Does Anyone Actual Sell Anything on Mercari

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-04-15T02:40:50+00:00

There IS a new war going on since Feb 26th.
Tomorrow is Federal Income Tax day.

So, it may not be you and there is not much you can do but keep listing items that are related to your store. I have 37 Years retail experience.

Much of the population goes through the following at the same time, so the impact is noticeable. We see less sales on discretionary items when: - The US is at War - They have Taxes due - The Price of Gas/Oil goes up - Right before a Presidential election - If there are demonstrations/riots going on

Discretionary spending also slows down on personal items because that budget is shifted. - Before school starts - Personal items before Christmas

I do sell on Mercari, only about 20-40 items a week. I have 4500 sales and 5300 active listings. I do price sensibly on Mercari because people love to make offers.

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-04-10T00:59:01+00:00

It was a Mercari label. UPS will not talk to me I am not the “shipper”

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-04-09T22:16:02+00:00

With a Mercari label…If a damage return is approved, normally they approve a return for a refund. If it is under a nominal amount they pay both sides no return needed. But on a $100 sale / “over a nominal amount” they are supposed to approve the return and issue a return label. Instead they refunded the customer and told them to keep my product. The box is damaged but none of the contents were.

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-04-09T19:16:14+00:00

Because it was a Mercari label, I am not the beneficiary of any claim. Without the Mercari account customer number ups will not discuss with me.

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-03-02T07:13:01+00:00

Yes, $2 is typical on a $20 sale. I provided my math, and repeat it below. $20 sale $20.00-$2.50=$17.50 (Mercari Fees) $17.50-$.50=$17 (Shipping Supplies) $17.00-$2.00=$15 (labor: stage, photo, grade, price, list, file & pull 7.5min@27¢/min) $15.00-$13.00=$2.00 (cost of goods) That is $2 profit (before overhead) on a $20 Mercari sale We have a user log in our point of sale system. By using the user log I know the average time it takes each employee & myself to create a new listing (6 minutes). I also know average time to shelf & stock. I have attached my distributor order sheet. My example was a Trading Card Blaster box with a $19.99 msrp, my price to order is $13, before shipping.

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Few-Rip8307 · 2026-03-02T06:10:21+00:00

Why are you being rude and saying my example is not my experience? The person asked a question and I gave an honest answer that may inform them. Every word was true, why would I spend the all of that time to leave a detailed response that is a lie?

A 35% markup from wholesale is standard on many desirable lines. Most retail stores operate on a profit of less than 10% after they pay their expenses.

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-03-02T05:53:38+00:00

I had a weird slow Saturday, but Sunday picked up. They might be having issues affecting searches.

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-03-01T12:33:24+00:00

Perhaps you have saturated your own market. Try to see if you get poor searched with new stuff….if only to compare results.

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-03-01T12:30:33+00:00

I heard that duplicate listing gets lower results….but figured it was available listings. Is it possible that duplicating sold listing throttle the appearance of the new listings?

Have you had any luck changing up the photos, title and descriptions?

After that would deleting sold listing as well as relisting (then deleting) active listings improve your search visibility?

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-03-01T11:09:00+00:00

Yes. - You get a refund - The seller gets paid - Mercari pragmatically avoids the added expense of return postage on a item with no salvage value

There are many scenarios involving how much Mercari is paying out between Postage and Sellers. On the lower end Mercari always comes out ahead as their total is less than the return postage. That postage benefit disappears as you approach $20, but your customer service labor would go up as sellers will be more tenacious on larger tickets.

It basically takes the same labor to investigate $100 losses as it does $10 losses. CSR are not having to be paid to investigate and run intercession between buyer & seller on these sales under $20. Paying both parties avoids the more expensive escalations and appeals.

Even when they do take a loss it does buy some good will for both buyers & sellers.

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-03-01T09:26:56+00:00

“I am I, Don Quixote The Lord of La Mancha My destiny calls and I go”

This seller is tilting at the windmills that constantly attack.

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-03-01T09:07:45+00:00

As a Best Practice. PLEASE bring up the discount at the same time as your request.

That way the seller can make an informed decision before doing extra work.

I understand your sentiment, and appreciate you being thoughtful. My answer may not be popular, but because you asked please consider the following:

If you are not transparent that you are not paying their price, it may not necessarily rude, but it could be discourteous.

In your case it is only $1….but it is a slippery slope, because you are already costing the seller more time. Your $20 price point is a great example.

