Making money as a reseller means capitalizing on opportunities, and while there are some quick trends such as hyped releases that can generate profits in the short-term, if you want consistent money, you’ll need to settle on a niche.
Clothing is a reselling niche that has proven to hold consistent opportunity, giving those who participate the potential for steady income. Winning as a clothing reseller means settling on a good platform.
Mercari is a newer option that has emerged as a viable alternative to giants such as eBay and Amazon, and with a growing user base of both customers and sellers, it’s worth considering.
In this guide, we’ll dive deep into what has caused Mercari to grow so much in popularity, including how it can be beneficial to you as a current or prospective clothing reseller.
What is Mercari?
Founded in 2013 in Japan, Mercari was launched as a peer-to-peer marketplace for individuals to sell items to each other in an easy-to-use and safe environment that protects both buyers and sellers.
The app quickly captivated the market, particularly with clothing, and saw rapid growth that led its Tokyo-based team to launch a US-based version of the app just one year after its debut.
At its core, Mercari operates as a virtual garage sale that allows a high degree of visibility for a variety of items including those that are listed by brand new, independent sellers. The platform’s popularity increased significantly during the pandemic, and in recent times, it’s continued to hold its popularity, amassing over 100 million downloads that include loyal buyers and sellers ranging from casual to professional.
Is Mercari Legit?
Mercari is not only absolutely a legitimate platform for resellers of nearly any type of object, it also presents a number of benefits that make it stand out amongst competition, and a growing group of people are realizing this..
With over 20 million monthly active users and nearly 500,000 new listings daily, it’s safe to say that Mercari has reached a critical mass that has put it in the realm of bigger legitimate players.
Although other relatively smaller alternatives like Poshmark have more users and downloads, Mercari has a number of benefits that make it a preferred platform for both sellers and buyers.
Is Mercari worth it for Resellers?
For resellers looking to establish or expand their business, Mercari has some unique advantages that make it worth considering.
While it doesn’t have the same massive user base of eBay or the social shopping experience that Poshmark provides, the app’s streamlined approach complete with unique seller perks and a pleasant browsing and shopping experience makes it increasingly attractive for serious resellers.
The platform’s smaller size might initially seem like a disadvantage and might cause some items to sell slower, but the upside to this is less competition and the ability to liberally set higher prices. This provides ripe opportunity to yield higher profits using retail arbitrage methods that might only work on Mercari and not other platforms where sellers are pricing specific items cheaper.
Let’s dive in with more of the exact benefits that you get as a Mercari seller that make it worth considering:
Benefits of selling on Mercari
Here are some of the top perks you get as a seller on the platform:
No upfront costs
Many platforms require sellers to pay upfront if they want to sign up as a seller. This sometimes includes a subscription fee like the Amazon Professional Seller plan or the cost for opening up an EBay Store.
Mercari isn’t just free to sign up for as a seller, there are no ongoing subscription fees and furthermore, you don’t have to pay any listing fees when you list an item for sale.
While you will have an initial limit of items you can list as a new seller, the limit is currently 100 items, which is quite high.
No selling fees
In March 2024, Mercari stood out as the first major online marketplace to completely eliminate seller fees. This was said to be an effort to attract and retain high-quality sellers from other platforms, and with most other platforms charging an average 10% per sale, this proved to be a powerful incentive.
Keep in mind however that although there are no selling fees, the standard payment processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30 still applies.
Quick listing process
Creating a listing on Mercari is quick and easy. It has less required listing sections to fill out compared to eBay and doesn’t have the restrictions or approval process that most new sellers need to go through on Amazon.
As long as you have photos, you can quickly launch a listing with assistance such as auto-fill in addition to helpful category suggestions. Additionally, Smart Pricing features quickly suggest a good price based on real sales data for the item you’re listing, allowing you to maximize profits without needing to overthink the price.
Seller-friendly fulfillment
Although it’s also an engaging app for buyers, it’s clear that Mercari was made with the seller specifically in mind. The platform provides integrated shipping labels from major providers like USPS, UPS, and FedEx at discounted rates complete with shipping protection, saving you time, effort and money compared to fulfilling on your own.
