Selling on Poshmark vs. Mercari: Pros, Cons & Tips

Are you thinking about listing your gently used clothing on a popular selling site? Read to learn all about Poshmark vs. Mercari, including pros, cons and tried and true selling tips!

One of my goals for 2021 was to make $2021 reselling our clothes and personal items that no longer “sparked joy”. I had a few reasons for setting this goal: 1. Due to my decluttering and minimizing efforts the past year, I have a LOT to get rid of. I’ve donated a lot of clothing, but I wanted to recoup the cost of some of the nicer pieces & 2. I wanted to earn some extra money to purchase pieces that I DO love! After having a baby I need a different size in many items, and after working to redevelop my style this year, I wanted to add some intentional pieces to my wardrobe.

To help work towards this big goal of $2021 in 2021, I decided to list at least one item of clothing every day in March with a goal of earning $500. As of March 30th, I’m happy to say that I surpassed that goal and made…$676.78!!

This month I listed items on both Poshmark and Mercari. I’ve used both platforms in the past (for several months/years), but wanted to really focus on them this month so I could give an updated review of pros and cons of both apps (with new features, updates, etc). So this post will be sharing my experience using both apps, pros and cons, tips for selling and my selling results for Poshmark vs. Mercari!

My hope is that this will inspire you to list some of your gently used clothing on these apps, and will answer any questions that might be preventing you from doing so! (& just a note, this post is NOT sponsored in anyway so opinions are 100% honest and my own. I HAVE included links/codes to either app below. If you join through my links, we will both get a credit, so thank you if you choose to do so 🙂

Save $10 on your first Poshmark order: Use the code “SHOPWITHSHELLEY”

Click here to save $10 on your first order + $20 when you make your first $100 selling on Mercari.

Poshmark overview:

Poshmark is an app and website where you can sell and buy: “fashion, accessories, new personal care products, select home goods, and select pet items”. You can sell both used and new items. You’ll also find “boutique” items, similar to a boutique storefront. While they are constantly expanding the categories in which you can buy and sell, my experience is selling new and used clothing, shoes and accessories.

My Poshmark experience:

I have sold on Poshmark since 2016. I have sold over 1,000 listings and made over $13,000! I used the platform to resell clothing as a “side hustle” for a few years, so I have lots of experience using the app. Now, I sell mostly my own items, although I occasionally source items to sell. In March I sold 17 items and made $388.95.

Poshmark pros:

• Shipping is super easy: The buyer pays a flat fee and then Poshmark emails you a label to print off. You can use almost any box or polymailer and schedule a pick up at your doorstep with USPS! There’s no worrying about how much it weighs (as long as it’s under 5 lbs)- just print the prepaid label, put it on your package and it’s good to go!
• You can offer discounted shipping: You now have the option to add discounted shipping to your listings and you can also provide a shipping discount to likers when giving them an offer. However, you must pay the difference.
• Special deal days: Poshmark hosts days called “Closet Clear Out”, “Make a Deal Days” and ” Love it or List it” where they offer incentives for certain actions (listing, lowering prices, etc). Many of these trigger lower shipping costs for buyers, which results in more sales!
• Bundles: It is super easy to bundle multiple items from one closet (& just pay one shipping fee!) I try and list similar items and sizes to encourage bundling as much as possible!
• New features: Poshmark is constantly coming out with new features to help the seller and buyer experience. For example, they recently added “stories” (similar to Instagram) and video options to listings! (I haven’t used these, but I could see how it could help your sales)

Poshmark cons:

• More effort to make sales: In order to be successful you need to be “sharing”your items as much as possible. This moves them up in the search so your items will be among the first viewed.
• Possibly oversaturated? When I first joined Poshmark, not as many people were using it. Which means that I could sell my items at a higher price because there weren’t near as many available on the app. I’ve found that most of my items aren’t selling for as much money there now for this reason.
• Shipping cost: I think that sometimes the shipping cost can prevent people from purchasing lower priced items. I always try and offer a shipping discount when making an offer to likers to help with this.
• Higher seller fee: Poshmark takes 20% of your earnings for sales over $15 and $2.95 for any sales under $15.

Poshmark specific tips:

• Sharing OTHER people’s listings, following other closets and participating in the Posh parties will all work in your favor. Poshmark is a “social” selling app, so it seems like these actions may be favored in their algorithm.
• I have found that listing a few items each day (rather than everything at once) seems to bring more traction to my closet. Perhaps because my closet is more likely to get in front of more eyes this way!

