As the leader in a market of over 635 million people in the Latin America region with one of the world’s fastest-growing Internet penetration rates, MercadoLibre provides buyers and sellers with a robust online trading environment, now available to the United States sellers.
What is the MercadoLibre marketplace?
Most likely, you have already heard about MercadoLibre’s success from the press, but it is not just another e-commerce site. MercadoLibre is the largest in Latin American technology and commerce ecosystem, offering an e-commerce marketplace platform, logistics, warehousing, and online payments. MercadoLibre is present in 18 countries including Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, and Peru.
How can a US seller sell in Latin America?
To simplify the process, MercadoLibre created the Global Selling Program, which allows international merchants to sell throughout Latin America. Currently, Cross-Border Trade is enabled in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Chile.
MercadoLibre knew that to get international sellers to join the marketplace, they needed to support them with all the complexity of selling globally. Thanks to the Global Selling Program, they conquer challenges such as currency, calculating customs, taxes, and shipping. Global Selling Program makes selling in Latin America as simple as selling within the US.
MercadoLibre partners with local carriers (in the US it is DHL), so sellers do not need to worry about calculating shipping costs and import taxes. Sellers receive ready-to-print shipping labels without a need to integrate or negotiate with a new shipping provider. Sellers drop off packages to the local DHL office (or it is picked up by the carrier), everything else is taken care of by the DHL and MercadoLibre.
What Can You Sell on MercadoLibre?
MercadoLibre offers all categories of products, and if you currently sell your products in US marketplaces, you are most likely to be able to sell them on MercadoLibre as well. However, before you start uploading products to MercadoLibre, you need to take into consideration the dimension and weight restrictions, as well as a list of restrictions for some Latin American products.
Uploading products to MercadoLibre
MercadoLibre offers an option to upload products via CSV to the seller center. However, this is much easier to do using GeekSeller’s tools and graphical interface. Before you start working on your catalog, keep in mind that similar to other marketplaces, MercadoLibre will need your products to have correct categories, GTIN (EAN or UPC), and proper dimensions (weight and size). The good news is that you do not need to translate your product description to local languages. MercadoLibre technology will do it for you!
Returns
- When fulfilled by the seller: MercadoLibre is going to refund the buyer. The seller is not getting the payment for the product and it will need to afford the cost of the return shipment.
- When fulfilled by Mercadolibre: MercadoLibre is going to refund the buyer and there is no extra cost for the return shipment.
See the following link where you can find more information regarding Returns.
How much does it cost to sell on MercadoLibre?
It is free to list your products on MercadoLibre. Similar to other marketplaces, MercadoLibre charges a percentage of the sold products as a fee. The applicable fees for Mexico are between 12.5% and 22.5% (depending on your products category) and 16% for Brazil and Chile. On top of that, if you are selling with free shipping (i.e. Mexico) you will be paying for a percentage of the shipping cost; see details.
You are selling in Latin America, but you will receive an international wire transfer in USD. This is important to mention that you do not need to worry about currency fluctuations. Sellers submit products to MercadoLibre indicating the price in the USA. Buyers on MercadoLibre pay in their local currency, but sellers receive the amount in USD, so MercadoLibre takes on them the potential currency rate changes.
Shipping products to Latin America
MercadoLibre offers a few options to help the US sellers ship products to buyers from Latin America:
- Ship By MercadoLibre – similar to Amazon’s FBA and Walmart’s WFS program, qualified sellers can ship products to MercadoLibre’s warehouses and have products being automatically fulfilled by the marketplace. Learn more about Fulfillment by MercadoLibre here.
- Ship with Partnered Carrier – this is the preferred way for the US companies selling on MercadoLibre. MercadoLibre works with the local carrier (for the US sellers this is DHL) and provides ready-to-print shipping labels to sellers. Below, we go into details about how it works.
How does Ship with Partnered Carrier work?
Step 1.
Working with GeekSeller, sellers publish products on MercadoLibre, making sure listings have the dimensions and weight information provided; see product Dimensions and Weight Restrictions.
Step 2.
