Are you looking for an online flea market where you could sell items you don’t need anymore (and thus make some side money)? Or maybe you want to buy stuff at a low price?
If so, Mercari App is one such online marketplaces that you may want to consider. There is big trouble, though – the internet is flooded with complaints against Mercari. So, therefore, you may want to ask, “Is the Mercari App a scam?”
Is the platform trustworthy and safe enough to do business with it?
The Mercari App review below tries to answer these (and other related) questions.
So let’s dig right into the details:
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Quick Review
Name: Mercari App
Mercari App login: www.mercari.com
Mercari App download: App Store for iOS, Google Play for Android devices
Niche: Online flea market
Price: (Download: free; buying: free; selling: 10%)
Founder: Shintaro Yamada (Japan)
My Overall Rank: 5 out of 10
My Verdict:
Mercari App is a legit make-money-online opportunity.
…That being said, approach Mercari with great caution! There are tons of complaints against the platform circulating on the internet (more on that below). Sadly, way too many former members (both buyers and sellers) have had awful experiences with the app. Hence my rank 5 out of 10.
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Full Review – Is the Mercari App a Scam?
What is Mercari App
Mercari, a Japanese company founded by Shintaro Yamada, is Japan’s “biggest community-powered shopping fair,” which has recently expanded to the United States. It advertises itself as “a hassle-free and secure way to buy and sell items straight from your mobile device or tablet.”
In other words, Mercari is a mobile app that allows people to buy and sell goods online right from their phones.
What items can you sell on Mercari?
Truth be told, pretty much everything. You can sell fashion, electronics, jewelry, console games, etc.
Also, as you might expect, you can sell new, used, and hand-made items.
How Does It Work?
The whole process is pretty similar to eBay and other online shopping marketplaces. If you are not familiar with it, here’s how it goes:
How to Sell on Mercari
First, you need to create your Mercari account and download their app. After that, you can start listing your items by uploading their images and adding some details. Uploading has been made extremely simple as the app allows you to shoot photos and automatically upload them.
Second, when the buyer has picked the item and paid for it, the Mercari App allows you to create and print a shipping label in your home.
Third, send the item to the buyer.
Fourth, once the buyer has received the item, he:
- Will use the Mercari App to confirm that he has received the purchase
- Will rate his/her experience transacting with you.
Fifth, Only after the buyer has verified that he/she has received the item and it is as described, Mercari releases the payment to you (seller).
Sixth, After the buyer has finished rating your service, you can evaluate the buyer.
Note! On Mercari, the buyer’s rating completes the sale.
Imagine for looking for legit work-from-home opportunities and finding THIS when you go inside… WOW
Why THIS is risk-free for you. Look closer and you’ll see why.
How to Buy on Mercari?
First, download the Mercari App from the Apple Store or Google Store (all transactions go through the app):
See! You cannot buy or sell on Mercari without downloading their app.
Second, select an item you want to buy and pay for it.
Note! Mercari will hold your payment until the item gets delivered, and you verify that it is as described.
Third, If you are happy with the item, close the sale by rating the seller. However, if the item was not as described, go through Mercari to initiate a return.
Is the Mercari App a Scam?
So far, so good! So what’s the problem? Is the Mercari App legit? Or is it a scam?
As I discovered, there are some huge problems connected with the Mercari flea market platform that you may want to know before starting buying/selling on it.
As far as I understand, the biggest problem is not that the marketplace is filled with dishonest sellers and buyers. The biggest problem is that Mercari cannot (or don’t want to) deal with the fraudsters.
As a result, its best two groups of people – honest buyers as well as legitimate sellers – fall victim to the system. And that’s tragic.
Who are the winners?
- Mercari
- Fraudulent (dishonest) sellers
- Dishonest buyers
Let me list some of the main problems of the Mercari App and see what you think! To make things easier to understand, I split these problems into two parts:
- Problems connected with sellers
- Problems connected with buyers
Here we go:
The Mercari App Complaints
As I told above, Mercari online flea market seems to be heavily filled with scammers (both buyers and sellers). Therefore, whatever way you decide to go, it’s easy to fall victim to their fraudulent schemes.
If you are a seller, you get scammed by dishonest buyers (they will buy from you, then after receiving the item, they cancel the transaction and get refunded). And if you are a buyer, you get scammed by fraudulent sellers (you buy a brand new item, they send you used one instead, etc.)
And to make things worse, often people won’t get any help from Mercari.
