There is nothing like getting a great deal on the Internet. More shopping is done online than ever before. Online marketplaces like eBay and Mercari have created places where people can buy and sell new and used items at discounted prices, making online shopping even more enjoyable. You may have already shopped around the Internet to read other Mercari reviews looking for more information on what this app is all about. But if you want the whole truth about the good and the bad, then I suggest you read on.
What is Mercari?
Mecari.com is an online marketplace and an app where people can buy and sell a wide range of products. The platform was created by Shintaro Yamada in Japan in 2013 and launched in the United States in 2014. Its company headquarters is located in San Francisco, California. Did you know you can get paid to download this app at Swagbucks.com? Now you do.
How Does Mercari Work?
Mercari is an online platform and app where people can buy and sell a wide variety of new, used, and handmade items such as electronics, household goods, clothing, and more. Sellers can take a picture and type a brief description and the price of the item they wish to sell. When an item is sold, the company will send a prepaid shipping label to the buyer so the item can be sent out. Once the buyer receives the item and gives a rating, the seller receives payment.
Buyers can search for items and make a purchase by clicking the Tap to Buy button to make a purchase. Once the item arrives, you check it to make sure it is as it was described and rate the buyer if it is right. This releases payment to the seller. If something is wrong, you do not give a rating and should contact the company's Help Center within 3 days to return the item or request a refund.
How Much Does Mercari Cost?
Mercair is completely free to download and use. However, sellers are charged a 10% fee for every transaction. Buyers can pay for items using PayPal, credit cards, Apple Pay, Android Pay, or Mercari credits. Sellers can either choose to include shipping charges in the price of the item or charge the buyer separately. Any shipping charges will be clearly listed in the product's description.
How Do I Start With Mercari?
You can get started at no cost by downloading the app on your smartphone from either iTunes or the Google Play Store. You can create a new account by using either your Facebook or email information. Once you are logged in, you can start shopping by browsing the numerous categories or start selling by taking a picture and entering a few details.
Mercari Features
Free To Use: There is no charge to download or use the app.
Numerous Product Categories: Buyers can shop a number of different categories such as beauty, electronics, vintage and collectibles, handmade, and more. Users can also narrow down their search by specific brands as well.
Help Center: The company provides a Help Center on its website where customers can get their questions answered on how the app works, payment procedures, refund policy, and more.
What We Like About Mercari
Buyer Protection Guarantee: Buyers are protected with a guarantee from receiving damaged goods provided by the company. Payments are only released once a buyer rates a seller. If the item does not meet the description, then the buyer can choose not to rate the seller and receive a refund.
No Smartphone Required: You can buy and sell through Mercari even if you don't have a smartphone to be able to download apps. You can create an account directly on the company's website and buy and sell from your desktop computer or laptop.
Mercari Complaints
Not Getting Paid: According to the Better Business Bureau, there were several complaints about sellers not getting paid for items. The company does not track items being shipped and refunds customers, whether items were actually shipped or not.
Sales Scams: Some buyers say that many of the items listed on the site are not what they are listed to be. Some sellers say that the buyers will say they did not receive an item when they actually did just so they don't have to pay for the item.
Feedback Retaliation: Some users say the rating system hurts their ability to buy and sell on the app. If you rate a seller poorly, they can retaliate and give you a bad rating as a buyer. There is nothing you can do to get these bad ratings removed even if they are false.
Complicated Return Policy: There is a whole lot of red tape involved trying to get a refund. According to the company's Return Policy, you have 3 days to request a refund or return once you receive an item. To be eligible, the item must either not match the description or be damaged. Also, you must not rate the seller or your return will be denied. Returning the item depends on its price tag and you may end up receiving credits rather than your money back.
Mercari Alternatives
Because of all the complaints, it is completely understandable to look for an alternative app where you can buy new and used items online. One app you might consider is Decluttr. You can buy and sell items such as electronics, books, CDs, games, and more. You may also want to look into Ebates.com which provides you with cashback when you shop and $10 for signing up! Did you know you can get paid simply for downloading the app on Swagbucks.com? Well, now you do.
Is the Mercari App a Scam?
Technically the Mercari App does provide an online marketplace where people can buy and sell various items. The company offers a Buyer Protection Guarantee on purchases and there is no cost to download and use the app. However, there are so many customer complaints of being scammed on the site by both buyers and sellers. I don't know if I'd personally buy or sell anything on this platform.
