Mercari

About Mercari

Mercari is basically a giant online garage sale that lives in your phone. I’ve been using it for just over a year now, mostly to buy used textbooks for my classes and sell old clothes I never wear anymore. It’s way less fussy than Poshmark, which I used before and honestly felt like everyone was trying to sell expensive stuff or charge you an arm and a leg for shipping. Mercari feels more realistic for a broke student like me—people sell everything from phone cases to graphing calculators, and the prices are usually pretty fair. I found a used calculus textbook for like $15 that would have cost me $80 new at the campus bookstore. Took me about 20 minutes of scrolling to find it. The app itself is super simple, which I appreciate because I don’t have time to learn a whole new system between classes and homework.

Features & Highlights

The biggest thing for me is how easy it is to list stuff to sell. I just snap a few photos on my iPhone 14, write a short description, set a price, and poof—it’s up. No weird hoops to jump through. You can also “likes” items to save them for later, and sellers can send you offers if you like something which is nice. The search function actually works pretty well too. I can filter by price range, condition (new, like new, good, fair), and free shipping. That saves me so much time. There’s a rating system too—both buyers and sellers rate each other after a transaction—so you get a sense if someone is legit. One time I bought a jacket from a seller with only 3 reviews and no photo, but it worked out fine. The whole thing feels less formal than eBay, which I like because I just want to buy a cheap lamp for my dorm, not participate in an auction.

User Experience

The app looks clean and works pretty smooth on my iPhone 14. I’ve never had a crash or glitch that ruined anything. Loading photos is fast, messaging sellers is simple, and the checkout process takes maybe two minutes. One thing that bothered me early on was figuring out the shipping. You can either use Mercari’s prepaid shipping label or arrange your own. I just always use their label because it’s easier, even if it costs a couple bucks. Also, I hate that when you sell something, Mercari takes a 10% fee. That stings when you’re only selling a $8 shirt—you walk away with like $7. I get why they do it, but it’s annoying. Last Wednesday night I was listing three old hoodies I never wear and I probably spent 15 minutes total on the whole setup. That’s the kind of speed I need.

Pricing

The app itself is totally free to download and browse. You only pay when you buy something or sell something. As a buyer, you pay the listed price plus shipping (unless the seller offers free shipping). Shipping varies—sometimes it’s $4.99, sometimes $12 depending on weight. I usually look for stuff with free shipping or bundle deals where sellers give you a discount for buying multiple things. For sellers, the fee is 10% of the sale price plus a small processing fee. So if I sell a shirt for $10, I maybe get $8.50. It’s not terrible, but it adds up. For a student on a budget, it’s still way cheaper than buying new stuff, so I can deal with it.

Updates & Support

I’ve never actually contacted support because I never had a problem—all my transactions went smoothly. But I’ve read some reviews on the App Store where people complain about slow responses or issues with refunds. I can’t speak to that personally. The app updates pretty regularly, maybe once a month or so. They tweak the design and fix bugs. One time the update made the search bar bigger, which was nice. Nothing crazy. I do wish they had a live chat or faster help system, because if something goes wrong with a $40 item I’m selling, I’d want to fix it quick. But for now, I haven’t needed it.

Security & Privacy

I feel safe enough using Mercari. They handle payments through the app, so I don’t have to give my credit card info to random sellers. When you buy something, Mercari holds the money until you confirm you got the item and it’s as described. That protects both sides. My personal info like my address is only shown to the seller after a purchase, and I can message people without giving out my phone number. I pay through Apple Pay most of the time because it’s one tap. I haven’t had any sketchy experiences, but I’m careful—I don’t buy from accounts with zero reviews or weird bios. Overall, I trust it about as much as I trust any app that moves money around. Probably fine for what it is.