Updated: 2026-08-04 · Author: Sergey Zlobin, CEO of Maketto
Mercari is Japan's biggest peer-to-peer marketplace — millions of listings from private sellers, full of rare and discontinued items. But you can't buy from it directly from abroad: registration needs a Japanese phone number, and sellers ship only inside Japan. The one reliable route is a proxy service: it places the order for you, receives the item at a Japanese warehouse, and forwards it overseas.
What is Mercari, and why do people want in?
Mercari (メルカリ in Japanese) is Japan's version of eBay or a giant classifieds app for private sellers: an app where people sell new and used goods to each other. It's the country's largest C2C marketplace — about 23 million monthly active users (Mercari Japan, FY2025, year ended June 2025) and more than 50% of Japan's resale market. By C2C sales volume and resale-market share it has pulled ahead of the classic auction sites (Yahoo Auctions) to become Japan's #1 resale marketplace (Mercari, Inc. FY2025 annual report).
People hunt on Mercari because it's where the things you can't find in normal shops end up: discontinued figures and anime merch, vintage clothing and electronics, trading cards, camera gear, books and magazines, and everyday items sold cheap by people just clearing out a closet. Listings are often one-of-a-kind and priced below what professional resellers charge.
Why can't I just register and buy from abroad?
Because Mercari is built as a domestic marketplace — for people living in Japan. Two barriers you can't get around from overseas:
- A Japanese phone number. Signing up in the app requires a Japanese mobile number (070/080/090) for SMS verification. Tourist and data-only SIMs don't work — you need a voice-capable number from a Japanese carrier. To sell and withdraw money, you also need Japanese ID with a Japanese address (in Japan, a 在留カード residence card).
- Domestic-only shipping. Sellers ship via Japanese couriers (Yamato, Japan Post) to a Japanese address. Private sellers don't offer international shipping — the platform is designed for domestic transactions only.
These two barriers are exactly why proxy services exist: they supply the Japanese address and payment, then forward your purchase to you.
There's a third wrinkle — payment. Per Mercari's official help, you can pay only with a Japanese card issued in the account holder's own name. A card in someone else's name won't go through, and in our buying team's experience using another person's card gets the profile restricted or banned. So a Russian card — or even a relative's Japanese card — won't work here; the proxy handles it with its own Japanese account.
How to buy from Mercari through a proxy: step by step
The flow is nearly identical across services:
- Find a listing on Mercari (the site/app is in Japanese — your browser's built-in translation helps) and copy the item link.
- Give the link to a proxy. It checks availability and price, then places the order on its Japanese account on your behalf.
- The seller ships to the proxy's warehouse in Japan, where staff receive the item, inspect it, and confirm it arrived.
- You pay for international shipping and pick a method. Multiple purchases can be consolidated into one parcel to save money.
- The parcel ships to you abroad. The proxy arranges the export and gives you a tracking number.
One key point: hot listings on Mercari sell out in minutes, so a good proxy buys fast. And purchases are almost always final — private sellers don't accept "changed my mind" returns.
Buying from Mercari with Maketto
The Mercari catalog is now open right on the Maketto site. You can search it in your own language — no Japanese app to install, no kanji to decipher. Titles are translated, prices are shown in yen, and our fee (10%, minimum ¥1,000 for the whole order) is calculated up front. Found what you wanted — add it to the cart and place the order. We then buy the item, receive it at our warehouse in Toyama and ship the parcel on to you. Open the Mercari catalog →
If an item isn't in the catalog, send us the link to the listing: our manager will check that it's still there, confirm the price and buy it. You can estimate shipping by weight and country with the calculator on the site — the exact weight lands once the item is at the warehouse. My tip: if you want several Mercari finds, order them close together so we can consolidate them into one parcel. That's usually where the shipping saving is.
What to check in a listing: seller rating and item condition
Before buying, weigh two things — the seller and the item's condition.
The seller. Every profile shows a count of good/bad reviews and ratings from past buyers. More completed sales with almost no bad reviews is more trustworthy. Ask about small details (chips, scuffs, completeness) via the description and photos.
Condition. Mercari describes condition on a fixed 6-step scale, written in Japanese. Here's what each step means:
| Japanese label | What it means |
|---|---|
| 新品、未使用 | New, unused |
| 未使用に近い | Like new (opened but effectively unused) |
| 目立った傷や汚れなし | No noticeable scratches or stains |
| やや傷や汚れあり | Some scratches and stains |
| 傷や汚れあり | Visible scratches and stains |
| 全体的に状態が悪い | Poor overall condition |
Source: Mercari Help, item-condition guide, checked 2026-07-10.