Well, now that you have read all the Mercari reviews, plus mine, you should now be well aware of all it has to offer. Should you decide it's right for you, don't forget that you can get paid to download this app at Swagbucks.com. If you have any experience with this app, I would love to hear from you! Let me know your thoughts and experiences in the comment section down below.
Until next time,
Eddy with a y
Mercari App Review
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Our Overall Rating
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Support
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Quality
Summary
Mercari is a website and an app that allows users to buy and sell products. However, there seems to be a problem with folks being scammed by sellers and buyers. Read more to discover all the details.
Thanks for the great info. Looks like Amazon and eBay may have some competition into the future. Is this site good for drop shipping? I’ll check it out and see. Sounds like a legit shopping site and ecommerce is the way of the future. Lot’s of good info on your site.
Thanks. No this isn’t about drop shipping.
I have never heard of Mercari, but I’ve been using a few similar apps. 10% commission seems so high, especially if there isn’t good seller support. As much as customer support is important in a shopping app, I think sellers need a way to be protected, too. Thanks for the Swagbucks recommendation. That looks like something I want to try.
Hey Sunny, You’re very welcome! Thanks for chiming in!
Hi, Eddy!
Great review! Thanks for letting us know. Credibility and (possible) fraud is the most important issue when referring to online marketplaces. That’s why return policies, as well as complaint handling, should be as easy and as intuitive as possible. That’s what eBay is doing protecting its customers/users.
Regards,
Marios
Agreed. Thanks for chiming in. I appreciate it.
Hi! There is a similar app here in Italy and I use it everyday. It works better than Mercari. There are many similar marketplace where people can sell and buy, likewise the imitations. Maybe this is not fake, but there are people who want to cheat others. Moreover, there are titans like Amazon or Ebay established in this market. So, Why buying and selling on this site? I think there are not so many reasons about.
Marco
You make some great points Marco! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
It is interesting to note that you can get paid by downloading the mercari App but looking at what you have said about the scams that happen, my guess is to stay away from such apps and websites.
Are there any other Legit apps one can download to get paid? and if the answer is Yes, I would love some more Information on that.
If you want to find the apps that pay you just follow the recommendation I mentioned above to learn which ones they will pay you for downloading.
Good review. It sounds like it might be a headache if anything goes wrong with the transaction. As a buyer, I would want a little more assurance I could return an item without a lot of hassle if I was dissatisfied.
Then there is the review retaliation. That doesn’t seem fair if the seller just gets to ding you if they are selling a bad product and you request a return and refund.
I’ll stick to Amazon.
Thanks Eddy!
I hear ya Steve. Thanks for chiming in.
Worst online retailer
I bought a pair of sandals from one of the sellers. When they arrived, they were a size smaller than listed. The seller apologized for her mistake and told me to send them back, which I did, only to find out I wouldn’t be receiving a refund. Instead, they issued me “mercari credits”. Ok I shop in the site here and there so I looked for something else to buy but didn’t see anything I wanted. A month later I found something I liked and went to use my credits, only to find out they expired! Mercari refused to give me my money back and would not renew my credits. Now I’m out the shoes and the money I paid for them! Don’t shop on this site! The WORST I ever experienced!!! Not worth your time or your money! I will stick with eBay!
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That’s shady of them. Thanks for sharing your experience. I’m sorry to hear it ended up this way for you.
And this is why I love Amazon.
I just purchased a fairly expensive coat thru Mercari and I hope there are no counterfeit products . I should have done my homework first
Well keep us posted. What made you decide to you do your research after the fact?
Order that never arrived
I ordered several items over a month ago and they have yet to arrive. I contacted Mercari Coustomer Service a week ago for help and no answer from them ether. I guess my next step is to cancel the payment with my CC Company. After that I’ll write as may poor performance reviews as I can find places to wright then on. I wish that had a minus star rating I’d give Mercari and the seller a minus 4 rating. A lagitament outlet … you be the judge 🙁
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My package cancel after shiped
I’m just shiped my item 9.30 am. And then 12.39pm. Mercari send me cancelled my item. I think is scammed bought it from me. But want to know how can l get protection from Mercari.
Bunch of Thieves
Sell with Poshmark or eBay instead. This company is FULL of thieves. Shipped an item, then they canceled the order. I was out my item and my profits. Despite contacting customer service multiple times – and being a good seller with over 100 reviews – they refused to help me. I’ll never sell here again.