Therefore, to give you some examples, here are some warning signs for you:
1. If You Are a Seller
Payments not received:
Accounts of Honest Sellers Get Shut Down
Good Sellers Get Suspended
There are many more complaints, like:
- Awful (also ignorant and lazy) Customer Service
- Mercari approves buyers deceptions
- Offer no help to sellers
- etc., etc., etc.
2. If You Are a Buyer
Full of Fake Items
Sellers Can Leave Retaliation Negative Feedback
…And thus hurt your otherwise impeccable buyer reputation (On eBay you cannot do that). This is a massive problem if anyone can give you a stinking rating that is not true, and you have no way to defend yourself.
Remember, you must live with that negative rating. There are cases where other sellers refuse to do business with the buyer because of that one bad feedback:
Refunds Delayed
More Mercari App Complaints
If you plan to sell or buy on Mercari, I highly recommend to at least scroll through the following complaints and feedback. Here, here, and here.
Why?
Because then you have a much better picture of what you can expect from the Mercari platform. And thus you can stay safe.
Final Verdict
My verdict: The Mercari is a LEGIT platform to buy and sell stuff (and thus make some side money online). That being said, because of the enormous amount of complaints against the Mercari App, please approach it with great caution. This is to make sure you won’t get ripped off.
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What About You
First, thank you for reading my review. I hope you found the information you were looking for.
Now that you have read the Mercari App review, I’m curious to know your thoughts about it. Is the Mercari App a scam or not?
Also, do you have a personal experience with Mercari (good or bad) that you’d like to share?
Please drop me a comment below, and I will return with a response.
ARE YOU looking for ways to create a legit passive income online?
Very great post indeed. Informative, accurate and well structured.
Plus, would you mind backlinking to my mercari post from this amazing piece of content?
Keep shining,
Cheers,
Hi there!! Wow I wish I would have looked into this platform prior to today. So here is my concern with Makari and I cannot seem to get a straight answer as to whether or not my order that I did not receive but it shows delivered is or is not insured by USPS???
I am getting the feeling and suspicion that nothing is insured with them truly. And I have been hassling with them back and forth about this order and this customer service lady is getting uglier and uglier. But yet she will not give me a yes or no answer. I’ve really truly hope that I do not find this out at that point I will do whatever it takes to get them shut down because this is ridiculous. If anyone has any any information on their shipping if it’s really insured or not please let me know!! Thank you very much
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Like so many I had a horrible experience with Mercari.
On an older Amazon tablet one night I ordered two wall crosses.
I used PayPal to pay both sellers.
All was well, but the the problem started…….one seller sent a note stating she had shipped.
The other seller was honest and said she listed the cross as a heavy metal cross but when she was getting ready to ship she felt it was metal but not heavy. Thru Mercari (the only way to correspond) she asked if I still wanted the cross with the difference in the weight. The Mercari correspondence said if you want to reply hit the ? app button below. Well I am not real computer saavy so I hit the button and gave all my info and Mercari says MY EMAIL ADDRESS WAS INCORRECT…….what??? they just sent me the email to that very email address. so I tried a second time. Same story. I called the teeny tiny number at the bottom of their email and got a “canned” message, no human being, and I hollered into the phone stating how could you send me an email and then when I listed it as my email (to open an account which was NOT required when I made the purchase and when PayPal paid them) – so after hollering at them on their answering “machine”…….I tried a third time and again got refused. So I called someone who is very computer saavy and she said, it is because my old desk top is not Android.
I then took out my cell phone which IS an Android and tried to set up an account……same BS with my email address was wrong. Now a day goes by and I get an email from Mercari (to the incorrect email address–right) that gives me a list of things to check out one of which was the speed of my modem??? are you kidding me??? Needless to say NONE of their suggestions did anything to correct the situation. Now I get a second email from the seller via Mercari, she says please answer do you still want this or should I cancel? Then she says the end of July she will no longer be selling with them. Hmm can’t imagine why!! Again I try to set up an account this time using a different email address and again they say it is the wrong email address. Now I ask you why do they send me emails to an address they say is wrong and then when I try to open account using the second email address do I get the exact same warning that this email address is wrong too. But they can email me at both addresses. The first cross was delivered and I could not leave feedback because “they did not recognize me”….and the second cross the seller had to cancel the transaction. So then I get an email from Mercari stating the seller has cancelled the transaction and in 5+ days I will get a refund. I wait TWO days look on Paypal and there is my refund. I have gone onto EVERY email Mercari has sent me and on each one I say unsubscribe
and guess what I continue to receive one or two emails a day “encouraging” me to be a seller….so I thought why not……just for fun I again tried to set up a seller account and guess what they did not recognize my email address as valid!!! Now I will never work with Mercari but like a bad penney I can’t get rid of them either, I will have to literally block them from my two email sites as saying unsubscribe is just like trying to get an account with them. THEY ARE HORRIBLE – you can not work with someone who is invisible and has canned responses paying NO attention to what you are saying or asking from them. Their own emails don’t apparently get read either as saying unsubscribe means nothing. I would have to wonder how and IF there are sellers that are happy with them how did they do it? Were they one of the first one hundred sellers? and the rest of us are just dirt??? I love ebay and I love Etsy and have never had any problems with them. I order from Wayfair and Overstock and Posh and many many other on line businesses, and have never had any problems then my luck ran out when I saw a commercial for Mercari and I apparently got suckered into thinking they would be like the others.
