eBay fees · worked through
Because the fee is charged on what the buyer paid, not on what you listed the item for — and because there is a flat charge per order that most summaries leave out. Here is the arithmetic on a real order, and what the other six marketplaces do with the same sale.
Item price $42.00 Shipping the buyer paid $ 8.00 ------- What the buyer paid (gross) $50.00 13.6% of $50.00 $ 6.80 Per-order fee $ 0.40 ------- eBay's cut $7.20 You receive $42.80
The fee is the same whether you charged for postage separately or built it into the price — eBay looks at the total. Free shipping does not avoid it; it just moves which number it is hidden in.
| Marketplace | Headline rate | Fee | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depop | no selling fee (US/UK) | $2.10 | $47.90 |
| Mercari | flat 10% | $5.00 | $45.00 |
| 10%, minimum $0.80 | $5.00 | $45.00 | |
| Etsy | 6.5% transaction | $5.20 | $44.80 |
| Whatnot | 8% commission | $5.75 | $44.25 |
| eBay | 13.6% + $0.40 per order | $7.20 | $42.80 |
| Poshmark | $2.95 under $15, else 20% | $8.40 | $41.60 |
$42 item, $8 shipping, standard selling fees only. Ordering changes with price — Poshmark is a flat $2.95 below $15 and 20% at or above it, so it is the cheapest place to sell a $12 item and one of the dearest for a $90 one. Put your own numbers in →
A $42 sale that comes back resellable, with $6.40 of postage each way and $0.60 of packaging, costs $13.80 — even though the item is back on the shelf and the percentage fee was credited. The money goes on the per-order fee eBay keeps, both labels, and the packaging.
That breakdown is a separate one-file tool, Return Cost, $1. The fee comparison above stays free.
Yes. eBay's final value fee is charged on the total the buyer paid, and that includes the shipping they paid. On a $42 item with $8 shipping the fee is calculated on $50, not on $42 — which adds $1.09 you may not have budgeted for. The same is true on Etsy, Mercari and Facebook.
A per-order fee charged once per order on top of the percentage. It is $0.30 on orders of $10 and under and $0.40 above that. It is small, it is easy to forget, and it is the part eBay does not give back when you refund.
Because only part of the fee comes back. eBay credits the percentage final value fee when you refund in full, but it does not credit the per-order fee, and shipping is never refunded — so the outbound label is simply gone. On a $42 sale returned in resellable condition, with $6.40 each way in postage and $0.60 of packaging, the return costs $13.80.
On a $42 item with $8 shipping, out of the seven compared here, Depop leaves you the most at $47.90 and Poshmark the least at $41.60. It changes with price: Poshmark charges a flat $2.95 below $15 and 20% at or above it, so it is the cheapest on small items and among the dearest on large ones.
No. These are the standard selling fees only. Promoted listing ad rates, store subscriptions, international fees and category exceptions are all on top, and they vary too much to put a single number on.