Mercari vs eBay: Which is Better for Selling?

You may have heard of online resale being profitable and now you’ve decided to dive into this business. Just like any other business, people start and fail as time goes by.

It might be that they fail because they aren’t prepared enough. Even though that’s a factor, I would say the platform you choose to sell is very critical and therefore becomes the deciding factor to your success or failure.

As a seller trying to figure out where to sell, there are important factors to consider when choosing a selling platform. These are:

The size of the customers of the platform. You want to reach many people because that’s one deciding factor – a large customer base makes it a little easy for your business to thrive.
The platform’s operational fees. You want to know the shipping cost and listing cost of a platform. If the fees are high, that would mean you’d be keeping less money and the effect is more felt when you just started the business because in the early stages you wouldn’t be making much money.
The user-friendliness of a platform. You want a platform that is easy to use. Using a platform that has many of its features hidden can be frustrating.

So Mercari vs eBay: which is better for selling?

This article compares Mercari and eBay head to head, talking about how each started, the signing up process, the fees, as well as the pros and cons. So by the time you finish this article, you’d know which is better for selling – either Mercari or eBay.

What Is Mercari?

Mercari is an online market platform that was started in Japan in the year 2013. Mercari saw instant take-off that same year and within one year expanded to the US and the UK.

Even though the platform hasn’t been around for long but looking at the pace it’s expanding, it has the chance to become the best.

Unlike other online selling sites that restrict sellers in terms of the items they can sell, Mercari allows almost everything! Wearables, toys and collectibles, all kinds of vintages, video games, just to name a few are items that are allowed on Mercari.

Moreover, both handed-down (used) and brand-new items can be sold on Mercari without problems. In fact, most items on this platform are used items – because of this, Mercari is known as the biggest online flea market.

The Mercari app has more than 100 million downloads and has over $100 million in transactions happening on the platform every month. Sellers have also made more than $1 billion dollars since Mercari’s inception in 2013.

Pros of Mercari:

Mercari offers so many promotions. For instance, sellers get a discount on commissions for some types of items occasionally.

Sellers pay a market competitive rate of 2.9% plus $0.30 on every sale they make on Mercari.

Cons of Mercari:

What Is eBay?

eBay needs no introduction, it’s at the top of the food chain when it comes to eCommerce marketplaces. According to Similarweb, eBay gets more than 800 million monthly visitors. This is because the platform, unlike Mercari, is available worldwide.

So becoming a seller on eBay means your products would reach many people. In 2020, eBay managed to reach $100 billion in gross volume merchandise, since its inception in 1995.

eBay is regarded as one of the largest eCommerce sites but what makes it the go-to-platform for many people is the auction feature. This feature helps sellers to set an initial price for an item to let buyers bid for it. The highest bidder takes the item home.

Apart from the auction, flipping is also popular. eBay is working constantly to enhance user experience on the platform as well as provide a conducive atmosphere for sellers to bloom.

eBay also makes it possible to sell almost everything. Some of the categories are collectibles and arts, clothing and accessories, jewelry and watches, sporting goods, etc.

Pros of eBay:

Cons of eBay:

Special Features of Mercari and eBay.

As we’ve now gotten to know the brief facts about Mercari and eBay, let’s have a glance at the special features each platform offers to sellers. Some of these special features may have already appeared in the pros that have been outlined above.

Mercari

Mercari has so many amazing features to benefit sellers. Check them out:

Ad network promotion is free.
Sellers are able to forward offers to buyers.
On the platform, sellers can arrange for pick-ups, a delivery driver would collect the items, and get them delivered.

eBay

Here are some special features sellers get on eBay:

Sellers have the Time Away mode that allows them to take a break from all activities.
An auction listing feature is available.
Automatic response.

Features Comparison: Mercari vs eBay

Now go through the features that are available on both platforms and find out their contrasts.

Mercari

Signing up for Mercari is less stressful. Nothing much is required from you except an email address. After providing that, Mercari would notify you to authenticate your account.

Listing items on the platform is also easy. Sellers can type in a few lines in the description box and that’s okay for Mercari.

Moreover, Mercari requests no money from sellers when signing up for the platform.

eBay

Signing up for eBay is also less stressful. Basically, you can sign up with either your email or Facebook account. There are a few steps to follow from there to verify your account. Therefore, it can be concluded that sign-up processes are the same on Mercari and eBay.

However, eBay has a strict listing process. This is to ensure that no scammer finds a loophole on the platform. Even though the strict listing process may save buyers from scams, it may be soul-destroying for sellers.

