*Selling* on Mercari

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#151
One_of_the_girls said:
Yes I know what you mean. I have done well on Mercari - sold more on Mercari in the time I've listed then in a couple years total on Tradesy and for me, Poshmark has been a total waste of my time. 2 offers for things that were like 10% of the price I listed it for. Yeah - I'm going to give you a 90% discount! LOL. Mercari has become my favorite platform now that I learned how to use it a little bit more. The only criticism is that you don't have enough choices for shipping. I'd like to be able to choose flat rate shipping for small and medium USPS boxes because otherwise the options are $5.25 - $11 or $16 and many items fall inbetween those categories so I think if I could lower the shipping by $2 -3, then I would sell even more. I am off Ebay completely now - it just became too stressful. And I have seen some really good deals on Mercari - nice boots and bags that I would have bought but they seem to go really fast and the first time I see things is in the sold listings they float by so you see what sold in the last 10 minutes. For some reason, those Rae Dunn kitchen items seem to be really popular sellers too.
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People don’t like to see a shipping cost, in my experience shopping and selling online. I don’t have much selling experience but I have noticed if I just up the price of my item for what it would cost me to ship it, and offer free shipping, people are more likely to click because they are getting “free shipping.” Not to mention, less sticker shock at checkout. When I shop I know I’m drawn to items that offer free shipping over someone charging $11 to ship a purse that doesn’t weigh much. I’d probably buy a bag that is $100 with free shipping before I’d buy a bag marked for $65 with $10 shipping. It’s a little silly, I know, but that is how my brain operates when I shop.
 
#152
VintageLVer said:
People don’t like to see a shipping cost, in my experience shopping and selling online. I don’t have much selling experience but I have noticed if I just up the price of my item for what it would cost me to ship it, and offer free shipping, people are more likely to click because they are getting “free shipping.” Not to mention, less sticker shock at checkout. When I shop I know I’m drawn to items that offer free shipping over someone charging $11 to ship a purse that doesn’t weigh much. I’d probably buy a bag that is $100 with free shipping before I’d buy a bag marked for $65 with $10 shipping. It’s a little silly, I know, but that is how my brain operates when I shop.
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OH you are right. I hate to pay shipping as a buyer too but as a seller I always charge it because it is easier for me to use the platform's labels. I never used Ebay labels and always did my own because that was easier then having to figure out Ebay costs for my shipping a month after I shipped the items and having to reconcile it against my account. But with Mercari and all the others - they bill the buyer directly so the seller never is out of pocket and that makes it so much easier IF you wind up with a return and you don't have the added trouble of reconciling shipping costs.
 
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#153
One_of_the_girls said:
OH you are right. I hate to pay shipping as a buyer too but as a seller I always charge it because it is easier for me to use the platform's labels. I never used Ebay labels and always did my own because that was easier then having to figure out Ebay costs for my shipping a month after I shipped the items and having to reconcile it against my account. But with Mercari and all the others - they bill the buyer directly so the seller never is out of pocket and that makes it so much easier IF you wind up with a return and you don't have the added trouble of reconciling shipping costs.
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Ok, see, I’ve not sold enough to know about the hassles of returns. So you recommend adding shipping to your items as a form of protection in case there are problems? Good information to have. Thank you for clarifying why people do this. I might lower my prices and add a shipping fee then.
 
#154
VintageLVer said:
People don’t like to see a shipping cost, in my experience shopping and selling online. I don’t have much selling experience but I have noticed if I just up the price of my item for what it would cost me to ship it, and offer free shipping, people are more likely to click because they are getting “free shipping.” Not to mention, less sticker shock at checkout. When I shop I know I’m drawn to items that offer free shipping over someone charging $11 to ship a purse that doesn’t weigh much.
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Why would there be "sticker shock" at checkout? The shipping cost is right there in the listing so you just add it to the price of the item! (The only "surprise" might be an added sales tax that is added by the venue and charged by YOUR OWN STATE. The seller has nothing to do with that; it's collected by the site and forwarded to your state DOR.)