Based on the information provided by the sellers, MercadoLibre calculates shipping costs and taxes for each market; more details about costs.
Step 3.
When a seller receives an order, MercadoLibre automatically generates a label and a seller can print it directly from the GeekSeller panel.
Step 4.
A seller needs to deliver products to the carrier within 3 business days (maximum handling time allowed). If a seller generates at least 10 orders per day, it is possible to schedule the carrier to come for a pickup (you need to contact MercadoLibre to activate it).
Step 5.
Carrier delivers products to the buyer; see standard delivery times.
Advertising on MercadoLibre
MercadoLibre has a lot of traffic, with proper products and pricing you will not complain about a lack of orders. However, MercadoLibre allows sellers to give even more visibility of their products with MercadoLibre’s advertising solution called Product Ads. MercadoLibre will create ads with your listings and choose the best place and time to show them to buyers. Sellers have the ability to hide, pause, or activate campaigns, as well as set a daily budget. The platform is based on the PPC model, so you only pay when a user clicks on your ad.
How to register on MercadoLibre?
Ready to sell on MercadoLibre? Not all sellers can join the program, MercadoLibre works with sellers with a track record of selling quality products and offering outstanding service to buyers. There are also some preferred categories of products that MercadoLibre is looking for.
GeekSeller works with MercadoLibre to select and onboard sellers, please contact us to see if you qualify and work with us on your application.
Hi there,
It is very interesting marketplace platform. However, I do wonder that is it possible for me to sell on Mercado Libre because I’m not US seller, I’m from Thailand. If yes, please give suggestion about the payment record briefly.
Thank you in advance.
Hi Tidtee, at the moment, the integration and the marketplace are designed for US sellers. We encourage you to apply with us, and we will contact you as soon as the integration is available for sellers outside the US.
I have submitted my application to sell on Mercado Libre from the US. I am not sure what to follow after applying. Will somebody contact me and let me know.
Thanks for your attention.
Hi Alex, thank you for your patience. It usually takes us a week for one of our representatives to review your application and contact you.
Are there plans to work with UK suppliers?
Hi James, the current program we run with Mercado Libre is designed only for the US sellers. However, we encourage you to fill out the application form anyway or subscribe to our newsletter. At one point, we should be able to expand the program to sellers from all over the world, and we will notify our readers about it.
Hi, i have a company in USA but my products are coming from Greek as a re-seller. I am very interesting this market place. Please kindly let me know if it is possible or not?
Thanks in advance
Hi Amanda, yes, as long as you ship from the US. The current program with Mercado Libre requires the US sellers to have their products being shipped from the US.
Great possibility but there is still a big question mark. How does ist work with return, if products are shipped from the US.
Franziska, Mercado Libre team offers a few ways to handle returns. They are also testing new options on an ongoing basis to improve this process. At the moment, you should be able to work with Mercado Libre on setting up the return policy that suits you best. More options will be introduced soon. I am sorry for this not specific answer, this is a tricky part of doing business abroad, and we will have more information about this soon.
Actualmente vendo en México que es donde vivo pero quiero vender en otros países, se puede?
Joseu, Este programa está disponible actualmente solo para los vendedores de EE. UU.
We are India’s leading Ayurveda & Herbal products manufacturer since 1966. Currently, our products are sold in India, US and around the globe.
Just filled up registration form
It would be great if get opportunity to more expand our cross border online sell with Mercadolibre.
Looking forward for the positive feedback
Hi Chintan, Thank you for your interest in GeekSeller and Mercado Libre. At the moment we can onboard mainly the US based businesses. However, very soon this program should be available to companies from other countries, we will contact those applications with an update.
Hi There, is there any way to sell as a German manufacturer directly on Mercado Libre? Or just via distributors in the Latin countries?
Hi Manuel, yes there are options for a German manufacturer to sell directly on Mercado Libre. We will contact you directly with details.
Thanks! Looking forward to your email!
Hi,
We have a company based in US and we would like to know if it s possible to send our products and then have Mercado libre agent handling our stock and send our products to the customers.?
