Quick answer
To calculate eBay fees for a US seller without a Store, in most categories, take 13.6% of the order total, including shipping and sales tax, then add $0.40 per order over $10 ($0.30 at $10 or less). On a $50 sale with free shipping and no sales tax, eBay keeps $7.20. You get 250 free listings a month, then pay $0.35 per listing.
Nation, an AI store builder, publishes this page. It is pre-launch, with a waitlist on withnation.ai, so it is not in the fee comparison. See where Nation fits.
How to calculate eBay fees on one sale
An eBay fee calculator does one sum, and you can do it by hand. eBay charges a final value fee when your item sells. The fee is a percentage of the order total, including shipping and sales tax, plus a fixed per-order fee. For a US seller with no Store or a Starter Store, the rate is 13.6% in most categories, and the per-order fee is $0.40 per order over $10 ($0.30 at $10 or less).
eBay has no separate processing fee. Payment processing is part of the final value fee, so the percentage covers selling and payment together.
- Add up the order total: item price, the shipping you charge the buyer, and sales tax.
- Multiply the order total by your category's final value fee rate.
- Add the per-order fee once per order.
- Add any insertion fee, listing upgrades, Promoted Listings fee or international fee that applies.
On a $50 item with free shipping and no sales tax, in a most-categories listing that was free to post, that sum comes to $7.20.
eBay fees: every fee in one table
The table lists each eBay fee as eBay's help pages state it for a US seller without an eBay Store, in most categories.
Good 'Til Cancelled listings renew automatically once per calendar month, and eBay charges an insertion fee and any listing upgrade fees each time the listing renews. An account rated Below Standard pays an additional 6% on the final value fees for sales in the following month. If you refund the buyer or cancel the sale, you may be eligible for fee credits.
eBay fees on a $50 sale, step by step
Example: one $50 pair of used boots, listed at a fixed price in a most-categories listing by a US seller with no eBay Store. Shipping is free, there is no sales tax and the listing is not promoted.
Check the insertion fee
If the listing is within your 250 free listings a month, it costs nothing to post. After that allowance, listings cost $0.35 per listing.
Find the order total
eBay charges on the order total, including shipping and sales tax. With free shipping and no tax, the order total is the $50 item price.
Apply the final value fee
Boots sit in a most-categories listing, so the rate is 13.6% of the order total.
Add the per-order fee
eBay charges $0.40 per order over $10 ($0.30 at $10 or less). This order is over the threshold, so it pays the higher amount.
Total what eBay keeps
The final value fee and per-order fee come to $7.20 on this $50 sale. You keep the rest, before your own shipping and packaging costs.
Why shipping and sales tax raise your eBay fee
eBay calculates the final value fee on the order total, including shipping and sales tax, so the fee grows with the shipping and tax the buyer pays.
eBay's own example shows the effect. An item sells at a $400 Buy It Now price with free shipping. The total amount of the sale is $424, including 6% sales tax, and the final value fee is $58.06 (13.6% of $424, plus $0.40). The fee is charged on the tax as well as the price.
Shipping works the same way. If you charge the buyer for shipping, that charge pays the final value fee too, with some exceptions that eBay lists on its selling fees page. If you offer free shipping and raise the item price to cover it, the higher price pays the same rate.
eBay final value fees by category
The rate depends on the category you list in. Any category eBay does not list as an exception pays the most-categories rate. The table shows some of the exceptions for a seller with no Store or a Starter Store.
If you list one item in two categories, eBay charges an insertion fee for the second category, with upgrade fees charged again. It then takes the higher of the two final value fees if the item sells.
eBay Store fees and when a Store lowers your costs
An eBay Store is an optional subscription. Basic and higher plans give you more free fixed price listings each month, and lower the final value fee in most categories to 12.7% and in most electronics categories to 9.35%. On those plans, eBay charges 2.35% on the portion of an item's sale over $2,500. The per-order fee stays at $0.40 per order over $10 ($0.30 at $10 or less). eBay notes that the subscription fee is charged monthly on both monthly and yearly renewals.
To see if a Basic Store pays for itself, take the gap between 13.6% and 12.7%, and multiply it by your monthly sales total in most categories. Add the insertion fees you would no longer pay. If that total is more than the monthly plan price, the Store costs less than selling without one.
A Starter Store keeps the standard final value fees. Its fee saving is the lower insertion fee once the free listings run out: 250 free listings a month, then $0.30 each, against $0.35 per listing without a Store.
eBay fees compared with other marketplaces
The same $50 sale on other marketplaces, using each platform's own published rates for a US seller.
