Mercari: How to Ship and Shipping Prices

What if you could sell items from the comfort of your own home with just your phone? Selling on Mercari is a great way to get rid of items that you no longer use, or even a great way to start a reselling business so you can make a little extra money on the side.

One thing that I get asked a lot is how to ship on Mercari. I can see how Mercari shipping may be confusing if you aren’t used to shipping online, so I wanted to create this post to help you feel a bit more comfortable once your items sell and it’s time to ship.

>> If you’re a Mercari beginner make sure to check out this guide for everything you need to know about selling on Mercari as well.

Mercari Shipping Label

When shipping on Mercari you have two options: to use a Mercari label (that either you or your buyer pays for) or to ship it on your own.

When you go with the prepaid label from Mercari all you have to do is make sure that you properly weigh the item and input it when listing your item. You’ll then select to ship via USPS, FedEx, or UPS. 

Once your item sells you will be provided with a printable shipping label to print at home and secure on the package. Can’t find the label? Check your email or the order status page. Then just drop it off at the post office or whichever shipping partner you choose (USPS, UPS or FedEx). 

One bonus for shipping via Mercari is that Mercari prepaid labels include $200 in shipping protection. There are some things you need to do to qualify for shipping protection such as having the label scanned within 3 days from purchase date, but you can find the full list here.

Keep in mind that to do this you will need some sort of a printer to print the shipping label. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, you just need it to print so you can tape it to your package. If you don’t have one you can always try asking a friend to print for you or check to see if your library or local shipping store can print for you.

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Mercari Shipping Prices

Though Mercari can change its shipping prices in the future, at the time of this post Mercari shipping prices are as follows. Make sure you get a shipping scale so that you can weigh your package before selecting a shipping option.

Packages 8oz and under

• USPS: $4.60
• FedEx: $9.99
• UPS: $9.99

Packages 9oz to 1lb (16oz)

• USPS: $4.99
• FedEx: $9.99
• UPS: $9.99

Packages 1lb 1oz to 3lbs

• USPS: $11.00
• FedEx: $11.00
• UPS: $9.99

Packages 3lb 1oz to 5lb

• USPS: $17.00
• FedEx: $12.50
• UPS: $9.99

Packages 5lb 1oz to 10lb

• USPS: $17.00
• FedEx: $12.50
• UPS: $13.00

Packages 10lb 1oz to 20lb

• USPS: $35.00
• FedEx: $17.00
• UPS: $17.25

Packages 20lb 1oz to 30lb

• USPS: unavailable
• FedEx: $35.00
• UPS: $30.00

Packages 30lb 1oz to 40lb

• USPS: unavailable
• FedEx: $44.00
• UPS: $30.00

Packages 40lb 1oz to 50lb

• USPS: unavailable
• FedEx: $44.00
• UPS: $45.00

Packages 50lb 1oz to 60lb

• USPS: unavailable
• FedEx: $60.00
• UPS: $65.00

Mercari Ship Your Own Option

The Mercari Ship Your Own option allows you to choose your own shipping provider and ship the product on your own. This is a good option if you can get cheaper shipping rates than are available on Mercari.

When an item sells, Mercari will provide the address for you to ship to and once you have produced your own label and shipped the item you can come back to Mercari and input the tracking information so the buyer knows the item has been shipped.

Some people opt to do the Ship Your Own option on Mercari because it can often be cheaper. If you go with this option you will need to offer free shipping and then get a shipping label yourself.

When you go with this option make sure you know how much your shipping cost is and add that into the price of the item so you don’t lose money.

Once your item sells, Mercari will provide you with the buyers address and you can use it to buy a shipping label of your choice.

Pirate Ship is a website where you can get commercial USPS rates and save a good amount of money most of the time. 

Alternatively, you can buy and print shipping labels right off of the USPS, FedEx and UPS websites.

Once you buy a label and ship the item make sure you go back into Mercari and add your tracking number to the order so that Mercari and your buyer can track the package and know it’s been shipped on time.

This shipping scale is inexpensive and great for weighing packages to make sure you’re getting a label for the correct weight.

What is Mercari Pack and Ship?

Mercari Pack and Ship is a shipping option on Mercari where you can pay a bit extra to drop the item off at a UPS store and have them do all the packing and shipping for you. 

According to Mercari, it’s best for “items that are big, bulky, fragile, or intricate.” You can find all the details here.

Where to Get Shipping Mercari Shipping Boxes

If you ship your items via USPS Priority Mail you can get free Priority Mail shipping boxes here. How will you know if you’re shipping USPS Priority Mail? If you’re shipping via USPS using a Mercari Label over 1lb, it will likely be a Priority Mail label. If you’re printing shipping on your own via USPS, you can select Priority Mail. It will say “Priority Mail” on your label.

However, if you are shipping USPS First Class Mail or via FedEx or UPS you’ll need to find or purchase your own Mercari shipping boxes or mailing bags.

Polymailers are a great option for clothing and other lightweight items that don’t need the protection of padding or boxes. There are also a lot of options with fun patterns and designs that can make your package stand out.

If you need to buy boxes, you can order boxes that can be sized down so you have a variety of options. But the best thing to do, if you can, is to just buy boxes as you sell items unless you’re planning on selling a high volume of items. One of the best places to buy cheap boxes is Walmart or even stores like Walgreens or CVS.

Also keep in mind that you can totally reuse boxes! As long as your packaging is clean and not totally worn out, most people won’t mind that you’re reusing boxes. Most of us get packages delivered to our own homes so save that packaging for any future Mercari orders to save on money and help out the environment!

Mercari Shipping Tips

• Check the Mercari Shipping Guide for measuring packages that are larger to make sure that they’re within the guidelines for their shipping labels
• Always ship as quickly as possible, but Mercari gives you 3 days to ship. After that the order can be cancelled for non-shipment and it’s not a good thing for your account so only sell items you know you can ship in less than 3 days.
• If you use USPS you can schedule a pickup at your house. Just fill out this form and let them know where to find the package then make sure to leave it out. Keep in mind that you’re doing this at your own risk so if you aren’t sure if it’s safe to leave packages out then it might be best to drop them off.
• I’ve mentioned this a few times, but make sure you have a shipping scale
• . They’re not very expensive and it’s important to be sure you know how much your package weighs so you can use an accurate shipping weight.
• Always weigh items inside their packaging. Boxes weigh a lot more than you’d think! So pack up the item then weigh it before adding that as your shipping weight.

Does Mercari Ship Internationally?

At this time you can’t ship internationally with Mercari. According to their website:

“Mercari ships to the US: all 50 states and the District of Columbia. We don’t currently support shipping to US territories or PO/APO/FPO addresses.

Note: FedEx and UPS Ground does not accept P.O. Boxes as valid shipping addresses.”

If you do want to sell internationally, I recommend getting started with Ebay. (link to beginner guide)

Does Mercari Ship to Canada?

As stated above, Mercari doesn’t ship outside of the USA at this time. So, unfortunately, Mercari doesn’t support shipping to Canada.

Recommended for Selling on Mercari

• Polymailers for shipping clothing and small items that don’t need boxes or padding
• Free USPS Priority Mail boxes
• Shipping scale
• Printer
• Vendoo is a cross posting service that lets you post your Mercari items on other marketplaces like Poshmark or Ebay to increase chances of selling your items. Save 25% off your first month with this link!

Overall shipping on Mercari is actually pretty easy once you’ve done it once or twice. But when you’re first getting started it can be a bit confusing to navigate. I hope this helped you understand how to ship on Mercari better!

If you’re looking to start a reselling business make sure you check out my course the Reseller Roadmap which walks you through how to start and grow your reselling business.