Mercari Eliminates Selling Fees as It Adds Buyer Fees

by: toolguy

@my2cents

The 10% fee has been dropped in favor of the $2 & $3 charge for sellers to get their money.

Buyers pay the selling price, shipping, taxes & 2.9% + .50 cents

by: toolguy

I just went to buy something on Mercari.

There is a "Service" charge for buyers and it's 10%

That's NOT going to happen, I just stopped buying on Mercari and there's NO way I'm selling there.

This is about the dumbest thing I've ever seen in this industry.

Buyers are going to balk on this.  

by: Chicago48

I got news for everyone.  I was at a currency exchange to reload my monthly transit card which cost $35 and used my debit card.  I was charged $4 to use the card.
Retailers are going to start charging buyers the credit card processing fees.  It's coming across the board.

by: Stone Cutter

***Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, & China ***

Yesterday, I saw a startling interview with Janet Yellen.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is calling out China’s ramped-up production in solar energy, electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries, calling it unfair competition that “distorts global prices” and “hurts American firms and workers, as well as firms and workers around the world.”

Although Ms.Yellens concerns were around the Energy market, she made a very clear comment that Cheap Chinese Imports are hurting U.S. and European businesses.

Janet Yellen is headed to China next month to talk about their unfair business practices.

Chinese retailer Shein, alone, has over 6000 clothing manufacturers with low-ball price points that start at $6.99. How is any U.S. business suppose to compete with that?

Mercari will do what it needs to do, in order to survive. The U.S. economy will begin to suffer if the U.S. cannot control China.  

by: Chicago48

@stone cutter:  Blame the US consumer who wants everything rock bottom cheap and China is willing to manufacture it.  Even if it subsidizes.  The US needs to bring MORE mfring home and near-shore.  The Caribbean would be a perfect place for some businesses to setup shop.

by: Stone Cutter

@Chicago

Yes, the U.S. IS bringing back more manufacturing, however, we cannot pay employees $5.00 per hour.

As we make solar panels, here in the U.S., Yellen says that U.S. solar businesses are going bankrupt because of “Made in China”.

by: Flying Childers

Thanks to Bidenomics that the politicians seem to love so much, inflation is rampant and our economy is in a mess.   All the problems we face are caused by Big Government.

You can't force people to buy anything.   It's like going fishing.   You put out the bait and hope they will bite.

Thanks to Big Government the USA no longer has big factories that produce all the things coming in from China.   Not to mention that they give them favorable rates on postage.   It's cheaper to ship from China to NY than it is to ship from NY to CT.

It will be very interesting to see what happens with Mercari but fee shifting is not going to solve the basic problems.  People just don't have the money these days for anything not the basics.

by: Stone Cutter

@Flying Childers

You say,…

“Thanks to Bidenomics that the politicians seem to love so much, inflation is rampant and our economy is in a mess”

I’m so sorry to hear that you have fallen behind. Fortunately, with a strong job market, my household income had its best year in 2023. Not only that, but my home value is at an all time high, too.

As an artisan jeweler on Etsy, my sales are still crazy good as I sell jewelry at $350 to women with professional wages.

Unemployment is crazy low….People have jobs and are still spending money…thus the inflation. Businesses won’t curb prices until consumers stop spending.

We can’t blame government for the mistakes we make in our lives.  

by: NYSteve

LOL- any savy buyer can return any item anyway, so what does this offer buyers, if not smart sellers lowering their price- and then, only as long as memory lasts for the previous higher prices.
correct title should read  'No seller fees, No buyers'

by: toolguy

@StoneCutter

My Social Security check went up 3%, while the cost of living is thru the roof.

Most of the items I buy are up 25-50% from 4 years ago.

