you sell things online as a full-time job or as a way to get rid of extra stuff you should know that there are lots of places to sell things.

However, it does leave you wondering where else to sell. With so many alternatives to eBay, which ones are worth your time? Since I advise most people to focus on only two platforms, it usually comes down to selling on eBay and one “other” place.

But what should that other place be? Well, unless you’re a specialized seller, it should probably be either Poshmark or Mercari.

So if you want to diversify and have narrowed it down to these two, who wins out?

For the majority of sellers, Mercari is a better platform. They have lower fees, allow more types of items to be listed, and have a very large buyer pool.

But don’t worry, you don’t have to take my word for it. We can find tons of data and information that will help you make your own decision.

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How Poshmark Works – Short Version

At its heart, Poshmark is really a social platform. The way it’s set up makes it seem like it was never meant to be used by full-time sellers. Rather, it’s perfect for people who are selling their own clothing and shoes.

You list your items in your “closet” (their word for “store”) and people can “shop your closet” to see what you have for sale.

The most interesting feature is that Poshmark allows you to “share” your closet. Meaning that each person has a Poshmark feed (similar to Instagram) and, if they follow you, they’ll see the item that you shared show up in their feed.

They can then send you offers, comment on your items, etc.

Once an item sells, Poshmark holds your funds until the item is delivered.

How Mercari Works – Short Version

Mercari, on the other hand, follows nearly the same model that eBay and other online sellers platforms have. But that’s not to say that they haven’t had significant growing pains of their own.

On Mercari you list an item to your store but the majority of buyers find your item through the use of the search function. Although you can follow your favorite sellers, there is not the same social dynamic as with Poshmark.

You can drop the price of your item to bring it back to the top of the search, send offers to those who like your item, etc.

Once someone buys an item, Mercari holds your funds until the item is delivered and the buyer has rated you.

Poshmark vs Mercari Comparisons

Fees

	Poshmark	Mercari
Listing Fee	$0	$0
Final Value Fee	20%	10%
Payment Processing Fee	$0	2.9% + $.30
Balance Transfer Fee	$0	$0-$2

Poshmark has always been the kid on the block with exorbitant fees. However, with everyone else’s fees creeping up and getting more complex, Poshmark fees are getting more understandable and attractive.

Poshmark’s main draw is that it doesn’t not nickel and dime you. Sales under $15 have a flat fee of $2.95 while sales over $15 have a fee of 20% of the sales price. That’s it! No sneaky processing fees, listing fees, etc.

Mercari, on the other hand, is a bit more convoluted. They claim that they charge 10% fees which, in my opinion, is nowhere near true. You are charged 10% of the sale but you are also charged 2.9% + $.30 to process every sale, effectively making it a 13% fee.

If you want to transfer money instantly (or if you have a balance below $10) then Mercari will want an additional $2 fee.

Verdict: Mercari’s fees are lower but Poshmark’s fees are far simpler to figure out.

Poshmark vs. Mercari Fee Comparison Calculator

The Selling Experience/Listing Flow

In the beginning, neither platform was set up to be used by anyone but sellers wanting to list a couple of personal things.

Both platforms are great for that. If you have a dozen items that you just want to sell, the listing flows and management are similar enough that you won't have a problem.

If, however, you are planning to list hundreds or thousands of items you may become frustrated that neither has the quality of bulk tools that eBay has.

Despite the improvements that they have made recently Mercari is still lagging behind. They don't have any sort of bulk-edit option. In fact, you can't even search your own listings (for example, to end one that sold on eBay).

Verdict: Poshmark's listing flow is easier to use for bulk sellers.

Listing Restrictions

One of the biggest reasons that I'm not a consistent seller on Poshmark is that I'm not even allowed to list a huge portion of my inventory!

Even though Poshmark has expanded (slightly) to allow some home goods in addition to clothing, it still only allows a small percentage of what eBay and Mercari allow.

If you want to sell clothing, Poshmark is an amazing opportunity because you know all your buyers are after clothing and are typically willing to pay higher prices. If clothing isn't your cup of tea, however, Poshmark will leave you without listings or sales.

Verdict: Mercari wins out (unless you're a dedicated clothing seller)

Number of Users

Getting an accurate count of the number of users on platforms such as Mercari or Poshmark can be incredibly difficult. The majority of the information is put out by the companies themselves but is outdated. So we'll do our best with the information we have and what we can find through investigation.

App Downloads:

Because both Mercaria and Poshmark are app-based, it makes sense to see which platform gets the most direct app traffic and which platform is growing faster through additional downloads.

Exact numbers are not available to the public but data analysis from SensorTower reports that last month, Poshmark had just over 600,000 app downloads and Mercari trailed slightly with 500,000.

I will say that, between the two and based on my experience, Poshmark users are far more loyal to the platform. Mercari users are simply looking for a deal and Posh users will come back to the platform again and again for years.

So let's take a look at some other data and see what we can glean.

Poshmark vs. Mercari Interest Trend Over Time

The main thing that we're looking to see here is if one of the platforms is dying. Neither seems to be. Instead, both have shown steady growth.

But, interest aside, which one is actually driving more traffic? After all, traffic means sales and we want as big of an audience as possible!

