17 Mercari Selling Tips To Help You Make Crazy Sales (Fast!)

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If you’re selling on Mercari, let’s face it, you want to make as much money as possible. It’s not a charity app and you’re not looking to “cut anyone a deal.”

So how do you do it? I’ve seen several lists of tips for Mercari sellers lately that seem to have been written by either a robot or a person who has never listed a single thing on the app.

Mercari is similar to selling on sites like eBay, for sure, but it has its own unique features which require a unique approach!

Having sold well over 400 items ($23,000+) on Mercari and over $500,000 on eBay I feel like we’re in a fairly good position to give most people some tips. Since we’ve covered eBay so often we figured it’s time to show some love to our other favorite platform and give you our best tips for selling successfully on Mercari! So here we go!

17 Of My Best Mercari Selling Tips For Faster Sales

1. Don’t Sell Garbage

Hopefully, this isn’t an issue for you. But I see it so often as I browse items on the app that I have to mention it. Mercari has a minimum price for a reason. Selling super cheap stuff on their site just isn’t profitable. If you are thrifting items to sell on Mercari, look for things that in good condition and are in demand. If you have your own stuff to sell, consider donating items that aren’t up to snuff.

2. Leave Some Wiggle Room In Your Price

Unlike eBay, most Mercari buyers aren’t willing to pay full price. The “make an offer” feature is so front and center on the Mercari app that, unless you have a super hot item, most buyers will send you an offer. And it might be a terrible one.

When I cross-post my items from eBay to Mercari I typically pad the price by 10% or so. This leaves me the room to accept reasonable offers, counter, or send out offers to watchers.

3. End and Relist Non-Selling Items Regularly

One of the best selling-tips for Mercari is actually a bit ninja. We covered it in detail here, but the short version is this: most items sell on Mercari within a couple of days of listing. If your item hasn’t sold, consider ending and relisting it to bring it back to the top of search results.

Using a cheap listing service like List Perfectly can make a process like that much easier. (Especially when you use our List Perfectly coupon code “ResellingRevealed” and get 30% off your first month of List Perfectly…)

4. List Items At Prime Buying Times

Mercari’s algorithm isn’t advanced. In fact, compared to eBay’s, it’s a crayon drawing. If you take your “list in and forget it” attitude that works on eBay over to Mercari you’ll have items that literally will sit for years at the bottom of search results and never sell.

When I worked a night shift at a boarding school I would spend the night listing things on Mercari. Later, I realized that I wasn’t having sales because very few people were seeing my stuff! By the time people were awake, new things had been posted and my items had been pushed down in search.

So, annoying as it may be, your items should go live not when you have a free moment, but when people are most likely to be shopping (lunchtimes, after work hours, etc.)

5. Use A Cross-Posting Software

I mentioned it above but, if you’re a full-time reseller, using cross-posting software may very well be the game changer in your business. I spend several months manually moving my listings from eBay to Mercari before realizing that I could be doing it in literally 1/4 of the time.

While there are several options on the market, the one we use is List Perfectly. You can check out our full List Perfectly Review here.

6. Accept Reasonable Offers Or Quickly Counter

If you take half a day to respond to someone’s offer, expect to lose the same. For whatever reason, Mercari buyers are an impatient lot. There have been several times that I’ve received offers and then had the buyer rescind their offer an hour or two later because I didn’t respond and they bought it somewhere else.

Taking time to respond also leaves the person time to wonder how long it would take you to ship their item if you can’t even respond to an offer/message.

7. Get Verified

One great thing about Mercari is that it’s fairly secure. Take the time to get I.D. verified. People will trust you more, you’ll earn a cool badge, and you’ll have the option to transfer your balance instantly (for a $2 fee).

8. Aim for 5 Star Ratings & Mercari Badges

Feedback and badges on Mercari are much more visible than they are on eBay. What’s more, Mercari will actually give buyers a warning before purchasing from sellers who have had a significant number of cancelations.

