Mercari Shipping Rate Hike. Should I Switch To Free Shipping?

Mercari raised their shipping rates and it has me wondering if I should switch to free shipping (and add shipping costs to my item price) to lower the overall price of my items.

eBay rate changes:

Pirate Ship USPS zone map:

eBay transaction report to see which states you shipped items to. Download this report for the date range you want to use. I used all transactions for last year. You will need to filter to only show orders and sort based on country and state.:

My Facebook group

The Rebel Reseller Live Hangout And Toy Testing YouTube channel where my lives are streamed Wednesdays at 11am Eastern

Links to the products and services we use. Purchasing from these affiliate links may earn me a small commission.

Do you have excess inventory you'd like to sell in bulk? Or not enough inventory and would like to buy in bulk? Check out Haulsale.

List Perfectly. Make sure to use coupon code TheRebelReseller (with no spaces) to get 30% off your first month.

WorthPoint will help you put a value on the items you source.

Shipping supplies.
These are what I've bought, but prices change over time so always compare prices listed by different sellers before purchasing.

Boxes

Poly bags

Cleaning supplies

Storage supplies

Audio/Video equipment

Batteries

Miscellaneous

Contact Info

PO Box 354
Chuckey, TN 37641

#ebay #reselling #thrifting #poshmark #etsy #bonanza #FacebookMarketplace #mercari

[carolhearn]

To get the correct 15 - 15.9 ounce shipping rate on pirate ship, do this: Enter the decimal weight in ounces of your package (15.4, 15.7, etc) in the ounce box. You'll then be charged correctly, NOT 2 pounds.

I posted this on another of your videos in the past week or so, and Alice Carvo also posted it to this thread. I got my info from a CS rep at pirate ship and it does work and solves one of the big problems using free shipping with pirate ship.

[chuckweb]

Great video! I’m switching my heavier items to poshmark for that up to 5 pounds flat rate. I’m also doing some free shipping with pirate ship and baking the shipping cost into the item cost. I emailed Pirate Ship this week and they said they were trying to get Mercari to work like EBay to import shipping info from the platform. But it hasn’t happened yet.

[KristiWilson]

With 2 price increases per year lately at usps, that’s a LOT of manual price changes. That is a huge reason why I don’t do free shipping.

[carolthomas]

I have been thinking of doing free shipping too, I am not sure who is going to pay 9.50 shipping for a mug that is 1.4 oz. Thank you both for making this video

[chocolatechunkycookies]

Another option is putting a lower shipping but paying for the difference. So, the cost of shipping would be divided by the buyer and seller.

[TrimzzDotNet]

There is also the monthly shop Fee to pay on Ebay AND there is only a certain $$$ Amount you can list up to or Listing Number.

[stamperkt]

Thanks so much for this great video!!! Shipping is my biggest bug-a-boo to try to figure out. I typically utilize UPS, but will also check out Pirate Ship. Thanks!

[bartonfamily]

I didn't even realize this until I saw your post on FB. Then I listed an item over there today and noticed. Geesh! It's hard to keep up with all of the changes. Mercari has been suuuuppppeeerrrr slow for me lately. I haven't made a sale in awhile. I have been sick though for the past 2 weeks..haven't listed anything for over a week until today...but yet I've been making daily sales on Ebay and Posh. So thankful! Thanks for the fee updates. I have to update my spreadsheets soon! I will experiment with what is best to do. I don't know why Mercari can't offer calculated shipping like Ebay. Thanks Rebel!

[jenaton]

It was definitely a shock today to list on Mercari and see the huge jump in shipping. I started selling on Mercari 2 years ago and really liked the shipping options Fedex home up to 3 pounds $7.87….and 5 pounds and heavier UPS. We got pricing on shipping I could not get on my own. I shipped a vintage area rug via Mercari! Mercari has really slowed this year and I feel this shipping increase will make it worse, Mercari deals to the hobby seller most likely they will not explore pirate ship. I also liked shipping through Mercari because customer service handled the shipping disputes…I felt they were pretty fair doing this…will miss this aspect with my own shipping. Great video…food for thought

[theficklefish]

I was doing the $7.99 Fed Ex Ground shipping on anything over a pound with a note in my listing explaining it and asking a buyer to message me if they’d rather another choice. That was going great! Everyone was okay with the extended time for the lower rate! Now they’ve messed that all up!!! 😡😡😡

[marcialuvssell]

Thanks for sharing the research. It is something to think about. Also keep in mind that if you use your own label the order will not be covered by Mercari Shipping Protection.

[dustinlindsey]

The problem with free shipping is Mercari takes its fees from the price the item sold for and not from the separate shipping rate, when you factor in the shipping price within the sale price, Mercari takes its fees out on the bulk price and the seller makes less profit vs if the shipping was listed separately. Also keep in mind if you don’t use Mercari’s set rate labels, you aren’t insured by Mercari’s up to 200 dollars seller/buyer protection.

[vanessakoehn]

Rebel and Robert, such a great video! Thanks so much! So helpful in getting us all to think about what to do!

[alicecarvo]

When I went into Pirate ship, I was able to put in a box weight of 15.9 in the ounces field. When I did that it gave a shipping cost of $6 (first class). When I put in a weight of 1 pound, the price went up to $7.38 (ups ground) & $7.53 (USPS Parcel select ground). No 1st class price available. So as long as your pkg is 15.9 oz or less, you could still get the 1st class rate thru pirate ship

[christinearaneo]

Love your video and your hubby and his analysis you are a lucky lady!
Mercari doesn’t have the audience EBay has. Was wondering if you tried the free shipping on Mercari and if it worked for you!!??

[debbiebrunssen]

man I am glad you put this out, ,,,thankyou Robert, I am going to figure out how to do pirate ship on Mercari, just confusing, I am back at this last fall, and man I didn't know how hard and confusing this would all be. interesting to read every one else post and comments.. thanks you two always

[WillertMorris]

Helpfull analysis even though not conclusive. Thank you!

[leonardkwit]

I ship jeans 1.8 pounds for 7.40 using flat rate envelope..on Mercari it now costs 13

[marmeone]

Thank you for making this video. I sell mostly women's clothing, bags, shoes, accessories on Poshmark. I just listed on Mercari and was shocked at Mercari's shipping rates! I live in Hawaii, so all zones are far. At this point I don't know what to expect. But, you given some great information to think about. Since this video was released in February, I am interested to know what you decided to do.

[ronald]

I started the free shipping on my Mercari listings a few months ago because their shipping does seem to be a deterrent. I don't list enough on there to do a study, and see if it helped though. Never had much luck selling on Mercari, just get a bunch of likes, and people waiting to see if you will send offers.