Poshmark vs. Mercari Search Engine Traffic

In the past 30 days, Mercari has had just under 53 million visitors from Google Search. Poshmark comes in at a paltry 10 million. This isn't a perfect comparison since most traffic is app-based, but it does tell you roughly the kind of audience they're trying to generate.

Just as a reference point, however, eBay has 230 million visits from Google Search and over 1 million app downloads in the past month. Neither platform compares favorably there.

Verdict: In my opinion, neither Poshmark nor Mercari has enough traffic on its own to justify building a reselling business only on that platform. However, Poshmark has more visitors and a more dedicated fan base.

Demographic of Buyers

We touched on this in the last section, but Poshmark and Mercari attract a very different subset of customers and your choice should be dictated by the type of items you want to sell.

If you are looking to sell trendy clothing or items, Poshmark will be the best choice for you by a landslide. Mercari is simply not set up to sell clothing in large amounts and the clientele is not quite right.

Mercari, on the other hand, is full of people cruising for a deal on anything you can imagine. Electronics, collectibles, oddities, etc. all tend to do well on Mercari due to the type of people who shop there.

Verdict: If you want to sell clothing (especially women's clothing) then use Poshmark. If you want a similar shopper base as eBay, use Mercari.

Shipping Experience

Both platforms subsidize shipping and allow you to do everything right on the app (although you'll want to get a thermal label printer). If you are not experienced with shipping from home, don't worry, they'll walk you through the entire thing.

Mercari has the added bonus of having a special contract with UPS. If you don't want to ship something, just take it to a UPS store, let them scan a code, and they'll do all of the packing for you! For a $25 fee of course.

Verdict: Tie. Both platforms work and you shouldn't have any problems with shipping, tracking, or items being delivered.

How You Get Paid

Both Poshmark and Mercari (and eBay too for that matter) act almost like a bookie when it comes to getting paid. After a buyer pays, your funds are held by the platform until the item is delivered. This is to protect the buyer from scams.

This is one area where both platforms beat eBay. Your shipping cost is simply deducted from the balance of the sale instead of you needing to pay it out of pocket.

Once the item is delivered, your money is added to your balance on the app. It can then be spent on the app or withdrawn to your bank account (which you connected previously).

Transfers on both apps are free if you want them to reach your account in 3-4 days. On Mercari, however, you have the option of an instant transfer for only $2.

While I don't like this payment solution as it can take a week or more to get paid, neither platform is really above and beyond the other one here.

Verdict: Tie. If anyone wins, it's Mercari for having instant transfer as an option.

Customer Service

Hopefully, you won't need customer service as a seller. However, given the prevalence of Mercari scams and Poshmark glitches, you'll probably be in need sooner or later.

Both platforms offer chat support and we've had "good enough" results from dealing with both.

Although many people report that Mercari's customer service can be difficult to deal with, they have solved all of our issues (which have been basic) in less than 24 hours.

Verdict: Tie, just hope you don't need them much.

Platform Unique Features

Each platform has a few unique benefits or features that are unlike anything the other has. Some of them are good, some less good. Here are the ones I thought were worth mentioning:

Poshmark

• "Shares". On Poshmark, you need to routinely share you closet with your followers if you want consistent sales. Many people hire a VA or use a sharing bot (a piece of software) to do the sharing and following for them.
• Seller Community. Both eBay and Poshmark have dedicated sellers who love the platform and help each other out. Mercari, not so much. If you are looking for comradery and cooperation, Poshmark is a great option.

Mercari

• Terrible Filters. This is both a negative and a positive. The problem is, that most of our Mercari sales have come within 48 hours of listing the item. If it's on longer then the chances of it selling go down exponentially. However, this leaves you with the opportunity to end a relist of your item to push it back to the very top of search results.

The Key To Success On Both Platforms:

If you are already a reseller then I'm sure you're working full tilt just to get all of your listings up on eBay (or another platform). The secret to succeeding on multiple platforms is to streamline things as much as possible so you can do more with less time.

In other words, work smarter, not harder.

The best way to do this is to get cross-posting software. Every platform allows you to list on other platforms and use software to help.

List Perfectly allows you to list your eBay items on Mercari with just a few clicks (or your Poshmark items on eBay, Mercari items on Poshmark, etc.)

It turned a daily task that took several hours into a 15-minute job for us. We now use List Perfectly every day to list all of our eBay listings on Mercari. It also boosts our sales as we are able to end and relist items without much effort.

If you're going to cross-post, you're crazy if you don't at least read our List Perfectly Review and grab our List Perfectly coupon code.

Overall Winner

If you are an eBay seller, diversifying onto another platform is a great idea. The platform that is best will depend on what you're selling.

For me, personally, Mercari makes much more sense if you are looking to resell for profit.

Mercari has lower fees, more diverse shoppers, and you are able to list whatever you want, within reason of course. (You can also use a Mercari coupon for $10 toward your first purchase and an extra $20 when you hit $100 in sales...)

With that being said, you can also make a case for Poshmark. If you are looking for a social selling platform, a strong support group, and you sell mainly clothing, Poshmark will be a better choice.

At the end of the day, knowing what to sell will make just as big of an impact as knowing where to sell it.

Once you have decided where you want to sell, check out the types of things that sell best on each platform (as well as the tools you'll need).

• Best Clothing Brands To Sell On Poshmark
• Top Selling Items on Mercari
• 14 Tools That Every Reseller Needs