For Signing Up and Item Listing: Mercari wins!

Both platforms put buyers first in terms of protection; most of their protection policies favor buyers rather than sellers. Let’s look at the protection you have as a seller on each platform:

Mercari

On Mercari, sellers don’t receive their money right after a transaction until the buyer has rated the sale. Moreover, if sellers find out that their item has been returned by a buyer in a different condition, there’s reimbursement available.

There’s also a $200 shipping protection that covers sellers in case shipped items are lost in transit, or buyers file a return for items damaged in shipment.

eBay

It’s true that eBay has some strict policies that favor buyers only, however, some also favor sellers! For example, when a seller always provides buyers with memorable experiences by delivering items on time, etc, eBay would notice and protect that seller’s account by wiping out all abusive and negative feedback from buyers.

As eBay protects competent sellers, the same way it descends heavily on bad sellers. For example, if a seller is fond of canceling orders, or shipping late – and as a result has received negative reviews, eBay would tag that seller’s account with defect, giving a hint to buyers that the seller is not trustworthy. This could affect sales.

Moreover, buyers have 10 days to file for a return on eBay. But this time around, sellers can either accept or reject the return request. It depends on the condition the item arrives in.

For Sellers’ Protection: eBay wins!

As a seller, you’ve to choose the platform that gives you the affordability you want. Let’s compare the fees on Mercari to eBay.

Mercari

Sellers can list their products on Mercari at $0! That means as long as sellers have made no sales, they pay no fee to Mercari.

Nonetheless, once a sale is made, here are some of the service fees:

Sellers pay a least fee of 10% of the price of each item sold.
For everything product sold, sellers pay a 2.9% payment processing fee plus $0.30.
Sellers again pay a $2 fee if their direct deposit transfer is less than $10, or if their banks reject the direct deposit.
Shipping fees on Mercari are either paid by sellers or buyers. The decision is made by the seller. A seller who pays for shipping may raise the product’s price to include shipping. There’s also a $200 shipping protection for sellers on Mercari.

eBay

Sellers on eBay can list as many as 250 products, however, any product or item listed after that would be charged at $0.35. eBay also takes 2.35 to 12.9% of the price of every product you sell on the platform.

Sellers must take note that eBay has a non-refundable policy that makes it impossible for sellers to get their listing fees back when they don’t make a sale. In addition, eBay charges for all re-listed items.

All the same, the fees on eBay are still manageable – sellers also get access to a tiered menu that makes monthly subscriptions, discounts, and promotions possible.

eBay’s shipping is a little tangled because there are so many factors that affect the shopping rates. Some are the buyer’s location, the weight of the package, carrier, etc.

For Seller’s Fees: Mercari wins!

If you encounter any problem as a seller, you’d definitely need help. That’s why it’s so critical that you choose the platform with the best customer support service. Let’s compare the customer support on Mercari to eBay.

Mercari

There are quite a number of articles on Mercari’s help center that sellers who encounter problems can read for answers. However, if you’re unable to find an answer to your question, Mercari has a support email address that all your questions can be forwarded to for help.

eBay

eBay has a stable customer support team that sellers can reach out to for assistance at any time. Sellers have other alternatives such as email texting and direct phone calls.

For Customer Support: eBay wins!

Mercari vs eBay: Which is Better for Selling?

Both Mercari and eBay have their pros and cons, it is up to you the seller to decide the benefits you want to enjoy. Sellers who want an easy listing process, low selling and shipping fees, as well as being able to list both new and used items may choose Mercari. eBay also provides sellers with a large audience, an auction feature, and very active customer support.

Mercari is also not available in all countries like eBay which is available to all international sellers.

Suggested Post: 30 Legit High Paying Apps To Make Money.

Final Words

To conclude, you can select either Mercari or eBay for your online resale business. Choosing Mercari gives you the flexibility as a beginner while eBay gives you a professional atmosphere to expand your business, since it has a very large userbase.

Even so, you can create a seller’s account on Mercari and eBay to benefit from the amazing offers on each platform – as long as there’s a free listing to some extent on both platforms.

Wishing you more dollars and freedom!

Manuelo

Manuelo is an entrepreneur and a personal finance nerd. He is the founder of Dollars And Freedom. An expert in side hustles, online gigs, and everything about making money. His works have been featured on major financial publications, like Business Insider, GoBankingRates, Investopedia, Entrepreneur, and more. When he’s not busy with his blog or writing for others, you’ll catch him hanging out with loved ones or reading books on stoicism and self-development.

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Mercari vs eBay: Which is Better for Selling?