What Is Mercari Local Pickup?

And Why You Should Be Using It To Grow Your Reselling Business

On July 20, 2021, Mercari announced a brand new feature that is being added to their platform, Local Pickup! In partnership with Uber, this platform has figured out a way to solve the safety and privacy concerns many had with doing local pickup on Facebook Marketplace and other platforms that offer this feature.

What Is It?

Exactly what it sounds like! Mercari Local Pickup is their new feature that allows you to buy and sell within your local area, with no shipping or meet-ups needed! Instead, delivery is handled by one of their partners, Uber or FedEx Same-Day. If you sell an item via Local Pickup you'll be able to schedule a time for a driver to pickup the sale and deliver it to your buyer contact-free!

So What Can I Sell?

Mercari explains that this service is perfect for those bulky, heavy, or fragile items that are tough to ship. The only stipulation they make is that the item cannot exceed 50 lbs and must fit in the trunk of a car (45" x 35" x 15"). This excludes large furniture, appliances, and outdoor gear that wouldn't fit in the trunk of a car.

In NYC, they ask that you tell them whether your item is small, medium, or large. The criteria for each are:

• A small item can be carried in one hand

• A medium item would require a tote bag to carry

• A large item would need two hands to carry, like a computer monitor

Personally, I'll be listing all my items with this option because there are no categories that I sell that are off-limits!

Who Pays For It?

As always on Mercari, listing remains free. You'll be charged the normal fees that Mercari charges (10% selling fee, 2.9%+$0.30 processing fee), and the buyer is responsible for the delivery fee, which will vary depending on the distance between you and the buyer.

For Uber, the delivery fee will range anywhere from $7.99 to $20.99, and you can schedule a pickup anytime Monday-Sunday from 7:00am-10:00pm. Fedex Same-Day, which is only available in Houston and the San Fransisco Bay area at the moment, charges anywhere from $10.99 to $39.99, and pickups can only be scheduled Monday-Friday from 7:00am-5:00pm. Fedex will deliver your item by 8:00pm the day it is picked up and for an additional $40, they will deliver to your buyer on a weekend.

For both services, Mercari emphasizes that you MUST have your item ready for the driver when they arrive. Drivers will not wait longer than five minutes for the item so keep that in mind when you schedule!

How Does It Work When I Sell Something?

If a buyer chooses to purchase an item through Local Pickup, they'll submit their availability to Mercari at checkout. You will then be able to schedule a time that works best for you, based on the buyer's availability!

You will want to be sure to securely wrap and package your item for transit because there is the potential for sudden stops and bumps on the road while your item is in transit. Mercari also asks that you label the package with the buyer's name and apartment number (if applicable). It's also important that you make your item as compact as possible for travel, and if your item is over 10 lbs, be sure to wrap it in something strong that can sustain being carried to and from the car. If your buyer purchased multiple items, they all need to be packaged in the same box or bag.

Both buyers and sellers can leave detailed instructions for their driver in the Mercari app, and it's important that you do. Most pickups/drop-offs, if not all, will be contactless, meaning you won't speak to your driver in person. They will need to be able to easily locate the package at pickup and find the correct address for drop-off.

As I mentioned, drivers won't wait longer than five minutes for either service. For Uber, the driver will show up at the scheduled time, so be ready! FedEx, on the other hand, will pick up the sale within a four-hour window from the scheduled pick-up time in order to provide the most affordable delivery. You'll be notified via SMS message when FedEx is on its way!

How Will I Be Protected?

All drivers are vetted and trained by Mercari's partners, Uber and FedEx Same-Day. As a driver for Uber myself, I can assure you that your sales will be in safe hands. Drivers take their job incredibly seriously because we love it!

But on the off chance that something does go wrong, all sales will include a $200 shipping protection from Mercari! If an item is lost or the buyer files a return for "item damaged in transit", this protection will cover you!

So Why Should I Use It?

Because it has the potential to make you so much money! This new feature is going to bring all-new eyes to Mercari. Buyers that had previously ignored shopping on Mercari because they didn't offer local pickup will now be more attracted to the platform. They'll also potentially be more willing to use the normal shipped options as well since they're now on the platform anyways!

It's easy to brush off these new features because we all love what works already, but it's important to remember that these companies do TONS of market research before implementing new ideas. Mercari must truly believe Local Pickup will help to expand our businesses and the platform as a whole! This new feature really only has the potential to provide growth to Mercari, their delivery partners, and their sellers!

Get FREE Inventory For Your Reselling Business!

How I'm Using Flyp To Branch Into Consignment

This post contains affiliate links! If you choose to use my link, I'll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you! Thanks so much for your support!

I've wanted to break into doing consignment for a long time. I knew it had the potential to help me grow my reselling business to new heights, but I wasn't sure how to get started. It felt like every time I tried to find out how to find clients or set commission rates from someone who was already successful with consignment, I was running up against a gate that was locked tight. It's understandable why those are such well-kept secrets. That's how the industry stays competitive!

But what if I told you that there's a platform out there that takes ALL the guesswork out of consignment?? What if I told you that they'll allow you to sign up for free and start receiving inventory in as little as a week?? I know it sounds too good to be true, but it's real, and it's called Flyp!!

I found Flyp on Instagram when it was recommended by a fellow reseller who had recently begun consignment with them. She posted about how she got all this amazing higher-end inventory for absolutely no cost to her. After reading her post, I immediately had the app store up and Flyp downloaded. By the next morning, I had been matched with a lot and had received it by the following week! Check out my YouTube channel for an unboxing!

