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Selling Handmade Products on Mercari – the Good and the Bad

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Need a new place to sell your Silhouette or Cricut made products? Have you heard of Mercari? If not, don’t worry. I spent some time looking at it and using it in December, and today I’m sharing my thoughts with you.

What is Mercari?

Mercari is a marketplace app available for Apple and Android devices. It’s available in the USA, the U.K., and Japan. I’d compare it as being similar to the Facebook Marketplace. However, unlike most Facebook Marketplace transactions, most Mercari transactions are shipped from seller to buyer.

Mercari – The Good

  • There’s a handmade section in the app. When I browsed it, there were a decent number of well made craft products for sale.
  • Mercari has been promoting on billboards around my local area. This suggests they are growing.
  • It’s easy to list: Snap a picture, write a description, add a price and you are done.
  • Mercari listings are free. If your item sells, there is a flat 10% fee.
  • You have 3 days to ship your item after a sale is made.
  • There’s a built in shipping label generator.
  • It’s safer than meeting up with strangers around your town.
  • In the event of problems, Mercari will act as a mediator between you and the buyer.

Mercari – The Bad

  • Sellers don’t get paid until the buyer rates the product. If the buyer doesn’t rate the product, there is a system of checks and balances built into the app so that sellers still get paid.
  • Mercari isn’t somewhere that you can build your business. You don’t have a shop – just listings. I’ve found it good for one off sales – but it definitely isn’t a place to get your name out.
  • Buyers on marketplace apps are often looking for a deal. In fact, Mercari advertises to buyers “… save up to 70% on millions of new and used items”. These buyers aren’t always compatible with the handmade market as a whole.
  • Mercari users can make offers on your listings. I found it annoying, but others might not mind.

Mercari Best Practices

If you want to use Mercari in your Silhouette or Cricut business, here’s a few recommendations:

  • Use actual product photos of the exact product the buyer will receive rather than mockups. Since the buyer has to rate you before you are paid, you need it to be clear exactly what they will receive.
  • Don’t do custom orders through Mercari. I always recommend that receive payment before a custom product is made. Since Mercari doesn’t do payments this way – there’s nothing worse than getting stuck with a custom product that you might not be able to resell.

Have you used Mercari? What do you think of it? Let me know in the comments.

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Selling Handmade Products on Mercari - the Good and the Bad for Silhouette Cameo or Cricut Explore and Maker Crafters - by cuttingforbusiness.com

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Christy

Monday 6th of June 2022

I've had such a wonderful experience selling handmade items on Mercari. We even have repeat customers! This year so far I've had:

-151 sales -158 followers -about $3,000 in profit -88.22 item views a day -4.70 likes per day -1,928.97 impressions per day (average # of times my items appear on seach results) -178 5 star reviews

My items range from less than $5 to hundreds for multiple item orders. Mercari advertises my items for me by using tags and having them come up in searches. Many people save kewword searches so they come up in their notification box when my item tags trigger it. My followers also get a notification every time I post something.

I sell 3D prints, bookish things, and other things too.

Those thinking about using Mercari for their own crafts and such...DO IT! It has been a great experiece!!!

I also reccomend joining Facebook groups for buying and selling. I sell a lot on there too! I just post my stuff occasionally and it sells well. I posted a 3D print on a Bookish group about 2 weeks ago and made about $275 in sales on that post alone!

I do this while having a full time teaching job with my husband. He works from home full time. It is a alot of hustle and posting things and trips to the post office. But it is worth it for that side cash!

Mercari takes some from your sales just like Etsy does as a sidenote.

K.

Tuesday 9th of August 2022

@Christy,

That's great! Does one need a business permit or license to sell handmade on there?

Christine, Cutting for Business

Friday 24th of June 2022

Awesome Christy! I love hearing success stories like this!

Cathee Bresnahan

Friday 4th of January 2019

Thanks for all your detailed work in checking out the "good and bad." It was easy for me to determine this was not the selling market for me. Thanks, Cathee

Christine

Tuesday 8th of January 2019

Happy to share!