- Depop $2.10 no monthly plan Processing 3.3% + $0.45 $2.10
- TikTok Shop $3 no setup fee Referral 6% $3
- Etsy $5.20 no monthly plan Listing $0.20, Transaction 6.5% $3.25, Processing 3% + $0.25 $1.75
- eBay baseline $7.20 no monthly plan Final value 13.6% $6.80, Per order $0.40 $0.40
- Poshmark $10 no monthly plan Commission 20% $10
Assumes a $50 item, free shipping, no tax, no ads or promoted listings and no currency conversion. eBay uses its most-categories rate with no Store and assumes the listing is within its 250 free listings a month. Etsy's total includes its listing fee of $0.20 per listing.
Ways to pay less in eBay fees
None of these remove the final value fee, which every sale pays. They cut the fees you can control.
- Stay within your 250 free listings a month, and end Good 'Til Cancelled listings that do not sell, since eBay charges an insertion fee and any listing upgrade fees each time the listing renews.
- Set shipping charges close to your real cost. eBay charges on the order total, including shipping and sales tax, so a padded shipping charge pays the fee too.
- Encourage buyers to check out several items together. The per-order fee is charged once per order, and an order is any number of items bought by the same buyer at checkout with the same shipping method.
- For buyers abroad, use eBay International Shipping. The international fee is 1.65% of the total amount of the sale, and there is no international fee on an eligible item when you offer eBay International Shipping.
- Skip paid upgrades you do not need. A reserve price costs $5.00 or 7.5% of the reserve price, whichever is greater, up to $250, charged whether or not the item sells.
- Treat general Promoted Listings as a cost per sale: eBay charges a percentage of the total sale amount, only when the promoted item sells after a click on your ad. Add that ad rate to your final value fee when you set a price.
Where Nation fits
Nation
Category: an AI store builder
Nation says one description of what you make builds the store, then agents handle orders, customers and delivery and run ads, content and social posts, with you approving the work. Because pricing is not announced yet, it is not in the fee comparison.
Limits today
- Status: pre-launch, with a waitlist on withnation.ai.
- Pricing and fees: not announced yet.
- Shopper marketplace: no shopper marketplace has been announced.
- Track record: no independent reviews or public stores yet.
Nation publishes this page. Nation is not in the fee comparison until signup is public and pricing is published.
Describe what you makeQuestions about eBay fees
How do I calculate eBay fees?
To calculate eBay fees, add up the order total, including shipping and sales tax, and multiply it by your category's final value fee. Without a Store, that is 13.6% in most categories. Then add $0.40 per order over $10 ($0.30 at $10 or less). Add any insertion fee, upgrade, Promoted Listings fee or international fee that applies to the listing.
How much does eBay take from a sale?
On a $50 sale with free shipping and no tax, eBay keeps $7.20 for a US seller without a Store in most categories. That is the final value fee of 13.6% on the order total, including shipping and sales tax, plus the per-order fee. eBay has no separate processing fee on top of that.
What are eBay fees for sellers?
eBay fees for sellers without a Store are an insertion fee of $0.35 per listing after 250 free listings a month, a final value fee of 13.6% in most categories, and a per-order fee. Optional costs include Promoted Listings, listing upgrades and an eBay Store. Some sellers also pay an international fee or a dispute fee.
Does eBay charge fees on shipping and sales tax?
eBay charges its final value fee on the order total, including shipping and sales tax, so shipping and sales tax both raise the fee. In eBay's own example, an item at a $400 Buy It Now price has a total amount of the sale of $424, including 6% sales tax, and the final value fee is $58.06 (13.6% of $424, plus $0.40).
Does eBay charge a fee if an item does not sell?
eBay charges the final value fee only when your item sells. Unsold listings beyond 250 free listings a month still pay $0.35 per listing. A reserve price costs $5.00 or 7.5% of the reserve price, whichever is greater, up to $250, charged whether or not the item sells. Priority Promoted Listings add a charge each time the ad is clicked, whether or not the item sells.
Is an eBay Store worth it to lower fees?
An eBay Store is worth it when the fee savings are larger than the plan price. Basic and higher plans cut the final value fee in most categories from 13.6% to 12.7% and add free listings. The Basic plan costs $27.95 a month, or $21.95 a month on a yearly renewal, so compare that price with the savings on your own monthly sales.