Mercari vs Etsy: Which is Best for Selling? [2023]

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Do you want to start your small business with online centers for retailers? But wait – are you confused about which one is better – Mercari vs Etsy?

The world has advanced in every single stage including the platforms for retailers. Entrepreneurship is no way near a failure anymore. Instead, every house in a group of 4-5 residents has an entrepreneur selling their ideas in different ways.

So, to give a boost to small businesses and sole proprietorships, online centers like Mercari and Etsy were established. They have helped millions of people around the world to sell what they have in abundance.

In this article, we will give you a good overview of how you can compare two of the best online centers for retailers and choose which one you would like to sell your products on.

Overview: Mercari vs Etsy

What is Mercari?

Mercari, Inc is a Japan-based E-commerce firm that was founded on 1st February 2013 by Ryo Ishizuka, Tommy Tomishima, and Shintaro Yamada.

Its main headquarters is situated in Minato city of Tokyo, Japan, and its main product – the Mercari marketplace application is the best when you want to sell used products.

So, in a world where you can reuse the already used item which still works and cannot be thrown – you have a platform like Mercari where you can look for used items such as Cameras, Phones, Speakers, other Electronic goods, and other items.

It has a reasonable rate charged as the fee for advertising your product and listing it down on its platform. The other terms and conditions opposed are commonly understandable.

What is Etsy?

Etsy is another American E-Commerce firm that focuses on Vintage items, Craft supplies, and other Handmade items. If you wish to find a wide range in the aforementioned, then Etsy can be your stop.

The list of categories also includes items from Clothing, Home Decor, Furniture, Toys, Art, Bags, Jewellery, Tools, and more.

Etsy was founded in 2005 on 18th June. Brooklyn, New York, United States is its origin and location of headquarters. Josh Silverman is its current CEO.

The company had founders named Jared Tarbell, Chris Maguire, Rob Kalin, and Haim Schoppik. It works as a parent organization for subsidiaries like – Etsy Ireland UC, Etsy France SAS, Etsy France SAS, and more.

Selling on Mercari and Etsy

Fees

Mercari: instead of deducting the fees by themselves, for using their services, Mercari is affiliated with a few of the financial Service providers – who deduct the number of fees from your balance.

Mercari will charge you a market rate of 2.9% along with $0.30 for every payment received by the customer. This fee is opposed based on the price of the item. The policy is charged for every sort of payment by the customer.

No fee will be charged when a transaction of direct deposit up to more than $10 will be completed with your bank account. But if the amount of direct deposit is under $10, the $2 fee will be opposed.

The failed direct deposit transfer that is transferred back into your Mercari account after being rejected by your bank will cost you $2. Every instant pay transaction will ask for a $2 fee from you.

Etsy: the transaction fees charged by it is only 6.5% of the price displayed at the time of listing. The season percentage will be applicable even at the time of shipping and gift wrapping costing.

HCL charges $0.20 for every extra quantity you put up in the listing insured you have to pay $0.20 for every private listing. This fee is applicable when the buyer buys a certain item from your Store.

The number of fees will be automatically deducted from your sales balance. If at the end of the month, your balance is negative, you will have an amount due at the start of next month.

Shipping

Mercari: Mercari offers you a prepaid label which will give you 63% off compared to the retail carrier rates. They will deliver the package to your mailbox and live tracking of the package will be available on the application and website too.

Mercari allows you to choose the shipping service provider for your package. It recommends the prepaid label most of the time – for experienced sellers who have oversized items to sell.

Moreover, it takes help from certified UPS packing experts who are the best when the order is bulky and fragile.

There are three main benefits of prepaid shipping – you can save up to 63% with flat discounts on shipping for over 50 states. And the prepaid insurance includes $200 shipping protection, meaning – insurance for damaged or lost items. The third benefit is that you get flat rate shipping.

Etsy: for the people staying inside the borders of Canada and the USA, you will have USPS or Canada Post shipping rates calculated automatically when you tab on the back icon ‘calculated shipping’ feature.

The shipping rates are based on 4 things – the shipping service provider you select at the time of checkout, the total weight of the package, the dimensions of the package, and your address.

For the products you sell, you can decide your own postage shipping rates and ensure that if the actual shipping rate is lower than you charged, the rest of the payment will be refunded immediately.

Products Listing

Mercari: Mercury allows a good set of categories to be sold on its website. In this case, the brand is similar to eBay but with more options to sell. You can sell Electronics including Phones, Speakers, Cameras, Computers, Tablets, and more.

The household goods category includes objects you use in your daily life. The Collectibles category can give you some good items for your collection. Apart from the aforementioned categories, you can sell more products from different units. With its ‘all categories allowed to sell’ feature, you can make a good income out of it.

Etsy: While Mercari allows you to sell more than just a couple of categories, Etsy here is famous for selling products from three main sections: Vintage items, Craft supplies, and Handmade goods.

The vintage items are required to be at least 20 years old. The handmade goods can include your handmade papers for Journaling, the Die cuts made by your ideas and machines, Candles with amazing fragrances, and more.

Craft supplies include scrapbooking papers, stickers, washi tapes, calligraphy pens or Ink pens, scrapbooking pages, designed papers, etc.

Customer Base

Mercari: according to the records from the fiscal year 2021, Mercari calculated the number of users using its services and the result included over 19 million active users using the platform every month.

Etsy: as Etsy is an American-based and Internationally famous platform, it has over 81.9 million active users using its services in 2022 every month.

While they have 81.9 million active buyers, they recorded a total of 4.36 million sellers actively using the services. About 1,209 employees work for Etsy.

Advertising Fee

Mercari: There is no such option as an advertising fee at Mercari. They will not ask for a commission when you list down the product you want to sell. But, when the item is sold, you will have to pay them a commission of 10% of the product sold.

Etsy: to showcase what you have to others in the form of advertisements, Etsy charges a certain percentage ranging from 12 to 15. 12% will be charged for the sellers who earned over $10,000 on Etsy in the last 12 months and 15% will be charged for the remaining sellers.

Seller Support

Mercari: a buyer or a seller at Mercari, the brand advises you to give them a call at – (888)325-2168 when you have doubts that you are stepping into fraud or becoming a victim of any type of criminal activity.

Etsy: to have a word with seller support services, you can tap on the contact option present on your shop home page. TO do so, you’ll need to sign in to your account.

Once you are signed in successfully, it will take you to the messaging page. You can type in the question or doubt and once they receive and review it, you will get the response.

Pros and Cons

Mercari Pros:

• The help desk will respond quickly.
• The shipping charges can be cheaper for PM.
• As it’s mainly for the Japanese market – only a 10% commission will be opposed.

Cons:

• Setting the Mercari Sellers Application is not simple.
• Even when people visit your page separately, the items presented in the store will be a mixed combination of all the products sold by you.

Etsy Pros:

• With the help of built-in Analytics, you will be able to analyze your progress on the App easily.
• The Store is easy to set up and maintain.

Cons:

• The brand will charge you for Listing down the products and when any type of Transaction is made.
• Your market must be saturated.

Conclusion: Mercari vs Etsy

Mercury and Etsy are both best in their own service categories. If you wish to become a seller who sells old and used things that can still work, your ideal platform will be Mercari. With its amazing features, you will earn a good sum as long as you are sincere in your deals.

And if you are invested in vintage and journaling, then Etsy is best for you. Journaling helps you receive peace of mind and relaxation. And it is the best way to divert your mind from the complications included in your life and focus on something pure.

So, by the end of the Mercari vs Etsy comparison article, we can say both of these services have their pros and cons. You will find either of them good based on the item you have to offer for sale.

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