eBay fees explained: what sellers pay in 2026

eBay charges a US business seller 13.6% of the total amount of the sale up to $7,500 plus a $0.40 per-order fee in most categories, and 2.35% on the portion of a sale above $7,500. That is the whole of what most sellers pay, but the percentage changes with the category, a Store subscription changes it again, and the UK schedule is a different list of rates with two extra fees on top. This guide sets out each one as eBay publishes it, with examples computed by the same engine as the eBay fee calculator. Every rate below is quoted from eBay's official selling fees article and its UK equivalent, and was verified on 3 September 2026.

The three fees on a US sale

When an item sells, eBay charges a final value fee, which is a percentage of the total amount of the sale, and a per-order fee, which is $0.30 when the order is $10.00 or less and $0.40 when it is over $10.00. If the delivery address or the buyer's registered address is outside the US, an international fee of 1.65% is added, unless you use eBay International Shipping.

The phrase "total amount of the sale" is the part sellers most often get wrong. It includes the item price, the postage you charge the buyer, and the sales tax eBay collects, so the percentage is charged on more than the item price. It is calculated per item, which matters when a category's rate steps down above a threshold.

For a US seller in most categories, the fee on $100.00 is $14.00 ($13.60 final value fee — most categories plus $0.40 per-order fee) and you keep $86.00, an effective rate of 14%.

US final value fees by category

Two shapes of tier hide in that table, and they behave differently. Where eBay says a rate applies "on the portion of the sale over" an amount, each slice of the sale is charged its own rate, so a large sale pays the high rate on the first slice and the low rate on the rest. Where it says a rate applies "if the total amount of the sale is" over an amount, one rate is charged on the whole sale, and crossing the threshold makes the entire sale cheaper. Athletic Shoes is the clearest case: at $150 or more the rate drops to 8% on everything and the per-order fee is not charged at all.

On a $9,500 trading card, where the graduated rate steps down, the fee on $9,500.00 is $1,041.15 ($1,040.75 final value fee — Comic Books, Non-Sport & Sports Trading Cards, Collectible Card Games plus $0.40 per-order fee) and you keep $8,458.85, an effective rate of 10.96%.

UK final value fees by category

UK business sellers pay a category final value fee, the same 30p or 40p per-order fee at the same thresholds, and a regulatory operating fee of 0.35% on every sale. Most categories carry a single percentage.

Eight UK categories are tiered instead: Women's Bags & Handbags at 12.9% up to £800 then 7%, Trainers at 11.9% below £100 and 7% at £100 or more, Coins at 10.9% up to £450 then 3%, Holidays & Travel at 7.9% up to £650 then 3%, Home, Furniture & DIY at 11.9% up to £500 then 7.9%, Jewellery & Watches at 14.9% up to £1,000 then 4%, Watches, Parts & Accessories at 12.9% up to £750 then 3%, and Vehicle Parts & Accessories at 9.5% up to £750 then 3%.

For a UK seller listing clothing, the fee on £100.00 is £12.65 (£11.90 final value fee — Clothes, Shoes & Accessories plus £0.40 per-order fee plus £0.35 regulatory operating fee) and you keep £87.35, an effective rate of 12.65%.

The UK international fee depends on where the buyer is: 1.05% for the Eurozone and Northern Europe, 1.8% for the US and Canada, and 2.0% for everywhere else. The US charges one flat 1.65% whoever the buyer is.

For a US seller with the buyer abroad, the fee on $100.00 is $15.65 ($13.60 final value fee — most categories plus $0.40 per-order fee plus $1.65 international fee) and you keep $84.35, an effective rate of 15.65%.

What a Store subscription changes

A Basic, Premium, Anchor or Enterprise Store lowers the US final value fee in most categories, from 13.6% to 12.7% — but on the first $2,500 of the sale rather than the first $7,500, with 2.35% above that. Bullion falls to 7.5% at $1,500 or less, Women's Bags & Handbags to 13% at $2,000 or less, Jewelry & Watches to 13% at $5,000 or less, and Athletic Shoes at $150 or more to 7%. NFT categories stay at 5%.