If it gets any worse I might have to resort to a "criminal" life style.  

by: epuise

As a long time 'dealer' of vintage/antiques, I can see Buyers hitting the 'back button' when the SEE HOW MUCH a SELLER LOSES from their PAYMENT.
Sellers 'eat' postage (often both ways, but, one way w/ 'free' (included) shipping. Sellers 'eat' the FEES on Item, Postage, Sales Tax AND the CC Fee.
^ That is a good thing. Too many think we are 'all profit'.
As a BUYER, I've found LOCAL SHOPPING -saves- me those Fees. No Ship Fee, I use an Exempt Tax ID as I must collect / forward Sales Tax. I pay Cash. IF the business CHARGES a CC Fee, I avoid, or, pay Cash. No postage.
As a BUYER, I no longer BID on in-person or 'online estate auctions' as the Buyer's Premium is 10-25%. What I've seen is, those 'auctions' wind up w/ LOWER realized prices, once the fees are added. People bid LESS.

by: epuise

Income Disparity... The widening GAP between Low/Middle Class & the Well Off... Has been getting worse since Regan....
'The Gipper' was a big protect the wealthy advocate.
HE took away the TAX DEDUCTION LINE for CREDIT CARD FEES.
The Cut Taxes / to heck w/ the Nat'l Debt buck started w/ him, but, never stopped.
IF one's Customers are low/middle class, one struggles w/ the delicate balance of low prices at the expense of making a living.
MANY U.S. Citizens complain about Immigrants, yet I know more 'takers' among well off 'taxpayers' who boast about paying little to nothing.
MANY U.S. Citizens rail about 'The President' (pick one) and China, yet they BUY from CHEAP SITES like Temu.
The hypocrisy never ceases to amaze me.

by: Whatever

well I've been on M for 4 years - I had one return - the customer intentionally damaged the item and M sided with me/ So I'm not terribly worried about the new return policy - it will be wait and see.

I just recently updated 3500 items and I'm not about to start over again although they made the price reduction easy. My problem is most of my inventory is already stupid cheap. I'll choose to wait it out and see what is going to happen there. Closing your store takes only minutes if it gets bad

I have my own website which generates very little even though my prices are even cheaper - I have hundreds of items that are not listed anywhere else - my shipping is cheaper and I give everyone a card with a code to obtain an additional 10% off.  Do they go there and buy? No. Some days 100 people will visit. This doesn't happen by accident - they have to intentionally go there.

I think the average consumer is sick and tired of buying things they can't see and feel. I think they tired of inputting their personal info into platforms that sell it to god knows who.  I think their tired of scams.

Here's an interesting thing - a few months back operating on the theory that buyers want to actually see touch feel examine what their buying I opened a booth in an antique mall.  How am I doing? GREAT!!! Yes I pay rent and a commission on the sale but I'm selling. At my age running in a deficit is no big deal. I am perfectly happy with selling my items for what I paid for them. I make no profit - don't have to pay taxes - get rid of things my kids won't have to sell at the estate sale for $1 - I don't have to deal with any of the internet business - packing and shipping are high and I don't have to deal with people not that they all mean.

I have another friend who also went back into the antique mall business in another state  - similar story - can't be a fluke.

Will I stop selling online - no but I can afford to take a wait and see approach. I'm certainly not in the business of making CEO's richer.

by: rhw1

I guess I am missing something. As a buyer on Mercari, I am going to pay for the item, pay sales tax, pay shipping, as well as a service fee. Them I am going to pay 50c +2.9% of the above amounts. So has anyone actually found out what the "service fee" amount is?

by: River

Ruby Lane tried tacking on a buyer's fee to help with the costs of the new tax service. They thought all antique collectors were accustomed to paying a buyers fee.   It was a disaster. Sales tanked and long time customers disappeared. They had no choice but to get rid of it.

