Key takeaways
- Mercari’s US selling fee is 10% of the item price plus the shipping the buyer pays, for listings created or updated since January 6, 2025.
- Sellers pay no separate payment processing fee. Buyers pay their own 3.6% Buyer Protection fee, which does not come out of your earnings.
- Direct deposit to your bank is free. Instant Pay costs $3 per cash-out, up to $600 a month.
- With buyer-paid shipping you lose 10% of the shipping charge too; with free shipping the label comes out of your earnings in full.
- On a $40 item with $7.99 buyer-paid shipping, Mercari takes $4.80 and you keep $35.20 after the label.
How Mercari’s fees have changed
Mercari’s US fees have moved around more than most marketplaces. It charged sellers a 10% selling fee for years, dropped it in 2024 and moved the cost to buyers, then brought a 10% seller fee back on January 6, 2025. At the same time it scrapped the buyer’s payment processing fee and the $2 charge for each direct deposit, and cut the buyer fee to 3.6%.
The January 2025 rules are still the ones on Mercari’s fees page in November 2026. They apply to listings created or updated since that date. Mercari says listings created before then are updated to the new structure automatically, and editing a listing also moves it onto the current fees.
This guide covers Mercari in the US only. If you read an older article quoting a 10% buyer fee, a $0.50 plus 2.9% processing fee or no seller fee at all, it describes one of the earlier models.
What the seller pays
On each sale you pay one fee: 10% of the item price plus the shipping the buyer pays. It comes out of your sales balance automatically. Listing is free, and there is no extra percentage or fixed fee for card processing on the seller side.
Sales tax is collected from the buyer and is not part of the fee. The buyer also pays a 3.6% Buyer Protection fee on the item price plus shipping. That makes your item look a little dearer at checkout, but it does not reduce your payout.
- Cancellation fee: if you cancel orders often, Mercari may charge 5% of the item price, up to $25, after warning you first.
- Mercari Authenticate costs the seller $5 on eligible listings, and an authentication certificate costs $10.
- Mercari lists no fee for Promote, Offer to Likers or time-limited sales. They work by lowering your price, which lowers the 10% fee with it.
Selling fee = (Item price + Buyer-paid shipping) × 10% Payout after label = Item price + Buyer-paid shipping − Selling fee − Label cost
Free toolMercari fee calculatorShipping: who pays and how it affects the fee
When you list, you choose a Mercari prepaid label or shipping on your own, and whether the buyer or you pay. With a prepaid label, the label is created when the item sells and emailed to you. If the buyer pays, the label price is added to their checkout total. If you offer free shipping, the label price is deducted from your sales profit.
Because the 10% fee applies to buyer-paid shipping, you pay a fee on money that goes straight to the carrier. With free shipping, the fee is charged on the item price only, but the whole label comes out of your pocket. Mercari’s prepaid USPS Ground Advantage labels, effective October 19, 2026, start at $5.39 for 4 oz, $5.99 for 8 oz and $7.99 for 1 lb.
Weigh and measure accurately. Mercari charges the seller for underpaid labels, plus an 8% penalty on the adjusted shipping price, and any carrier fines. If you ship on your own with a UPS, USPS or FedEx label, you pay all of it and lose Mercari’s shipping protection.
| Buyer pays shipping | You offer free shipping | |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer pays for item and shipping | $47.99 | $40.00 |
| Selling fee (10%) | $4.80 | $4.00 |
| Label cost | $7.99, covered by the buyer | $7.99 from your earnings |
| You keep after the label | $35.20 | $28.01 |
What a seller keeps at different prices
Here are typical sale prices with a $7.99 1 lb label, both ways. Many sellers offer free shipping and raise the price to cover the label instead of charging for it separately.
- With buyer-paid shipping, the fee on a $10 item is 18% of the item price, because 10% of the $7.99 shipping is added on. On a $150 item it is 10.5%.
- Free shipping on a $10 item leaves you about $1. Below roughly $20, either charge for shipping or bundle items together.
- To earn a set amount with buyer-paid shipping, price at (amount wanted + 10% of shipping) ÷ 0.9. To keep $30 with $7.99 shipping, list at $34.22.
| Item price | Fee, buyer pays shipping | You keep | Fee, free shipping | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10 | $1.80 | $8.20 | $1.00 | $1.01 |
| $25 | $3.30 | $21.70 | $2.50 | $14.51 |
| $40 | $4.80 | $35.20 | $4.00 | $28.01 |
| $75 | $8.30 | $66.70 | $7.50 | $59.51 |
| $150 | $15.80 | $134.20 | $15.00 | $127.01 |
Getting paid: direct deposit and Instant Pay
Your money reaches your Mercari balance once the buyer rates the order. Buyers have 3 days after delivery to rate; if they do not, Mercari rates the order for them and releases the funds.
From your balance you have two ways to cash out. Direct deposit to a checking account is free. You can request one a day, Mercari processes it the next business day, and it can take up to 5 business days to arrive. A failed request, for example from wrong bank details, costs $2.
Instant Pay sends the money to an eligible Visa or Mastercard debit card, usually within minutes and at most about 30 minutes. It costs a flat $3 per cash-out, once a day, up to $600 a month, and needs ID verification.
- Cashing out a single $35.20 sale with Instant Pay costs 8.5% of it, almost as much again as the selling fee.
- Cashing out $200 at once costs 1.5%. If you use Instant Pay, let a few sales build up first.
Instant Pay cost as a share = $3 ÷ Amount cashed out × 100
Worked example: profit on a thrifted jacket
A seller buys a denim jacket at a thrift store for $8 and sells it on Mercari for $40. It ships in a 1 lb parcel on a $7.99 prepaid label that the buyer pays for. The seller wants the money today and uses Instant Pay.
- The seller makes $24.20, a 60.5% margin on the $40 item price. With free direct deposit, it would be $27.20.
- The buyer paid $47.99 plus the 3.6% Buyer Protection fee of $1.73, plus any sales tax. None of that extra reaches the seller or reduces the payout.
| Item | Amount | Running total |
|---|---|---|
| Item price + buyer-paid shipping | $47.99 | $47.99 |
| Selling fee (10% of $47.99) | −$4.80 | $43.19 |
| Shipping label | −$7.99 | $35.20 |
| Cost of the jacket | −$8.00 | $27.20 |
| Instant Pay | −$3.00 | $24.20 |
How Mercari compares
Mercari’s 10% is lower than eBay’s 13.6% plus $0.40 per order in most categories and half Poshmark’s 20%. But Mercari, like eBay, charges on shipping and leaves you to pay the label, while Poshmark charges the buyer for the label separately. Compare what you keep after postage, not the headline rate.
To see the same sale on Mercari, eBay, Poshmark, Depop, Etsy and TikTok Shop, use the comparison tool. Our marketplace fee comparison guide shows the working for a $50 sale on all six.
Free toolMarketplace fee comparison