Additionally, Mercari has a strict but reasonable return policy for buyers: Returns must be requested within a maximum of 3 days after receiving the product, and fees must be covered by the buyer. This is in stark contrast to other platforms like eBay that have looser return requirements.
Buyer-friendly shopping experience
Mercari is known for its clean, intuitive interface that makes for a less overwhelming interface for shoppers, especially compared to eBay. The platform’s user-friendliness also comes in the form of features that enhance the shopping experience, including the ability to “like” items and save them for later, receive price drop notifications, and bundle items from the same seller to save with combined shipping.
Features that add to its personalized shopping experience include customized recommendations based on likes and search history and a saved search function that pushes notifications of new similar listings. Benefitting the buyer experience in turn drives sales, especially for sellers that are carrying out strategies to maximize success on the platform.
Making the most of Mercari as a reseller: How to maximize profits
For resellers looking to make as much money as they can with Mercari, it’s important to understand and leverage the platform’s unique features.
In addition to the significant advantages that Mercari presents out of the box, specific strategies can help you further stand out and increase profits even more.
Here are some proven methods that top Mercari sellers use to maximize revenue and profits:
Systematic sourcing and product research
The lifeblood of your business as a reseller on any platform is your sourcing strategy which should boil down primarily to product research.
Successful sellers know to spend time studying completed sales on Mercari to determine whether or not a product is worth buying and to calculate the profit potential before investing in inventory. They combine this with paying attention to trends and other signals that can repeat over time.
If a winning product is found, top sellers also learn how to get as much of the product as possible, using methods like finding wholesalers that can work with resellers as a consistent source of profitable inventory.
Strategic listing practices
Top Mercari sellers know that listing can’t simply be done at random. Having a strategy about timing listings will play a key role in your product’s visibility and thus sales velocity.
Paying attention to factors such as the number of competing listings and their current prices will determine whether or not the present moment is a good time to list.
Mercari also prioritizes fresh listings, so it can be a good idea to spread out the listing of inventory rather than list all at once, especially if you are selling similar products.
In addition to these strategies, using general good practices for quality listings, which include accurate descriptions, detailed photos, and strategic pricing will help contribute towards strong sales.
Calculated pricing
While Mercari’s Smart Pricing feature provides a useful baseline and is fairly accurate overall, smart sellers know how to cross-check this against independent research to confirm whether or not the suggested pricing is actually the best move.
Look at past sales and see if averages might be skewed due to underpriced listings, and also pay attention to how quickly listings of a particular item seem to sell. If an item moves quickly and has past sold listings that were priced below average, this is a sign that you can price above the Smart Pricing suggestion. If the opposite is true, price lower as it’s more important to prioritize cashflow so you can reinvest in growth.
Build buyer trust
Your reputation on Mercari has a massive impact on your success as a seller. Not only will a good rating increase your conversion rate, the platform also gives priority exposure to items listed by top sellers.
Mercari uses a 5 star rating system and displays your average rating and number of ratings prominently on your profile. Buyers rate sellers based on item accuracy, shipping speed, and communication–so it can be as simple as excelling in these areas to get good reviews.
The platform will also track your cancellation rate and the percentage of items shipped on time, displaying these metrics to potential buyers, so it’s important to have high scores in these areas as they also influence the decision of potential buyers.
Foster customer loyalty
In addition to reviews, buyers can also see the number of followers you have. A higher follower count can increase the likelihood that a customer chooses you over a competing seller for the same item. This feature not only contributes to your reputation, but also gives you the opportunity to garner a loyal customer base.
Additionally, your new listings will be shown to all of your current followers when you’ve listed a new item. This can have a huge positive impact on your sales speed, especially if you’ve established yourself as a seller in a particular niche and selectively stock desirable items.
Cross-platform retail arbitrage
One final method that you can use to make money with Mercari is cross-platform retail arbitrage. Reselling profits are based on buying inventory at a low price and selling it for higher, and not every marketplace is equal. For example, on Amazon, people generally pay more for products, particularly if they’re Prime eligible. This presents the opportunity for sellers to buy the inventory somewhere else, whether it’s eBay or Mercari, and sell it for more on Amazon.
