Theme
Mercari has completely waived seller’s fees going forward
Buyers will now pay a “service fee” to cover the costs
If you’re primarily selling through eBay, consider making the switch
Yep, if you haven’t heard already, Mercari is completely doing away with seller’s fees on their platform. No percentages, no flat charges, no subscriptions. If you sell on Mercari, you keep the entire sum for yourself. Resellers across the country are understandably excited by this new policy. So what does selling look like on Mercari now? And is it worth it to make the switch? Let’s talk about it.
So how does a platform like Mercari remain profitable without charging sellers? Well, it’s actually very simple.
While Mercari has totally abolished seller’s fees, they’ve now begun charging “service fees” to their buyers. Essentially all the new change does is shift the burden from the seller to the buyer. This is calculated as 2.9% of the final sale plus 50 cents, same as before.
It’s also worth noting this new policy only applies to listings created or updated after March 27. If you have any open listings, make sure you update them to take advantage of the change.
So is the new policy a big deal? Well, yes and no. Depending on how you look at it, buyers were already paying the seller’s fees beforehand.
But unless sellers suddenly start dropping their prices (unlikely), this just means the average buyer will only notice the additional fee at checkout.
It’s a welcome change, don’t get us wrong. Mercari is clearly putting sellers’ interests forward with the new policy.
Now it’s time to get pragmatic. You have a lot of options when it comes to reselling. There’s Mercari, StockX, Grailed, Depop, obviously eBay. And while you of course don’t need to use one platform exclusively (and we recommend you don’t), most sellers will prefer one or the other.
If you’re already selling on Mercari mainly, then this change is just a straight up net positive. As long as you’ve updated your listings, you’re all good.
But we know that most sellers are primarily operating through eBay. it’s by far the largest platform, and generally speaking, more eyes on your listings makes for more profit in the long run.
Is it worth it to switch over to Mercari? Let’s compare eBay’s sellers’ fees to Mercari’s new rate. It’ll be easy, because one is zero.
For starters, the general selling fee on eBay is somewhere around 13.25% for most items. Some stuff, like clothing and shoes can be a bit cheaper, but for nearly everything listed and sold on eBay, you’ll be forking over at least ten percent of the final sale to the platform.
Additionally, eBay may also charge a fee to list an item. While every seller receives 250 free listings per month, over that and you may have to start paying a 30 or 40 cent fee per item. This can be mitigated with one of eBay’s “Store” subscriptions, but most small time sellers won’t need to contend with listing fees.
The verdict? If you’re only selling on eBay, making the switch to Mercari could make a huge difference. If you’re able to make the same volume of sales though. And if buyers are willing to continue paying the listed prices.
Lots of ifs. Like we said before, eBay is king because it’s so many people’s first choice when they need to buy something. As compelling as Mercari’s new policy is, it’s not going to add any more buyers to the platform.
If you want our advice, it’s to list in both places. Actually, it’s to list in as many places as you can bother. There’s plenty of choices out there, and the more listings you have the better the odds are of making a profitable sale.
And if that sale is through Mercari? Extra money in your pocket. It would be awesome if the platform supplanted eBay, but we won’t hold our breath.
Subscribe to our newsletter for more updates like these. A lot has changed for resellers in the last few years, and if you don’t keep up, you might get left behind.
Here are 9 ideas for your New Year's Resolution
From fixed blades to Leathermans
