The short version
For a seller without an eBay Store, most categories cost 13.6% of the total sale up to $7,500, plus a per-order fee of $0.40 (or $0.30 when the order total is $10 or less). The total sale includes the item price, any shipping you charge and the sales tax the buyer pays.
That is the fee that matters for most thrift flips. The rest of this guide covers the details and the exceptions.
Final value fee
The final value fee is a percentage of the total amount of the sale. eBay counts the item price, handling, the shipping the buyer pays and the sales tax in that total. It is charged when the item sells, and it is deducted from your payout.
In most categories the rate is 13.6% up to $7,500 per item and 2.35% on the part above that. A few categories are different:
| Category | Final value fee |
|---|---|
| Most categories | 13.6% |
| Books, movies and TV, music (not vinyl records) | 15.3% |
| Trading cards, comic books, coins and paper money | 13.25% |
| Guitars and basses | 6.7% |
| Athletic shoes, $150 and up | 8%, no per-order fee |
| Athletic shoes, under $150 | 13.6% |
| Women's bags and handbags, $2,000 or less | 15% |
| Jewelry (not watches), $5,000 or less | 15% |
These are the rates for sellers without a Store. eBay lists every category on its selling fees page, and it is worth checking there for anything unusual.
Per-order fee
On top of the percentage, eBay charges a fixed fee for each order: $0.30 when the order total is $10 or less and $0.40 above that. It looks tiny, but on cheap items it adds up. On an $8.00 sale with no shipping charged, the total eBay fee comes to $1.39, which is 17.38% of the sale.
Why fees are charged on shipping and tax
This surprises a lot of new sellers. If you charge the buyer for shipping, eBay takes its percentage of that shipping too. And because sales tax is part of the total, the fee is charged on the tax even though you never keep the tax.
Here is a worked example with a buyer who pays 8% sales tax:
- Item price
- Free shipping$40.00
- Buyer pays $8 shipping$32.00
- Shipping charged
- Free shipping$0.00
- Buyer pays $8 shipping$8.00
- Total with 8% tax
- Free shipping$43.20
- Buyer pays $8 shipping$43.20
- eBay fees
- Free shipping$6.28
- Buyer pays $8 shipping$6.28
- Your payout before shipping
- Free shipping$33.72
- Buyer pays $8 shipping$33.72
Same buyer total, same fee. Charging shipping instead of building it into the price doesn't avoid fees. What changes is how the price looks in search. Pick whichever presentation sells better in your category, and do the math on the total.
Insertion fees
Listing an item can also cost money. Sellers without a Store can list up to 250 items a month with no insertion fee. After that, eBay charges $0.35 per listing in most categories. Most part-time resellers stay under the allowance, but if you list in volume, count it.
Fees that can raise your rate
- International fee. eBay charges 1.65% of the total on sales to buyers outside the US, with exceptions for eBay International Shipping.
- Seller performance. Accounts rated Below Standard pay an extra percentage on final value fees. So do sellers with a very high rate of returns for items not as described in a category.
- Advertising. Promoted listings are optional, but if you use them, the ad fee is charged on top of the final value fee when a promoted sale happens.
- Store subscriptions. A Store costs a monthly fee and lowers the final value fee in many categories. Whether it pays off depends on your volume.
How to think about fees when you buy
The useful mental shortcut: on a typical sale in most categories, plan for about 13.6% plus $0.40, and then your shipping label on top. On low-priced items, the per-order fee and shipping take a much bigger share. That is why a $6 sale rarely makes sense unless your cost is close to nothing.
So before you pay for an item, work backward from the expected sale price: subtract fees, subtract shipping, subtract the profit you want. What is left is the most you should pay. Our max buy guide walks through it, and the eBay fee calculator gives you exact numbers for any sale.
Fees inside Oddlot
Oddlot takes eBay fees and shipping out of every verdict before it shows you a profit or a max buy, so the number on screen is what you keep, not the sale price. You can change your shipping costs and profit targets in the app, and every comp behind the number is there to check.