The three fees most sellers miss
Sellers often calculate 13% and stop. The real total is higher because of:
- • Fee on shipping — the 13.25% applies to shipping you charge the buyer, not just item price
- • $0.40 per-order flat fee — meaningful on cheap items
- • International 1.65% — automatic when buyer is outside the US
- • Payment dispute fee — $20 if a chargeback goes against you
eBay vs. Mercari vs. Poshmark
Head-to-head on a $100 item:
- • eBay: ~$14 in fees (14% effective on item + shipping)
- • Mercari: ~$10 (10% flat + 2.9% payment)
- • Poshmark: $20 (flat 20% >$15)
- • Facebook Marketplace: $0 for local pickup, 5% for shipping
How to legally lower your effective fee
eBay Store subscription ($4.95–$59.95/mo) drops per-category fees by ~0.35% and gives free listings. Only worth it above ~50 listings/month. Top Rated Seller status adds another 10% discount on the final value fee for qualifying transactions.
Related guides
Long-form playbooks on the same topic, written by the RevenueLab editorial team.
eBay Seller Fees Explained 2026: The True ~17% Take Rate and When to Subscribe to a Store
FVF, the $0.30 fixed fee, payment processing, and Promoted Listings — line-by-line — plus the exact volume where a Basic/Premium/Anchor Store pays for itself.
Read the guideAmazon FBA Fees Explained: A Sellers' Guide to Real Unit Economics in 2026
Referral fees, FBA fulfillment, storage, returns, and ad spend — the line items that turn a 'profitable' Amazon SKU into a money loser, and how to model them honestly.
Read the guideAmazon FBA Profit Guide 2026: Real Margins After Referral, FBA Fees, PPC, and Returns
Why Seller Central's calculator under-reports your true cost, the 30% ROI rule aggregators use, and the levers that actually move FBA margin.
Read the guideFAQ
What is eBay's final value fee?
Most categories: 13.25% of the total sale (item + shipping). Some categories differ — books/movies 14.95%, sneakers >$150 drop to 8%, motor vehicles have a flat listing fee instead.
Does eBay charge fees on shipping?
Yes. The final value fee applies to the ENTIRE order total, including shipping you charge the buyer. This surprises new sellers who calculate on item price only.
How much does eBay take from a $100 sale?
Standard category, no shipping: ~$13.65 (13.25% + $0.40). With $10 shipping: ~$14.98. So your gross payout on a $110 order is about $95.02 before your item cost.
What's the difference between managed payments and PayPal?
eBay retired PayPal for sellers in 2021. All sales now flow through eBay Managed Payments, which combines the final value fee and payment processing into one rate — no separate PayPal 2.9% + $0.30 anymore.
Do eBay Store subscriptions save money?
For high-volume sellers, yes. Basic Store ($4.95/mo) gives 250 free listings + 0.4% off some categories. Break-even is usually 50+ listings/month or ~$1,500/mo in sales.
How do I calculate profit accurately?
Net profit = Sale + Shipping charged − eBay fees − Actual shipping cost − Item cost − Packaging − Return rate provision. Add ~3–5% for returns/refunds when planning.
Are eBay fees tax deductible?
Yes, if you sell as a business. All eBay fees, shipping labels, packaging, and sourcing costs are ordinary business expenses on Schedule C.
Why did my payout differ from the calculator?
Common reasons: promoted listings fee (2–15% on top), international transaction fee, dispute/chargeback, currency conversion, or a listing upgrade like reserve price/bold.
How this calculator is built
Independently maintained
Written by Sam Doshi and the RevenueLab editorial team. We don't sell the data feeds this tool is built on.
Sourced from primary data
Benchmarks come from public AdSense / Stripe / IRS disclosures and reader-submitted data — never third-party "$X per view" claims. Full methodology.
Last reviewed
July 2026. We re-check every figure on the platform on a rolling quarterly cycle.
Editorial standards
See our editorial policy and disclaimer. Results are estimates, not advice.