Around Christmas time I decided to try to find ways that I could make additional income through selling some of our old stuff. I am a declutter lover after all. We were going through our old stuff and I started realizing just how many things we had been hanging onto. After talking with a friend who sells frequently online, she suggested the Mercari app. Here’s a breakdown of how welling with Mercari has treated me for the last month.
*This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a commission on recommendations at no cost to you.
What is reselling?
Simply put reselling is selling your old stuff (or items bought at a discount) and selling them for a profit! It sounds like such a scammy thing if you have never heard of it before, but it’s actually the wave of the future.
With Mercari, I have found that selling used electronics is incredibly quick and highly effective. In this case, I have never made a profit, but making $20-$50 on an old iPod that is outdated and will never be used again is definitely OK by me!
This way, I’m throwing away less garbage, making a little money and most buyers are re-purposing electronics! Learn how to get started reselling.
Getting started on Mercari
The Mercari app is a selling app that makes getting rid of your old stuff incredibly simple.
Reselling used items with Mercari is super simple, which is why it is one of my favorite go-tos especially for things like old iPhones, electronics, outdated iPods and more!
I’ll walk you through the basic steps to get started with Mercari to give you an idea of how crazy simple it is to get set up and get started making money from your old junk in no time.
Set up your profile
To get started, you will need to set up a basic profile and list your location. You don’t have to dive too into who you are, you just want to make sure potential buyers are recognizing you as an actual human.
Setting up good relationships is important on Mercari, especially if you want to continue to sell on there.
Research prices for your items
As you begin listing an item Mercari will let you know what similar items have recently sold on the app and how much they went for. This gives you a genuine idea of what to price your listing at. You can see a sample here from a mock-up item I listed.
Plus, when you join with my link, Mercari will give you $20 free after you sell your first $100!! Click here to get selling on Mercari!
Taking good photos
One of the best tips for selling on Mercari (or any online platform for that matter,) is to be sure to take good, high-quality photos. Quality photos go a long way in making sure you can get as much money as possible.
- Take high-quality images
- Avoid background disturbances
- Capture your item at all possible angles
- Don’t hide flaws
Add detailed descriptions
The more detailed you can be when describing your item, the better. This will also prevent you from receiving multiple messages and having to answer several follow-up questions.
Mercari also allows you to add details like brand name, condition, storage sizes and more. Here is an example from a mock-up listing I created.
List your items for free
Once you’ve taken all of these steps, you can list your item free of charge. That means +Mercari isn’t going to ask for any money until your items has sold! This can be so helpful if you are just getting started or are really strapped for cash.
Learn more about how to make money selling your old junk.
Set price limits on your item
Another great feature that Mercari has put in place is the price limit. Before you list an item you can let Mercari know the smallest amount you will accept for your item. This is another great way to avoid having to go back and forth with someone on price.
Wait for someone to purchase
Once you’ve set up your profile and listed your item, all you have to do is sit back and wait for it to sell. Remember, if you use my link, you’ll get $20 free after you’ve sold $100 worth of stuff. (Which is actually pretty easy to do!)
How does free shipping work?
When you sell an item with Mercari, the app will suggest that you offer free shipping to help your items sell.
This has definitely helped me make fast sales, but “free shipping” ultimately means that you pay for shipping. Here is a screen shot from one of my recent sales.
Combat the cost of shipping
In order to combat the cost of shipping, I ask a little more for my item. Even if it’s above Mercari’s recommended selling price
What happens when you sell an item?
You will get a notification/message when someone is wanting to buy your item. Sometimes they won’t even communicate or ask questions!
All you have to do is go to your email and print out the shipping label. I have had both FedEx and UPS shipping labels. I’m not quite sure how they decide on that.
After I print my shipping label, I can bring the items in to FedEx, they package and ship them for me! The only thing I have to pay for is a box if I don’t provide my own.
Once you have gone through the process of shipping the item, return to your item and mark it as shipped so the buyer knows it’s on its way!
How do you get paid?
After you have sent off your item, the buyer will rate you once they receive the package.
Once you’ve seen that your package has been accepted, you get to rate your buyer and then voila! You get paid! Don’t forget your $20 bonus cash!
It’s really very simple.
- Ship
- Wait
- Get paid
No hustling or bargaining. No negotiations. From every experience I’ve had, it’s been plain and simple.
What can you sell on Mercari?
When I was originally told about Mercari, my friend had told me to use it for selling electronics and now I understand why.
Like I showed above, after trying to sell an older iPhone for $20, I only made $8 after shipping and fees. If you were to list items upwards of $50 or so, it starts to become more worth the time and effort it takes sending the package.
So, really, you can sell just about anything on Mercari, but I highly recommend making sure the value you make is worth the time it takes.
Benefits of selling with Mercari
Like I said, selling with Mercari has been relatively fast, easy and financially worth it for more expensive sales.
As someone who isn’t a huge fan of selling online, I have loved the low-maintenance, crazy simple approach that it provides.
Downsides of Mercari
It is beneficial to offer free shipping, for sure, but on most of my items that meant sacrificing $10. Otherwise every other step has been a total breeze.
I’ve even had someone return an item I had sent them. There were no hassles or additional fees on my end.
All in all, I highly recommend it if you’re hoping to get a reasonable price for higher-end items.
