Mercari is now working on ways to fundamentally change our stance on safety and security. We’ve shifted away from our previous neutral stance—one based on the belief that people are inherently good—and taken on a new role: stepping in, even if it means taking risks, to protect our valued users and fully cover any losses they might face.

In this interview, we take you behind the scenes of the changes at Mercari over the past year—from the leadership debates that led to this policy shift, to the creation of the Item Collection Center that’s making a real impact in preventing fraud, the shift in mindset at CS, and the launch of the Core UX Team dedicated to sharpening our core services. We sat down with Keisuke Tanaka (@kei.t), the director of our Trust and Safety Program Management Team, and Yohei Miyasaka (@yohei), the director of Customer Service, to get the inside scoop.

Last year’s incident and our stance shift

—To get things started, I’d like to ask you about the policy for safety and security announced in May. Could you tell us about the background leading up to this?

@kei.t: It all traces back to November and December of 2024. We received a lot of feedback about a transaction on Mercari, mainly through social media.

What happened in this case was that a seller received a return request from a buyer, but when the returned package arrived, the seller discovered that their item had been switched with something completely different. At the time, Mercari CS asked the buyer and seller to simply settle the matter among themselves, and as a result, we weren’t able to protect the seller. We took the stance that, since we’re just running the platform and not selling items directly, we wouldn’t offer compensation. However, this kept us from protecting users who fell victim to fraud. The story blew up on social media and made headlines in the news, and criticism of Mercari really ramped up.

It was around this time that some fundamental challenges in customer support really came to light—like the fact that we weren’t able to offer compensation, or that we couldn’t take a firm stand against fraudulent buyers.

@yohei: That’s right. After that, as we continued our discussions with our leadership, the conversation naturally turned to how we should handle such situations going forward. We build our services on the assumption that people are fundamentally good, but even though most of our users are, as we grow, it’s inevitable that a few bad apples will slip in.

The decision was made to steer the company toward a more hands-on approach: Protect our well-intentioned users by taking a tough stance against the few bad actors, and, if anyone does end up suffering any losses, Mercari will cover the full amount of their losses. In other words, we’re stepping up and taking on the risk as a platform, all to keep things fair and safe for our users.

Item Collection Center and the power of deterrence

—What kind of discussions took place within the company regarding the decision to proceed with compensation for users?

@kei.t: With the seller, buyer, and the items that are bought and sold all being factors for compensation, it’s really tough for us to figure out exactly who or what was the culprit in any given situation. For example, if the buyer contacts the seller and says that their item hasn’t arrived, the buyer has no choice but to believe the seller when they reply “I sent it” and also believe that the item simply hasn’t arrived. Unlike our EC business branch, we don’t inspect items ourselves, so it’s hard to determine the truth for sure. When making judgements on such matters, we tried to maintain a neutral stance, which resulted in responses that made it look like we were trying to distance ourselves from the victims.

@yohei: Exactly. That’s why, instead of trying to prove who’s right, we decided to take a clear stance; if any trouble popped up and someone had a bad experience, we’d step in, offer compensation, and make things right. Of course, doing this comes with a cost, but if it means fewer people end up disliking Mercari and leaving the platform, then inaction simply isn’t an option.

—What specific steps did you take in response to the policy shift?

@kei.t: The very first thing we did was to set up an Item Collection Center as a dedicated location for gathering all those returned items. By making sure that all returns went through the Mercari-operated center, we created a process for checking for item switching or fraud. This has been very effective. In fact, once users realize they have to go through the Item Collection Center, quite a few of them withdraw their cancellation requests.

@yohei: You could say it even works as a sort of a deterrent, too. For people with bad intentions, having their item arrive at the Mercari-operated center to get inspected is definitely a risk. Sure, there are shipping and operating costs, but we believe that the positive impact of reducing malicious listings on Mercari far outweighs them.

@kei.t: Plus, since we really want to make sure problems don’t pop up in the first place, we’ve been actively stepping up our anti-fraud measures. Up until now, we’ve focused on making it as easy as possible to list and buy items, but we’ve decided to take a new, calculated approach to make the platform tougher for fraudulent users to use.

Reactions within CS and the redefinition of efficiency

—What was the reaction within the company to this dramatic change from the previous focus on efficiency?

@kei.t: There was hardly any pushback. It was quite the opposite; there were plenty of positive reactions from our members working on customer support, with many expressing relief that they could finally take real action. The members on the front line of CS work hear from our users on a daily basis, so they’ve always wanted to do more and find ways to help them.

But up until now, company rules and resource limitations have gotten in the way. Once management gave us the green light to go for it—even if it meant spending more to protect our users—you could really feel people’s enthusiasm.

@yohei: Some time ago, I spoke at an event called Google Cloud Next, where I mentioned that we had been overly focused on efficiency from our perspective as a company. We had prioritized how quickly we could respond, and how many users we could help as a result.

However, actually getting their problems resolved matters more than just getting a quick reply. Rather than spending time on endless back-and-forth, it’s better for us to step in, compensate the user right away, and solve things in one shot. That way, we show true respect for our users’ time. After all, time is money!

@kei.t: That’s right. Sometimes, little misunderstandings—like thinking you bought a blue shirt, only to receive a navy-blue shirt—can spark trouble between users. But instead of everyone wasting time on back-and-forth, we’ve shifted to a mindset where it’s just better for Mercari to step in, offer compensation, and let everyone move on happily.

Delivering a sense of security users can always count on

—Given the changes Mercari has experienced over the past year, what kinds of developments can we expect in the future?

@yohei: Amid these changes, the idea of the core UX—our core user experience—is gaining momentum. While it’s important to add new features to boost sales, even more crucial is the launch of a dedicated team focused on perfecting the service’s core functionality—ensuring that the basics work seamlessly and that every transaction can be carried out with complete peace of mind.

As part of this, we are currently in the process of switching our user support channels to use chat support. We’re working on this so that users won’t have to wait around when they run into trouble. It’s an initiative to cut down on wait times. We’re already rolling it out in stages, moving from email support to real-time chat.

The best-case scenario is our ultimate goal of receiving no inquiries at all—in other words, to prevent problems before they even arise. To get there, it’s not enough for the CS and fraud prevention teams to handle matters on their own. We need to listen to and reflect on user feedback and incorporate it into our services as a core part of our company culture, spreading this mindset throughout the entire organization. This means creating an environment that allows users to enjoy Mercari effortlessly and feel completely secure. I see that as our mission.

@kei.t: Thanks to the launch and efforts of the Core UX team, as highlighted in our financial results announcement, we’re already starting to see some real progress. Ultimately, we want to ensure this feature doesn’t drive users away, but rather becomes the very reason they choose Mercari.

Unlike rolling out new features, these kinds of initiatives often fly under the radar, and it’s tough to measure their impact on their own. Still, I believe that if we keep at it, they’ll add up and win the hearts of many users, so it’s important to keep moving forward. We want to keep working hard to become a service that anyone would want to use—and one that people will truly love.

@yohei: The C2C business is built on trust between users. As the platform provider, we operate in the background to ensure everything runs smoothly and that trust is never in doubt. At the same time, we act as guardians to keep everything safe.

By leveraging AI and other such technologies, we aim to eliminate information asymmetry and create a platform where anyone can feel totally at ease conducting a transaction—even if a listing contains only a single photo. Our goal is to keep delivering the kind of genuine peace of mind that our users expect.