Selling On Mercari: The Beginner’s Guide

Have you given any thought to selling on Mercari? Have you been wondering what the best platform is for selling your unwanted household extras?  How about clothing? Shoes? Gadgets or games? Did you know that you can sell it all in one place? Mercari is a great place to sell all kinds of things, unlike Poshmark, which is great, but is really only there for clothing, shoes and accessories.

Are you ready to start selling on Mercari?  Without further ado…

Related:

• The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Selling on Poshmark
• How to Make Money From Home Teaching English Online

Beginner’s Guide to Selling on Mercari

GET THE APP

We always must talk about step number 1, even though it seems self-explanatory.  Download the Mercari App to get started on your Mercari selling success!

USE MULTIPLE PLATFORMS

Selling on Mercari is flat out awesome, but you shouldn’t be afraid to post your items on other platforms such as Poshmark, Offer Up, and Facebook Marketplace, too.  There’s no reason not to strengthen your position to make a sale, right?

PRICE ACCORDINGLY

Mercari is great for helping you know how to price an item because while you’re making the ad, similar items will pop up letting you know what they’re selling for or what they have recently sold for.  It’s a great way to make sure you aren’t over-pricing or under-pricing yourself. It also doesn’t hurt to check out other selling platforms to get an idea of how much you should sell them for.

Also, try offering bundles or sets when possible. Buyers seem to love buying bundles, like a complete newborn outfit, or a set of plates. Sometimes you’ll sell several items at once, for a higher price in total, simply because it’s more convenient for the buyer.

TAKE GREAT PHOTOS

Photos are very important when you are selling on Mercari. Make sure to take care to post good photos of your item.  Know that without a good photos, your item will likely not sell at all. As a matter of fact, without good photos, potential buyers won’t even look at your ad.

Don’t fret though; you do not need a fancy, expensive camera.  Your cell phone (in most cases) will do the trick. Just make sure to follow a couple of photo tips to get the best photos you can:

• Utilize natural light.  Open up all of your window blinds or curtains and take the photo when the sun is at its highest peak near those windows.  You will get the best photos using this type of light.
• You can brighten up your iPhone photos a bit more by going in to edit a photo, then adjusting the “exposure” slider. It makes a world of difference!
• Show everything. Show the front and back, top and bottom.  If there are flaws, show them. Trust me, potential buyers will appreciate your honesty.  Plus, you don’t want to ship out an item only to have the buyer be unhappy with it.
• TIP:  If you are serious about becoming a successful clothing reseller, you might consider investing in a mannequin or dress form (like this one; they’re surprisingly affordable!) to display and photograph your clothes so that the buyer can see the fit of the clothes a little better.  

BE EXTREMELY DESCRIPTIVE

This tip goes for the title and the description area.  You need to describe your item in detail to prospective buyers on Mercari.  If you don’t, one of two things is going to happen.

• You are going to get a ton of questions.  Questions are not bad in themselves, however, if a prospective buyer has too many questions, that means that they have lots of time to think about their buying decision and more time to decide it is not the purchase for them.  Oh, and answering constant questions gets pretty annoying too.
• Your item won’t sell at all.  No one will buy if there is a lot of unanswered questions about the item.  If they can’t easily see what it’s all about, they can easily pass up on the purchase.  Don’t let that happen.

BE FLEXIBLE IN YOUR PRICING

Do you consider yourself a deal seeker?  Many people who are buying from a platform such as Mercari are just that, deal seekers.  If they weren’t, don’t you think they’d be buying new? Because of this, you should be flexible with your pricing.  Be willing to accept offers. That means that you should initially price your item at a higher amount than you expect to get.  If it sells for that, sweet! If not, you have wiggle room left. Everyone wants to feel like they’re getting a deal.

TIP: Do not, I repeat, do not accept a deal so low that you are losing money.  There will always be people out there that like to lowball; just remember, you don’t have to accept all offers.

ALWAYS OFFER FREE SHIPPING

This is not a “sometimes” statement, my friends… you should ALWAYS offer free shipping when selling on Mercari.  Mercari gives you several different shipping options, just be sure to work the price of you shipping choice into the price of your item.  Mercari makes it easy, though! They’ll tell you exactly how much money you’ll be receiving after fees and shipping, so there’s no guesswork. Buyers are far more likely to buy something if it comes will free shipping, so seeing that “free shipping” tag is hugely important for successful selling on Mercari.

PACKAGE LIKE A PRO

Nice packaging may seem unimportant, but I assure you, it is not.  Let’s give two examples here. Let’s say you sell a shirt — you can package it one of two ways:

• You can toss the shirt into a shipping envelope and send it on its way. Or,
• You can fold the shirt nicely and wrap it in tissue paper (I love the adorable designs on this tissue!), place it in your shipping envelope, and top it off with an adorable little heart-shaped “thank you” sticker.

Which of these do you think your customer will like the most?  That’s right: The one that makes them feel like they are opening a gift.

Which of these do you think will earn you the best ratings from your customer?  That’s right again, the one that you took the time and care with when packaging.

THANK YOU GIFTS WILL TAKE YOU FAR

Say thank you to your customers with a small gift.  A lovely little thank you card, maybe a sticker, or a piece of candy, a pack of gum, or any other small item of thanks.  I have seen all of these things be used as thank you gifts to customers on sales platforms such as Mercari and the customers love them!  They’re also inexpensive items, so they won’t break the bank.

This is another one of those personal touches that are going to make the customer happy that they bought from you.  When they’re happy, they leave good reviews. Good reviews mean more sales in the future. It’s a win-win!

Related:

9 Ways To Make Extra Money As A Stay-At-Home Parent

How To Make Money From Home As A Proofreader

How To Make Money From Home Teaching English Online

 

New to my site? I love to share ways to get out of debt, save more money, and make extra money from home. You can take a look at my recommendations page for products and web sites I use to do that!