eBay Fees Explained: Every Charge for US Sellers
eBay has one main fee — the final value fee — but what it is charged on, which category rate applies, and the optional and penalty fees around it decide what you keep. Every rate below is checked against eBay's own fee pages.
By Marginory teamContent reviewed
The short answer
For most categories, eBay charges a 13.6% final value fee plus $0.40 per order on the total amount of the sale, which includes shipping and sales tax. Payment processing is included. Your first 250 listings a month are free; after that each listing costs $0.35. Everything else — Promoted Listings, Stores, listing upgrades, international sales — is either optional or conditional.
Because tax is in the base, the fee as a share of your price is higher than 13.6%: a $100 item with 7% sales tax pays $14.95, or 15.0% of the item price.
Every eBay seller fee at a glance
From eBay's Selling fees and Store selling fees pages, checked 2026-10-23. US sellers on ebay.com.
| Fee | Amount | Charged on / when |
|---|---|---|
| Final value fee | 13.6% (most categories) — 3% to 15.3% by category | Total amount of the sale (item + shipping + handling + tax), when it sells |
| Per-order fee | $0.40; $0.30 if the order is $10 or less | Each order (not charged on athletic shoes ≥ $150) |
| Insertion fee | Free for 250 listings/month, then $0.35 | Each listing and each extra category, each relist and each GTC renewal |
| Promoted Listings (General) | Ad rate you choose, 2%–100% | Total sale, if it sells within 30 days of an ad click |
| International fee | 1.65% | Total sale, buyer outside the US and not using eBay International Shipping |
| Currency conversion | 3%; 3.25% from Oct 14, 2026 | Funds converted for sales or listings on another eBay site |
| Below Standard surcharge | +6% of the total sale (+7% after 4 months) | Sales in the month after a Below Standard evaluation |
| High “not as described” returns | +5% of the total sale (+6% after 4 months) | Affected categories, following month |
| Dispute fee | $20 | Each dispute (e.g. chargeback) you are found responsible for |
| Store subscription | $4.95–$349.95/month | Optional; lowers FVF and raises free listings from Basic up |
| Listing upgrades | Varies (e.g. Bold $4 on a $9,500 listing in eBay's example) | Optional, per listing |
eBay fee table: $10 to $1,000 (most categories)
One item, no shipping charged, no Store, no promotion. The second set of columns adds 7% sales tax, which eBay includes in the fee base. Shipping you charge is added to the base the same way. For more price points see eBay fee examples.
| Item price | Fee, no tax | You keep | Fee with 7% tax | % of item price | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10.00 | $1.66 | $8.34 | $1.86 | 18.6% | $8.14 |
| $20.00 | $3.12 | $16.88 | $3.31 | 16.6% | $16.69 |
| $30.00 | $4.48 | $25.52 | $4.77 | 15.9% | $25.23 |
| $50.00 | $7.20 | $42.80 | $7.68 | 15.4% | $42.32 |
| $75.00 | $10.60 | $64.40 | $11.31 | 15.1% | $63.69 |
| $100.00 | $14.00 | $86.00 | $14.95 | 15.0% | $85.05 |
| $200.00 | $27.60 | $172.40 | $29.50 | 14.8% | $170.50 |
| $300.00 | $41.20 | $258.80 | $44.06 | 14.7% | $255.94 |
| $500.00 | $68.40 | $431.60 | $73.16 | 14.6% | $426.84 |
| $1,000.00 | $136.40 | $863.60 | $145.92 | 14.6% | $854.08 |
Two things to notice. Low-priced items lose more: a $10 item pays 16.6% before tax because of the fixed per-order fee. And tax adds roughly one percentage point at every price, because eBay charges 13.6% on tax money it collects and remits for you.