@Flying Childers

"Bidenomics" didn't cause inflation.   You seem to forget that interest rates and inflation started to rise while Trump was still in office. Trump's failed trade war tariffs and his lies about the pandemic did.  Trump's failed trade war tariffs rapidly increased prices. We paid $80 billion in tariffs, equal to the largest tax hike in decades. When economists warned that the trade war was pushing  us towards a global recession, the Feds started raising interest rates. Trump was relentless and went nuclear to pressure Powell to lower interest rates, not because it was good for the country, because his own fraudulent variable rate loans were costing him an extra $3 million a year with every quarter point raise. Trump didn't care that inflation would continue to skyrocket unchecked. Unfortunately Powell caved in.  Trump had the 3 worst trade deficits in the entire history of the US. He had the worst GDP since the 1929 depression.  He took over a thriving economy and managed to run it into the ground like he's done with 19 of his failed businesses.
Biden didn't cause inflation, he inherited it. He managed to get it under control and we had the fastest recovery.  Look at history, every recession since WWII happened under republicans.  Jimmy Carter's recession was the result of what he inherited. He had to make some tough decisions to fix the problem. Yes, Biden kept most tariffs in place because of China's behavior, he could reward them with a cut,  but Biden made other trade deals with other nations that worked so well, China started shipping goods there to ship to the US.

Here are some articles to enlighten you of the real impact of Trump's trade war.
Just Google these titles.

-Trump's trade deficit legacy; Three largest in in history
-Impact of Global trade war on the economy
-The cost of Trump's trade war still adding up.
-Trade war on China was a failure in every possible way
-Cost of Trump's trade war on Financial markets
-More pain than gain: How the US China trade war hurt
-How Trump's trade war affects working class Americans
-The economic impact of Trumps trade war? Higher prices.
-US manufacturers blame Trump-era tariffs for inflations rise.
-300,000 jobs lost from Trump's trade war

by: my2cents

@Tool
Social Security benefits were increase by 5.9% in 2021, 8.7% in 2022 and 3.2% in 2023.  The increase in benefits are actually paid out in the subsequent year, as you know.

So just saying we have gotten a 3% increase while stuff has gone up so much is a bit misleading.  It was the Pandemic years that increased pricing on so many things and businesses have been more than reluctant to reduce pricing since that time.  And that is hurting us all.

by: my2cents

@rhw1
"I guess I am missing something. As a buyer on Mercari, I am going to pay for the item, pay sales tax, pay shipping, as well as a service fee. Them I am going to pay 50c +2.9% of the above amounts. So has anyone actually found out what the "service fee" amount is?"

That is what they are changing to.  The buyer will be paying the fees that the Seller use to pay directly to Mercari.  So while you may not like those fees, you really have always paid them as sellers have to price their items to cover all of that.  So in theory sellers should be reducing pricing because they no longer have to pay those fees.  I personally don't think that is going to happen as much as Mercari and the buyers would like to see.

The Service Fee is 10% of the product price.

by: shut1968

If the products people want are there reasonably priced people will still buy
There is still plenty of people out there not willing to shell out $140 bucks a year for Prime and with Mercari you get to see the exact item your buying not "hoping" you'll get what the generic Amazon photo shows.
In many cases Amazon prices are inflated to make up for the nearly 28% they charge sellers.
Mercari has always been free returns within 72 hours and they very rarely side with the seller when someone requests a return.
If sellers come, buyers will follow

by: Shanna

my2cents said
"It is likely that Mercari and it's sellers will see a large increase in Chargebacks due to only having a 3 day return policy. "

Mercari has always had a 2 day return policy since its inception, There are no major chargeback problems there, and even if there were, it would seem Mercari is eating them, as they state once the money is in your account, it is yours. Buyers are aware before purchase that there is only 3 days from receipt to make a claim.  

by: Rexford

Chicago48 says "Retailers are going to start charging buyers the credit card processing fees.  It's coming across the board."

This would not surprise me at all.  I am likely a lot older than a lot of folks here and in my lifetime I have never witnessed the greed that I am witnessing in 2024.   And I lived through the 1980s--the Gordon Gekko decade.  

People complain about inflation when, from my vantage point, most of it is "greedflation".  If others are like me, products reach a price that I refuse to pay. Example: boxes of cereal.  I haven't purchased a box of cereal in years. The boxes got smaller and thinner and I finally said "oh he** no". It's full of carbs anyway. I don't miss it.