they are NOT like the others!!! They don’t care about anything except the commission they get from their sellers. And from what I read their sellers get screwed if the buyers can not leave good reviews
Hi Egon
Just reading the comments on this site. I just sold and bought my first item on Mercari. I too was and still am skeptical but both experiences were positive. I sold my first items a 10 pack of fabric squares. I bought them to sell to see if selling online is all that is claims it is. I did it as a test but was very nervous since the buyer had a po box. (usually a red flag) but figured if it didn’t work out I was not going to be out a lot of money. It went through fine. The buyer had good reviews on Mercari in all areas as a buyer and seller. A few weeks later I bought an item, I wanted to see how the buying process worked. I received the item yesterday and it was as described. I rated the seller right away and all should be well at her end. I might try selling on there again, but only small inexpensive items, and may or may not pay shipping again, although I think free shipping sells the item faster. I have been lucky so far again only 2 items, but will continue to approach with caution. I do have to admit that their cs can be better. Apparently I set up the account back in 2015, I do not remember what password I used and when I asked for help they were unable to do so. If I were to disable my account and re open it It would be the same credentials I used in setting it up, which to me defeats the whole purpose.
Thank you for this site, it is very helpful and informative.
HI,
So far, for me, it has been a complete bust, 100%. I sell on ebay and make a bit of money for doing it part time. I have sold well over 1000 items there. I have also bought over 1000 items there, as well.
I have been scammed twice as a buyer and had three attempts at scamming me as a seller in all those transactions, and ebay supported us on every scam attempt, given that we had documentation for EVERY aspect of the transaction, including video (took stills from it to send) of the packing.
I started on Mercare and listed about 25 items a couple of weeks ago. So far, no sales. They are listed at same pricing as in ebay, where I have over 600 items listed, three of which were located on both and have sold on ebay during that time. As I am established on ebay and not mercari, that doesn’t seem unreasonable, but here is the problem.
What DOES seem completely and totally unreasonable is I have purchased two items. One has been well over the three days, not shipped, and I can find no way to contact the seller…WTHeck???? The other item I bought the seller underpriced (NOT my problem) and now, not only has he not shipped it, he has the thing RELISTED MY ITEM for a higher price. Payment for an item is a legal contract entered into, it is supposed to have weight. Sellers and buyers on ebay seem to understand this. So far sellers on mercari either don’t understand it or don’t give a rat’s patootie….so far that is the case with ALL of them I have dealt with. A horrendous start.
Already thinking of quitting. If this is ANY indication of things to come, this platform is an absolute joke. I knew it was kind of the wild west compared to ebay, but good lord…it more like the mafia, from what I can see so far. I pointed out and reported the seller that now has my bought and paid for item relisted, which mercari can and apparently did check out. Their response was that it hadn’t been three days yet. Seriously…who freakin’ cares how many days it’s been when the item sold to me is currently relisted, a blatant violation of policy AND the law? They’re response was to sent me a $5 coupon and wait the three days.
I don’t want a stupid $5 coupon, I want the merch I’ve bought and paid for, and am waiting on to accomplish some work I need to do (one is a pressure washer). This platform, so far, is worse than nothing, by a long shot. If this stuff doesn’t get resolved properly, I will be reporting the seller that has relisted to the proper authorities for fraud (which will probably accomplish nothing), and mercari as well.
My experience so far I rate ZERO stars out of whatever number of them you’d like to pick. Zero service, money outstanding and items bought, that is the only reasonable rating that can be given…not that I can apparently give ANY to anyone at this point within the mercari system. So far, to me, the mercari system looks like it was designed by low functioning lower primates. Guess it doesn’t matter WHAT you design, if you have zero care for your buyers and sellers (so far) and all you care about is making money hand over fist. Sometimes I think having no morals whatsoever is the proper response to some of the structures like mercari today. “Unfortunately” my upbringing doesn’t allow that. Many, many others obviously have no such restrictions.