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Bunch of Thieves
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Bettter business bureau ratings
I have learned years ago after these kind of issues to fully check with a government agency like BBB before using sites rumored to have bad relationships with their sellers or customers.
Here is the link.
https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/palo-alto/profile/mobile-apps/mercari-inc-1216-895491/customer-reviews
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The BBB isn’t a government agency. It’s a for profit business that makes money by having business pay fees for listings. So just keep that in mind. For the most part its a useful organization. But it should never be your only measure of a company. It should be one of many points to consider.
BBB rating
I followed your link. That r rated A+. I don’t follow your low rating comment.
Read the actual complaints and not just the overall rating: https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/palo-alto/profile/online-retailer/mercari-inc-1216-895491/customer-reviews
Want to get your items for free on Mercari? here how;
I used to sell on Mercari with a 5 star rating, until they gave my product away. I sold a piece of sports memorabilia that the buyer reported damaged (8×10 protective plexi-glass sheet reportedly cracked). The buyer removed the triple layered protective foam sheets (which was more expensive than the $1 plexiglass sheet), took photos without the protective measures and sent it to Mercari. Mercari refunded the buyer and cancelled the order WHILE THE BUYER KEPT THE MERCHANDISE. They responded with, “merchandise was insufficiently packaged” and hazardous to return.
I have shipped close to 100 (93 to be exact) of the same type items (all exact same materials/sizes/packaging with zero issues.
So, if you would like to receive items for FREE, remove any protective measures, file a damage claim stating broken glass along with doctored up the photos, and they will take the buyers word and give a 100% refund and let you keep it!
Sad, but true.
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That’s pretty shady and I really hope this isn’t the norm. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Scam!!!!! Stay Away!!!!!!
Service is all LIES. Stay away if you are smart! Ads are misleading. Rip offs! No refunds.
NOT GOOD TO BE A MERCHANT WITH MERCARI
I was a merchant with Mercari selling National Brand Fragrances! It started good, but as soon as a buyer complained Mercari started threatening us about selling fraudulent products. We tried to tell them we buy from legitimate companies wholesale and then sell the products. We do not make the products we sell. This is a scam because people don’t want to pay once they receive the product or they don’t want the one they purchased! Mercari doesn’t give the Vendor any chance of reprieve. Kicked us off the site, branded our company as fraudulent and kept our funds of over $300.00 for 3 months to see if anyone would claim a refund for fake products. Nobody did, and we had a five star rating on that site! They are terrible and we are still considering legal actions against them for slandering our names.
Mercari Buyer NOT protected
Mercari only protects the buyer if they meet a high standard. They protect the seller far more. I just lost $30 because the item arrived in pieces and they would not return since I was moving and don’t have my printer connected yet. They have pictures of the item in pieces but since the buyer requested it back and knows I’m moving and was aware that I had no printer, he has received MY funds. He will also receive the insurance claim for the package and I had to buy the item a second time.
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Feedback as seller
My experience as a Seller.
Sent a Starbucks Collection cup. Buyer claim insufficiency packing, means is broken and they cannot send you evidence of the broken piece??
This website is a SCAM! If a lawyer want to take this case, Im willing to stand up for it.
Where is their shipping or return policy said Sellers will not receive evidence from the buyers or from Mercari??? That is a good way to make money!!! I have been robbed!!!!!
DONT WASTE YOUR TIME IN THIS WEBSITE!!!
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Hold my cash ofter I receive 5 star
I have been with Mercari about a year I have been receiving five stars excellent from customers never receive a bad comment I sold two pairs of sneakers which total came up to seven hundred and something dollars after my sneakers was delivered I received five stars from both customers when I’m supposed to be getting paid Marriott hold on to my cash money decided not to pay me I really want to know why are they doing crooked fraud stuff like this I would like my money back my goods worth a lot of money why would they fraud me out of my money be careful of this fraud site.
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RUN, do not walk away from this site!!! DO NOT BUY THERE!
a ripoff site. you get 3 days to decide if you item is defective, if so you may not realize in time, there is NO customer support. You will be screwed. Go to a legitimate site with real buyer protection. Use your credit card so you have protection since you will not have any protection at all with mercari.
PS – this is a very bad site to leave a comment on, had to really fight to get posted
Thanks for sharing your experience with that site. I have no idea what you’re talking about being able to leave a comment here. You just did it and hundreds do it. As long as you can follow directions and aren’t posting spam or being disrespectful then comments are easy to get on this blog.