Since you’ll likely have people reading your feedback, make sure you communicate well with your buyers and be on top of sending their item. A few bad reviews will turn off the majority of buyers.

9. Send Offers To Likers

While I would never encourage you to undersell your items, knocking a few bucks off of the price and sending people an offer can be an effective way of getting a few extra sales.

Every couple of weeks I scroll through my items and send watchers a 10-15% discount on items that have been sitting in my inventory for too long. This typically results in several sales. If things don’t sell on offer, I typically will end them and relist.

10. Be Personable

People are much more comfortable being rude and leaving negative feedback to a name-less face-less person on the internet. If you have a profile picture (it doesn’t even have to be you) that shows you’re a person and you communicate with them in a normal way, they’ll be much more likely to cut you some slack if something goes wrong.

11. Develop A Following

When it comes to having followers, Mercari is something of a hybrid. It’s not nearly as follower-driven as something like Poshmark but it does have the option for people who like your style to follow you and see your items in their feed. This is particularly helpful if you sell a niche type item (model trains for example) or are looking to sell a bunch of items from your own closet.

12. Treat It Like A Business

Some people are simply trying to unload some old items for cash on Mercari while other people are trying to run a full-scale side-hustle. Both are fine, but be sure that you have the right approach for whatever you want your outcome to be.

If you are interested in thrifting items to resell, you’ll want to invest in some infrastructure for your business. Typically, this includes a label printer (we use a Rollo), a shipping scale, lights, etc. You can check out our list of the Best Items for Resellers to learn about the things we use.

13. Put Effort Into Your Listings

If you have average items you can still sell them fast on Mercari by having above-average listings. Most people put minimal effort into taking pictures and writing descriptions which leaves them with lackluster sales. There are some listings that I don’t even care to look at because the person took a picture of the item (typically clothing) rumpled up on the floor or their bed. What are the chances that they are going to have the level of care needed to pack and ship the item quickly and well?

Taking great pictures and including clothing measurements is typically enough to set you apart from the competition.

14. Be Wary Of Scams

Even with the feedback and verified checkmark system, it’s highly possible to get burned on Mercari. Whether you are a buyer or seller, take some time to educate yourself on common Mercari scams so you don’t end up losing money, losing your account, or both.

15. Don’t Count Your Chickens (Earnings) Before They Hatch

Unfortunately, there are lots of things that can go wrong between listing your items and getting paid on Mercari. If you are counting on your Mercari sales to pay pressing bills, be careful. It typically takes a week or more to have money in your account after you sell something and there is a chance that the person can open a return in which case Mercari will suck that money right back out of your account.

Listing more items is a good way to combat this. Having 1 of 2 items returned is far more devastating than having 5 of 100 items returned.

16. Disclose Whether Or Not You Have Pets

If you are a pet lover, that’s awesome. I’m lots my pets as well. I probably don’t love your pets, and you probably don’t love mine. And we for sure don’t leave each others’ pet hair on our clothes.

For many people, getting an item with pet hair/dander is more serious than just a gross annoyance. For those with severe allergies, it can be dangerous. To avoid returns, angry feedback, or other nasty complications be sure to include in your listing if your home is pet friendly.

17. Offer To Bundle Items

If you are selling a particular type of item, someone interested in one may very well want more! For example, if you are selling items from your own closet, the person shopping for them is likely your size and has a similar sense of style. If they make you an offer, be sure to invite them to check out the other items in your store and give them a discount if they order multiple things.

Many people also include a statement in all of their descriptions that they’re willing to bundle to save the buyer money on shipping.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, success on Mercari comes down to your willingness to find great items and put in the work. The best Mercari selling tip then that I can give you is to be consistent and be professional.

As with all selling platforms, following good business practices and keeping your customers happy will ensure that you’re able to resell long-term.

With the rash of high-profile resellers who have lost their accounts recently, I would advise you to move forward with the future in mind and never put all of your eggs in one basket. Good luck!