I’ve been trying to get some help in returning to ge an item returned and refunded I contacted the seller and she says she does not know what to do either so what is the procedure?
Hey, Robert, and thank you for asking. If there were a clear procedure on how to get your money back. But as much as I have seen (by reading all those Mercari complaints), there’s none. Some people have got their issues solved while others keep calling and emailing them and nobody bothers to answer. It is terrible customer service but what can you do? They just refuse to answer.
Therefore, sadly, I don’t know any other method but to keep knocking on their doors – until they open and are agree to solve your problem.
Received a broken item and cannot get anyone from Mercari to contact me to initiate a refund process. This is very frustrating as I just don’t have money to throw away. I’ve sent pictures, tried Facebook, and emails.
Hi, Karen, and thank you for sharing about your experience (even though highly negative). Annoyingly, that’s what Mercari is and how it operates. The situation has been quite awful for years already and it has not get any better. Until they change their attitude I just recommend to stay away from Mercari.
Egon
I was thinking of joining this mercari until I read to many bad threads I will stay away and tell others of what I read
Hey, Hose, and thank you for your feedback. I am glad you found this thread helpful. The truth is, Mercari has not changed its attitude and behavior towards its customers (both sellers and buyers). They get scammed by dishonest and cheating customers, and they don’t get any help from Mercari. Often it is quite the opposite – they even get punished by Mercari.
You are right, better stay away from the platform and find something else. It’s healthier.
Stay safe,
Egon
I’ve been buying & selling there for quite some time and have had mostly good experiences (US). I think I buy more than I sell! I have only put resale items up for sale there so far, but I’m considering hand made items now. I don’t know why there aren’t more people using this platform.
Hi, Penelope, and thank you for the positive feedback on Mercari. It is good to know you like the platform and everything has been smooth for you. However, there are certain reasons why many people don’t want to use it. When you scroll through the comments and complaints in this thread you will notice how badly Mercari has treated many of them.
People (often the most loyal members) feel they have been scammed and they have got zero support from Mercari. That’s the reason. If the platform is not trustworthy, then you don’t want to risk with your money.
But thank you again for sharing about your experience with Mercari. It helps :)
God bless you,
Egon
Very interesting info. and comments from other users.
I have been on eBay since they began, as both a Buyer and Seller. Same with Amazon, small-time Seller. Tried Postmark, hated it, every single order was cancelled by the Sellers.
On eBay, I have had maybe 2 Seller scammers in a decade, their protection is 90% for Buyers. Now users know this, and the Buyer scammers are ALWAYS on there, opening lying IND cases or saying I sent them an empty box. Make a USPS insurance claim on that, see how fast they wheezle away!
Now Mercari, reading the horror stories, their lack of BBB account, the UK closed them down. My advice: ONLY DO SMALL TIME BUYING & SELLING ON MERCARI!
Forget the expensive phones, shoes, designer labels, antiques, rare items. Take that to ebay. Mercari does seem to protect scammers.
Bought maybe 8 items. Then I got an inexperienced dumb seller.
I bought 2 bras, full price w shipping was $17, for a gift. Imagine the embarrassment when recipient opens box, dumps out many packing peanuts, and there’s a cheap Dollar Tree plastic belt!
Odd thing, she didn’t ship for 3 days, another fallacy w their system, and took 3 days to get to my box. Starting that day only, Seller blew up my phone w “I think I accidentally mailed you a belt. Oops!”
If a true accident, she’d have apologizes and refunded right away. Nope.
She wanted me to: 1.) Make the same offer of $17 on 2 more bras she just listed she felt were “just as pretty”; 2.) Pay the postage to mail the cheap belt back to her if I “felt like it”; 3.) Which changed to go to the post office and mail cheap belt “back to her asap”; 4.) That “maybe she would mail the correct bras to me with the newly listed bras”, after I’d paid for those too; and. 5.) For “all my trouble” she would “consider adding $12 Cash to the shipment of bras.”
Got all that?
She blew up my phone w this BS and asking “Have you seen the other bras yet?”, all day, for hours.
I didn’t send a single response. Instead I screen shot all messages in case I had to initiate a bank chargeback, then reported the “issue” to Mercari.
Within a day I had a return label, Prority Mail for a $1 belt no less, and mailed it back. They refunded the entire amount to my Master Card, so no problem there.
I just really think after all of this, I legit should have been able to leave her Feedback. But the Refund unfortunately negates that for both sides.
So I am super sticking to very LOW dollar amounts for Mercado just because I have read so many horror stories.
