Mercari has a rating of 1.2 stars from 2,367 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about Mercari most frequently mention customer service, credit card, and phone number problems. Mercari ranks 592nd among Marketplace sites.
This company does not typically respond to reviews
Initially customer service gave me some trouble due to mistaken identity, however the (frustrating) problem was resolved. I must say that I enjoy the simplicity of Mercari. It is a more streamlined method of buying and selling than Ebay.
This web site is terrible. They have pictures of the item but sends you something totally different. For example. The bags are clearly vintage but you receive a brand new fake bag plastic bag. They have so many sellers websites doing this. They are are usually shipping out of Chino, California. You order one thing and receive another. They don't refund money instead they credit.
Buyers can repeatedly cancel for no reason and still be issued a refund, your shipping cost is not refunded. Really bad customer service, your money isn't released until the buyer decides to rate you, unlike ebay.
Date of experience: February 12, 2019
Mercari says no returns except for not as described. My buyer changer his mind 20 minutes after I posted and said he was sending it back. Lied about condition. I'm out 35$ postage. They've seen my last money.
Date of experience: June 25, 2020
I sold an item to someone on mercari. They got their shoes. My money still hasn't even been deposited into my account. Still, my stupid self decides to purchase something for this seller. I get home from work thinking whatever i purchased would be there after work since usps told me it was delivered and the app notified me also. Guess what? No package. Make sure to use ebay only. Everything else is garbage.
Date of experience: November 8, 2018
I am so beyond ticked off at this website. I will probably freak out on at least one review sure a day until they acknowledge me. I purchased two Apple watched for my title boys for Christmas. Since they were gift it didn't fall Under the 3 day rule for returns. Well come to find out after they were given as gifts I had to take them back from them because they were stolen! I could get in trouble for that. Mercari will not reimburse me my money or attempt to make things right. It's bull$#*!. As far as I am concerned they are worse than the thief! They owe my kids two Apple watched with chargers plus a bonus gift for getting screwed out of their gifts this year! The world is hard enough right now. Mercari you should be ashamed
Date of experience: January 12, 2021
Mercari makes sellers fill in a W-9 form even if they didn't reach $600 in sales, they prevent sellers from sending offers or accepting offers. Also, they put shipping expenses as your profit, although you basically do not see that money and do not profit from them because they buy labels for you. Also, there is nowhere on the dashboard that you can see total gross sales earnings (those with earlier mentioned shipping and fees). My net profit is $370, revenue is $450, and gross is $560 (I found out during a call with a representative). I tried to accept an offer for $4 + $4.99 shipping and Mercari doesn't let me do that. WTH? Do you need a calculator or what? It's still below $600!
This is my first year with Mercari, but I hate it. And they also took all my points! I've made a couple of expensive purchases and collected a decent amount of points for the item I wanted and they just took them away one day. No notification, nothing! Those pricks just stole them. It was about $70 worth.
Date of experience: November 27, 2023
First time using this site (since Google relentlessly pushes it for some reason). Bought faucet based on stock photos in listing. But, received totally different finish/color. Opened a return and had to submit a min of 6 photos. Mercari asked for more photos, so sent couple more. They denied the return. Apparently the rep doesn't understand same model, different finish. Will be contacting my bank. Worst experience for a new customer ever! Never using this garbage site again!
Tip for consumers:
Don't expect refunds
Date of experience: March 20, 2022
Mercari's customer service is horrific, there's no customer service phone number and no way to chat with anyone online. You have to email them in hopes they will get back to you, but even then you'll probably have to reach out at least 3 times. They also banned my account indefinitely for "excessive use of keywords" when I consistently described my items accurately and just wrote detailed item descriptions. Don't forget when that happens, they SCAM YOU out of all of your funds and keep the money you have on hold! I had over 750 transactions and 742 of them were 5 stars with so many repeat buyers. Stick with eBay, customer service is way better and they won't ban you for dumb things and steal your money.
Date of experience: December 29, 2021
I shop a lot online, including auction sites. This website is the absolute worst. It is extremely difficult to access customer service, but if you do correspond with an actual human, it is a waste of time. I have had three bad experiences to date, so the site has now been struck from my list of shopping sites. Last week I bought a large dog bed for a big dog. I was sent a tiny dog bed suitable for a toy breed. I sent numerous photos (10+) including a tag that showed the size of the bed—which was in direct opposition to the listing info— but was told that I did not provide enough documentation to return the item. Don't waste your time, money, or sanity with this unprofessional website!
