[Money] Making 540,000 Yen During Six Months of Parental Leave Using Mercari to Prepare for Reduced Income

Hello! This is Yuichi.
My eldest daughter is 1 year and 10 months old, and my second daughter is a newborn at 2 months old. As I mentioned in my self-introduction article, my wife and I are both taking a year of parental leave. This time, I have summarized our usual consumption style and how we use Mercari as a countermeasure for our source of income during parental leave.

Financial anxiety during parental leave...

Parental leave is the best year to fully enjoy precious time with your children, but honestly, don't you have moments where you hesitate because money crosses your mind?
The reality that your take-home pay drops by 20%, and then by 50% after six months.
Our family is no exception, and even combining our parental leave benefits, our income is expected to be 500,000 yen per month, and about 400,000 yen after six months.
Even though living in a 1LDK in Tokyo with four people is cramped... when you add up fixed costs like rent, utilities, and internet, it comes to 200,000 yen per month.
When I nervously calculated how much variable costs like food and childcare consumables would be, even if we try our best to cook at home or buy in bulk on sale days, it still comes to about 150,000 yen one way or another.
In other words, the monthly living expenses are 350,000 yen.
The money available for savings, investments, and travel is calculated to be 150,000 yen in the first half of parental leave, and only 50,000 yen in the second half.
Before parental leave, I had about 250,000 yen of disposable income and didn't worry much about household budgeting or saving, but honestly, I am anxious, thinking, "At this rate, I can only save 50,000 yen a month..." or "Can we even go on a family trip?"

If I could earn even a little bit, I would put that toward living expenses and use the rest for investment savings or as a source for family trips during parental leave.
With that in mind, I restarted using Mercari, which I used often when I was a student.

540,000 yen in sales during parental leave! Why I continue to use Mercari

The parental leave period I took for my first child was 7 months. During that time, I decided to declutter everything in the house, and
I was able to earn a whopping 540,000 yen (70,000 to 80,000 yen per month) in sales profit.Did you think, "Wow, that much?" I was the most surprised myself.
Designer clothes I wore when I was single, game consoles, books I stopped reading, home appliances I no longer use... I learned that even if each item isn't worth much, it adds up to a large amount.
You might not have a real sense of what 540,000 yen is, but
it is enough to go on about three trips with a budget of 200,000 yen. It's fine to use it for living expenses, but if you think of it as money you didn't originally have, you can spend it generously on a little luxury, high-quality meals, or experiences.

Since then, "List it on Mercari when it's no longer needed" has become a standard routine in our home.
Thanks to that, I now always have over 300,000 yen in my Merpay balance.
At stores where barcode payments or iD payments are accepted, I can pay with Merpay without withdrawing money from my bank account, so I almost never use credit cards or cash in my daily life.
Bank withdrawals are only for fixed costs like rent and utilities. After returning to work from my first parental leave, I was able to put most of my salary into savings and investments.
During this parental leave, I also want to declutter the things that have been left at my parents' house.

It's not a "side job," so it's okay! Recommendation for listing "personal property" that doesn't require a tax return

"Doesn't earning money on Mercari count as a side job?"
"Don't I need to file a tax return?"
Some people might think that. For company employees, rules prohibiting side jobs are a concern, right?
But please rest assured. I have decided that what I sell on Mercari is "personal property".
Personal property refers to assets we use in our daily lives, such as clothing, furniture, and home appliances.
The National Tax Agency's website also includes the note below, and it is clearly stated that income from the sale of personal property is tax-exempt and a tax return is not required.

Because of this rule, I can continue using Mercari with peace of mind without worrying about filing a tax return, even if my sales exceed 200,000 yen.

90% of earning wisely on Mercari is "sourcing"

If you want to earn living expenses on Mercari, it's a waste to just sell what you have at home!
What is truly important is how to source cheaply and sell high.
In other words, you need to think strategically not just about "listing" but also about "sourcing" = your daily consumption activities.
I will introduce a few points about "sourcing" that I am conscious of.

Don't buy what you want at "new/list price"

It's not that "anything is fine as long as it's cheap."
The golden rule is to buy what you "really want" at a low price.
This is because there is a high possibility that other people also want what you want.
If you can buy in-demand products cheaply, you can sell them at a certain price when you no longer need them.
Buying large furniture like desks, tables, and kitchen boards on Mercari while raising children was part of that. Even if the children get them dirty or scratch them, I can have peace of mind knowing "I bought them cheaply in the first place," and there is a high possibility they will sell even after I'm done using them.

Aim for a discount rate of 50% or more!

What I keep in mind when shopping is to always aim for a discount rate of 50% or more.
The specific purchasing routes and timing are as follows.

• Large sales at ZOZO or Yahoo! Shopping stores:
  Aim for up to 30% or more in point returns during the PayPay Festival. By using the sort button to arrange items by "highest discount rate," you can make it easier to find bargain products.