Hi, Devi, and thank you for taking time and sharing about your rather funny (can I say so?) experience with that ‘dumb’ Mercari seller. Fortunately, you got your money back. And it was encouraging to read that Mercari responded and rushed to a rescue mission. Maybe they have finally decided to change their attitude…
If so then it is only a good news.
That being said, your advice is sound – stick to very low dollar amounts for Mercari. I hope it will help people.
Cheers,
Egon
I sold an American girl doll with outfit. The buyer asked for refund – couldn’t gift it were marks were reasoning. Even though she could of asked before purchase and didn’t.
Not to mention she was seller of AG items. I received the refunded item when I was on vacation. So I opened it four days after the package had arrived… To find that she had stolen the outfit and returned the naked doll.
Mercari said they could do nothing because I didn’t respond within 24 hrs of package arriving – even though I said that I wasn’t here! So now I am out of the outfit to a liar and thief and Mercari washed their hands – And they shut down my accounts once all pending sales finalized. Mercari is not on sellers side – beware- they are in for themselves/less hassle.
Thank you for the feedback, Lisa. Sad story. It’s sickening to hear how they treat their customers. There is a recent comment by Devi in this thread. She explains it pretty well how scammers exploit those platforms (like Mercari, eBay, etc.) If you have time, please read it. She says that eBay, for example, in 90% of times favors buyers. And so scammers have become buyers. And they do just that – they scam sellers. Because the platform protects them.
As for Mercari, I don’t even know – in this thread here there are so many complaints by both – buyers and sellers who have been scammed by the other side (and/or Mercari as well.) Terrible.
And why close your accounts for that? I just cannot understand. So what can I recommend? Maybe it’s time to close the door from outside?
Stay safe,
Egon
I have been selling on mercari for for about 4 months now and for the last 14 days I have been trying to get into my shopping channel.
I try to list things and I can’t. I have followed every single thing they’ve told me to do for 14 days – over and over and over again; sometimes for 16 hours in one day.
I screenshot everything and yet they cannot give answers on their flaws that they have with their ass. I’m so damn sick of WTF LMAO OMG what the hell is this app for I’m so damn sick of it.
Hi, Carolyn, and thank you very much for your feedback on Mercari. I know what it feels to be in a situation as you described. You spend hours and hours and hours and yet cannot solve (or do) what you want to achieve and you that it’s not your fault.
This thread here is full of frustrated and/or angry comments toward the Mercari App. Some people claim that everything’s changed now and Mercari 2019 is a completely different story – pure and innocent as an angel of God. But your comment proves again that this is just not the case. People still get ripped off.
Thank you again for your feedback. It will help and warn many other people
Stay safe,
Egon
I was going to place an order of over five thousand dollars, BUT WILL NOT BE DOING ANYTHING WITH THIS SCAM!!!! WHY IS IT THAT OVERSEAS SO Called COMPANYS THAT POST BEAUTIFUL ITEMS ARE JUST A SCAMS??
I HAVE SEEN SOME OF THE MOST beautiful clothes and I would order hundreds of dollars worth regularly and so would others!! Why do these companies not want a thriving profit making honest, big named, large orders with reviews of ONE HUNDRED % Great to buy from company with higher reviews bening written daily???? My business would make over one hundred % in profits along with honest and professional employees!!!
I would be number one on social media and reap the rewards all because of being an honest company with the best of the best merchandise, shipping, returns etc!!!!! Why are there so many scams everywhere now?? thank you….
This is an old review. The app now is completely different. Buyers can not cancel an order once shipped and the seller has the option to deny a cancellation.
Once you get the item you have 3 days to do an inspection. If it is in any way not the item described they give you a label to send back the item and you get your money back.
The seller does not receive any money until both the buyer and seller leave ratings. If the buyer neglects to leave a rating in three days the funds are automatically released and a 5 star automatic rating is given to both buyer and seller. There actually is very few things things that can go wrong.
I did have one woman break an item and then send it back but mercari paid me out of their pocket for that so both buyer and seller are protected.
Any “new” site that has ANY complaints should be banned. I have used EBAY for over 15 years and even though they have ridiculous fees and are always making changes – still your best choice. Local Craigslist & Offer Up sites can have low life buyers & sellers but you learn to weed those idiots out . Just use common sense & be smart when selling & buying!
Hi, Dave,
With those “new” sites… Well, sometimes people running them are honest and sincere but just because of lack of professionalism and experience they can make mistakes and then customers obviously complain. But with Mercari this is clearly not the case. Even if one scrolls through this thread here it is easy to see that Mercari’s behaviour has often been very, very bad (to say the least).
And even though some people claim the company has changed over the last few years, the same type of complaints are still there.
