How to list on Mercari so buyers find it and pay

Create the listing

1. Open the form. Tap the blue Sell button in the app. Photos come first in the flow, so arrive with the set already shot.
2. Cover photo. Item filling the frame, plain background, daylight. Mercari's search grid shows it small — details belong in the next photos.
3. Item name. The name field is short, so no wasted words: brand + item + the one searchable attribute. Nike Air Force 1 White Mens 10 beats Amazing sneakers!! every time.
4. Description. Condition, then measurements, then flaws, then anything a buyer would ask (smoke-free, where you bought it, why you are selling). Questions you answer here are messages you never have to reply to.
5. Category (required), brand, size, condition, colour. Work down the list — Mercari prompts for the fields the category needs. Pick the closest condition option the form offers; the list you see is the current one.
6. Price. Check what the same item has actually been selling for, then price just inside that range. Leave a little room: buyers can send an offer and you can accept or counter.
7. Shipping. Choose the prepaid label band that covers the packed weight, or select the options your account offers for that item. Weigh the parcel before you confirm.
8. Publish. The earnings preview shows your price minus the fee — that number, not the list price, is your income. Use it to sanity-check the price.

Name field and how Mercari search reads it

Because the name field is short, put any second search phrase ("wool blend", "plus size", "ankle length") in the description instead of squeezing it into the name.

What Mercari charges

Compare that payout against other shops with the fee take-home calculator before you decide where to list.

Photos on Mercari

• Cover: the item alone, centred, filling the frame. Mercari crops to a square in browse.
• Then: back, label/size tag, texture or hardware close-up, and every flaw with its own photo.
• A measurement photo (tape across the flat garment) answers the most common question before it is asked.
• Daylight and a plain surface. The filter habits that ruin detail — heavy presets, dark room shots — make colour disputes more likely when the item arrives.
• Keep the item honest: no stock images for used items, no cropping out a mark you know is there.

Shipping on Mercari

1. Weigh the packed parcel on a kitchen scale. The item's weight and the parcel's weight are not the same number.
2. Pick the label band that covers that weight with room to spare. If the packed parcel turns out heavier than the label you bought, Mercari charges you the difference — so round up one band when you are between two.
3. Pack for the item: poly mailer for soft goods, box for shoes, bags and anything that must not be crushed.
4. Print the label, stick it on a flat surface, and cover every old barcode. Double-sided tape over the new barcode is a common cause of a parcel that never scans.
5. Hand it off inside the window the app gives you and let tracking update the buyer automatically.
6. Buyer wants it faster? You can upgrade the service — just check the price difference against your margin before promising.

The weight-to-cost table and packing materials list are in the shipping guide.

Common Mercari mistakes

• Listing weight instead of packed weight, then paying the postage difference yourself.
• A name like "Jeans!!" — no brand, no size, no searchable word, no views.
• Price set from what you paid rather than what the item sells for now.
• Leaving offers switched off in your head: never responding to an offer, so the buyer buys elsewhere within the hour.
• Questions sitting unanswered overnight. On Mercari, speed is the difference between a sale and a scroll-past.
• Skipping the condition field or picking a grade the photos contradict.
• Description with no measurements, so fit questions turn into returns.

One-tap copy: paste into Mercari

Edit in place, tap Copy, paste into the Mercari listing form. Worked example for a pair of trainers — swap in your brand, size, measurements and flaws.

mercari:// opens the Mercari app when it is installed (iOS; the bare scheme is not registered on every Android device). If it does not open, launch Mercari from your home screen and paste the copied fields into Sell.