Tip: condition is subjective when the seller is a private individual, so always study the photos, not just the chosen label.
Who pays for shipping inside Japan. A listing carries one of two labels:
| Label | What it means |
|---|---|
| 送料込み | The seller pays delivery to the warehouse — it is already in the lot price |
| 着払い | You pay delivery to the warehouse — on top of the price |
With 着払い we cannot name the exact amount in advance: the Japanese courier works it out from size and distance, and we pay it when the lot arrives at the warehouse. That sum then goes into your invoice. In our experience it is ¥700–1,500, more for bulky items. To avoid the extra charge, pick lots labelled 送料込み.
The risks of buying on Mercari
- Condition by eye. The seller is a private person who may have missed a flaw. Rely on photos and reviews; a good proxy inspects the item at the warehouse before forwarding.
- Speed. Popular listings sell out in minutes — sometimes faster than you can place the proxy order.
- No returns. Deals are generally final: "wrong size" or "changed my mind" can't be reversed.
- Restricted items. Not everything can be imported into your country — expect limits on batteries, some cosmetics and food, and certain materials. Check the rules before you order.
- Total price. The proxy fee and international shipping stack on top of the listing price; shipping depends on weight and destination, so look past the Mercari number. A calculator on the proxy's site helps you estimate it in advance.
FAQ
Is "Merukari" the same as Mercari? Yes. メルカリ reads as "merukari"; it's the same marketplace, just the Japanese pronunciation.
Can I search Mercari items directly on the Maketto site? Yes. The catalog is open on our site: you search in your own language, titles are translated and prices are shown in yen. You place the order through the cart, like in any online shop.
How is Mercari different from Yahoo Auctions? Mercari is fixed-price "buy it and done," mostly private sellers. Yahoo Auctions is bid-based. Mercari skews toward everyday used goods; Yahoo skews toward collectibles and vintage.
How long does shipping from Japan take? It depends on the method and destination — typically 7–21 days as a rough guide. Shipping is priced by weight and destination: you can estimate it in advance with the site calculator, and the exact weight is known once the item reaches the warehouse.
The short version
Mercari is Japan's #1 C2C marketplace — roughly 23 million monthly active users (Mercari Japan, FY2025) and over half the country's second-hand resale market — but you can't buy from it directly from abroad, because sign-up needs a Japanese phone number for SMS and sellers ship only within Japan. The working route is a proxy: it buys the listing to a Japanese address, receives it at a warehouse in Japan and ships it on to you abroad. Before paying, weigh two things — the seller (ratings and reviews) and the condition (a fixed 6-step Japanese scale worth understanding first). And treat the listing price as a private-seller price: add the proxy fee and international shipping, which is set by weight and destination, so estimate it with the site calculator, with the exact weight known once the item reaches the warehouse.
Sources
- Mercari — Japan's largest C2C marketplace (company overview):
https://careers.mercari.com/en/mercan/articles/36116/ - Mercari monthly active users (Statista):
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1167155/mercari-monthly-active-user/ - Mercari — general company profile (Wikipedia, with primary-source references):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercari - Registration requirements (Japanese number, residence card, Japanese address) — Furima Navi guide:
https://furima-navi.jp/en/blog/mercari-account-setup-foreigner - Mercari — official item-condition help (the scale):
https://www.mercari.com/us/help_center/product-info/item-conditions/ - Mercari (メルカリ) — official help: pay only with a card in the account holder's own name («ご本人名義のクレジットカードのみ»):
https://help.jp.mercari.com/guide/articles/23/ - How proxy buying from Mercari works (Buyee, a Mercari proxy partner):
https://media.buyee.jp/pr/about_mercari/en/ - Mercari, Inc. — FY2025 financial results (monthly active users and C2C sales volume, year ended June 2025):
https://about.mercari.com/en/ir/library/results/
Note on sourcing: platform scale and registration requirements are confirmed by industry data and practical guides; the condition scale comes from Mercari's official help. The "only official partner" phrasing comes from the proxy services themselves — we present it as their claim, not as a statement from Mercari.
Update history
- 2026-08-04 — updated: the Mercari catalog is now open on the Maketto site, so items can be searched and ordered directly with us. The section on buying through Maketto has been rewritten.
- 2026-07-10 — article published.