As for Ebay, as you mentioned, I also think this is the best platform out there.
Cheers,
Egon
I will be spreading my current account shutdown. As soon as I shipped 8 orders totalling about $3000 after having a few the week prior for about $600 which were my first selling experiences with Mercari I felt comfortable with the platform.
Wow I wish I had read this article and did more research. You would think with 500K reviews at 4.8 out of 5 stars on the Google Play Store you would be dealing with a reputable service.
Unfortunately there is nothing in the world today that can be trusted and this platform is turning out to be a nightmare. So I ship the $3000 worth of high end mainly PC components to various parts of the US and I get a notification that my account has been “Indefinitely Suspended” pending further review.
No specifics just that.
I immediately respond to the information they requested which was sensitive personal details such as SSN, DOB, etc which I didn’t appreciate especially after I had already completed their initial vetting by linking Bank Account, Debit Card, confirming email address, phone number, photo ID, Driver’s License.
But nope guess that wasn’t enough to bring my twenty plus years and well over 1000 flawless transactions of mainly high end electronics on various other platforms with no hiccups to mention. I am feeling like I have just been ripped off for $3000 because I believe there is potential Identify Theft being attempted or scamming to the degree I’ve never heard of before.
I will go through whatever or whomever necessary and wherever I must to see that the outcome is as advertised by Mercari and they push hard with their nonstop Push Notifications and Emails to keep you constantly revisiting everything your engaged with on their App to the point of absolute ridiculousness just to have this happen after feeling comfortable that you’re dealing with a reputable service.
I put my customer service as a top priority and always keep my customers up to date regarding the status of their order but Mercari has locked out my ability to communicate with the buyers of these orders that are in transit. I am dreading what is coming next with my brand new items sealed with manufacturer seals when they deliver.
I don’t think I will be able to sustain the BS that is potentially headed my way and will be furious if any issues arise without proper outcome based on the service I was pressured to sell, sell, sell and the way it was presented as “100% Seller Guarantee”.
I have screenshots of everything and anything I listed and sold and all the shipment receipt’s. I will be visiting Japan if that’s what it takes to get my compensation. Believe that!
Hey, Mike Vermette, and thank you for sharing about your hardships with Mercari. And people say Mercari has changed and is now as honest as God! Can you imagine! I read your comment in utter disbelief. It’s like, what’s going on in their heads? Why do they do that? Why destroy Mercari reputation?
Your experience with Mercari is a good warning sign for other potential Mercari customers – Even in the end of 2019 the platform is not reliable and trustworthy.
Honestly, Mercari isn’t much different than eBay or Amazon, maybe a little less regulated.
My complains are about shipping speed, since sellers are given 3 days to ship the item you bought. Ever since Amazon started same day and next day shipping, waiting a week for something I bought online is a travesty, and I know I’m being ridiculous. I get things with same day shipping, and leave them untouched for days.
The Mercari app is buggy, I get kicked off the screen in the middle of transactions, but that’s it so far.
As far as the exchange of money between buyer and seller? If you want protection when buying, go through PayPal or Google pay, if there is any fraudulent activity, PayPal will walk you through the resolution center and revoke the amount right out of the sellers account.
If you pay directly by credit card, you can dispute the charge. Scam or not, those are some ways to get your money back.
Hey, Sarah Ann. Thank you for the feedback and your thoughts. They help other (current and future) customers of Mercari. Yes, it is true that not all people (and not always) need the same day delivery. However, sometimes, in some special occasions we really need such a service. Sometimes it is almost like the matter of life and death. And then it is good when such a service is available.
As for Mercari, well, when I read those complaints even in this thread (even the most recent complaints) then I think there is big difference between Mercari and Ebay/Amazon. And it’s not only about they buggy app. It’s about the attitude – how they treat their (often most loyal) members – both sellers and buyers. That’s the most annoying thing for people. They are loyal, they do everything according to the rules set by Mercari and guess what? They still get kicked out, get punished, get ripped off. And they have nobody to complain.
That’s the big problem with the Mercari platform.
Mercari has absconded with $140 from sales. I am unable to log into my account. I’ve attempted emails, phone calls. 1 hour wait I gave up. I’ve changed my password a dozen times. No results. No response.
Hey, Cynthia. I am very thankful that you shared about your experience here. Even though it was bad experience for you.
I am glad you shared because there are some who claim that… yeah, in the past Mercari behaved like that. But in was in the past. Now (in 2019) it has changed and is pretty much bulletproof business opportunity.
Your example here gives another proof that even in the end of 2019 Mercari still behaves like an ugly rip off scheme.