Final value fees by category
The category you list in sets the rate, and some categories switch rate at a price threshold. “Up to” means the rate applies to that portion of the sale; “if ≤” means the rate applies to the whole sale. Per-order fee included below; no tax or shipping.
| Category | Rule | Fee on $50.00 | Fee on $500.00 | Fee on $3,000.00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most categories (incl. electronics, toys, home, clothing) | 13.6% up to $7,500, then 2.35% | $7.20 | $68.40 | $408.40 |
| Books & Magazines, Movies & TV, Music (except vinyl) | 15.3% up to $7,500, then 2.35% | $8.05 | $76.90 | $459.40 |
| Coins & Paper Money; trading cards, CCGs, comics | 13.25% up to $7,500, then 2.35% | $7.03 | $66.65 | $397.90 |
| Jewelry (except watches) | 15% of the whole sale if ≤ $5,000; 9% if over | $7.90 | $75.40 | $450.40 |
| Watches, Parts & Accessories | 15% up to $1,000; 6.5% to $7,500; 3% above | $7.90 | $75.40 | $280.40 |
| Guitars & Basses | 6.7% up to $7,500, then 2.35% (no insertion fee) | $3.75 | $33.90 | $201.40 |
| Women's Bags & Handbags | 15% of the whole sale if ≤ $2,000; 9% if over | $7.90 | $75.40 | $270.40 |
| Athletic shoes (men's and women's) | 8% and no per-order fee if ≥ $150; 13.6% below | $7.20 | $40.00 | $240.00 |
Whole-sale thresholds create odd price points. A $2,000 handbag pays $300.40, while a $2,001 handbag pays $180.49, so pricing just over the threshold can increase what you keep. The same applies to jewelry at $5,000. Category deep-dives: sneakers, trading cards, all categories.
What “total amount of the sale” includes
eBay's definition: item price, handling charges, shipping collected from the buyer, sales tax and other applicable fees. An order is everything one buyer buys at checkout with the same shipping method, which is why the per-order fee is charged once per order, not per item. Exceptions for shipping:
- If you offer expedited or international shipping and a cheaper domestic option, the fee uses the cheapest domestic option, whichever the buyer picks.
- With eBay International Shipping, the fee on shipping is based on your cost to the US hub, and nothing if you offered free domestic shipping.
- Sneakers with Authenticity Guarantee and an eBay-provided free label: no final value fee on shipping.
Practical consequence: moving price from the item into shipping does not lower your fee. $40 + $10 shipping and $50 free shipping are charged the same. The final value fee guide covers the mechanics in detail.
Worked example: a $60 item with $8 shipping
A US seller without a Store sells a $60 jacket and charges $8 shipping. The buyer pays 7% sales tax on both. The jacket cost $20 and the label costs $7.50.
| Total amount of the sale ($60 + $8 + $4.76 tax) | $72.76 |
| Final value fee: 13.6% × $72.76 | −$9.90 |
| Per-order fee | −$0.40 |
| Your revenue (item + shipping; tax goes to the state) | $68.00 |
| Payout from eBay | $57.70 |
| Item cost and postage | −$27.50 |
| Profit | $30.20 (44.4% of revenue) |
| If sold through a 5% Promoted Listings General ad (5% × $72.76) | −$3.64 → profit $26.57 |
Total eBay fees are $10.30, which is 15.1% of the money you actually receive from the buyer. Run your own numbers in the eBay fee calculator or the profit calculator.
Insertion fees: when listing stops being free
Without a Store you get 250 zero-insertion-fee listings per month. After that, each listing costs $0.35, and the fee is non-refundable. It is charged again:
- for a second category on the same listing;
- each time you relist an item;
- each time a Good 'Til Cancelled listing auto-renews (monthly), and the renewal also uses up your free allowance;
- for each duplicate auction-style listing of identical items. A multi-quantity listing is charged once.
A seller with 400 active GTC listings and no Store uses 250 free and pays $52.50 a month for the other 150. At that point a Store usually costs less. See eBay insertion fee.
