Is Mercari Legit And Safe? – Overview And Tips About Scams
Mercari is an e-commerce marketplace to sell and buy used items. It is accessible through the website and app. So you must be wondering to know if is Mercari legit and safe to buy items.
The rise and chances of e-commerce scams are reasons to think for buyers and sellers. We will clarify the legitimacy of Mercari and the typical scams that happen on it and how to counter them.
Is Mercari Legit?
Mercari is a Japanese E-commerce marketplace where anyone can purchase and sell preloved items. It is a legit platform, founded back in 2013 by Shintaro Yamada. This used items marketplace has more than 20 million active users.
Mercari mainly operates in Japan and the USA. Its official app has more than 100 million downloads with an average of 4.6 rating on the app store and Google Play store. This shows its legitimacy and people’s trust in it.
How Does Mercari Work?
Mercari is an e-commerce platform that doesn’t sell any personal goods. It plays a middleman role between a seller and a buyer.
The platform provides a safe way to shop for used items with payment security and refunds.
- Sign up and list your goods (Sign Up is free)
- After the sale is made Mercari holds the payment and charges its 10% commission on each item sold
- The seller has 3 days to deliver the item to the buyer’s shipping address. Confirmation is made by the seller on shipment of the sold item
- Upon successful shipment, the buyer has 3 days to check the item. buyer can either accept the item or request a refund on the item delivery(not the same as described, missing or damaged)
- If the buyer agrees to accept the order, then both will rate each other respectively
- If the buyer doesn’t accept the order, Mercari will release payments to the seller
- Mercari offers a refund to buyers for these reasons(Item not the same as described, missing or damaged)
Tips For Mercari Buyers To Avoid Scams
Don’t Buy If The Item Price Mismatch
Scammers entice buyers by offering quality products at low prices. Grabbing a good deal may look attractive but falling into e-commerce fraud is scarier.
Items on Mercari are sold by individual sellers rather than retailers. You need to be more cautious while making deals. If something seems fishy, leave it before making any purchase. It is better to spend a little more rather than lose the whole money.
View Item Pictures
Real sellers don’t hesitate to upload multiple pictures of the item. Check out item pictures from different angles and then decide to buy.
Read Product Description
Tricky or no description mostly ends up in a mess. Don’t buy if the item description is mismatched or looks suspicious.
Once you have done the above assessments then move to the seller verification phase.
Verify Sellers On Mercari
Verification of genuine sellers and scammers on Mercari is very easy. It can be done in the following ways.
Do Seller Profile Verification
Seller profile verification can be done by checking the Seller About section. Real sellers give brief and clear information about their services in their profile descriptions.
Always purchase products from sellers who are older on the platform, and have confirmed their, phone, email, social media, and government ID.
Secondly, check out the seller reviews from previous buyers. The below profile has a 1344 five-star rating and good sales. More positive reviews mean more customer trust and authenticity.
Mercari seller-level badges are one more way to screen trustworthy sellers. Marketplace awards badges like Fast Responder, Quick Shipper, Reliable, etc to top-performing sellers.
These badges are also shown in the profile section to build customer trust. Make sure your seller has achieved these marketplace badges before starting a deal. Badges criteria a below.
Fast Responder: If a seller gives all customers a chat response within 12 hours this badge can be achieved.
Quick Shipper: This level is given by shipping all the orders within 24 hours of the purchase excluding holidays.
Reliable: The reliable Seller badge is earned by completing all orders with a minor cancellation ratio.
Always choose to purchase from verified Mercari sellers. The verification check mark is attached to the seller’s profile picture and is visible. This checkmark is only given to sellers who verify their phone, email, social media, and valid government ID.
Use PayPal For Mercari Payments
Paypal is supported for Mercari payments, so use it. Its buyer protection helps you in getting refunds after being scammed. If you don’t get the ordered product go to the support team for a refund of the paid amount.
Demand Tracking Number Of Shipment
Once the item is purchased and payment is done ask the seller to give you the tracking number of the delivery. If the seller forgets to inform demand in the inbox.
If the seller doesn’t provide the tracking number, wait for a maximum of 7 days for item delivery. If it fails then you can go for order cancellation and get a refund despite the order being delivered by the seller.
Do Order Confirmation In 3 Days
A buyer must confirm the order in 3 days. If this deadline is missed due to any reason the payment will be released to the seller and can’t claim a refund.
Tips For Mercari Sellers To Avoid Scams
Sellers on Mercari must follow the below guidelines to avoid any scams on the platform.
Don’t List Prohibited Items
To work as a seller on Mercari, you must comply with its guidelines. Mercari has declared a list of prohibited items that can’t be sold on its platform.
If you list these items even without intention you may face serious consequences.
If Mercari finds your listings against their policy of prohibited items, the following penalties can be awarded.
- Your listing will be canceled and removed from the marketplace
- Termination of listing privileges, transactions, and profile badges
- The account will be suspended
That is why we recommend compliance with marketplace guidelines and policies.
Do Accurate Item Listing
Make sure to add the correct information about your item while listing it on the Mercari marketplace. Here are a few things to consider for all sellers.
