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There’s nothing quite like getting a package in the mail. Unless it’s the beautiful Louis Vuitton bag that you bought off Mercari that turns out to be a can of soup because you got scammed by the seller.
On the other side, there’s nothing quite like selling a Louis Vuitton bag and having the buyer open a return and send you back a stinky shoe (and try to keep the bag for free…).
Now, I get it, every new selling platform is born into this world with some loopholes. Loopholes that crooks and jerks are quick to exploit. Actually, scratch that. Every single instance that involves the exchange of money brings out the crooks. While eBay has long been famous for scams and fakes, Mercari might be giving them a run for their money.
Can You Get Scammed On Mercari? (and how common is it?)
As we passed the 300 sales mark on the platform and started working on our complete review of Mercari I decided that it was high time I put together a list of the common scams that people face on the platform.
Now, luckily, most scams are easy to spot so if you stay on your toes then getting scammed will be a rare occurrence.
In the past several years on Mercari, we’ve been scammed (and not had a fast resolution) only twice. Unfortunately, there are some scams that are almost impossible to combat so we’ll get to those below when we tell you exactly what happened in our situations.
I will say that we haven’t faced all of these scams and some of them seem to be quite unusual. However, because we’re neck-deep in the reseller community on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube we hear all the horror stories.
So take what you can from these cautionary tales and hopefully, you’ll be able to avoid them yourself!
8 Common Mercari Scams (For Both Buyers & Sellers)
1. Lying About The Condition Of An Item
This is the most common Mercari scam and one of the hardest to combat.
“Like new condition. Never worn…”
Both buyers and sellers routinely lie about the condition of an item, the buyer to get more money, the seller to get a refund, or start a return if the item doesn’t work for them.
On eBay, I’ve had dozens of returns for clothing that didn’t fit the buyer…and it also just happened to be “in terrible condition….”
Avoiding It As A Seller
As a seller, I always do my best to objectively describe an object. I don’t try to “sell” the item in the description by saying that it is in awesome condition etc. Words like “awesome” can mean very different things to different people. Instead, I describe each flaw and then state that the item has typical signs of wear from normal use.
If you’re selling an item that is damaged or broken, be sure to include that in the title, the description, and anywhere else you can. Very few people read the description and you’re likely to get an angry buyer even if you described things correctly.
It also goes without saying that pictures are absolutely integral here. Take pictures of things that are wrong with your item, things that aren’t wrong with your item, and everything else.
Avoiding It As A Buyer
As a buyer, the best way to avoid a scammy seller is to exercise caution and, when in doubt, don’t buy. If a deal seems too good to be true, pass. If the pictures are terrible and the description is ambiguous, pass. If the item is electrical and it doesn’t show pictures of it turned on or functioning, pass or ask for pictures.
Don’t ever be afraid to ask for more information. Good sellers don’t mind and scammers/bad sellers will typically ignore your messages.
2. Selling Fakes
Believe it or not, it’s actually against eBay’s rules to sell any sort of fake item on their platform. Despite this, the platform has become well-known as a place to buy bootleg items.
Now imagine how much more prevalent this is on Mercari where there is an influx of new sellers and less moderation.
The key to avoiding buying fakes is very similar to avoiding items in poor condition. Just be smart. For example, no one is going to sell their authentic Louis Vuitton purse by taking three crappy pictures of it crumpled up on their unmade bed.
Always ask for validation or additional pictures. If someone is angry about you asking, that’s a red flag.
3. Switching The Address In Transit
This was a huge problem when Mercari first started growing but it seems to have fallen by the wayside a bit.
The scam goes like this: the seller ships your “item” to you on their own (not using the Mercari shipping system) and uploads tracking. They really just shipped a box of garbage (like literal garbage). Once the item is accepted by the carrier, they call and change the delivery address, typically delivering it somewhere random in your city. Once the trash box is delivered, they hope you’ll just keep waiting for it and not notice it’s delivered for 3 days until the rating/return window is passed. The seller then has your money and the item and you have nothing.
The best way to avoid this is simply to be on top of tracking your item. If an item shows as delivered and you don’t have it you should file a case with Mercari ASAP and they will handle the situation.
4. Offering Payment Off Of Mercari
While Mercari has had some success at corralling them, bots are still rampant on Mercari.
The most common version of this scam is pretty simple: you see an in-demand item listed at a very good price. You do your due diligence and message the seller to make sure they’re not a crazy scammer. They immediately respond with something like “my account on here isn’t accepting payment, please email/text me at xxxxx to pay.” It turns out that they are a crazy scammer.
If you fall for something like this and pay outside of Mercari, you aren’t getting your item.
If you get messages like this as a seller it’s typically a robot trying to harvest your phone number or email. Unless you like violating Mercari’s TOS just to chat with a robot I’d avoid responding. Just hit that Report button and move on.
5. Sending Back A Fake/Worn/Different Item
Across every platform is the ol’ switcheroo. A person buys your item, you send it, and then they open a return for some unrelated/untrue reason. Instead of sending back your item, they send you a worn-out version of the same thing, a rotten ham, or a pair of used underwear (just as examples).
As sellers, we’ve had the pleasure of experiencing this scam multiple times. Sometimes it’s not an outright scam but just a careless buyer who returns an item with crappy packing. Either way, you’re out the money. Or are you?
Filing a case with customer service is typically not helpful, especially on Mercari. Mercari has a tendency to refund buyers as soon as (or before) the return shows as delivered. So, in short, you might be out of luck.
Some sellers have had luck filming the package while they open it and then submitting the video to customer service. Others have had luck confronting the person who returned the item and telling them they’ve committed mail fraud (a felony).
