Is Mercari legal? (Safe or scam?!)
I hadn’t heard of Mercari until recently, and after perusing the site, I’m not sure if it’s safe. Some prices seem too good to be true!
So, we decided to do some research and check if Mercari is a scam or completely legit. Here’s what we found…
Is Mercari legal?
Mercari Inc. is a legitimate online company, specifically a Japanese e-commerce company founded in 2013 and now has offices in the United States. The Mercari Marketplace app was launched in Japan in July 2013 and is now the largest community marketplace in Japan.
Check out this article Mercari: your market: what it is, what it does, how to use it, and most importantly, how to keep your transactions private and secure.
Who owns Mercari?
Mercari, Inc. was founded in February 2013 by Shintaro Yamada, a Japanese entrepreneur, formerly known as Kouzoh, Inc. The Mercari Market app is coming soon. Shintaro Yamada is currently the CEO of the company. The company has no proprietary links with Amazon, eBay or any other large online marketplace.
In 2014, the company expanded to the US, where it launched the Mercari Marketplace app in September of the same year. They next expanded to the UK in 2016.
The company is the first in Japan to achieve unicorn status, which means it is valued at over $1 billion as a privately held startup.the term unicorn Created by capitalist Aileen Lee to represent the statistical rarity of companies achieving this level of success.
What is Mercari for?
Shintaro Yamada’s dream is “Creating value in a global marketplace where anyone can buy and sell”, and”Recycle limited resources to help societies prosper. “As such, Mercari is an online marketplace where buyers and sellers interact in mutually beneficial and respectful transactions.
Mercari treats their main product as the Mercari Market app, which can be downloaded for free to any smart device. It allows users to quickly buy and sell items from their smartphones.
The format is simple to use and includes a popular shipping system that allows users to ship items anonymously from local convenience stores through agreements with Yamato Transport and Japan Post.
In the United States, similar shipping agreements are arranged through agreements with FedEx, UPS, and USPS.
Is Mercari better than eBay?
Mercari is very similar to the older, more experienced eBay marketplace. However, when deciding which platform is the best, you need to carefully consider your buying (and selling) needs and habits.
Both platforms are global (although eBay has a far greater reach than Mercari). Both platforms are accessible via mobile devices, and both marketplaces offer the usual payment options.
Interestingly, both buyers and sellers experienced the same deal setbacks both platform. These include common issues such as items not arriving, items not as described, items damaged in transit, refunds and returns being processed slowly or not at all, unauthorized transactions, account and support issues, and more.
Overall, though, listing items on Mercari seems to be easier and faster (and free) than eBay, which requires you to pay for each item after you’ve used up your monthly free items.
So Mercari doesn’t charge any listing fees for items, but they keep 10% of every sale you make. eBay allows up to 250 listings for free, then charges 35 cents per listing, then 12% of your sales (including postage).
That way, you can’t set a very low price for your item (and pay eBay a fraction of that) while paying ridiculously high postage. eBay just asks 12% of your users all TOLL. If you need to withdraw money immediately, Mercari charges a fee to transfer the funds to your bank.
In terms of scale, Mercari has more than 15 million users worldwide, while eBay has more than 182 million users worldwide.
Both Mercari and eBay offer extensive help services, including live chat, email, and phone support. However, Mercari customer service is easier to find, follow and use. Their buyer-seller policies, advice articles, and safety guides are also easier to access and find.
All Mercari sales are final; however, if your item is not as described, you may be eligible for a return. On eBay, buyers can return items on eBay for any reason, but they must provide written and photographic evidence if the item is damaged or wrong.
Mercari allows you to ship in three different ways: Mercari Prepaid, Mercari Pack and Ship, or your own shipping method.On the other hand, eBay is no Domestic shipping only. Sellers can ship to over 100 countries. However, you need to plan properly and make sure the shipping rates you quote are accurate.
What payments does Mercari accept?
Mercari accepts all major credit cards, prepaid debit cards, Apple Pay, PayPal and Zip. You can also pay for all or part of your purchases with Mercari Points or by applying your account balance to your purchases.