Mecari is the online center for FAKE Cartier glasses sales!!!
WARNING!!!
Mercari.com is the online center for FAKE Cartier glasses sales! Their Cartier glasses sold listing shows 100% FAKE! Fake sellers just list their FAKE glasses and wait just for 3 days. After that Mecari denies any FAKE returns claiming their 3 days policy. FAKE sale is a crime and against the copyrights. This illegal FAKE sales should be stopped and their biz should have been busted long time ago.Keep away form Mercari FAKE sales. you will end up in the nightmare of their 3 days policy!
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MORE BAD EXPERIENCE WITH MERCARI
First, I have been a member of Mercari.com for years and I have witnessed such incompetence it would make your head spin.
The final straw was when I placed an ad on their ap for a ProActiv starter kit, new. But, approximately 45 minutes later, I got an email from MERCARI that I violated the “PROHIBITED LIST” and my ad was removed.
I looked up ProActiv on their ap and lo and behold what do I find but a plethora of ProActiv ads.
So I protest what they did all the way as far as I could humanly go. I requested to speak with and I sent message after message to the CEO John Lagerling to no avail.
But no matter how much evidence I present that I am being targeted because I show them more and more ProActiv ads keep popping up.
Then there is the COMPLETE and UTTER stupidity; please, allow me to explain.
For approximately two weeks, I had a “message waiting” light on and could not get it to turn off. So I contacted the help line and again because of the incompetence of the agents on the lower level, I request a supervisor, whom I thought would have a smatering of intelligence, I was WRONG.
At first I am told to NOT use the app, to access the site by the internet that the so does not work (what a joke). So I follow his convoluted instructions and nothing.
Now mind you, I have said before he is a supervisor, which would indicate he an in depth knowledge of the system.
This goes on for several emails, another week-week and half, back and forth I must be doing it WRONG.
Finally, he has had it with me and tells me so. This is what you must do to fix this problem, I am sorry we were unable to assist you. I have had it with him and request to speak with, or should I say email with, someone above him. I can’t, I have gone as far up the chain as I can go, he has no supervisor. BS I CALL, that everyone, except the CEO (and he has a board of directors) has a boss, so I want your boss. All the while, I am messaging the ever unreachable CEO JOHN LAGERLING.
In the meantime, I fiddling with the app, and happen to notice that there are three (3) horizontal lines in the upper right hand corner when you are in the “messages” section of the ap. I press them and what would appear before my eyes but a way to sort out messages and one of them is “unread.” I look at the unread message, back out and bam, no more indicator light.
Now, I write to Me. Supervisor and tell him of my AMAZING discovery and further query him why, he, as a “supervisor,” and this being his company’s ap, did not know about this himself???
I never hear back from him again nor does CEO JOHN LAGERLING (even though everything indicates he has received my messages)
So in closing, if you have gotten this far, thank you. I have sent messages to CEO JOHN LAGERLING on every site he is listed, marking each as “URGENT,” but, he has NEVER contacted me regarding both matters and I will not reiterate but this is just an abridged version, there are more, oh so many more examples.
I have screenshots of ProActiv ads both past and present.
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Mercari
Shady business practices. They claim refunds on damages in shipping but dont always forward to seller who owns the property that was damaged. There are so many class action suit forming against this JAPANESE company. Better to do buisness with AMERICAN companies with American values. If you make any statement they dont approve of they will delete your account and hold any funds you still have with them indefinitely. I know of 1 woman who has been waiting over 7 months for the $472 she had in her account. And the kicker they actually had the nerve to try and debit her bank account for a $155 for the 1 return she had after they deleted her account even though they were holding her $472. SHADY SHADY SHADY SHADY
Beware
My first purchase: I bought a concert t shirt. Before seller sent it, she ironed all the band members faces and melted them off the SHIT. Mecari response was to resell it! WTH? That company just wants profit. 2) 3 days to rate. In rural Maine our winters prevent us from reaching the mailbox in 3 yrs! 3) They read your correspondence with your seller and sent me a nasty email saying that I had shared my personal info. A seller made me a special collie mask and I wrote to her, thanking her because I used to show collides and said the mask reminded my of those days! I wrote to say in the USA we still have a constitutional right to freedom of speech. WS also have the right to the pursuit of happiness, and it made me happy to share that to thank the seller. Everything I wrote was TY and why I appreciate the seller. There have been issues. I’ve been on eBay since it began. Perfect rating for over 20 years! Don’t have to leave feedback and you have months not 3 days to do it. EBay also doesn’t read personal communication! And sellers can NOT leave retaliatory feedback! I thought this was my new go to app for downsizing 2 large households! EBay…I’m coming home. Don’t trust Mecari. Dissatisfied!