Typically we just write off the cost of the item and consider it a cost of doing business. After all, rule #1 of business is that some people suck and you need to account for them.
6. Promising A Solution To Run Out The Clock
While I’m not sure that I would consider this one an outright scam, there’s no doubt that it’s a bit of trickery that crappy sellers use to screw people out of their hard-earned dollars.
If you have a seller who promised a solution but doesn’t deliver it ASAP, get customer service involved. On Mercari you have only 3 days to open a return. If a seller can get you to delay opening a case for that length of time then they can get away scot-free.
This one has been run on us a couple of times.
In the most recent instance, we bought a New-Open-Box car DVD system only to find out that it was missing a cord. We contacted the seller and he promised to have a replacement out the next day. We didn’t notice that our 3-day window was ticking by and, the second it was passed, he ghosted us. We never got the cord and there’s nothing Mercari would do.
If you’re in this situation, open a case to ensure that the person won’t get paid until they follow through.
7. Gaming Customer Service
While every platform claims to protect its sellers, very few seem to actually do so in practice. Even on platforms like Mercari where sellers are the lifeblood of the company the customer always seems to be right.
Often times this plays out as a person contacting customer service and claiming that you scammed them in some way (fake item, damaged, etc.) There have been instances of people getting refunds without the seller ever being notified. Bad deal.
Another tactic people use is to message you and then open a case saying that you’re unresponsive. Be sure to reply directly (but not emotionally) to every message you get from an actual buyer. Often times a scammer will fade into the woodwork if they find out you’re an active seller who is on top of things.
If you want to keep your account on Mercari you can’t go the route that some people do and file a case with your bank. Instead, appeal to customer service and make sure they know your side of the story. They might reopen the case and find an outcome in your favor.
At the very least, the scammer will have less opportunity to do so again. Mercari tracks people that get reported often and so if you do your part and tattle, they won’t be on the platform for long.
8. Spamming The “Report” Button
It’s not surprising that scammers on Mercari are recycling the same old cons they used on eBay when it was new. This Mercari scam is special however because it’s a buyer-to-buyer scam. If you list an unusual item that gets flagged as counterfeit immediately, it’s possible that someone who is selling the same item reported you to lessen their own competition.
We’ve had items get flagged a couple of times in a row (usually within minutes of listing) before we give up listing it for a time. Having too many violations will get your Mercari account limited. Instead, try posting the item on a different platform or waiting a few days.
Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do to identify who’s reporting you. You can contact customer service and let them know of the situation but it’s unlikely that it will help you with the current listing. This is one of the main reasons that we use List Perfectly for all of our cross-posting. We can cross-post an item from Poshmark or eBay to Mercari within 30 seconds. So, if we have to take it down and wait, we haven’t wasted much time.
Conclusion
As you’ve obviously gathered, there are no perfect ways to protect yourself from getting scammed. It’s just part and parcel of doing business on the internet. Take heart, however, because most Mercari scammers end up getting indefinitely suspended within a short period of time.
My best advice for avoiding Mercari scams is this: be smart and cautious as a buyer and list a ton of stuff as a seller so your sales make up for the few scams you run into.
In the 300+ sales, we’ve had on Mercari we’ve only been scammed a handful of times. So, despite all of our worry-mongering above, go forward with courage, men (and women)!
Happy sales!
I was scammed for over $200. I will never ever buy or sell on this platform again. Mercari doesn’t back their sellers! This of course was a new buyer on the platform . I wasn’t contacted with photos or description as to why it was returned. Haven’t received the item back either! Just a loud mouthed buyer. Mercari is a absolute joke, beware!
Same thing just happened to me. The buyer said the item didn’t fit even though I gave the size in the description. It’s been 3 full days and I had to reach out to the buyer to ask if everything was ok because I still haven’t received my payment. I don’t even know how to talk to a actual person at Mercari. I’m done with them!
I purchased 4 tiny dolls on Mecari. I received an eyeglass strap! I’m still waiting for resolution.
I have ordered 2 items over my $25 limit! From 2 Mecari
sellers! Used iphones OMG!
Never ever buy formerly used cellphones. Why Mercari let cell phone sellers sell password locked phones is beyond me – @$112-118 a pop! $242 for non-working cellphones is a criminal scam period. They hide behind 3 day policy to avoid paying long standing customer like myself is bad business – this is pure scam alert stuff! Please help! Been through multiple ringers to recoup a large amount of money from this resale online outfit! Its horrible! Buyers Beware.
Had a seller confirm an item to be 55 units before I purchased it. Since the system only allows 12 photos, there wasn’t pix of every unit. Package arrived with only 26 units in the box and also under weighted by 3 lbs vs the labeling. Seller indicated that he had been “trying” to send me the 2nd tracking number for the other half of the order but the chat system either deleted it or left it unsent. He said he did this to reduce the weight & protect the items from damage. Luckily I read about submitting a return request in order to “hold” payment while working with the seller. Had this gone past the 3day window, I would have been screwed. Next story was that the 2nd package was returned to him for Insufficient Postage by USPS. Next story was that the seller was “uncomfortable” sending the 2nd package now that I put in a return request in order to “hold” payment. Next story was that he would reach out to customer service to get instruction on how to proceed. He is careful to not say that he has actually submitted an inquiry ticket, but that he has heard “nothing yet”. Both times I have confirmed with customer service that the seller has not reached out to them. This was a total exercise in deceit. I seriously doubt that there ever was a 2nd package & that the seller will ever reach out to customer service knowing full well what they will tell him to do.