Omar, yes MercadoLibre has a program called FBM (Fulfilled by MELI). However, we suggest starting with selling on Mercado Libre as a 3P seller, so you can test the marketplace. FBM is a great choice for large-volume sellers.
Hi, I am incorporated in US and have applied to sell on Mercadolibre, what are the qualifications to be considered, I currently sell on Poshmark, will it be enough? Also, is there customer service in US and how do US sellers handle returns, specifically who pays for shipping back if customer simply didn’t like the item and there is nothing wrong with it, thx
Hi Steve, MercadoLibre has a few programs helping sellers to deal with returns. They will explain and provide your options. Just to let you know, at the moment we are onboarding only sellers with an active GeekSeller account. We will be contacting non-GeekSeller sellers with details later this year. Thank you for your patience.
Hello, I submitted my company your way last week, how long does it take to receive a proper response? Excited to become a seller.
Sincerely,
Josh
Hi Josh, at the moment we are onboarding only sellers with an active GeekSeller account. We will be contacting non-GeekSeller sellers with details later this year. Thank you for your patience.
Hello,
How does the currency exchange work? If I submit the price of my products in USD, does ML guarantee that I will receive the exact same payout in USD(obviously minus fees, etc.). What I means: does ML manage the local FX risk for me?
Thanks
Jorge, you submit your price in USD, and you are guaranteed to get paid the same amount you submitted to MercadoLibre. The marketplace takes care of the currency exchange and risk of the currency fluctuations.
Hello, I am very interested in starting to sell on the Mercado Libre platform.
I just submitted my application. How long does it usually takes to get a response?
Orlando, we will send you details about who you can contact to learn more about your application.
Hello GeekSeller Team!
Please advise if being a US company we can sell digital software on Mercado Libre (BR, MX, CO, CL)?
We have just submitted an application via the form above.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Movavi Team.
Hi Lena, At the moment, Mercado Libre accepts only physical products to be listed on the marketplace.
I am from Pakistan and i want to sell on Mercado Libre Platform .I own a Company in US with EIN Number.
I think i am not able to sell through Pak but if it is possible to sell via US company as i can ship from US.
Please reply me with a detailed explanation .
Many thanks
Hello Zeshan, yes, this Mercado Libra Marketplace program is meant for companies from the US. So, if you gave your EIN Number and you ship from the US, you will be eligible. Please fill out the registration form to join the waiting list. Thank you,
Hi. For official shop, will buyer send product back to Mercado Libre warehouse or back to sellers? If back to warehouse, Does Mercado Libre help QC parcel and judge or not?
Hi, Mercado Libre has its own warehouses and offers fulfillment for sellers, similar to Amazon’s FBA and Walmart’s WFS. Please see this page to learn more. However, at the moment MercadoLibre prefers to work with sellers who store and ship products. Shipping is done via DHL, and MercadoLibre provides shipping labels. So, you start as a drop shipper and switch to the MercadoLibre Fulfillment option when your products are proven to be successful in the marketplace.
Hi GeekSeller Team!
Thanks for previous reply. I have more question.
Q: How about return – for official shop, will buyer ship back to Mercado Libre warehouse or ship back to seller? if ship to Mercado Libre warehouse, seller can manage and judge their refund or Mercado Libre do it
Thank you
Thanks for your question. I just updated our blog post with this information, and please let me go by each option:
– Fulfilled by the seller: Mercadolibre is going to refund the buyer. The seller is not getting the payment for the product and it will need to afford the cost of the return shipment.
– Fulfilled by Mercadolibre: Mercadolibre is going to refund the buyer and there is no extra cost for the return shipment.
Also please let me share with you the following link where you can find more information regarding Returns.
Hello, Pls Answer this query.
We are creating Mercado Libre Max Account, but it Demands a Mexican Address.
We are a company Based in US, what is the solution to these companies?
Do we still need the Mexican Address? Or we can give our US Address somehow?
If No, Should we use a Virtual Address? Or we need to Hire a Agent who will Represent Us in Mexico, we will use his Name, Address & VAT Number to Register the Account?
