Yellow infographic titled “Can you rent a Mercari ID? Why Thai buyers can’t get a Japanese ID”. The Tama-Chan mascot logo sits top right. On the right, the Tama-Chan presenter in a mascot T-shirt points upward. Left card, why you can’t get an ID: one person, one account (a second one, or one opened for someone else, gets restricted); a Japanese number is needed for the code (a Thai number can’t open an account); renting and selling accounts is banned (suspension leaves money or items stuck). Bottom band: no ID needed, order through Tama-Chan — no Mercari ID of your own, Thai translation and baht payment, shipped to your door in Thailand. Footer: no need to rent an ID, order from Mercari through Tama-Chan.
Before You Order3 min read

Can You Rent a Mercari ID? Why Thai Buyers Can't Get a Japanese Account

Renting or buying a Mercari ID is very hard, and we do not recommend it: it breaks Mercari's rules, the account can be restricted the moment it is detected, and any money or item still tied up on it is stuck there too.

Why Mercari IDs are so hard to come by

Mercari allows one account per person (1人1アカウント). Open a second one and it can be restricted before it has bought or sold anything.

Registering an account for someone else (代理登録) gets the same treatment, so an ID a Japanese resident opened for a Thai buyer to rent breaks the rules from the day it was created.

Then there is the phone number. Opening an account needs a Japanese mobile number to receive the SMS code, and a Thai number will not do, which is why you cannot open a Mercari account from Thailand yourself. Every ID offered for rent or sale is one somebody else signed up for.

And even with an ID in hand, Mercari only ships to addresses in Japan. Someone there still has to receive the parcel and send it on to Thailand.

What renting or buying an ID puts at risk

Mercari has published a notice saying that buying, selling and lending accounts is prohibited. The same notice warns that an owner who sells or lends an account knowing it will be used for a crime can be punished as an accomplice.

The person renting the ID has problems of their own.

  • The ID can be restricted or suspended at any time. If that happens mid-order, the money paid or the item not yet received stays stuck on that ID, and there is nobody to claim it from, because the account is not in the renter's name.
  • The owner can still log in whenever they like and see what the renter ordered and where it was sent.
  • “ID for rent” posts in Facebook and LINE groups are a known way to take money. The rent gets transferred and the person renting it out is never heard from again.

No Mercari ID? How to buy anyway

Order through Tama-Chan, with no Mercari ID of your own. One Tama-Chan account is enough to search Mercari and place an order. If the seller cancels, the money goes back to your Wallet automatically.

Item pages have a button that translates the description into Thai, prices are shown and paid in baht, and the parcel comes back to Thailand by sea or air, all the way to your door.

See what the system does for you on the Mercari service page, or follow the step-by-step ordering guide from search to payment.

Frequently asked questions

No. Mercari does not let anyone but the account holder use an account, however close the friend. If it is detected, your friend's account can be restricted.

Mercari also ships within Japan only, so your friend would have to receive the parcel and send it on to Thailand.

Read next

Related keywords

  • rent a Mercari ID
  • find a Mercari ID
  • buy a Mercari account
  • Japanese Mercari account

Want something from Mercari without hunting for an ID?

Open a Tama-Chan account to search and order from Mercari right away, or message an admin on LINE.

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