How It Works

What is Merchagogo?

Merchagogo is a marketplace where fans buy and sell new and pre-owned vinyl, apparel and more. After you create your free account, you can list your items for sale. You can pay by credit or debit card and payments are securely processed by Stripe.

If a buyer disputes a purchase (based on item condition, slow shipping, etc.), the Merchagogo team can intervene and mediate.

What does it cost to shop on Merchagogo?

When you shop on Merchagogo, you'll pay the item price that the seller sets, the shipping fee, and a platform fee. This is a 10% fee attached to all purchases that helps us maintain Merchagogo. Web hosting, site maintenance, Google ads, marketing campaigns -- it all adds up. The platform fee allows us to build the most effective, most performant and most fun merch marketplace.

Also, since you can always find many great deals on Merchagogo under $20, we hope you'll agree that the fee is reasonable. For example, if the item costs $12.99 plus $5 shipping, the platform fee will be only $1.30 -- the shipping fee is ignored when calculating the platform fee.

What does it cost to sell on Merchagogo?

You can list as many items as you'd like -- all for free! You only get charged if your listing sells. Merchagogo collects 5% of the item plus shipping cost. So if you list a $10 album + $5 shipping, the Merchagogo commission fee will be only $.75. Compare that rate to Discogs and eBay and you'll see why it makes sense to sell on Merchagogo!

How do I sell on Merchagogo?

Good news: Merchagogo has no listing fees. To sell your items, you'll complete a form that includes the item's title, description and other associated information. You'll also add photos of the item: please be sure they're high quality images that show the whole item. If the item has any flaws (a small tear in a shirt or crumpled corner of an album jacket), be sure you show them!

You'll then set the price you want -- but we urge you to be realistic, especially if you're selling pre-owned items. If you're selling vinyl, you are not required to provide a condition grade, but doing so may get your listing more views. Again, we encourage you to be reasonable in your assessment of used vinyl. Avoid disputes -- and sell your vinyl faster -- by accurately describing your items.

In order to receive payment for your items, you'll supply banking details before you complete your first listing. We transfer those details to Stripe, our our payment provider, and we do not store them in any way.

There is no minimum or maximum number of listings you can create. Make 1 or 10,000 -- it's up to you!

What can be sold on Merchagogo?

Merchagogo is a place for fans. Since bands and artists produce a wide range of merch, we can't really produce an exhaustive list of what you can sell on the marketplace. Instead, let's review a few things that you can't sell:

• Anything fake. At the risk of stating the obvious, don't list bootlegs or knockoffs. Real fans want real items. It may be OK to sell a one-off, homemade Lady Gaga t-shirt, for example, if it doesn't imitate an authentic design, but it should be advertised as such. If it appears deceptive, the listing may be removed without notification.
• Anything hateful. Merchagogo is for all fans. Items that attack individuals or groups will be removed without notification, and you may have your account suspended or closed.
• Anything not related to fandom. Feel free to list Funko items, sports jerseys or books about Woodstock. But this isn't the place to list your old weight bench, RV or plot of land. If it doesn't fit the marketplace, we may remove listings without notification.

How do payments and transactions work?

Merchagogo offers a simple and secure online payment method via Stripe. All prices are in USD.

When you purchase an item, funds are immediately processed by Stripe. However, the seller does not immediately receive a payout from Stripe. Two things will trigger the payout to occur:

1. The buyer marks the order as received in their account.
2. The transaction automatically marks itself as completed 14 days after the seller marks the order as delivered (or shipped).

Either event will trigger the payout. For sellers, this means the faster you ship, the faster you'll be paid.

After a payout is triggered, Stripe will begin the process of transferring the funds to the seller's bank account. It can take Stripe anywhere between 5 to 10 business days to transfer the money to the seller's bank account. Moreover, there may be additional days of standard bank processing time before the balance appears in the seller's bank account statement. Please be patient -- if we could up the process, we would!

If the buyer receives the item and believes there is an issue (e.g., the listing misrepresented the item), the buyer can open a dispute from their account.

If the buyer does not mark the order as received and does not open a dispute, both within those 14 days, then the payment is automatically processed by Stripe at the end of those 14 days.

Disputes stop related transactions for 90 days, during which time the Merchagogo team may investigate the issue and offer guidance toward a resolution.

Note that buyers will not be able to purchase yours items until your Stripe account information has been verified by Stripe. Until then your payments will be held by Stripe.

How do ratings work?

After a transaction is complete, buyers and sellers can rate the experience via a 5-star rating system and a written comment.

Both may be about the accuracy of the listing, shipping, communication with the other party, etc. Reviews are publicly visible to all users. A seller's overall rating (percentage of positive ratings vs number of ratings) is also shown on each listing page.

Being polite and respectful, describing items accurately, and packaging well and shipping quickly will garner higher ratings and build your Merchagogo reputation. Shoppers are much more likely to buy from trustworthy sellers.

Note: Rating comments are not reviewed by the Merchagogo team. Please notify us if you see anything blatantly inappropriate.

How does shipping work?

When you list an item for sale, you are required to include a shipping cost. This is the amount that the buyer will pay to have you get the item to them.

At this time, you cannot set variable shipping costs. The amount you specify in your listing is the amount the customer will be charged, regardless of where they live.

As such, it is vital that add the following details to your profile bio: (Find your profile bio by clicking the icon in the upper right corner of the site, and then clicking on "Profile settings.")

• If there are locations you do not ship to, you must specify them in your profile bio. Include what action you'll take if you receive an order from someone in those locations (i.e., you will cancel the order).
• You must specify how long it will take you to get orders shipped. For example, you might say "If I receive an order before 12PM my time, I will get your order shipped the same day." Or "I can only ship on Fridays. If you order on any other day, it won't ship until the following Friday."
• You must include how you'll ship (i.e., USPS First Class, UPS, FedEx, etc.).
• You should indicate how soon packages will arrive. For example, "Buyers typically will receive their purchases within 7-10 business days."

Ultimately, you need to put yourself in the role of the shopper and anticipate their questions. Make sure you address all aspects of how and when you will get orders to your customers. Doing so clearly and completely will give you the advantage over sellers who don't.

If the item is lost or damaged by the postal services before the delivery, the buyer should be refunded.

If the item has been marked as successfully delivered (as indicated by tracking number) and is lost after that, no refund will be possible.

Please note that international shipments may be subject to customs fees. Once a sale is made and the item is shipped, we cannot cancel the sale or provide refunds for customs fees.

How do refunds and returns work?

Simply put, individual sellers determine their refund and return policies. When you're shopping, check the seller's profile to learn about their policies. Likewise, if you're selling, please be sure to include that information in your profile. In cases where there are disputes about what can be returned, refunds for misrepresented items, etc., the Merchagogo team will step in to mediate the situation.

If the seller allows returns and refunds: Determine how long you have to return items per the seller's policy. Contact the seller to start the return process. Explain the situation clearly. You will then have to purchase a prepaid shipping label to send the item back to the seller.

After the seller has received the return and, they will have 2 business days to issue a refund. If they fail to do so, the Merchagogo team will contact the seller on the buyer's behalf.