Mercari overview:

Mercari is a platform to sell new or used products including everything from clothing to video games, collectibles to toys. Other than their restricted items, you can sell just about anything, similar to the products you can purchase on Ebay.

My Mercari experience:

I have sold on Mercari since 2018, although not as consistently until 2020. The app doesn’t have seller summaries so I’m not sure of my totals, but in March I sold 15 items and made $287.74.

Mercari pros:

• Saved searches option: This option allows buyers to be alerted when items that they are searching for are posted. As a seller this can result in some FAST sales. For example, if someone turns on a saved search for “Patagonia pullover” and you post one in their size- they will be notified and might end up purchasing right away! Here’s what my saved search page looks like, alerting me that there are new listings under “Madewell shorts” and “Pact dress”.

• Smart pricing mode: I recommend turning this on when listing an item. Mercari will automatically lower the price of your item and boost it in search. This is great because you can set the limit and let the app do the work for you!
• You can sell almost anything! Straight from their website: “If it ships, you can most likely sell it.”
• Cheaper selling fees: On Mercari takes 10% for the seller fee, as well as 2.9%+.30 processing fee versus Poshmark’s 20% fee.
• You can set selling goals: This isn’t a huge one, but I like that you can set personal selling goals for yourself and it will track your progress for you!
• Private messaging: Buyers can message sellers directly and privately to ask questions. Likewise, sellers are able to send private messages to communicate shipping delays, etc.
• Views are visible: You can see how many times each listing has been viewed. This is helpful to see which items are most popular and can also help you make adjustments to your listings. For example, if your listing is getting a ton of views, but no offers, you may need to lower the price, take clearer pictures, etc.

Mercari cons:

• Shipping is a little more difficult to figure out. There are several different options to ship and you need to know how much your package weighs in order to ship correctly. (hint: if you know your item is under 1 lb choose USPS first class, if you think it weighs more, FedEx Smart Post is the next best budget friendly option)
• Not as easy to bundle: If you want to create a bundle, you have to arrange it with the seller and they have to set up a new listing for you.

Positive features that Poshmark and Mercari both have:

• Both apps allow you to make a private offer to people who have “liked” your item. I do this EVERY time anyone likes an item and try to give them a really good deal!
• Both apps also allow you the option to give the buyer free shipping. Poshmark also has the option to offer discounted shipping. You have to cover the cost of shipping in both cases.
• Both apps protect both the seller and buyer fairly. I’ve had return requests open on both apps and both apps have sided with me, meaning I didn’t have to accept the returns.

Selling on Poshmark vs. Mercari: Which do I like better?

Honestly? I can’t choose! Like I shared above, both have their pros and cons. Overall, I like the shipping and listing process on Poshmark better BUT I’m finding that many items move faster on Mercari. What I choose to do (do this at your own risk) is crosspost on both platforms. I’ve yet to have the same item sell on both apps BUT I am careful to check the apps frequently and delete the item off the other app as soon as it sells.

Tips for selling on both apps:

1. Take nice pictures (& a lot of them!): I have a small faux fur rug that I only use for my listings. Be sure to photograph sides, details and flaws.
2. Include measurements: I often won’t buy items if there aren’t measurements included. It’s a good way to ensure it will fit and that the item is not shrunk.
3. Add a detailed description including any flaws: Buyers can open up a return request if there are flaws that weren’t disclosed, so make sure you’re open and honest!
4. Share or promote your posts as often as possible: Like I mentioned, this is how you move your items up in search and get them in front of your buyer!
5. List higher than you want so you can accept offers: I start the price high-ish so I can accept offers and so that I can give my “likers” a GOOD private discount. You want them to feel like they are getting a good deal!
6. But at the same time be reasonable with how much you are asking: When shopping on these apps myself, I see some people asking WAY too much for used items. Think about how much you would truly be willing to pay for a used item and price accordingly.
7. Check out this post for my favorite tips for selling on Poshmark!

I hope this helped you understand the differences between Poshmark vs. Mercari and gave you some tips to help you get started! Please feel free to message me on Instagram or leave a comment below with any questions- I’m happy to do my best to help!

I’ve also sold items on Facebook Marketplace and ThreadUP. Stay tuned for posts about them!

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