- Add a minimum of 4 to 6 photos of your item
- Write a complete and readable item description explaining salient features
- Include the color, size, or measurements of the item in the description if applicable
- Item drawbacks in some cases
- Things that will be included in the item delivery
If you miss anything above, the buyer would have a solid reason to demand refunds based on items not as described.
Things To Know While Shipping The Item
Once the item is ordered you need to ship it following the below guidelines.
- Package the item with the best possible to avoid any damage or chances of missing
- Try to ship within 3 days of purchase
- Send your buyer a valid tracking number for the item
- Do a confirmation of your shipment
If the item is shipped on time and you have provided the buyer valid tracking number, it will lessen the chances of order cancellation and refunds. You can extend the delivery date on valid grounds after the consent of the buyer. If the buyer doesn’t agree, the order will be canceled.
The tracking number must be provided within 1 to 7 business days otherwise buyer will be eligible to cancel the order even if you have delivered the item. It also saves you unnecessary order cancellation. The Mercari support team will be able to check the item status from the tracking number.
Orders shipped by the private courier tracking number can be found on the shipping receipt. You can send it to the buyer through Mercari messaging.
Mercari also offers its shipping services as shown in the below image. The prepaid label is the recommended package, giving $200 shipping insurance and tracking of your package. You can easily share tracking details with your buyer.
Mercari Guidelines For Sellers And Buyers
No Outside Deals
Scammers try to convince for outside deals. Because they won’t be penalized in case of any report. Mercari doesn’t allow its users to deal outside the marketplace.
Keep your communication, payments, and information sharing within the marketplace otherwise, Mercari won’t take responsibility. Payments within the marketplace ensure the maximum safety of sellers and buyers in case of any scams.
Things You Must Not Do On Mercari
Mercari ensures mutual respect, honesty, and ethics on its platform. If you do any violation then you may be penalized for the prohibited conduct. You must not make the following mistakes on Mercari.
- Don’t abuse, harass, or threaten anyone
- Never deal outside the marketplace
- Don’t make multiple listings of a product or give misleading information about the item
- No drop shipping(Direct shipping of items from the manufacturer)
- Avoid initiating a dispute without any solid reason
- Never provide an incorrect item tracking number to the buyer
- Don’t exchange personal information on Mercari
Mercari Order Cancellation Policy
Mercari has separate cancellation policies for sellers and buyers. Let’s discuss both one by one.
Mercari Order Cancellation Policy For Buyers
A buyer can cancel the order before the delivery. However, the seller has the right to accept or deny the order cancellation. If both agree then the order will be marked as canceled and a refund will be provided to the buyer.
If the seller doesn’t respond the to buyer’s order cancellation the order will be automatically canceled and the buyer will receive a refund. In case the seller shipped the item and did not send the tracking number to the buyer. The buyer can cancel the order after 7 days and claim a refund.
Seller Order Cancellation Policy
Sellers on Mercari can also cancel the orders. Here are the conditions for the order can be canceled.
- The shipping address of the buyer is incorrect
- The buyer accidentally purchased the item
- Item is unavailable or on hold for someone else
- Item found damaged or not as described
- The seller is unable to ship the item
Mercari takes 5% of the order amount as a penalty which can be a maximum of $25 to be charged as the transaction fee or shipping labels. If the seller does too many cancellations Mercari can restrict, suspend, or terminate the account.
Mercari Refund Policy
A buyer can claim the refund within the 3 days of item delivery. Most importantly before giving the rating to the seller. If both conditions are not fulfilled buyer won’t be able to request a refund.
Buyers can ask for a refund on the below conditions.
- The seller shipped the wrong item
- Item is damaged or incomplete
- The item is not as described by the seller
- Item is prohibited from being sold on Mercari
If the buyer gives the refund reasons like changing their mind, Getting the item from anywhere else don’t need any longer, and wrong selection of color and size, Mercari will reject the refunds.
Refund requests can be initiated through the order status page. Go to the help section and click on “I want to return my purchase”. Now submit the request with the necessary details and any proof you have.
The seller has to respond to the return request within 24 hours otherwise Mercari will refund the amount to the buyer without any delay. In case the seller denies the return request and provides feedback, the case will be escalated to Mercari support. Where the proofs from both parties will be checked.
If the seller is found guilty the refund will be given to the buyer and if the buyer is unable to satisfy Mercari support the payment will be released to the seller.
In another case, if the seller accepts the return, the buyer has to deliver the item within 3 days of acceptance. If the buyer fails to give the tracking number of the shipped item within 7 days of confirmation, payment will be released to the seller.
Once the seller has received the product back, 24 hours are given to check the item and report if anything is missing. If the seller gives the signal that everything is fine, the buyer will get a refund.
Frequently Asked Questions
Final Words
I think there is no doubt now that Mercari is a legitimate marketplace. That acts as a medium between buyers and sellers. We have tried our best to give our best thoughts on Mercari scams and how to counter them.
You can’t take anything for granted because every day new online scams emerge. Take all the necessary steps to keep your money safe from scammers.
