Another Round of Mercari Shipping Rate Increases, Or: How a Company Seems Determined to Keep Shooting Themselves in the Feet
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| Will this be the death blow for the once formidable app? (Credit: Imgur) |
Not a big deal, or just a part of doing business, you may be thinking? After all, shipping rates across all carriers just went up last month, so the timing of this certainly makes sense. However, it was less than a year ago (April, 2018) that the rates last went up, so for them to go up again--by as much as 52% in some categories--makes Mercari seem less and less like a viable long-term solution for many sellers.
Let's analyze these over the previous year's increases, shall we?
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| April, 2018 price increases |
Rates before the April, 2018 change are hard to track down; from what I found, they only seemed to use USPS before this update, with the following rates: packages less than a pound, $4; 1-3 lbs., $6; 3-10 lbs., $9; 10-20 lbs., $15. As you can see above, FedEx support was added, with packages weighing less than a pound going Smartpost (and taking up to 12 days to arrive), while everything else defaulted to Home Delivery.
Since then, they also added UPS to the list, though curiously anything shipped through them assumes they will also box it up for you, hence the out-of-line prices with the other carriers. It should go without saying that this method should be completely avoided at almost all costs.
Anyway, now you'll see that they have added an extra category for things weighing half a pound or less, which goes up a quarter from the previous "under 1 lb." category; for items weighing over half a pound but under one, we're looking at $5.50, which is a significant jump over the previous price of $4.25. While this jump is huge, it honestly should have been expected, considering USPS just went to zone-based shipping costs on First Class packages (rather than one price no matter where it's going based on weight).
Still, looking at these numbers, it's still going to be cheaper to ship these items yourself through Pirate Ship or Paypal Shipping in just about every scenario; at worst, you're going to lose $.03, because the most an item will cost to ship in this weight class is $5.53. FedEx support for packages weighing less than a pound, which was the same cost and speed as USPS, is now gone, forcing you into using USPS if you're using pre-paid labels.
From there, USPS rates pretty much skyrocket, and once again FedEx is the cheaper option the rest of the way across the board. In fact, once you go over 20 lbs., they are your only option. Assuming you have a FedEx drop off by you (and I'm lucky enough to have one even closer to me than my local post office), this is the way to go for anything weighing more than a pound, though it's no doubt cutting into profits no matter which way you look at it.
Really, the biggest changes are happening in the 1-10 lb. range: if you sell a lot of items within that weight class, you're probably going to have to rethink your shipping strategy, or maybe even leave Mercari out of it altogether. The issue is that Mercari ads target the casual seller, who wants to make a few bucks selling things while cleaning out their closets. This angle should probably be abandoned: How is anyone going to turn a profit selling a 5-pack of hand lotion, when they have to charge $9 for shipping? Looks like it's back to the ol' garage sale method for most of these people.
Alternatively, Mercari still gives you the option to ship things yourself, but unless you have deep discounts through FedEx, this is almost guaranteed to be a losing battle, as prices are all zone-based, and can go up exponentially depending on how far away it's going, and how much it weighs. For example, if you have a 3 lb. item going through Priority Mail, it can be as cheap as $7.61, if it's going to a place nearby, or as much as $15.28 if it's going across the country (and no, this doesn't include Hawaii or Alaska). So it's more about playing the odds as to whether or not you should ship it yourself, or use a pre-paid label...if it's going to a place near you, you'll pocket 50% more than shipping it nationwide.
Clearly, Mercari knows that most of the items sold fall in these weight classes, hence the reason for the sharp increases: if you're selling heavier items, such as those in the 10-20 lb. range, the FedEx rates there only increase $2, from $15 to $17, still providing excellent value for the typical user over using FedEx's own shipping system (and, at least in this weight class, even eBay).
There's no doubt that the site is still well-trafficked, and that those with an understanding of shipping can still circumvent their pre-paid labels and pocket a few extra coins by shipping things themselves. But there's also increasingly little doubt the brand--who once again target casual sellers rather than those attempting to make a full-time living out of it--are preying on those that don't.
So does this change my initial review of Mercari? To some degree, yes. In just a couple short years, Mercari has gone from a serious marketplace contender, to a company that seems almost hellbent on destroying themselves any way they can. First off, there's the awful Reddit AMA from several years back, which really made the executives look like clueless assholes; as someone who stumbled on that at a time I was looking into selling on the site, their attitudes and repeated corporate-speak did nothing to dissuade my hesitation. Then, there are the widespread accounts of users having their accounts suspended from competitors looking to gain an edge (or for little to no identifiable reason at all), which certainly doesn't help with consumer trust.