Date of experience: December 1, 2020
Avoid Mercari. Had nothing but problems with my initial purchase. Customer service is lacking and gave repeat and repeat issue. Received product that was ordered and it was significantly damaged. Item was a WWII statue and arrived broken and in numerous pieces beyond repair. Took pictures with minutes of delivery and opening the box, Mercari denies damage and indicates I have no proof it arrived that way. Seriously? I order a lot thing just to break them…not. Stay away! Look at the reviews about Mercari. I did and still ordered. Now I'm paying for it!
Date of experience: August 15, 2023
They are forcing sellers to use fast pay which charges $2 per transaction. When you don't mind waiting 5 days to get paid then they come up with a gate to block you from requesting your money without the $2 fee. This has to be illegal and there's no oversight committee to complain about this. I've sold 500 items with 500 five star reviews and they treat the lifeblood of their organization like this. They are in Japan so you can't get in touch with them either. No phone number whatsoever, no address, no Google reviews. It's like Japanese Cowboys raping America $2 at a time. They need a class action lawsuit to be filed against them. Any lawyers interested, I'll testify.
Tip for consumers:
Don't use the $2 fee option if your going to use mercari. They are getting greedy and rich off your $2 every time.
Products used:
Selling and paying for the privilege.
Date of experience: May 1, 2022
No Buyer protection on Mercari. Got a designer bag that doesn't stay closed and not new like stated by the seller. Started a return and because of their high volume didn't take time to read through denied my return and I am stuck with a useless bag. Gives me 5 % discount huh?
Date of experience: November 4, 2020
Bought a Atari handheld game system, found after 4 days, unit is defective, Mercari also left AUTO positive feedback (always after 3 days of delivery) and, paid seller and I have no recourse to either send unit back at sellers expense nor mine and no refund offered now thier polices SUCK.
Seller ghosted after saying they will take care of me, now they don't have too. As if a seller sells a defective unit and you don't know past 3 days. You are screwed. Completely & Utterly.
Worst buyer platform I had used in 21 yrs. Period, disgusted and sick to my stomach, and trying to roll a charge back to get my hard earned money back, is almost impossible, due to thier seller friendly, fee hungry, non buyer friendly platform, will never buy again from that crap site.
Tip for consumers:
Run!! Do not buy from, as this is not a buyer friendly site. You will not be protected against defect or anything. You will lose your hard earned money and have no recourse.
Products used:
Game system
Date of experience: April 20, 2022
I sold a monitor and was encouraged to use their shipping label being assured that insurance will cover the cost of my item if something goes wrong. I even had it packed at the UPS drop off by the staff there.
It's a total scam and there for marketing purposes. You won't get help and they will be less than truthful describing how you packed the item and then sy you should of done this or that. There's basically nothing you can do that's right. You could have all the packing in the world wrapped around your item and they will say it's still not enough.
They will also downplay the steps you took to secure the item for shipment.
Just don't do it. I'm in the middle of reporting them to the State Attorney General's Office. I suggest anyone else being screwed over by this company do the same.
Tip for consumers:
Do not use their shipping labels if you want to be safe in the face of a claim should your item get damaged. They will not pay you with the promised insurance and will say and do anything to make sure it stays that way.
Products used:
I sold a monitor using their site.
Date of experience: March 15, 2021
Love the app. A marketplace I can sell my Pagan/Metaphysical artwork on. I've been on Mercari since August 2016, I have had no problems so far, and only all great experiences. Over 30 gre at ratings. Facebook search for Mercari support groups to get a better understanding how the app works.
Date of experience: December 19, 2018
Mercari is terrible. They require you to write a review within three days of receiving your package, even if you're out of town. I ordered boots that came with a huge rip along the side. Obviously, this was not shown when I ordered them. They refused to issue a refund or help in any way whatsoever. They sell damaged goods and do nothing to help their customers. Terrible customer service. Terrible policies.
Tip for consumers:
DO NOT USE THIS SITE!
Products used:
Boots
Date of experience: December 26, 2021
Mercari is a reselling website for pre owned or new items. Based in Palo Alto, California (so, subject to California consumer protection laws). Mercari's return policies seem designed to make you exasperated and frustrated. I messaged the seller asking about return and the seller said sure, send it back no problem. But mercari customer support still wants me to jump through return policy hoops. So I did, (at a health risk to me) but there still no action from them. Be aware of website's disregard for what you or the seller want. Total insanity. My advice: stay away.
Tip for consumers:
STAY AWAY.
Products used:
attempted return of a tote bag
Date of experience: July 25, 2022
I wandered over from eBay as a buyer and I really like Mercari. I've had only one issue, which the seller did not ship, but I was refunded promptly.