Selling from the UK? Private and business sellers follow a different schedule — see eBay UK seller fees. To turn these fees into a minimum price, use the eBay break-even calculator; if you promote listings, the Promoted Listings calculator shows the highest ad rate that still leaves profit.
eBay Store plans: when a Store pays for itself
Subscriptions are billed monthly; choosing yearly renewal lowers the monthly price. Starter has the same final value fees as no Store. From Basic up, most categories (antiques, clothing, collectibles, home & garden and others) drop from 13.6% to 12.7% (on the first $2,500 per item), and several electronics categories drop to 9.35%.
| Store | Monthly renewal | Yearly renewal (per month) | Free fixed-price listings / month | Insertion fee after |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Store | $0 | $0 | 250 | $0.35 |
| Starter | $7.95 | $4.95 | 250 | $0.30 |
| Basic | $27.95 | $21.95 | 1,000 all categories + 10,000 select | $0.25 |
| Premium | $74.95 | $59.95 | 10,000 all + 50,000 select | $0.10 |
| Anchor | $349.95 | $299.95 | 25,000 all + 75,000 select | $0.05 |
Break-even on fees alone (Basic, yearly renewal): in “most categories” the Store saves 0.9% of sales, so it pays for itself at about $2,438.89 in monthly sales ($3,105.56 on monthly renewal). In computers, phones, cameras and most consumer electronics the saving is 4.25%, so break-even drops to about $516.47 a month. Savings on insertion fees come on top of that if you list more than 250 items. Use the Store vs no Store calculator with your category mix.
Promoted Listings: the optional fee most sellers pay
With the General campaign strategy you choose an ad rate between 2% and 100%, and pay it only if the item sells within 30 days of a buyer clicking your ad. eBay counts interactions such as add to watchlist, add to cart or quick view as clicks. The rate is applied to the total sale amount, including shipping and tax, per eBay's General campaign help.
| Ad rate | Total fees on a $50 sale (7% tax) | Share of item price |
|---|---|---|
| Not promoted | $7.68 | 15.4% |
| 2% | $8.75 | 17.5% |
| 5% | $10.35 | 20.7% |
| 8% | $11.96 | 23.9% |
| 12% | $14.10 | 28.2% |
Promotion is the biggest variable in your eBay cost. Set the ad rate from your margin, not from eBay's suggested rate. See Promoted Listings cost and the Promoted Listing calculator.
International sales and currency conversion
If you sell to a buyer outside the US without eBay International Shipping, eBay adds a 1.65% international fee on the total sale. Using eBay International Shipping removes that fee and changes how shipping is counted in the final value fee.
Change on October 14, 2026: when eBay converts currency for items you list or sell on another eBay site, the charge for US-registered sellers rises from 3% to 3.25%. On $1,000 of sales on eBay.co.uk that is $32.50 instead of $30.00. More in eBay international shipping fees.
Performance fees: what Below Standard costs
eBay evaluates sellers on the 20th of each month. If your account is Below Standard, eBay adds an additional final value fee of 6% of the total sale amount for the next month (7% after four consecutive months). In most categories that takes a $100 sale from $14.00 to $20.00 in fees — a 43% increase. Separately, a Very High rate of “item not as described” returns in a category adds 5% of the sale (6% after four months) in that category. If both apply, only the Below Standard surcharge is charged. Staying Above Standard is worth real money; see Top Rated Seller benefits.
What eBay does not charge
- No separate payment processing fee — it is in the final value fee.
- No monthly fee unless you open a Store.
- No insertion fee for your first 250 listings each month.
When payouts arrive is covered in When does eBay pay you?, and refund costs in Who pays shipping on eBay refunds?
Sources
eBay help center, checked 2026-10-23: Selling fees, Store selling fees and Promoted Listings general campaign strategy. Our fee function reproduces eBay's own published examples exactly ($58.06 on a $424 sale; $1,054.55 on a $10,070 trading card). Tables on this page are computed from the same function as our eBay calculators. Changes are logged in the fee change log; see the methodology.