Neither does enticing people with short-lived benefits, which seems to be a staple of Mercari's business model: Sucker people in with no fees, or low shipping rates, and then quickly pull the rug out from under them by raising rates. I understand that places offer these incentives to gain attention and market share, but they seem to be in such a rush to go "corporate" that they can't even be bothered to hide their apparent contempt for their consumers.
And that, in the end, just might be the death of them.
Since then, they also added UPS to the list, though curiously anything shipped through them assumes they will also box it up for you, hence the out-of-line prices with the other carriers. It should go without saying that this method should be completely avoided at almost all costs.
Anyway, now you'll see that they have added an extra category for things weighing half a pound or less, which goes up a quarter from the previous "under 1 lb." category; for items weighing over half a pound but under one, we're looking at $5.50, which is a significant jump over the previous price of $4.25. While this jump is huge, it honestly should have been expected, considering USPS just went to zone-based shipping costs on First Class packages (rather than one price no matter where it's going based on weight).
Still, looking at these numbers, it's still going to be cheaper to ship these items yourself through Pirate Ship or Paypal Shipping in just about every scenario; at worst, you're going to lose $.03, because the most an item will cost to ship in this weight class is $5.53. FedEx support for packages weighing less than a pound, which was the same cost and speed as USPS, is now gone, forcing you into using USPS if you're using pre-paid labels.
From there, USPS rates pretty much skyrocket, and once again FedEx is the cheaper option the rest of the way across the board. In fact, once you go over 20 lbs., they are your only option. Assuming you have a FedEx drop off by you (and I'm lucky enough to have one even closer to me than my local post office), this is the way to go for anything weighing more than a pound, though it's no doubt cutting into profits no matter which way you look at it.
Really, the biggest changes are happening in the 1-10 lb. range: if you sell a lot of items within that weight class, you're probably going to have to rethink your shipping strategy, or maybe even leave Mercari out of it altogether. The issue is that Mercari ads target the casual seller, who wants to make a few bucks selling things while cleaning out their closets. This angle should probably be abandoned: How is anyone going to turn a profit selling a 5-pack of hand lotion, when they have to charge $9 for shipping? Looks like it's back to the ol' garage sale method for most of these people.
Alternatively, Mercari still gives you the option to ship things yourself, but unless you have deep discounts through FedEx, this is almost guaranteed to be a losing battle, as prices are all zone-based, and can go up exponentially depending on how far away it's going, and how much it weighs. For example, if you have a 3 lb. item going through Priority Mail, it can be as cheap as $7.61, if it's going to a place nearby, or as much as $15.28 if it's going across the country (and no, this doesn't include Hawaii or Alaska). So it's more about playing the odds as to whether or not you should ship it yourself, or use a pre-paid label...if it's going to a place near you, you'll pocket 50% more than shipping it nationwide.
Clearly, Mercari knows that most of the items sold fall in these weight classes, hence the reason for the sharp increases: if you're selling heavier items, such as those in the 10-20 lb. range, the FedEx rates there only increase $2, from $15 to $17, still providing excellent value for the typical user over using FedEx's own shipping system (and, at least in this weight class, even eBay).
There's no doubt that the site is still well-trafficked, and that those with an understanding of shipping can still circumvent their pre-paid labels and pocket a few extra coins by shipping things themselves. But there's also increasingly little doubt the brand--who once again target casual sellers rather than those attempting to make a full-time living out of it--are preying on those that don't.
So does this change my initial review of Mercari? To some degree, yes. In just a couple short years, Mercari has gone from a serious marketplace contender, to a company that seems almost hellbent on destroying themselves any way they can. First off, there's the awful Reddit AMA from several years back, which really made the executives look like clueless assholes; as someone who stumbled on that at a time I was looking into selling on the site, their attitudes and repeated corporate-speak did nothing to dissuade my hesitation. Then, there are the widespread accounts of users having their accounts suspended from competitors looking to gain an edge (or for little to no identifiable reason at all), which certainly doesn't help with consumer trust.
Neither does enticing people with short-lived benefits, which seems to be a staple of Mercari's business model: Sucker people in with no fees, or low shipping rates, and then quickly pull the rug out from under them by raising rates. I understand that places offer these incentives to gain attention and market share, but they seem to be in such a rush to go "corporate" that they can't even be bothered to hide their apparent contempt for their consumers.
And that, in the end, just might be the death of them.
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