Mercari Prepares For Latest Fee Changes With Grace Period For Listings To Update
With new fee changes set to take effect January 6th, Mercari US is providing automated tools to adjust pricing and a 6 day grace period to help buyers and sellers make a smooth transition.
The move comes ~9 months after Mercari shook things up by shifting the fee burden from sellers to buyers with disastrous effects, resulting in a troubling loss of sales on the platform, layoffs of 45% of US staff, and the resignation of US CEO John Lagerling before the company finally reversed course, announcing a new "new" fee structure last month.
Liz Morton
The new fee structure will move the 10% fee on the item price and shipping back to the seller side of the equation and introduce a flat 3.6% "protection fee" on the buyer side.
What is the new fee structure?
Starting January 6, 2025:
- Sellers will pay a flat 10% selling fee on the completed item price and buyer-paid shipping
- Buyers will pay a flat 3.6% Buyer Protection fee on the completed item price and buyer-paid shipping
- No additional payment processing fee for either buyers or sellers
Mercari says the new fee structure will automatically apply to new and updated listings starting the week of January 6 but existing listings may take a week or more to reflect the changes.
In order to facilitate the switch over, Mercari is providing a bulk-update tool for sellers that will automatically raise their current prices by 10% to account for the new fee.
Match your current earnings:
Can I automatically increase my prices in bulk to help ensure my earnings stay the same?Yes, to help maintain your current earnings after the new fee structure is implemented, you have the option to automatically increase your listing prices in bulk.
If you opt in before January 6, 2025, we will schedule a price increase for your listings to align with the new fee structure. This update is entirely optional and can be chosen before the new fees take effect.
The scheduled listing price updates will begin during the week of January 6, 2025. Depending on how many listings you have, the update can take several hours or days.
If I opt in, can I still update my listings before the automatic price increase?
Yes. Please note that if you update the details of an item on your own before the opt-in feature updates it, the new fee structure will apply.
Prices for items edited after the fee structure change will not be automatically updated, so you will need to adjust the prices manually while editing the item.
When can I opt in?
You can now opt in anytime before January 6, 2025 to schedule a bulk listing price increase. Download the latest version of the Mercari app to try it out.
The tool is optional to use and Mercari has provided full instructions for how to opt in here.
They're also providing a grace period between January 6th and 12th to allowed time for listings to be updated - listings that don't have the new structure will not apply the 10% fee on either side, though buyers will still pay other standard charges including taxes, payment processing fees (2.9% +$0.50) and shipping costs on those not yet updated items.
What do you think of Mercari's fee reversal? Are you using the bulk updater to raise your prices to account for the new fees? Let us know in the comments below!