Flyp works by matching Pro Sellers with individuals looking to offload lots of clothing. Some of those people are resellers themselves looking to move extra inventory and some are just people cleaning out their closets. Either way, Flyp has gone through and approved all the pieces that are in each lot. They don't allow brands that are over-saturated or low-end fast-fashion.

Each weeknight at 6:00 pm EST, new lots will drop! You apply for lots you're interested in by submitting your commission rates. You'll find out the following morning whether you were matched with any of them. If you were, you'll have the chance to submit pricing estimates, which the owner of the lot can decline, accept or ignore. If they accept, the lot will be shipped within seven business days at no cost to you!

When you receive the lot, you'll be able to check over all the items included for damages or missing pieces. I've received one lot with a damaged item and one lot that had a couple of pieces missing. In the case of the damaged item, I asked her if she wanted it returned to her or donated and she said to donate it. I marked it as damaged in Flyp which automatically updated the pricing estimate for the lot!

In the case of the missing pieces, she had accidentally included three incorrect items in their place. I was able to add those to her lot in Flyp and remove the missing ones which also automatically updated the pricing estimate for the lot. In both situations, I was not penalized for the damages or missing items and my clients were super understanding!

After checking over all your items, you'll mark the lot as arrived and you can begin processing and listing! Flyp recommends that you get the items listed to your platforms within seven business days and you have ninety days from the lot's arrival to sell everything. If an item doesn't sell within those ninety days, you have a few options. You can either send the item back to the client, donate it for them, or continue to sell it at an adjusted rate. Whatever you decide with your client is up to you, but Flyp will help facilitate if you need to ship items back!

When an item sells, you'll mark it as sold in the app. You don't have to provide a payout immediately. Flyp gives clients a heads up that it could take up to thirty days to receive their funds, which allows for processing times, return windows, and all the other things that can come into play when an item sells. The more items you sell, the more lots you'll be allowed to apply for and receive!

I can honestly say Flyp has been a game-changer for me! Being able to acquire inventory at no cost and basically no effort is huge. I don't have to go to the thrift or the bins, instead, the items arrive right at my doorstep. My clients have all been incredibly sweet and excited to get their items moving! If you're interested in checking out Flyp for yourself and receiving FREE inventory, click here!

The Top 3 Investments I've Made For My Reselling Business

What's Really Worth It?

This post contains affiliate links and codes! Should you choose to use any of them, I'll earn a small commission at no extra cost to you! Your support is greatly appreciated!

The great thing about starting a reselling business is that you can start by spending nothing. As long as you have a phone, internet, something to sell, and a little bit of determination, you can begin making money for yourself!

However, if you want to take your small business to the next level, there are some investments that will need to be made. I've broken down my top 3 most important investments I've made for my business to help you decide what's really worth the money!

1.) A Thermal Label Printer (I use a Rollo!)

I purchased my Rollo printer from Amazon and am absolutely in love with it (click here to buy)! It saves me SO much time and hassel when packaging orders. All I have to do is peel off the label and stick it to each package. No taping, no cutting, no folding required! I also love my Rollo because unlike other brands, they allow you to use any thermal labels you want! That means I can order my 100% eco-friendly labels and still use them even though they're not Rollo brand! It also saves a ton of money on printer ink because it doesn't require any!!

2.) List Perfectly

ListPerfectly is an ecommerce software that helps you crosslist! When I first started reselling, I was one of those people that was TERRIFIED of crosslisting because I thought Poshmark would find out and kick me off their platform. Let me tell you, that fear was completely unfounded and I missed out on a lot of sales with that mentality. Luckily, ListPerfectly came into my life at just the right time and I started crosslisting to over 10 platforms thanks to them!

It's not just about crosslisting though. I also love managing my inventory, delisting/relisting, and being a part of the ListPerfectly community. This company has created something incredibly special with this software and it goes well beyond the technical applications of it. Sure, having access to 12 integrated platforms and the ability to delist and relist 30 items in 30 minutes is HUGE, but gaining the community and friendships I have thanks to them has been even bigger.

If you're looking to start crosslisting to new platforms or to make it easier to manage your inventory, check out ListPerfectly and use code THEHIPPYEDIT for 30% off your first month!

3.) Eco-Friendly Packaging

This is something that's a little more personal to my business and brand, but I still believe it's important for EVERY reseller to keep in mind. Our planet is dying and that's a fact. As resellers, we have an incredibly unique opportunity to make a positive impact on our beautiful home. I chose very early on in my business to use entirely eco-friendly packaging materials because of that opportunity.

There are lots of adorable poly-mailers out there that can make it hard to want to use eco-friendly packaging for your business, but if we don't take care of the one home we have, we won't be able to continue to run our businesses. Every time an item is resold or has it's life extended by just one year, it's carbon footprint is reduced by over 70%! It'd be a shame to undercut that by wrapping it in a single-use plastic polymailer for shipment.

I get all my supplies from a company called EcoEnclose, but there are SO many amazing options out there, including some that don't cost a dime extra! One of my favorite ones is actually the USPS! Did you know that all their boxes are made partially from post-consumer waste and they can be recycled again?? You can order them for free on their website!

These are just three of the investments I've made that made a real impact on my business. None of these are investments you have to make if you don't feel they're a good fit for you and your business. That's the awesome part about being an entrepreneur! You get to do things your way!

My biggest tip when looking at potential business investments is to ask yourself "How will this save me time and money in the long run?" or "How will this impact my relationship with my customers?" If it will allow you time to focus on more important tasks or will build more positive relationships with customers, it's probably worth your money!