In the interests of being completely transparent I was paid by Mercari to try out their app. I have in no way been asked to promote them on my blog or on social media. I have chosen to blog about how I got on using the app because I thought you would find it useful.

Mercari is an app that allows you to sell your unwanted clothes, beauty products, electronics etc. It’s free to download and doesn’t have the selling fees that you experience on other sites. This means you keep 100% of what you make.

I feel like after Christmas is a good time for a clear out. Not only have you received new things but the start of the year is a good excuse to get organised. You can also make a bit of money from the things you no longer use which goes a little way to making up for the amount you spent in the run up to Christmas.

Selling On Mercari

After setting up your account it literally takes 30 seconds to list a sale. You start by photographing your item, uploading up to four photos. I generally try to take four photos so buyers get a clear idea of the quality. After this you fill out the item name, description, what category it falls under, brand name, size and condition. You then choose the price you would like to sell for, remembering to include the price of postage.

You will be notified every time someone is interested in your item (they click on the heart to save it). Buyers also get in contact with any questions and offers on the price. I think on every single item I have sold, buyers have made a lower offer. You don’t have to accept the offer so if it is lower than you were hoping for you can make a counter offer. None of the offers I was made were stupidly low, however I did make counter offers on two items because I still needed to cover postage on top of the item price.

If one of your items is bought you are notified and you will then be informed once the buyer has paid. You then have three days to post it. You can send through MyHermes which Mercari recommends, or Royal Mail which is easier for me as the post office is close by. I sold a belt just before Christmas which then meant I couldn’t post until the day after Boxing Day which was longer than three days. I just contacted the buyer to let her know and everything was fine. The buyer can cancel the transaction if you take too long or don’t let them know what’s going on.

Pros

As I said at the start, there are no extra fees with Mercari. I hate it when you sell items on other sites and then receive a bill at the end of the month.

It’s incredibly easy to list an item and takes about 30 seconds.

The process is very quick and I’ve sold items within an hour of uploading them.

Pieces I’ve tried to sell on other sites in the past have sold with no problems.

Cons

Mercari does rely on the fact that buyers need to let them know when they have received the item before they will release your money. The buyer must rate you and vice versa to complete the transaction. I haven’t had any problems with this though. If you are worried you can send your item tracked which I did do with slightly more expensive things.

If someone clicks to buy your item you then have to wait for a notification they have paid. I sold a pair of sunglasses on the 11th December and I’m still waiting for payment. This means I have rejected other offers on this item. Mercari should give buyers three days to pay. You would know where you are then and feel able to sell to someone else rather than risk losing a sale. I have mentioned this to Mercari and they have taken it on board. It’s great when companies respond well like this.

Depending on what you are selling this point could actually be a pro. Items from stores like Missguided and New Look will do better than higher end pieces as their target demographic is a younger audience. This is great if you have a lot of high street pieces to sell. I do have quite a few designer/ higher end items which I don’t think would do that well. Having said that I did sell a pair of Versace sunglasses without any problems.

How I Got On

I have sold six items which has made me £63. These items have included sunglasses, shoes, clothes and a belt. I am aiming to make at least £100 buy the end of the month as I’ve just listed a few more pieces.

I’ve actually really enjoyed using the app because it makes selling unwanted things stress free. I’m starting the year with a good clear out before I add anything new to my wardrobe. I want to make more considered purchases this year and this is the first step in that process. Look out for upcoming posts on strategies for making wardrobe investments!