Mercado Libre Launches Fully Managed and Semi-Managed Models, Initiates Merchant Recruitment for Chinese Enterprises

Ebrun Exclusive: Mercado Libre has officially launched two business models, Semi-Managed and Fully Managed, targeting Chinese manufacturing enterprises, and has commenced comprehensive merchant recruitment.

(Image: Division of responsibilities between sellers and Mercado Libre under different models.)

It is reported that under Mercado Libre's Semi-Managed model, merchants pre-stock their goods at the platform's official warehouse located in Shatian, Dongguan, China. After orders are placed, the platform handles all subsequent logistics and operational processes, including warehouse management, sorting and packing, international shipping, and last-mile delivery. Merchants focus on products and front-end operations.

According to Mercado Libre's recruitment information, the profile and entry requirements for Semi-Managed sellers are: sellers with experience operating on mainstream cross-border platforms, which can include factories, integrated manufacturing and trading businesses, brand owners, and traders; possession of a business license from a mainland China or Hong Kong company; an average annual store turnover exceeding $300,000 USD; a dedicated team to manage platform operations, supply chain, and customer service; brand sellers must possess an R-mark or TM-mark and operate e-commerce business as a brand store on domestic or international e-commerce platforms.

For Semi-Managed sellers, Mercado Libre currently offers incentives including up to 50% commission reduction, waiver of warehouse fees, profit protection (sellers set target profits, and the system automatically calculates selling prices), traffic support (official FULL tag traffic, priority search ranking, etc.), logistics acceleration (direct shipping from the Chinese official warehouse, last-mile delivery accelerated by 3-5 days compared to the regular model), product selection support, and one-click access to five Latin American markets.

Under the Fully Managed model, merchants are only responsible for supplying goods. All other aspects, including store operation, logistics and delivery, marketing promotion, and after-sales service, are handled entirely by the platform.

Priority recruitment targets for the Fully Managed model include: 1. Factory sellers - possessing their own production lines, R&D capabilities, and significant cost advantages; 2. Category traders/stockists - having rich resources within industrial clusters, a large number of ready-made products, and sufficient inventory depth; 3. Brand suppliers - well-known domestic or cross-border brands willing to expand into the Latin American market via a supply model.

Qualification requirements for Fully Managed sellers include: possession of a business license from a mainland China or Hong Kong company; an average annual turnover of managed stores exceeding $300,000 USD; the first order must be ≥5-10 units/SKU, with a replenishment cycle ≤15 days; products must align with the platform's selection direction and possess price competitiveness.

In terms of support policies, Mercado Libre implements a "0 fee across the entire chain" for Fully Managed merchants—0 commission, 0 warehouse fees, 0 international shipping fees, 0 advertising fees, with payment settled within 7 working days after successful order delivery. Merchants do not need to build an operations team, as Mercado Libre is responsible for product listing optimization, activity applications, and improving conversion rates through professional algorithms. Simultaneously, Mercado Libre provides a dedicated traffic channel for Fully Managed sellers, including official FULL tag traffic, direct access to the "MELI Selection" activity section, and priority access to core promotional events and off-site advertising placements. Additionally, official product selection experts provide precise product listing suggestions based on big data of hot-selling items in Latin America.