You say you're "drawn to items that offer free shipping over someone charging $11 to ship a purse that doesn’t weigh much." The problem is that most buyers aren't aware of how much USPS, UPS or Fedex charge for shipping. A seller who charges $11 to ship that bag might still be paying an extra $4 or more to cover the cost. (I just shipped a 2 lb. package across the country and the shipping price was over $13! The buyer had paid $10.)

VintageLVer said:
I’d probably buy a bag that is $100 with free shipping before I’d buy a bag marked for $65 with $10 shipping. It’s a little silly, I know, but that is how my brain operates when I shop.
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Sorry but that makes absolutely NO sense! And certainly isn't the smart thing to do for your budget or your wallet!

When I shop, whether online or at a B&M store, I have a figure in mind of what I can afford to pay and when I calculate the cost, I consider the total bottom line. (I add shipping, sales tax, etc. and that's the price of the item.)

IMO, to be willing to pay $100 (with free shipping) for the same item that you could get for $75 (including shipping) is just plain dumb!

Bottom line is the total!
 
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#155
BeenBurned said:
Why would there be "sticker shock" at checkout? The shipping cost is right there in the listing so you just add it to the price of the item! (The only "surprise" might be an added sales tax that is added by the venue and charged by YOUR OWN STATE. The seller has nothing to do with that; it's collected by the site and forwarded to your state DOR.)

You say you're "drawn to items that offer free shipping over someone charging $11 to ship a purse that doesn’t weigh much." The problem is that most buyers aren't aware of how much USPS, UPS or Fedex charge for shipping. A seller who charges $11 to ship that bag might still be paying an extra $4 or more to cover the cost. (I just shipped a 2 lb. package across the country and the shipping price was over $13! The buyer had paid $10.)


Sorry but that makes absolutely NO sense! And certainly isn't the smart thing to do for your budget or your wallet!

When I shop, whether online or at a B&M store, I have a figure in mind of what I can afford to pay and when I calculate the cost, I consider the total bottom line. (I add shipping, sales tax, etc. and that's the price of the item.)

IMO, to be willing to pay $100 (with free shipping) for the same item that you could get for $75 (including shipping) is just plain dumb!

Bottom line is the total!
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I wasn’t talking about the same item. I was just giving price examples. It’s rare you find the same exact item in the same exact condition on the secondhand market anyway. If the $65 item was in poor shape and the $100 item was in good shape, I’d likely spend more for the better product. (Which is usually how it goes shopping pre-owned. Was just saying my brain tends to think I’m getting a “better deal” when I see free shipping, regardless of whether I am or not. Same logic goes for stores and their selling tactics. They will label an item $99.99 because it sounds much better than $100.
 
#156
VintageLVer said:
I wasn’t talking about the same item. I was just giving price examples. It’s rare you find the same exact item in the same exact condition on the secondhand market anyway. If the $65 item was in poor shape and the $100 item was in good shape, I’d likely spend more for the better product. (Which is usually how it goes shopping pre-owned. Was just saying my brain tends to think I’m getting a “better deal” when I see free shipping, regardless of whether I am or not. Same logic goes for stores and their selling tactics. They will label an item $99.99 because it sounds much better than $100.
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You are right and that's why all these platforms try to push the free shipping. Ebay requires it for their top rated sellers. Some people shop by sorting through and just checking off - free shipping. Its a psychological thing I guess and makes it easier for people to compare prices but for sellers it has its drawbacks. And even for buyers - certain sites you will get back what you paid for the item - not shipping costs so if the seller incorporated the shipping cost into their price - you are effectively getting both back. Also commissions are being taken out on the price - but if you have certain sites and use their shipping labels - they don't take commissions out on that. So if you charge $100 but use Mercari's $16 label - you are getting commissions out on $100 but if you charge $116 and use your own shipping - you are getting commissions out on $116 and Tradesy works the same way.
 
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#159
VintageLVer said:
I saw that...and cancellation fees as well. Soon, Mercari will be just as bad as some of the other selling sites. Sigh...can’t keep a good thing going for too long I suppose....
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To be fair they don’t have any control over the sales tax issue and were one of the last holdouts.

I wonder if too many ppl were cancelling orders and they are instituting the fee to make sure people keep their listings up to date.
 