It is a clear warning to those who are sitting on the fence and wondering if they should start business with Mercari.
I purchased an Easy Bake Oven for my great-niece’s birthday that was supposed to have arrived yesterday. The only communication after I placed the order was an order confirmation. After that, nothing! I have serious doubts that I’ll ever see it. I will NEVER use this site again.
Hey, Kathleen, and thank you for the feedback.
I am sad to hear you got ripped off by Mercari (because they are responsible for what happens on their platform. And what happens there is simply disgusting.) When I read complaints like yours, Kathleen, I am really, really disappointed with the platform. How can I recommend it when they treat their customers like that?
And yes, you are right, better run screaming and never look back. That’s the healthy way to treat Mercari.
Thank you for this enlightening review, I was on the fence about selling on Mercari or trying E-bay or Etsy, your article made it clear that it would be foolish to go with Mercari at this time. A great help to me!
Hi, Sue, and thank you for the feedback. I am glad to hear you found the Mercari app review helpful. Maybe sometime in the future, Mercari will improve indeed, but at the moment, the platform is not reliable. I cannot recommend it, even if I would like to do that. So it is wise not to touch it.
Cheers,
Egon
I got suspended from the site because they said an item was fake. They didn’t even ask me for proof, they blocked the account and they still said I had an old account. But I have $740 in sales and I can’t even get my account because I’m blocked for everything.
I’ve sent many messages and they do not help me! This is theft, theft! This site is a disrespect to the sellers and I will seek justice and spread the news so that no one sells there anymore. They have my money, do not sell, do not risk because they steal the money from their sales and do not allow you more access even to remove!
Hi, Fernanda. I am so terribly sad you have been treated so badly. I agree with you – it is theft. I hope you will get your money back. And for other people who are reading this thread – what you shared here is just another proof that Mercari has not changed it’s attitude and behavior. Maybe they have changed (or improved) some technical things.
But they clearly have not changed the way they treat their customers (both buyers and sellers). And that’s pity. Because how can you trust them if they rip you off in a broad daylight?
Scammed 4 times in 1 week with iWatches. Was charged three times. The sellers were unresponsive after purchase and then refunded my money back days later.
The 4th time purchased a watch from seller AnnaLWebb. it shows no scratches in the picture or description. However, the watch came to me severely scratched up on the apple watch face and Rebecca is supposed to be the support crew.
Did nothing! My bank said they will deal with each name of deceitful people and horrible customer service. From seller AnnaLWebb (Anna L. Webb) from Oklahoma City and Danielkok from Florida, Lauren Zapetalfit from Tennesse, bluefacefrank and Rebecca from customer support.
Thank you for the feedback, Neisha. So sad to hear you got scammed by those dishonest Mercari sellers. Who wants to get scammed? Nobody.
That being said, I am very glad you shared about your experience with my blog readers. Hopefully what you shared here will help and protect other people who will consider selling or buying in Mercari. And if they do, they at least can stay away from these dishonest sellers that scammed you.
And as you also experienced, Mercari customer service is just terrible. I have read so many complaints about it and seems to me, they don’t give a rat’s ass about their customers wellbeing.
Mercari is a joke. I have had to return more items than not because of lack of proper description.
I had only listed lower end items on Mercari for fear that I will get scammed or ripped off but finally took the chance and listed an authentic Louis Vuitton item.
As soon as the buyer received the item they asked me where I bought it and I gave them an honest answer of Tradesy. The buyer proceeded to tell me they would compare this item with one that their friend has.
The next day I received a message from the buyer stating that they had the item authenticated by some random authentication service I have never heard of and told me it was not authentic. When I know for a fact that it is.
I told them to go ahead and initiate the return and I would have the item authenticated for myself.
Suddenly Mercari removes my item and sends me a warning regarding prohibited items and approves the return without asking me any questions or asking me for any authenticity paperwork or information.
It’s been 3 days and the buyer has not even shipped my item back and I am concerned that I’m going to get scammed and my original item will not be returned. Very concerned that I will get a different item back.
If it shows delivered with the label Mercari provided the buyer for the return they will refund the buyer immediately and I may be out myaurhenti, expensive item.
This has been a harrowing experience and as soon as I received my item, hopefully the same item in the same brand new condition that I sent it in, I’m going to delete my account.
I’ve been selling for many, many years. There are much safer online venues to sell your items in like Poshmark, eBay and Etsy.
Everyone should do themselves a favor and stay away from Mercari. Sellers get no opportunity to rebut any buyer’s false claims and aren’t even notified of the reason the return was approved. Completely ridiculous and a terrible way to treat legitimate sellers.