• Mercari
  Look for high-quality used items listed as "near mint" or "no noticeable scratches or stains," and purchase those that feel like a bargain compared to the list price.

• Off-season inventory sales:
  Buy winter items in summer and summer items in winter. There are many hidden gems during the off-season.

• Used goods specialty stores like Second Street:
  Search with the feeling of "digging" for high-quality used brand clothing.

Items that sell consistently are "standard, reliable brands"

If you are wondering, "What kind of things sell?", please try using the following brands as a reference.
These are genres that I personally feel sell consistently.

• Clothing
  Functional materials like Gore-Tex, and standard brands like The North Face, Patagonia, and Uniqlo.
  Unless you have a specific preference for color, it is desirable to choose standard white, black, or navy, which are less likely to go on sale.

• Furniture
  Muji, Nitori, Yamazaki Jitsugyo's tower series, etc.

• Home appliances
  Panasonic products, etc., which are trusted for being made in Japan and have high resale value.

• Others
  Products with many reviews on Rakuten, etc., that are high in the rankings, or items that are high quality and "made in Japan" even if the brand is unknown.

If you can purchase these products when the discount rate is high, they can often be sold for the same price as or higher than the purchase price when they are no longer needed, giving you the feeling of using daily necessities for "effectively free."

Little tips that Mercari experts are conscious of

From here on, I will introduce some little tips that I actually practice when listing items on Mercari.

Efforts to sell start with "careful preparation"

To make items easier to sell, preparation before listing is important.

Be specific in product descriptions

Clearly state the specific usage situation, such as when, where, and for how long it was used. If it is a Japanese-made product, actively promote that. Recently, Mercari's specifications have changed and more people are listing them, but it is good to include detailed sizes such as shoulder width, sleeve length, chest width, and length. Also, describing your own body type and how it fits when worn makes it easier for people considering a purchase to visualize it.
Since some people are too lazy to include this, you can gain trust as a seller and sell at a higher price than those who do not include it.

Keep accessories from the time of purchase

Keep receipts and product tags from when you purchased the item.
There are many fake brand items recently, and if you can prove it is authentic, it adds value and you can sell it at a slightly higher price.
It is also good to take screenshots showing the list price on the official website, which might be deleted when stock runs out, so you can present the basis for the list price when listing.

Take photos carefully

For clothing, it is desirable to post as many images as possible. In addition to full-body photos from the front and back, if you have images of the collar, fabric texture, fraying on sleeves or hems, presence of pilling, signs of wear on buttons or zippers, brand tags, laundry labels, tags showing the place of origin and product number, and product tags, potential buyers can learn the details.
For three-dimensional items like home appliances and furniture, using portrait mode can create a nice atmosphere and show off the product in an appealing way.

Tips for not increasing inventory and keeping shipping costs down

It is also important not to accumulate inventory in your home.

Using items while they are listed

You can continue to use items even while they are listed until the next buyer appears. However, if the item develops signs of wear or damage different from when it was listed, you must replace the images.

Buy after selling

Except for staple items, I sell things as soon as I no longer need them and use the proceeds to buy the next thing I want.

Last resort: large items at parents' house or in a storage unit

In a 1LDK apartment, there is no storage space, so I cannot keep unwanted items, i.e., inventory. Therefore, I borrow space at my parents' house to store them. Also, since we rent a storage unit for daily stock and disaster preparedness, we store bulky packing boxes and items that we are not selling seasonally there.

Keeping shipping costs down

Keeping shipping costs down is also important for maximizing profits.
Yu-Packet Post and Yu-Packet Post+ are the cheapest sizes that can be easily sent via mailbox. I basically ship clothing using this method to keep shipping costs down.
Also, Smari Box is the cheapest shipping method for items size 60 or larger, so I actively use it.

Pack carefully

Packing is directly linked to buyer satisfaction.

Protection against rain

Make sure to put items in a plastic bag before placing them in a cardboard box or paper bag.

Procure packing materials wisely

At Mercari Stations attached to Yamato Transport stores, you can use packing materials for free, and they can also be obtained cheaply at local Package Plaza stores or within Mercari itself.

Conclusion

When people hear "earning money on Mercari," they tend to focus only on "listing tips," but the battle actually starts with "sourcing."
Just by having the perspective of "how to get good things cheaply," your household finances will change significantly.
During this childcare leave, we thought again about "how to face money."
I believe Mercari is not just a flea market app, but a "household defense tool" to enjoy life during childcare leave and protect the family's future.
"I can't really afford occasional luxuries" or "I want to do something for my child's future."
If you are feeling such anxiety,first, try listing one unwanted item from your home on Mercari.
That small step will surely be a big step that changes your household finances and your family's future.
I recommend earning wisely on Mercari to increase the funds you can put toward leisure or investments.