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#160
MyAwesomeFinds said:
To be fair they don’t have any control over the sales tax issue and were one of the last holdouts.

I wonder if too many ppl were cancelling orders and they are instituting the fee to make sure people keep their listings up to date.
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I didn’t think about that. I have certainly tried to order something that someone had sold prior to and didn’t take down the listing and I didn’t find out until 3 days later that the seller no longer had the item. Guess that makes sense.
 
#161
VintageLVer said:
I saw that...and cancellation fees as well. Soon, Mercari will be just as bad as some of the other selling sites. Sigh...can’t keep a good thing going for too long I suppose....
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You can thank the Feds for the shipping tax charges. Online platforms have no option except to put the burden on the sellers (like Tradesy is doing right now) - but trust me - that is a heavy, paperwork intensive responsibility that will put small (non-commercial) sellers out of selling online.
The cancellation fee is like a restocking charge but it is against the seller. They say its to recoup shipping charges but if you didn't ship - they don't pay for the shipping charge. Its not JUST if you cancel a sale though - they will charge you if you ship the wrong item, it gets damaged in shipping and you've used your own shipping label OR its over $200. It also looks like if a customer complains about a SNAD - that may also trigger the fee - and its not a small percentage.
I still think the commissions are the lowest anywhere, but they will probably be raising them soon too because they are losing tons of money in the US market. Right now though, the only place anything is selling for me is Mercari. 2 sales this week - none on Posh in 6 months and only 2 in 6 months on Tradesy and 1 of those got returned to me. Plus I get paid really quickly on Mercari, they don't bust my chops for personal information and it just really is an extremely easy site to work with once you finally get it all figured out. I have become a fan over the past couple months.
I just wish they would offer a couple more shipping options - like for flat rate legal size envelops and medium flat boxes.
 
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#163
Fullcloset said:
You can thank the Feds for the shipping tax charges. Online platforms have no option except to put the burden on the sellers (like Tradesy is doing right now) - but trust me - that is a heavy, paperwork intensive responsibility that will put small (non-commercial) sellers out of selling online.
The cancellation fee is like a restocking charge but it is against the seller. They say its to recoup shipping charges but if you didn't ship - they don't pay for the shipping charge. Its not JUST if you cancel a sale though - they will charge you if you ship the wrong item, it gets damaged in shipping and you've used your own shipping label OR its over $200. It also looks like if a customer complains about a SNAD - that may also trigger the fee - and its not a small percentage.
I still think the commissions are the lowest anywhere, but they will probably be raising them soon too because they are losing tons of money in the US market. Right now though, the only place anything is selling for me is Mercari. 2 sales this week - none on Posh in 6 months and only 2 in 6 months on Tradesy and 1 of those got returned to me. Plus I get paid really quickly on Mercari, they don't bust my chops for personal information and it just really is an extremely easy site to work with once you finally get it all figured out. I have become a fan over the past couple months.
I just wish they would offer a couple more shipping options - like for flat rate legal size envelops and medium flat boxes.
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Tradesy already started sales tax collection on 9/1. Small sellers would not have to collect their own sales tax as the Collection laws apply to businesses doing a certain sales volume. In that case the onus is on the buyer to report their purchase an pay sales tax on their end of year state tax return.
 
#164
Does anyone know why my messages keep saying - user unavailable - no messages yet - invalid date? This is like the 4th time that I got a message from a buyer about an item I listed but I can't see the message. Instead the photo is generic and it says "user unavailable - no messages yet - invalid date." I am wondering if its a fake profile or what because the messages seem to be getting blocked awfully fast. Other messages are fine but a handful are getting this odd blockage.
 
#165
One_of_the_girls said:
Does anyone know why my messages keep saying - user unavailable - no messages yet - invalid date? This is like the 4th time that I got a message from a buyer about an item I listed but I can't see the message. Instead the photo is generic and it says "user unavailable - no messages yet - invalid date." I am wondering if its a fake profile or what because the messages seem to be getting blocked awfully fast. Other messages are fine but a handful are getting this odd blockage.
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Those are spam bot messages getting sent to you, and mercari is catching and removing them by the time you can get to them.
 
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