How to Sell on Mercari in 2026: Fees, Shipping & Promotions

Mercari is a general marketplace: clothing, toys, electronics, collectibles, home goods and almost anything else that ships. Listing takes a couple of minutes on the app, buyers negotiate, and the platform does a lot of the promotion for you if you use its tools. It changed its fees at the start of 2025, so older fee tables online are wrong. This guide reflects Mercari’s help pages as of September 2026.

Mercari fees

Since January 6, 2025, Mercari charges a 10% selling fee on the item price plus any shipping the buyer pays. There’s no separate payment processing fee (the old 2.9% + $0.50 is gone for listings created or updated since then). Buyers pay a separate 3.6% Buyer Protection fee, which doesn’t come out of your earnings.

Cashing out: direct deposit to your bank is free. Instant Pay costs $3 per cash-out to an eligible debit card, up to $600 a month, and needs ID verification. If you cash out weekly, that $3 is small; after every sale, it adds up fast.

Listing on Mercari

• Photos: up to 12. The first photo is the thumbnail in search; shoot on a plain background with the whole item visible, then brand tags, details, flaws and a measurement shot for clothing.
• Title: brand, item type, model or style, size and color. Mercari search is keyword-driven, so write the words a buyer types, not adjectives.
• Brand, category, condition and size fields: fill every one. They power Mercari’s filters and price suggestions.
• Price range: $1 to $2,000 for most items; items eligible for authentication can go higher.

Shipping on Mercari

You choose one of two ways to ship when you list:

Mercari also offers Media Mail for eligible items and a First-Class envelope label for trading cards and paper collectibles. Its 2026 updates page lists envelope promos (49¢ for 1–3 oz and a free 1 oz envelope for single cards, through January 4, 2027) and new label prices from October 19, 2026, so re-check your shipping charges if you set them months ago. Once an item sells, ship within 3 business days.

Setting the 4×6 paper size

Mercari’s label size is set per order: on the order’s status page, go to Shipping information → Label → Set paper size, choose 4×6 and save, then generate the label. Labels already generated at full-page size stay that way, and return labels often come out full-page. Our Mercari 4×6 label page has the printer settings and a free extension that crops those to 4×6.

For packaging and weight breaks that keep labels cheap, see how to ship clothes cheap.

Smart Pricing, Promote and offers

Smart Pricing

Set a price and a floor price, and Mercari lowers the price gradually based on demand, never below the floor. Mercari doesn’t publish the exact schedule. Use it for items you want to clear at a known minimum — seasonal leftovers, low-value items — and set the floor at a number that still makes sense after the 10% fee and shipping.

Promote (price drops)

Lowering a price by 5% or more promotes the item: it gets a boost in search and everyone who liked it is notified. You can do this once per item every 24 hours. That makes a small, regular price drop on stale listings one of the cheapest visibility tools on any marketplace — but each drop is permanent, so plan the ladder.

Offers and Offer to Likers

Buyers can make offers on single items or bundles; you can accept, decline or counter, and the buyer has 24 hours to respond to a counter. Offer to Likers sends a discount of at least 10% to up to 50 of the most recent likers, valid for 24 hours. You can also set an automatic Offer to Likers for new likers in your promotion settings.

Worked example: a price-drop ladder

A $60 jacket listed with buyer-paid shipping, no sale after a week:

1. Day 7: drop to $57 (5%) — promotes the listing and pings likers.
2. Day 8: send Offer to Likers at $51 (about 10% below $57).
3. Day 14: drop to $54 — another promote.
4. Day 21: if still unsold, reconsider the price against sold comps, or crosslist.

At $51 with $8 buyer-paid shipping, the fee is 10% × $59 = $5.90 and you keep $45.10. Know that number before you send the offer.

Getting paid and authentication

After delivery, the buyer has three days to rate the transaction. Once they rate — or Mercari rates automatically when the window closes — the sale is complete and the funds are released. A buyer reporting an issue pauses that. For bags, wallets, shoes, eyewear, jewelry and watches, Mercari Authenticate reviews photos of the item through a third-party authenticator; it’s optional over $100 and required above brand- and category-specific price points.

What sells on Mercari

Experience, not Mercari data: Mercari buyers are bargain-minded and broad. Strong categories include name-brand clothing and shoes, toys and collectibles, video games, small electronics, beauty and home decor. Mercari tends to beat Poshmark for non-clothing and for men’s items, and beats eBay for casual buyers who want a simple app. Items that sell by exact model number or to specialist collectors usually do better on eBay.

Common mistakes

• Using old fee math. The fee is 10% including buyer-paid shipping, with no processing fee — not the old 10% + 2.9% + $0.50.
• Offering free shipping without raising the price. The label comes straight out of your 90%.
• Generating the label before setting 4×6. The size is saved on the order.
• Setting a Smart Pricing floor you don’t really accept. Mercari will get there.
• Big one-off price cuts. A 5% drop earns the same promote as a 25% one. Drop in steps.
• Shipping late. Ship within 3 business days or risk cancellations and poor ratings.