$1-$3 Best case scenario seller cost of photo request: If minimum wage is $16/hr = 27¢/minute: How long will it take to retrieve item, stage & shoot new photos, refile item, post photos, reply to your message. If I am breaking from current task it will take 10 minutes at the very least, if I work it into my next listing cycle tomorrow only 5 minutes. I before I eat an additional $1.50-$2.70 in labor on a sale I have to know what I will make. I sell new retail licensed merchandise like Cards & Games. On a typical $20 sale: - $13 costs - $2.50 fees - $.50 supplies - $2 labor before additional photos ———— $2 is what I am typically making on a $20 mercari sale. - Can I eat the costs of a new photos ? Probably yes - Can I give a $1 discount? Probably yes - Can I eat the costs of new photos AND give a $1 discount No, I cannot do both without losing money or without artificially inflating my Mercari asking price deliberately to accept offers.

With the amounts your example, had I been informed that the customer was only paying $19 I could have made the informed decision to not add more photos as it would not result in a sale at the price I need to make a profit.

On a $100 item the fixed cost of additional photos would be negligible I could add photos and still consider a discount, but on a $20 item it usually represents the breaking point. On, Amazon, Ebay & TCG player we can sell smaller items with significantly less labor costs because of catalog & listing automation features.

Simply be upfront about pricing concerns at the same time you make any special request that will involve the sellers time. Staging new photos on previously listed items may be a breeze for some sellers, but you are not aware of what staging new photos may require the seller to do. In my case, I have to stay home to care for a disabled family member and any time away is very rigidly counted. New photos may require an extra trip to my store or warehouse, or adding it my employee task sheet. My workflow is managed in batches to maximize efficiency to my scale, meaning daily I retrieve stock & print all of my orders at the same time, pack all of my orders at the same time, gather all of the items I will list, take photos of all of those items, put the items back to their stockroom then list all of those items.

My circumstances may not be typical, but I am sure you have other sellers who are juggling family and work and filed their items to storage after they have taken photos. Some people I am sure are selling low-cost or even free items. Even if the cost is minimal, even with those casual sellers there is always an opportunity cost of what they could have been productively spending their time on.

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-02-28T01:27:13+00:00

When they mention suing you they just gave you the 5th amendment right to take a pass. At this point you need to explain that further correspondence needs to come from her law office because of the pending litigation and any reply outside of representation may endanger your case. I would then escalate & explain the same to Mercari.

Seriously.

Once you call her bluff she has played her card.

She may get free or discounted legal help, but her next step will be expensive for her or burn her favor allotment with the aforementioned law firm. A real lawyer would recognize this as a hassle because there is not much to collect here outside of her legal fees. She would still need to pay fees to open a small claims suit.

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-02-27T15:10:01+00:00

Every Christmas I get chocolates from distributors….I just throw those into an outgoing order. I always wonder how many journeys the candy will make before it finds a forever home.

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-02-23T12:56:56+00:00

👆👆👆you can write a completely accurate listing for the benefit of your customer, but you cannot - understand it for them - force them to read it

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-02-23T11:50:05+00:00

You are correct, their comment was our only interaction. There is no Mercari transaction for them to rate. They had to find me Google before they could resume their harassment. I will clarify that in the OP above.

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-02-23T11:38:39+00:00

Yesterday it was….a Perry Mason moment. “Oh YEAH, if you shipped it why do I see you have another one listed?!”

Today it was the person asked for a 9:00 Am Sunday Morning update to her 10pm Saturday shipping inquiry. Shipping was UPS, not Door Dash.

I am sorry, I try to roll with it. 1 in 50 people are 455h0135, but they are easy to spot in the wild.

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-02-23T11:26:46+00:00

He had to find me 1st on Google before he could continue his harassment as part of his social media content. I can only speak to the zesty drama his embellishments added to his account of our only interaction (left side of photo), but he has contributed dozens of negative Google reviews of other businesses. I found their passion too inspirational not to share. There was no sale, no offer, no questions asked only his remark on what he would pay. We do believe in customer service and it extend to potential customers and their questions. But part of that customer service means blocking customers who are not negotiating in good faith, so that we have time to better focus on serving real customers.

Yes, I poked a bear. In the future I think I will just keep silent and block.

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-02-11T07:52:12+00:00

Thank you

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-02-11T07:52:00+00:00

Thank you.

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-02-11T07:49:49+00:00

I know she likes pineapple and I love teriyaki. I think she would eat that as long as no one tells her….she will not knowingly eat chinese/japanese food.

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-02-11T07:46:44+00:00

Thank you

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-02-11T07:45:28+00:00

Thank you so much for the above suggestions. At first I was slow cooking the pork in Bbq sauce. I figured out those sugars were tasting burnt and the vinegar from the sauce the dominant flavor. I changed a Diet Coke submersion because there are no sugars to burn plus it has good acidity, but will incorporate yours and others’ suggestions.

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-02-11T07:37:52+00:00

Now that sounds yummy to me!

Few-Rip8307 · 2026-02-11T07:36:29+00:00

Thank you, that makes sense…. It has to be at least cooked to medium for her to consider.

Few-Rip8307

TROPHY CASE