How do you buy Japanese cards on Mercari Japan from the U.S.?

Two official routes to Mercari Japan

Mercari's help center describes how cross-border purchases work: Mercari, or a cross-border service officially linked with Mercari, takes the purchase request from a buyer overseas, and the seller ships to a designated address in Japan. Buyee is on Mercari's list of official partners. Other proxy services also buy on Mercari, with their own fees.

The second route is Mercari's own app. Mercari launched the Mercari Global App in the United States on June 17, 2026, after Taiwan and Hong Kong in September 2025. Its announcement says U.S. buyers can buy from Mercari and Mercari Shops in Japan "without having to go through a third-party proxy crossborder service," that Mercari checks all items before shipping, and that every step from payment to package tracking happens in the app. The announcement gives no fees, so compare the total shown in the app with a proxy's quote for the same listing.

Buying through Buyee, step by step

Buyee's Mercari page lays out four steps: you buy the item on Buyee; Buyee tells you by email and on My Page when it reaches the warehouse; you pay for international shipping, combining it with other items if you like; and you wait for delivery.

The costs come in layers. As of November 2, 2026, Buyee charges a ¥500 purchase fee per Mercari order, "a flat rate of ¥500" even when one order covers several items, plus a plan fee per its fee table: Standard ¥500, Insured Delivery ¥500, Inspection ¥300 or Lite ¥0. The seller's shipping to Buyee inside Japan "generally range[s] from 150 ~ 1,500 yen." Storage is free for the first 30 days after arrival, then charged daily, for up to 90 days. International shipping and U.S. duty come last; the landed-cost guide shows how the 12.5% duty and Japan Post's rates add up.

Buyee's Mercari search has a condition filter with the same six levels Mercari sellers choose from (New, Like new, Good, Fair, Poor, Overall poor condition) and a filter for listings where the "Official authentication option" is available.

Authentication before the card ships

Buyee's authentication option for Mercari covers trading cards when the listing is one ungraded single or one card graded by a grading company; for graded cards, the page says only PSA slabs qualify and Buyee checks the holder, not the card inside. A lot of two or more singles is not eligible. The fee depends on the category and is shown on the order page. If the card is judged fake, Buyee refunds the item price, including the authentication fee. The option can't be added or removed after ordering, and it can't be combined with the Lite or Insured Delivery plan. If a card that passed later proves fake, Buyee asks you to contact it within 14 days of receiving the package.

Mercari started its own authentication service, あんしん鑑定 (anshin kantei), for Global App buyers in the U.S. and Taiwan on October 21, 2026, rolling it out in stages. Staff in Japan check eligible items before they are shipped abroad; items that meet the standard ship, and if an item fails or cannot be checked, Mercari cancels the transaction and notifies the buyer. The announcement leaves the eligible items, fees and free-check conditions to Mercari's U.S. guide page. For comparison, the same service for buyers in Japan costs ¥1,700 per trading card and is free when the item price is ¥100,000 or more.

What Mercari sellers may and may not list

Mercari's trading card rules shape what you will see:

• Packs and boxes can be listed as packs or boxes only if they are unopened. Opened packs must be listed as single cards, and an opened box as singles, or as packs if the packs inside are still sealed.
• Sellers must not use wording that leads buyers to expect certain cards inside a pack; the rules name "サーチパック" (search pack) as an example.
• Packs or other products whose contents were swapped, or that are made to look unopened, are prohibited, as are random assortments whose contents are unclear.
• Counterfeit items and items not confirmed as genuine are prohibited. On Mercari's prohibited-items page, unopened 30th CELEBRATION expansion packs and the nine 30th CELEBRATION card sets were temporarily suspended from listing as of November 2, 2026; see what came out for the 30th anniversary.

Mercari asks sellers to photograph scratches, warping and white edge wear at the corners up close, and to avoid subjective words such as 美品 (bihin, "fine condition"). Resealed products are a risk with any marketplace, and sealed product that may not be what the factory packed explains what to look at.

Reading the listing before you buy

Every Mercari listing carries one of six condition levels, from 新品、未使用 (new, unused) to 全体的に状態が悪い (overall poor condition). Some sellers can also choose a trading-card scale from A to D, which Mercari says is a visual guide, not a grading score. The Japanese listing terms guide translates both scales and the words sellers use in titles. If the seller is a shop, its own condition grades may also appear in the description.

To make sure you have the right card, match the set code and card number before buying; identifying a Japanese Pokémon card and finding a card's English name show where to look.

Limits of buying through a proxy

• No price talks. Buyee says it "can not negotiate the price with sellers" and generally contacts sellers only to ask about an item's details. Mercari prices are set by the seller and items go to whoever buys first.
• No cancellations. Buyee does not accept cancellation requests once the purchase is complete, and its cancel button disappears after proxy shopping starts.
• No delivery outside Japan from the seller. Even through the Global App, the seller ships to an address in Japan and the card leaves the country from there.