Check prices of an item on Mercari against prices for the exact same item on different platforms, including eBay, Poshmark, Depop and Facebook Marketplace, and you will sometimes find a profitable difference between platforms that you can take advantage of. Whether this means buying elsewhere and listing on Mercari or vice versa, practicing arbitrage in this way can be a great way to generate steady profits.
For more on this, check out: Retail arbitrage explained
Tips for scaling your Mercari business
If you want to join the top percentage of Mercari resellers, including those who are generating six figures, you need to do more than just the previously mentioned tips for maximizing profits.
Here are some of the most important things that become more relevant as you see your numbers increase as a Mercari seller:
Inventory management
Unlike Amazon FBA or dropshipping where handling inventory is either partially or fully delegated to a third party, all Mercari sellers need to manage their own inventory. This can be particularly cumbersome and limit your ability to keep up with sales if you don’t have a good system in place.
So, it’s good practice to start from the beginning with a system to store and organize inventory, including proper physical space and spreadsheets. Such a system might not be necessary in the beginning, but it will allow you to handle more sales as they come, and it’s easier than being caught off guard and rushing to build a new system from scratch.
Time management
Another area that doesn’t need much of a strategy early on but grows in importance as you scale is how you manage your time. Most Mercari sellers will be working outside of current obligations which might include a 9-5 job, and if you find yourself in this position with a growing business, you’ll need to get strategic with the time you’re putting in if you don’t want to burn out.
Blocking off dedicated times and a set schedule for specific activities such as making listings, shipping orders, and responding to customers will help you to not get overwhelmed and keep any current commitments outside of your Mercari selling. This could look like delaying until a specific hour in the evening to respond to all non-urgent customer requests or dedicating a time on weekend mornings for product photography and new listings.
Automation and delegation
While you can and should handle most of the process yourself in the early days as a Mercari seller, if you reach a certain scale you need to learn how to effectively automate and delegate.
Every successful entrepreneur knows that when it comes to scaling, there has to be a shift to working on your business rather than in it, meaning that you need to free up your time and energy to make only the most important high-leverage decisions. Automating any repeatable tasks with AI or easy-to-follow processes that can be delegated to someone like a virtual assistant might take time and money to set up but will set you up for massive scale in the long run.
Mercari final verdict: Pros and cons
To give you a final verdict on whether or not it’s worth it to sell on Mercari, including potential downsides, we’ve compiled this list of pros and cons:
Pros:
- No selling fees
- No up front costs or subscriptions
- Streamlined listing process with an easy-to-use mobile app
- Less competition compared to eBay, Poshmark, and Amazon
- Integrated shipping with discounted rates for major shipping providers
- Strong seller protection
- Smart Pricing feature
- Can build a loyal customer base of followers
Cons:
- Smaller user base means less competition but also generally slower sales that come with less demand
- Customer service has been reported to be subpar
- No international shipping options
- Must wait up to 72 hours for buyer rating before receiving payment
Who is Mercari best for?
Mercari is best for US-based resellers, mostly those who are selling hot collectibles or clothing items. In terms of specific clothing, the categories that perform best on Mercari are vintage, streetwear, and fast-fashion.
It’s great for those looking for a platform that is particularly seller-friendly, with benefits such as no seller fees, strong seller protection and support in terms of fulfillment, including returns.
However, the platform’s smaller size can mean slower sales, so although it’s possible to scale with the platform, it requires a bit more of a strategic approach, espcially compared to larger alternatives like EBay and Amazon where sellers with winning inventory might find it easier to scale to a livable income.
Level up your reselling game inside a Whop community
Ready to take your reselling business to the next level? Whether you want to use Mercari or any other platform to start or scale your business, joining an expert-led, dedicated community of resellers can help get you there faster.
Whop is home to a curated selection of top communities that cover various money-making topics, including reselling.
In addition to hands-on support that greatly increase your odds for success, these communities often come with extensive resources including courses, live meetings and sometimes one-on-one coaching with six and seven-figure resellers.
So, if you’re ready to level up, head over here to check out the top reselling communities on Whop’s thriving marketplace today.
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