Hi, DMP, and thank you for taking the time and sharing about your bad experience with Mercari. It was unpleasant and extremely annoying experience indeed. But by sharing about it in this thread you did a big favor for other readers. Because there thousands of people might consider selling (or buying) items in Mercari. Your example is a good warning for them – don’t do that. Find something else.
And there are many, many more examples like the one you described above – how people get scammed by dishonest sellers or buyers and how badly Mercari treats them after that. Terrible platform indeed. Nothing has changed in their attitude.
I purchased an item through Mercari that is defective and have not received any help with a return, and, the website is impossible to navigate.
Hi, Holly, and thank you for dropping a comment and sharing about your personal experience with Mercari. When you scroll through the thread here you will see so many more complaints like yours. It is so common with Mercari. There are sincere sellers and buyers who constantly get scammed and kicked out of the system because they 1) get scammed by deceitful sellers/buyers, and 2) get accused by Mercari that they are the faulty side. Horrible!
eBays new algorithm for determining sellers cases is completely broken and leaves the selling 100% exposed to fraud.
Mercari (a/o mid 2019) is a viable platform. They recently opened US offices on three different places. Much has changed and it’s been an amazing experience in switching over. I was doing about $50k a year is sales on eBay prior to switching. My number on Mercari are on point with what I was pulling in on eBay. I like how they take fees up front (same 10% as eBay/no PayPal fees) as well. Mercari I can vouch for has really shapes up it’s USA platform this year. Extremely impressed by the customer support as well. Only complaint I have is there is no one to speak to regarding selling/buying issues. You have to use email communication only for account specialist problems.
Was informed they are working on a live chat system however.
Hey, Chris, and thank you for the feedback. I am glad to hear Mercari is improving their services. Let’s see. Time will tell if it will become a reality. Until now… There are still way too many complaints against them. But it is only good news if they change their behavior and attitude.
Cheers,
Egon
Thank you so much Mr. Egon,
Thank you so much for your article on Mercari. I had just seen an ad on TV about Mercari. I was curious and thought I might try it out. Before doing so I did a bit of research and found a lot of negative comments from current and former users of the App.
Your comments and information about Mercari was just what I was looking for.
I use eBay from time to time and have never had a problem.
What bothers me about Mercari is the way payments are held by Mercari and depends on the buyer “rating” the seller before funds are released to the seller. My doubts were confirmed by the negative remarks I found about this subject while researching.
Again Thank You so much
Joyce Davis
Hey, Joyce, and thank you for taking time and giving me some feedback. Yes, there are tons of complaints against Mercari. Even in this very thread the big majority of comments are written by people who have had a bad or a very experience with Mercari. I just cannot understand why Mercari has allowed it happen Why they don’t care about their (often the most loyal) members – both buyers and sellers?
There have been signals in recent times that Mercari has improved their services and now they are honest online marketplace. But it is very difficult to believe because… As you can see from this thread alone, so many people have been scammed because of their dishonest (and often ugly) behavior. Therefore, I would like to ask – If Mercari is a sincere and honest platform now, have they compensated to all these victims? No.
That’s why I am still very skeptical about them.
Stay safe,
Egon
Great info. As a 22 year seller of collectibles on Ebay with over a million dollars in sales there and 10,000 plus positive feedbacks without one negative, I was very interested in a new venue to sell, but from the information provided, I have decided mercari is not for me.
Hey, Bruce, and thank you for the feedback. You have an awesome track record, to say the least. Congratulations :)
As for Mercari then yeah… Way too many complaints and bad experiences to call it a great (or even trustworthy) platform. There are some signals that Mercari has improved their services recently but I have my doubts.
I am glad you found my review helpful, sir.
God bless you,
Egon
I have had 144 successful transactions on Mercari. I have made over $6000 in sales in the past 3 month. I am very accurate in my listings and honest with my buyers and have had 0 problems with Mercari. I like how upfront they are with their fee’s and shipping. There are no hidden costs to selling on Mercari. I also sell on eBay and Amazon and get very frustrated with how they (mainly Amazon) change their fee’s depending on what your selling. I have purchased a few items on Mercari as well and those have gone perfectly.
Hey, Azariah, and thank you for your comment and feedback. I am glad to hear Mercari online marketplace has worked great for you. Because Mercari is Japanese business then people say there’s quite a big difference in quality of their services in Japan and in US. Can you tell me, do you sell/buy in Japan or in US?
Because, as you can see from quite a few comments in this thread, there are people who also have done everything right and yet got heavily punished by the system. Or they have done a minor and insignificant mistakes and Mercari has closed their accounts and thrown them out.
Cheers,
Egon