If No, then pls let me know if there’s a solution to using US address?
Anila, You do not need to have a location in Latin America to sell on MercadoLibre. The program is designed to allow US-based companies to sell in Latin America without a physical presence in that region. MercadoLibre offers its own solutions to help with returns, and you ship from the US. How did you register, and which form are you using? Please apply to MercadoLibre via this form, and somebody from the MercadoLibre team will work with you on completing the application.
Hi. If we sell to Brazil from the US on MercadoLibre, will there be import tax? And how about the local VAT in Brazil, how does that work?
Hi Victoria, MercadoLibre takes care of all the formalities, you will not have to deal with most of the accounting details. Also, many of the fees are paid by the sellers. If you fill out this registration form, the MercadoLibre team will review your application and contact you to discuss details. You will then have a chance to ask them for all the details about taxes and duties. This is usually the fastest way to learn more.
I have Portuguese and Spanish translations of my books available. Does MercadoLibre print on demand from somewhere in South America? (I have had difficulty getting my books to Christian believers in South and Central America because the shipping costs are more than the book costs.)
Mercado Libre does not offer such a service. You might need to work with a local print shop that could print and ship orders from within Latin America. Please note that you still might want to consider sending products from the US, and price your product accordingly to cover the shipping cost.
Hey I have applied to the Mercado libre seller form but I am waiting for a response is there any way were I could work with you or I could get fast-tracked onto having my account created through our team as I believe was mentioned on one of your videos about Mercado Libre I am based in the US
Hi Javier,
Thank you for reaching out to us regarding your application for MercadoLibre. I understand that you may be frustrated with the denial of your application, but we are happy to help you in any way we can.
To answer your question, yes, we can only apply on behalf of sellers we have worked with for a long time. However, we would be happy to take a look at your website and see if we can help you figure out why your application was denied. Can you please provide us with the link to your website?
Also, it would be helpful if you could let us know your GMV and experience in the e-commerce industry. Also, do you sell on Amazon or other marketplaces, to use your reviews to show MercadoLibre your selling history and experience?
Hi I’m currently running a small reselling business here in US (mainly on eBay). But I’m very interested in Latin America market. I realized that Mercado Libre requires a business website or marketplace URL to start the application, however I don’t have a website yet, is there anyway to start the application without it?
Hi Alex,
Thanks for reaching out! MercadoLibre, just like Walmart marketplaces, has a rigorous review process for approving sellers on their platform. While it’s possible to apply without your official website URL, it’s highly recommended to have a well-established presence on other e-commerce platforms (such as Amazon), generate at least $300k yearly sales, and work with a quality 3PL or have your own warehouse before applying.
Building experience and establishing a successful track record on other platforms like Amazon and eBay can be a great way to prepare yourself for selling on MercadoLibre or Walmart. Having your own website and building a brand can also help improve your chances of approval.
In short, it’s not easy to be approved to sell on MercadoLibre, but building up your experience and presence in the e-commerce space can help improve your chances.
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.
Hi.
I wonder that it is possible to sell on Mercado Libre because i’m from south korea. as i know, there must be only local person. what if there is a method to apply on the Mercado libre , plz let me know.
Thank you in advance.
Mapsi, This program is designed to allow US-based companies to sell in Latin America. I am afraid if you do not have a presence in the US, your application will not be accepted.
Hi,
We I have a small company based in Bulgaria, and we would like to know if it is possible to sell our products on a Mercado?
Hello, at the moment the program is only opened to the US based companies.
Hi, i’m already selling products in Brazil. But i’m starting a company in USA (I have all the docs), and I intent to sell products on Mercado libre’s Global Selling plataform. I filled up the form that you show above, but i never got any anwsers. Do you have any tips?
Hi, Unfortunately, not many sellers are approved by Mercado Libre to sell on the platform. If you did not hear from the Mercado Libre team, that means they believe the products you offer might not be a good fit for the marketplace at this moment. I suggest you might want to reapply in the future or try to expand to Latin America with other marketplaces, like Walmart Chile and Walmart Mexico.