The credit card payment process typically requires submission of a credit card number, expiration date, and card security code. Mercari may require you to verify your card with two temporary authorizations (up to $2 each). These authorizations will appear as “pending” on your financial statements and will automatically expire after 24 hours.
You can add or change payment information from your profile (or during checkout). At checkout, simply click on “Cards & Billing” and edit your payment options.
If you want to change the payment information in your profile, go to Settings, then “My Payment Methods”. Here you can add, edit or delete credit card options and set up PayPal or Apple Pay. You can add up to 5 credit or debit cards.
You can also set up Apple Pay or PayPal at any time during checkout or in your account settings. Just click “Connect to PayPal” or “Set Up Apple Pay,” agree to the terms of service and follow the prompts.
This Terms of Service is important. While we’ll mostly skip these, they do contain the information you’ll need when going through the tricky refund process.For example, with PayPal you have 45 days purchased from File a refund request (with proof). After 45 days, your ability to challenge any transaction will be closed.
Is Mercari safe for credit cards?
Mercari is as secure as any other online marketplace platform for credit card transactions.Credit card issues typically arise when a Mercari buyer agrees to settle a transaction with a Mercari seller off-market, and off the field For example, it can refer to other platforms such as WhatsApp.
If you agree to do so, your credit card details are no Security, there is nothing Mercari can do about funds stolen in this way. Regarding the security of your credit card transactions, Mercari claims:
All credit card transactions are processed by our partner Adyen & Braintree. As a Tier 1 service provider, Adyen is fully compliant with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) 3.2, a key security standard for the payments industry. Additionally, Adyen was assessed by the Payments Software Company for the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, and the company is a Qualified Security Assessor of the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council.
One of Mercari’s most helpful help articles is the buyer protection page – definitely worth reading before you join and make your first purchase.
Will you be scammed on Mercari?
The amount of feedback about user frustration recorded by Mercari Markets is consistent and appears to be mostly around conflict between buyers and sellers. This is a common situation in every seller buyer platform.
Much of this conflict and negative feedback has to do with the resolution process and customer support services that all online marketplaces like eBay and Amazon are constantly evolving and improving. Here, we’ll examine potential market scams targeting buyers.
As a buyer, it is best to browse the contents of the Mercari Help Center forward You create an account and start using the site. Clicking on the Help Center link will take you to the Mercari Help page.
You’ll see a login/register (for personalized support) bar, a series of help articles (including buyer protection pages), informational articles about the company and how to use it, and contact us button at the bottom of the page.
The three most common online marketplace scams (for buyers) are scams, which include:
- Agree to complete your transaction offline
- buy items that prove to be counterfeit
- buy damaged items
What you can do as a buyer to protect yourself from market scams:
- Read through the Mercari Safety Guidelines – the online and financial safety guidelines listed here are worth following at all times
- Do your research online to make sure the project you’re considering is legit
- Read all buyer feedback carefully before making a sale with them
- Ask questions (and keep a record of messages) using the Mercari messaging system (don’t do this privately)
- Take photos/videos of all items you receive unpacked. This provides evidence that only one of multiple items from the same seller arrived (and tracking shows it as received – but you only have one).
How can you get help with Mercari?
If you’ve purchased an item on Mercari and there’s a problem with the transaction, or if there’s a problem with the item itself, you can ask for help right away.
Mercari has a contact us page: here you will find help Divided into three clear sections:
- Orders – Learn about current and completed orders, shipping, returns and cancellations
- Payments – Learn about chargebacks, transfers and unauthorized transactions
- Account – Get help with your account, verification, prohibited items and tax forms
Please note that phone assistance is only related to payment issues.
After selecting a help category, you’ll be prompted to choose a way to solve your specific problem, until if no solution comes up, fill out an email form, and Mercari says they’ll respond within four hours.
It’s best to have all the details: the more information (including photos) you can upload here, the faster you’ll be able to find a solution. However, under no circumstances will you be prompted to upload your credit card details here.
How do you return goods on Mercari?
Mercari Help Center A collection of articles and information for buyers and sellers. These articles are important: If you read and understand the agreement on buyer protection, you can simplify the resolution process and…