I notice a lot of the complaints here are either from a single bad experience, sometimes directed at a specific seller. Often it appears that buyers do not realize what sellers have to do, or that they're humans as well and make mistakes (and buyers very often scam sellers, so sellers can get jaded fast).
Items ship with tracking, if tracking shows the item is delivered you've got 3 days to give the seller feedback or tell them something went wrong. If after 3 days you don't do anything, then it automatically gives your feedback and once the seller leaves you feedback as well, then they get paid.
It's a system that encourages honesty and politeness (although I can see that doesn't extend to some, whether they've had a bad day or who knows what.) All in all, I've been using the site and like it.
Date of experience: June 19, 2021
I've used Mercari quite a bit. Better than ebay in my opinion. Less hassle unless you are a buyer. The rules are too loose. You can literally mark shipped immediately after a sale. Then you have 7 days for them to show tracking on top of a few days with the post office. Then after showing in transit you have the original delays with shipping now on top of what was slow already. You might get your item in a month just to find out all your items are broken and then the slow process of convincing you need a refund through USPS. Been doing this a long time, over 800 happy customers on this site alone... buyers need to be treated better. Shipping for me doesn't take more than 48 hours and I run an entire Auction House service shipping hundreds of items every week. These sellers play the lazy game, package poorly and I'm don't buying. Great site to sell... and that's good business. Buyers, tough luck with getting your items, MAYBE.
Date of experience: March 18, 2022
Mercari is the number 1 selling app they have helped me make over 2 thousand dollars in 2 weeks selling all of my old junk and collectibles i never used anymore sitting in my closet. Why not let it sit on mercari to get SOLD instead?
Date of experience: May 18, 2020
I purchased a video game console from a seller on Mercari and I received an empty box. Don't to business with Mercari the seller's are scam artists. Can't add a photo of invoice because this site wont let me download it.
Tip for consumers:
DON'T BUY FROM THIS SITE
Products used:
none received an empty box
Date of experience: March 1, 2022
I joined Mercari a week ago and placed two orders. The company then closed my account and cancelled my orders without explaining why. When I contacted them via email I got a generic and somewhat rude reply. I definitely do NOT recommend this company to anyone as you will never get in touch with a real person, the phone number leads nowhere and you end up more and more frustrated! Or like me very confused at what went wrong!
Tip for consumers:
Don’t use this site as you will never reach anyone but rude reply’s on email. If they even reply.
Products used:
None, they cancelled my order before it was placed.
Date of experience: August 11, 2022
I have been buying online for 2 decades, and was one of the earliest members in Mercari. Their customer service was great until recently.
I had sellers made mistakes twice, and CS refused to honor a return. The second time I was sent a different size than the seller listed, and CS reason was they do not take returns for sizing/fit (which is not the case here).
Be careful anyone who buys from Mercari. Their CS phone number is a fake. Whatever you press, you get to live support not available, contact us online. You will never talk to a human being, or get to contest a CS decision even when they are unreasonable.
Collage is SS of seller's description on top, and the label on item I received at bottom
Date of experience: January 9, 2023
Mercari has helped me increase my customer base as an online seller. I have had positive experiences on the platform as a seller and buyer with no issues. The buyer needs to educate themselves with the tracking and rating program which is easily explained on Mercari's help pages. Hopefully this company will rival eBay in years to come by continually improving.
Date of experience: December 18, 2018
They do not follow their 3 day policy and close out support tickets when the issue is not resolved. I've had nothing but issues with support, and am now being told I cannot be reimbursed, from someone refusing to communicate on a delivered package, because I provided stock photos. Which means they allow scammers. Half the time the pictures come out poor or they are not supported by the app. Good in theory but poorly orchestrated. I gave them opportunities to fix each issue as they arise and they just close out tickets.
Date of experience: June 8, 2020
Very unprofessional business practices going on here! 1st last time I will purchase from mecari or anyone having to do with them. I purchased a 17.3" Dell laptop. Ad stated it was in NEW, like NEW condition. I received a 15.6" Dell laptop in an obviously water stained box that was shredded up on ends. Lots of packing tape used at one end since laptop was a couple inches longer than the old box shipped to me in. I filed for valid return ofollowed all policies only to be denied. They marked it resolved! This is not resolved! I've filed with my card company. They will resolve this issue! I strongly recommend staying away from doing any business with this company. Bunch of bull$#*!!
Products used:
Nothing used from here.
Date of experience: December 17, 2023
This is Mercari: The Selling App. The fast and easy way to sell or buy almost anything.