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Is Mercari safe?

From Is it safe?, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the Mercari resale marketplace. For other apps, see Is it safe?.

Safe to use with care: Mercari holds your payment until you confirm the item, but you must check it and report problems within 72 hours of delivery.

Mercari is a long-running US marketplace for second-hand goods, part of Japan’s Mercari group. When you buy, it holds your money until the item is delivered and you rate the order. If it isn’t as described, you have 72 hours after delivery to report it and get a refund on an approved return.

The risks are the usual ones: paying or chatting outside the app, fake Mercari messages, and accounts taken over with passwords reused from other sites.

The US app is run by Mercari, Inc. (US), a group company of Japan’s Mercari, Inc., which set it up in 2014. Data may be processed in the US and other countries and shared with group companies, including Mercari in Japan.[1][2][3]

The real risks

What Mercari itself says it collects, what regulators and courts have found, its security record and the scams that borrow its name. Each line links to the page it comes from.

What it collects

From Mercari’s own privacy policy:

  • Your name, address, phone number and email, plus bank account and card numbers for paying and getting paid.[1]
  • Date of birth, tax identification number and, if asked, your Social Security number, used for identity checks, fraud prevention and legal compliance.[1]
  • Your listings and the messages you exchange with other users, including who you talk to and what you say.[1]
  • Device and usage data: IP address, device ID, pages viewed, actions in the app, ad data, and city and country worked out from your IP address.[1]
  • Information from identity verification services and from other companies such as Google Analytics, combined with your usage data.[1]
  • Identifiers, purchase details and online activity shared with ad partners for cross-site advertising, which Mercari says counts as a “sale” or “share” under some US state laws.[1]

App store label. Mercari’s Apple App Store label says purchases, location, contact info, search history, identifiers and usage data may be used to track you across other companies’ apps and websites. Purchases, financial info, location, contact info, user content, search history, identifiers and usage data are linked to you.[4]

Breaches and security flaws

  • : Mercari said attackers used the Codecov tool compromise to reach part of its source code, exposing records including 17,085 payout records of users in Japan. It said it had found no Mercari US user information affected.[6]

Changes that matter

  • : Mercari launched a separate Mercari Global App in the US for buying from Mercari in Japan. Mercari says it inspects items before shipping and includes cover for loss or damage in transit.[2]
  • : Mercari updated its US Privacy Policy, adding detail on what it collects about your use of Mercari and how it uses and shares it.[5][1]

Scams that use Mercari

Pay me outside Mercari
A buyer or seller asks you to pay by another method or hand over payment details. Mercari can’t help with these “offline transactions” if the item is wrong or never arrives. Refuse and report it to [email protected].[7][8]
A chat message from “Mercari”
Mercari says it never sends messages in the chat; its own messages appear as notifications. A chat message claiming to be Mercari, or asking you to email a Gmail address, is a scam.[8]
Fake emails and links
Mercari says it never sends links to outside sites. Its emails come from @mercari.com, @mercariapp.com, @contact-us.mercariapp.com or @mercari-us.zendesk.com. Delete anything else without clicking, and log in through the app.[8][9]
Please rate the order now
Rating the order releases the money to the seller. Mercari warns against requests that seem too good to be true or urgent, including being asked to rate an item you haven’t received.[10][11]
Account takeover with a reused password
Mercari says some users have had accounts taken over using emails and passwords leaked from other sites. Check for changed email, address, bank details or orders, and reset your password.[9]

Shopping for a deal? How to check a shop before you pay covers fake shops and what to do if you already paid.

What to do

In order, with the place to find each one in Mercari or on its site.

