eBay Discount Profit Calculator
Calculate your eBay profit after offering a markdown sale or discount. Find the maximum safe discount before going into loss.
By Marginory teamContent reviewed
eBay category
Before vs. after discount
Maximum safe discount
How this is calculated
Assumptions
- Category: Most categories; free buyer shipping and zero buyer tax assumed
- FVF includes payment processing — only the fixed per-order fee is added
- eBay discount = markdown sale or coupon — FVF applies to the discounted sale price
Source: ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoi… · Last verified: 2026-10-23
Why a discount cuts profit faster than price
eBay charges its Final Value Fee on the discounted total, so the fee falls a little when you mark down. But your item cost and postage do not fall at all. Every dollar off the price comes almost entirely out of profit: the fee only gives back 13.6% of it.
Worked example: marking down a $48 item
The item lists at $48 with $8 buyer-paid shipping. It cost $17 and postage is $8.50. Most categories, no Store, no promoted listing. Inputs are illustrative.
| Full price | 10% off | 20% off | 30% off | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item price | $48 | $43.20 | $38.40 | $33.60 |
| eBay fees (FVF + per-order) | −$8.02 | −$7.36 | −$6.71 | −$6.06 |
| Cost + postage | −$25.50 | −$25.50 | −$25.50 | −$25.50 |
| Profit | $22.48 | $18.34 | $14.19 | $10.04 |
A 20% markdown takes $9.60 off the price but $8.29 off profit — 37% of what the full-price sale earned. The lowest item price that still breaks even is $21.98, a maximum discount of about 54%.
Markdown Manager, offers and coupons
- Markdown sales lower the listed price for a period; the fee is on the sale price.
- Best Offer and Send Offers work the same way: the accepted price is the fee base. Set an auto-decline below your break-even price.
- Volume pricing discounts only the extra units, while postage on the extra units is often small, so a multi-buy discount can cost less profit than a straight markdown.
- Promoted listings add the ad rate on the discounted total for attributed sales. A deep discount plus a high ad rate can turn a sale into a loss.
Rates from eBay selling fees, checked October 23, 2026.
Review the market, fee bases and exclusions shown with this tool. Published rates and illustrative cost inputs have different certainty. Compare your breakdown with an actual order statement. Sources and methodology.