The fee stack nobody mentions
Sellers usually quote FVF as 13.25% and forget the rest. The real take is closer to 17–20% once you add the $0.30 fixed fee, ~2.9% payment processing (folded into managed payments), and 3–6% Promoted Listings. On a $25 item, fees alone are $5–6 — leaving very little after COGS.
Category fee surprises
Most categories run 13.25% FVF. Books/Movies/Music = 14.6%. Sneakers above $150 = 7% (the seller-friendly outlier). Heavy equipment is capped at $750. Always check the current schedule before pricing — eBay updates twice a year.
Store subscription math
Free account: 250 free listings/mo. Basic Store ($24.95/mo): 1,000 free + reduced FVF. Premium ($74.95): 10,000 listings. Anchor ($349.95): unlimited + lowest FVF. Subscribe at the volume where saved FVF + free listings exceed the monthly fee.
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 percentage does eBay take?
13.25% FVF for most categories + $0.30 per order + ~2.9% payment processing = ~17% all-in baseline. Promoted Listings adds another 3–6%, so most sellers net 75–80% of gross before COGS.
Are eBay shipping fees taxable?
Yes — final value fee applies to shipping charged to the buyer, not just the item. Charging high shipping to avoid FVF doesn't work.
Is selling on eBay still profitable in 2026?
Yes, but margins are tight on low-ticket goods. Collectibles, arbitrage, and specialty categories ($100+) work best. Generic mid-priced resale is squeezed by Amazon FBA and Poshmark.
How this calculator is built
Independently maintained
Written by Sam Doshi and the RevenueLab editorial team. We don't sell the data feeds this tool is built on.
Sourced from primary data
Benchmarks come from public AdSense / Stripe / IRS disclosures and reader-submitted data — never third-party "$X per view" claims. Full methodology.
Last reviewed
June 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.