  1. Turn on 2-step verification.Make sure your phone number is verified, then in the Mercari app tap Settings → Account security and switch 2-Step Verification on. You’ll get a text code each time you log in.[9]
  2. Use a password only for Mercari.Go to Profile → Account settings → Edit Account to change it. Use at least 8 characters with letters, numbers and symbols, and don’t reuse it anywhere else.[9][8]
  3. Pay by credit card, inside the app.Mercari suggests a credit card over a debit card, and only covers payments made through the Mercari app or website.[10][7]
  4. Check the item before you rate it.Report a problem through the Help Center within 72 hours of delivery. If your claim is approved, ship the return within 3 days using the free label.[11]
  5. Sellers: use a Mercari prepaid label.Ship within 3 days of the sale with a Mercari label to get Shipping Protection of up to US$200 if the carrier loses or damages it.[12][13]
  6. Opt out of data “sales” for ads.Contact Mercari through the Help Center or email [email protected] to opt out of the sale or sharing of your data for cross-site advertising.[1]

When not to use it

  • Don’t buy if you can’t check the item soon after delivery; after 72 hours the money goes to the seller and the sale is final.[11]
  • Not for under-18s on their own. Teenagers aged 13 to 17 may only use an account owned and supervised by a parent or guardian; under-13s can’t use it at all.[14][1]
  • For pricey designer goods, look for items checked through Mercari Authenticate, where two luxury authenticators from an independent firm review each item.[15]

Questions

Is Mercari legit?

Yes. Mercari is a real US marketplace run by Mercari, Inc., part of the Mercari group from Japan, and has operated in the US since 2014. It holds a buyer’s payment until the order is delivered and rated, and refunds approved claims for items that aren’t as described.

Is Mercari safe to buy from?

Reasonably, if you keep everything in the app. You pay a 3.6% Buyer Protection fee, and you have 72 hours after delivery to report a problem. If you pay a seller outside Mercari, it can’t help you.

Is Mercari Japanese?

The US app is run by Mercari, Inc. (US), a group company of Mercari, Inc. in Japan. Its privacy policy says your data may be processed outside the US and shared with group companies, including Mercari in Japan.

Does Mercari sell my data?

Under some US state laws, yes. Mercari says it “sells” and “shares” data with ad partners for cross-site advertising about Mercari, and you can opt out through its Help Center or [email protected].

Is Mercari safe for kids?

No, not on their own. Mercari accounts are for adults. Teenagers aged 13 to 17 can only use an account owned and supervised by a parent or guardian, who is responsible for what happens on it.

Second-hand marketplaces on HARD: Is Depop safe?, Is Poshmark safe?. All of them: Is it safe?

References

Primary sources only: Mercari’s own pages, regulators, courts and app stores. Each was checked on 7 Nov 2026.

  1. Mercari. Privacy Policy, 18 Aug 2025. mercari.com, checked 7 Nov 2026
  2. Mercari, Inc. (Japan). Mercari Launches the Mercari Global App in the United States, 18 Jun 2026. about.mercari.com, checked 7 Nov 2026
  3. Mercari, Inc. (Japan). Notice Regarding Change in Management Structure, 12 Jun 2026. about.mercari.com, checked 7 Nov 2026
  4. Apple App Store. Mercari: Buying & Selling App (App Store listing). apps.apple.com, checked 7 Nov 2026
  5. Mercari. Recent updates to the Mercari Privacy Policy, 18 Aug 2025. mercari.com, checked 7 Nov 2026
  6. Mercari, Inc. (Japan). Mercari’s Response to the Codecov Vulnerability and Related Notification on Personal Information Exposure, 22 May 2021. about.mercari.com, checked 7 Nov 2026
  7. Mercari. Is it safe to pay a seller outside of Mercari?. mercari.com, checked 7 Nov 2026
  8. Mercari. Tips to Help You Identify and Avoid Common Scam Tactics. mercari.com, checked 7 Nov 2026
  9. Mercari. Keeping your account protected. mercari.com, checked 7 Nov 2026
  10. Mercari. Safety Guidelines. mercari.com, checked 7 Nov 2026
  11. Mercari. Buyer Protection. mercari.com, checked 7 Nov 2026
  12. Mercari. Seller Protection. mercari.com, checked 7 Nov 2026
  13. Mercari. Shipping Protection. mercari.com, checked 7 Nov 2026
  14. Mercari. Minors. mercari.com, checked 7 Nov 2026
  15. Mercari. Mercari Authenticate. mercari.com, checked 7 Nov 2026