Is mercari safe to use? Edit: nevermind

[kingluke]

Hello everyone,

So today, in my ever lasting quest of finding ponies, I discovered mercari.
So far it looks amazing, with great deals all around and free shipping seems to be a common thing,

That got me thinking though. Is it safe to use? is the free shipping real? How do I make sure I'm not getting scammed?

Please let me know your experiences from Mercari and if it's safe to use.

Edit: just found out it's America only. Feel free to share your experiences though.


Thank you.

Cheers,

Luke

[banditpony]

I use Mercari in the US, and Mercari in Japan. I'm not sure why it wouldn't be safe, it's a pretty normal buy/sell app.

In regards to scamming... scamming happens everywhere.
Sellers have ratings. Read the ratings before you buy. Also, with Mercari sellers don't get paid until the item is received by the buyer (and they get feedback or 3 days pass after the item is received). --- I think, at least, since that was what I was told by a seller.

Not all listings have free shipping.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Mercari is about as safe as any other sales platform. Try to use Paypal if you can to have an extra layer of protection should the built-in buyer protections fail you. I can't think of anything that is Mercari specific although someone more well-versed in it may be able to speak on that.

is the free shipping real?

What do you mean by this? I think the abundance of free shipping is just meant to be a marketing tool; Shipping is never free, it's usually built in to the price.

[kingluke]

Hello everyone,

So today, in my ever lasting quest of finding ponies, I discovered mercari.
So far it looks amazing, with great deals all around and free shipping seems to be a common thing,

That got me thinking though. Is it safe to use? is the free shipping real? How do I make sure I'm not getting scammed?

Please let me know your experiences from Mercari and if it's safe to use.

Thank you.

Edit: apparently it's America only. FML

Cheers,

Luke

Post Merge: June 18, 2020, 08:17:07 AM

I use Mercari in the US, and Mercari in Japan. I'm not sure why it wouldn't be safe, it's a pretty normal buy/sell app.

In regards to scamming... scamming happens everywhere.
Sellers have ratings. Read the ratings before you buy. Also, with Mercari sellers don't get paid until the item is received by the buyer (and they get feedback or 3 days pass after the item is received). --- I think, at least, since that was what I was told by a seller.

Not all listings have free shipping.

That's true about the scamming. It's not available in europe though. Just found that out...

Post Merge: June 18, 2020, 08:18:11 AM

Mercari is about as safe as any other sales platform. Try to use Paypal if you can to have an extra layer of protection should the built-in buyer protections fail you. I can't think of anything that is Mercari specific although someone more well-versed in it may be able to speak on that.

is the free shipping real?

What do you mean by this? I think the abundance of free shipping is just meant to be a marketing tool; Shipping is never free, it's usually built in to the price.

Good to know it's safe. I just learned i cannot use it however. Thank you for explaining the shipping. I just get so happy when I see free shipping, i forget it's included in the price.

[Taffeta]

Kingluke, it may be possible to use a proxy service which will collect up your parcels for you in the US then ship them to you. I have one I use in Japan to send stuff to the UK - some folk here I know have US ones they use to ship overseas, maybe they can give you advice as to which ones are the best if you decide to go down that line.

[kingluke]

Kingluke, it may be possible to use a proxy service which will collect up your parcels for you in the US then ship them to you. I have one I use in Japan to send stuff to the UK - some folk here I know have US ones they use to ship overseas, maybe they can give you advice as to which ones are the best if you decide to go down that line.

That could really work, thank you for the good advice.