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Beware
I’m sorry about my autocorrect mistakes above. We CAN get to the mailbox in 3yrs! But not 3 days in winter. The S word was supposed to be SHIRT! Finally, I used to show COLLIES, not collides! I see no way to edit my original post.
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today show
saw today show raved about mercari now I read reviews have beautiful coats western more stuff purses afraid to sell thru thrm live in wis any advice help need to declutter also have new copper pots etc help
No help for sellers wronged and fake products
Mercari does not have ANY safety net or help for sellers who receive unjust ratings. Even when it can be proven in your transactions and history.
A user bought a mens wedding ring from me and then claimed she ordered a women’s bridal set item from me as well even though she didn’t. When leaving feedback for the men’s ring, she actually gave me a poor rating claiming the non-existent ladies bridal set never arrived.
The item I sold her arrived and was perfect but she left me bad feedback for something else that I didn’t sell her. She is confusing me with another seller. I checked all of my sold items and she never bought a wedding set from me as she claims, I never sold anything for $60 which she claims, and I never blocked her which she also claims in her rating. She has obviously mistaken me for another user and left me poor feedback for their mistake. I attempted to message this user, but it says I cannot contact them because the transaction is over.
This is very poor management and a very unfair system when mistakes are made. There has to some type of protection in place for unjust ratings or mistakes that can be proven. I asked Mercari to have this feedback removed or changed and to le the user to know she has made a mistake because she did not rate me based on the item she bought from me, but on her interactions with another seller – MISTAKEN FOR ME.
Mercari refused to clear this up. One of their team members, Angel, never investigated this but simply copied and pasted their statement about ratings from the website giving me a “gentle reminder” that it can’t be changed. I find this very unfair, especially since I can prove in my selling history that I never sold her the item she complains about in her feedback. Mercari needs to step up and provide some protection for sellers or sellers are going to leave. I am going back to Ebay because although their are fees and many rules, at least they protect sellers when they are wronged.
Don’t sell on Mercari. Also…..don’t buy on Mercari. I have seen so many fake products, particularly jewelry, that sellers are passing off as genuine and scamming the buyers. The buyer only has 3 days to complete the transaction and rate it, so they don’t even have time to realize their product is a fake. SKIP MERCARI …. GO ELSEWHERE as a buyer and a seller!
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WARNING ALL OTHERS.
Seller named: beeautyinlife
Stupid seller cancelled my purchase without notice. Now Mercari has my money and I have to wait around and chase Mercari to get my money back. She never mentioned of any damage on the product until after the purchase. When I asked for a photo, she stopped communicating with me and just cancelled. Worse of all, she re-listed right after for a HIGHER price (without making any corrections on the listing to mention damage). Wtf? When I looked at her records, she had dozens of cancelled transactions.
The app doesn’t allow buyers to leave negative reviews after a cancelled order which is stupid you can’t warn others.
Seller should be banned from the app. Flag her account! Why is Mercari still allowing her to sell on their platform? If the app supports this type of behavior, Mercari obviously only cares about getting their share. They’ll side with whatever is beneficial to them. They don’t give a fuck about BOTH buyers and sellers. Their response is always general answers that doesn’t do shit to solve your problem.
Don’t buy anything from this horrible seller. This is the worse app I have ever used. PERIOD. Run. Save your the headache. Trust me, not worth it.
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WORST eCOMMERCE SITE EVER. SHOP HERE ONLY IF YOU ARE A GLUTTON FOR FRUSTRATION
Site is extremely difficult to navigate. An extreme challenge to find a way to email the company for support and then they take a long, long time to respond. I lost an item due to the lack of clarity on the site and difficulty getting support. The seller and I agreed upon a negotiated price and when I went to pay the original price was still there. The seller was new to the site and didn’t know how to change the price. By the time support got back to me the item was gone. I assume the seller found someone willing to pay the original asking price. Additionally, when I finally was able to email support they didn’t understand my clearly written question and sent me instructions to do what I had already done. DON’T VISIT THIS SITE UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED. Ebay and Esty are much easier to navigate and definitely much more user friendly and responsive.
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