How to ship a Mercari order on your own
The item ships on a label you bought, the tracking number is on the Order Status page, and your payout is not sitting behind a missing number.
Checked against Mercari's shipping help article on September 13, 2026.
Before you start
- A listing set to ship on your own, chosen when you create the listing.
- A tracked service, because Mercari cancels on a missing or invalid number.
- The tracking number in front of you, on the label or the receipt.
- The Order Status page for the sold item.
Steps
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Pick ship on your own when you create the listing
Mercari states it plainly: "When you create a listing, you can choose to use a Mercari prepaid label or ship on your own" (Mercari help centre, checked 13 September 2026).
You should see the listing saved without a Mercari prepaid label attached to it.
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Buy the label and pack the item
Use a service that produces a tracking number the carrier will scan.
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Hand the package to the carrier
Mercari's own wording puts the drop-off first: "After dropping off the package with the carrier, tap I Shipped It".
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Check the tracking number against the label
Read it digit by digit off the label. Mercari cannot change it afterwards.
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Provide the tracking number on the Order Status page
On the Order Status page for that sale, enter the tracking number.
You should see the number saved against the order.
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Select I Shipped It
On the Order Status page, select I Shipped It.
You should see the order marked as shipped on the Order Status page.
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Optional: Send the buyer the number in a transaction message
Mercari's own remedy for tracking changes is a message to the buyer, so it is a habit worth having from the start.
If it goes wrong
- No valid number, and the sale can be cancelled after you posted it
Mercari: "If you ship on your own without a valid tracking number or fail to provide the tracking number on the Order Status page, the transaction may be canceled, even if the item has already been sent" (Mercari help centre, checked 13 September 2026).
- The number is final once entered
Mercari: "Just notify your buyer of the new tracking number in a transaction message. At this time, we are unable to remove or modify tracking numbers." A typo is not fixable, only explainable.
- Shipping Protection does not follow you
Mercari Shipping Protection requires that "The order has been shipped using a Mercari prepaid shipping label". It covers up to $200, or $20 on a First-Class Envelope, and an own label forfeits it.
What happens next
Mercari is explicit about the payout: "If you opt to ship on your own, you'll need to provide tracking information before you can get paid." From there the risk is yours, because Shipping Protection of up to $200 ($20 on a First-Class Envelope) applies only to Mercari prepaid labels, and Mercari's policy says that without a possession scan from the shipping carrier "the seller is responsible for a lost or damaged item".
Their prepaid labels stop at 50 lb actual or dimensional weight, 34 inches on the longest side and 20 inches on the second side, so above those an own label is the only route anyway.
Buy the label, keep the number to hand
USPS and UPS are priced per order, weight comes from your saved product presets or from what you type once, and you print the label and the tracking number together. For a run of sales, import a CSV or paste the rows into The Workbench (part of Pro) and print one merged PDF.
Related questions
Yes. Mercari documents it as a listing-level choice: a prepaid label, or ship on your own.
Mercari documents separate routes for that, including paying the difference at the counter and contacting Mercari after shipping on your own. It is not a single toggle on a sold order.
Yes. Protection requires a Mercari prepaid label, so an own label gives up the $200 cover ($20 on a First-Class Envelope).
On the Order Status page for that sale. Mercari names that page as the place a missing number gets an order cancelled.