How to Ship on Mercari? Delivery Methods, Benefits, Shipping Labels

Are you wondering how to ship on Mercari? When you are selling items online its mandatory to know how to ship those items.

Every online platform has different rules regarding shipping and Mercari is no different. Mercari offers several different shipping carriers and shipping options to make it easier for sellers and more cost effective for buyers.

Learning the ins and outs of shipping can seem daunting but Mercari’s easy to use platform lets you choose the options and the carrier you would prefer to make the whole process easier and less confusing.

Pick a Delivery Method:

Mercari offers 4 different delivery options.

1. Standard Shipping- Prepaid Shipping Label emailed to you
2. Local Delivery- Skip shipping altogether, someone will pick up the item and deliver it to a local buyer
3. Shipping & Local Delivery-Offers both shipping and local delivery as options for buyers
4. Ship on your own-Choose your own shipping service

Standard Shipping:

Mercari recommends using their standard shipping option for items up to 50lbs and 34 inches in length. Once your item sells Mercari will send you an email with a prepaid shipping label. Package your item, download and print out the prepaid shipping label and affix it to the package and drop the package at the appropriate carrier.

There a several reasons to use Mercari’s prepaid shipping labels.

1. You are not responsible to go out and purchase a shipping label.
2. Mercari’s prepaid labels come with tracking and insurance.
3. Mercari offers up to 40% off standard and economy retail carrier rates.
4. You have seller protection when items are lost, stolen or damaged.
5. Mercari will automatically send a prepaid label when a return has been approved.

Will USPS print my Mercari label?

When using Mercari’s standard shipping service, Mercari will automatically email you a prepaid shipping label directly to your email. But what if you don’t have a printer or your printer runs out of ink? What can you do? Well rest assured Mercari has you covered. Inside the email that Mercari has sent you there is a link for a QR code.

What is a QR code? If you are unable to print the shipping label that Mercari has sent you, you can use this QR code to have USPS print the label for you. Package your item like normal and take it to your local USPS. When you get to the teller show them the QR code on your phone. The teller will scan this code and print the label right there for you. Then affix it to your package and give it to USPS and you are all done.

Local Delivery:

Local delivery is a contactless way to sell your large, fragile or bulky items in your local area. There is no need to package or ship the item. Once the item sells schedule a pickup time, place the item and a driver will come and pick up the item and deliver it to the buyer.

Local delivery is $15.99 for smaller items under 50lbs (22″ X 30″ X 25″). For items over 50lbs, furniture delivery is available for $199 for up to 3 items with a maximum weight of 300lbs and must fit in the bed of a pickup truck.

Benefits of Local delivery:

1. There is no need to package your item. Save time and money by not needing boxes, bubble wrap or any packaging materials.
2. Local delivery is contactless. You don’t need to be present when the driver comes to pick up the item. Just schedule the appropriate time and place the item for the driver to pick up.
3. Local delivery is convenient. The driver will pick up the item at your chosen time. No need to coordinate a meetup.
4. Same day pick up and delivery are available.
5. Local delivery includes shipping protection.

Shipping & Local Delivery:

By choosing the shipping and local delivery option you open up your listing to more buyers. Your listing will show both the shipping and local delivery options meaning more people will look at your listing. The more people who view your listing means the more chances you have to make a sale.

Ship on your own:

Shipping on your own allows you the freedom to choose any shipping service or carrier that you prefer. Mercari recommends shipping on your own for experienced sellers with items that weigh over 50lbs. or 34 inches in length.

Once you have purchased a shipping label you will need to provide a valid tracking number within the order so Mercari can track the package to determine delivery.

Benefits of shipping on your own:

1. Choose your preferred carrier. You can choose any shipping provider you want. For example if you have an account with a specific carrier such as UPS, you may get cheaper shipping rates than even Mercari offers.

Disadvantages to shipping on your own:

1. Items are not covered by Mercari’s shipping protection.
2. If a buyer opens a return you are responsible for the return shipping label cost.

Is it better to ship on Mercari by yourself?

Depending upon your preferences will determine whether you want to use Mercari’s prepaid shipping label or ship on your own. However in my personal experience it is easier and more convenient to use the prepaid shipping label when you ship on Mercari. Plus the seller protections that come with using Mercari’s standard shipping greatly out way the risk of shipping on your own.

Even if you get better shipping rates with other shipping services when you ship on your own, you lose that seller protection and would be required to purchase additional insurance through those carriers to cover you in cases of lost or damaged packages. That’s why in my opinion its better to use Mercari’s standard shipping.

Now that you know all the delivery methods, you can make your choice in your listing. If you choose standard shipping you will need to enter the weight and dimensions of your package, choose a carrier and who will pay for shipping.

Be aware that the weight should include any packaging that the item will be shipped in. If the weight of your packaged item goes over the weight of the shipping label you will be charged the additional shipping label cost by Mercari once your transaction is complete.

Who should pay for shipping on Mercari?

Choosing whether you will cover the cost of shipping or have the buyer pay for shipping is a matter of personal preference. This is something you will have to determine when completing your listing. If you as the seller cover the cost of shipping, you have to take into account that the shipping cost will be deducted from your earnings.

Depending upon what type of seller you are may determine how you decide who pays for shipping. If you are just trying to get rid of some things in your house that you no longer use and make a couple of bucks in the process you may offer free shipping to your buyers. This may help you sell your items faster. If you are a business, it may depend on your business practices or the type of items that you are selling. Some sellers charge shipping on all their listings, while others offer free shipping and others even still have a combination of both.

As a business you have decide what is best for the overall company. Either way deciding who pays for shipping has to be the right choice for you.

What Services you can use when you ship on Mercari?

Mercari offers several different shipping services such as USPS, UPS and Fedex. Depending upon the weight of your item will determine which service you prefer to use.

For example, when I ship items under 1lb I always use USPS, because its going to be the cheapest shipping cost for my buyers. For items over 1lb I use UPS or Fedex depending upon which shipping option is cheaper.

What boxes can I use to ship on Mercari?

When it comes to packaging your item it will depend upon the size, dimensions and shipping service you choose to ship on Mercari. Not all items require a box to be shipped. Envelopes, polymailers and bubble mailers can be used for smaller items such as jewelry, purses, books, dvds, etc. For larger or fragile items boxes maybe required for shipments.

Brown cardboard boxes can be used for all shipping carriers at any weight class. However when shipping with USPS priority you can also use USPS priority boxes which can ordered for free from USPS directly. USPS flat rate boxes cannot be used on Mercari USPS priority labels.

Fedex and UPS also offer free boxes for select services. You will need to make sure that the boxes you receive from these carriers coordinate with the service you choose in your listing. For example you cannot use Fedex express boxes on Fedex Ground economy services. When in doubt regular brown cardboard boxes can always be used for any service.