Two exceptions are easy to miss. A Starter Store does not qualify: those subscribers pay the standard rates in the table above. And in the UK, an eBay Shop subscription changes listing allowances and tools rather than the final value fee percentage, so the UK rates are the same with or without one. Tick "Basic Store or above subscriber" in the calculator to see the US difference on your own numbers.

Postage, tax and advertising

Because the final value fee is charged on the total amount of the sale, the postage you charge the buyer is part of the base. Offering free postage does not avoid this; it moves the same money into the item price, where the same percentage applies. The sales tax eBay collects is also part of the base in the US.

Promoted Listings is charged separately and the rate is yours to choose: eBay's own words are that you are "charged per ad click, a chosen percentage after your listing sells, or an upfront, flat fee". Because you pick the number, no default is baked into the calculator — enter the ad rate you set and it becomes its own line.

Pricing to net a target

A percentage plus a fixed fee cannot be undone by adding the percentage back to the price you want to keep, because the fee is charged on the total the buyer pays, including the part that covers the fee.

To keep $100.00 you charge $116.20, and the fee is $16.20.

The calculator's "I want to net" mode solves this for any category and either country, finding the smallest price whose net lands within one cent of your target.

Reducing the fee honestly

There is no trick that removes the final value fee, but four things genuinely change it. Listing in the correct category matters, because the rates differ widely between categories, and eBay charges the higher of the two final value fees when an item is listed in two categories. A Store subscription pays for itself only above a certain monthly volume, since the percentage saved has to cover the subscription. Combining items into one order pays one per-order fee instead of several. And keeping your seller performance above standard avoids the extra percentage points eBay adds to the final value fee for Below Standard sellers.

What this guide leaves out

This guide and the calculator cover what is taken when an item sells: the category final value fee, the per-order fee, the UK regulatory operating fee, the international fee, the Store-subscriber rates and the ad rate you choose. They leave out insertion and listing-upgrade fees, Store and Shop subscription costs, dispute fees, the extra percentage points charged to Below Standard sellers, private-seller pricing in the UK, eBay Motors vehicle fees, and the many subcategory carve-outs eBay lists under its headline categories — those are noted on the calculator's fee table where they exist. All of them are on eBay's own fee pages, which the calculator links to in full.

When these rates last changed

eBay's US selling fees article and its Store selling fees article carry no update date; eBay's UK article for business sellers was last updated by eBay on 4 August 2026. This schedule was first verified on 3 September 2026, so the eBay fee changelog currently holds one entry, and every later change is added there with the date and the rule affected. Confidence is recorded as medium: no second official page restates the category percentages, the per-order fee or the international rates, and only the 0.35% regulatory operating fee is corroborated by a second eBay page. The schedule is re-verified at least every 60 days. If a figure here disagrees with what eBay shows you, report it and it will be checked against the official page.

Frequently asked questions

Does eBay take 13% of every sale?

No. 13.6% plus $0.40 is the US rate for most categories, and it is charged on the total amount of the sale rather than the item price alone. Media categories are 15.3%, Guitars & Basses are 6.7%, heavy equipment is 3%, and NFTs are 5%. The UK schedule is a separate list, mostly between 9.9% and 12.9%.

Why is my eBay fee higher than the percentage suggests?

Three reasons, usually. The percentage is charged on the postage and the tax as well as the item, the per-order fee adds $0.30 or $0.40 whatever the sale is worth, and an international sale adds 1.65% in the US or up to 2.0% in the UK.

How do eBay and PayPal fees compare?

They are different kinds of fee. eBay's final value fee is a marketplace commission that includes payment processing, while PayPal's rate is a payment fee charged on top of whatever the platform takes. The PayPal fee calculator works out the second; this one works out the first.

Where do these numbers come from?

Every rate is quoted verbatim from eBay's fee help articles for the US and the UK, saved as a dated snapshot and checked by a person, as the methodology explains. The whole schedule is quoted line by line, with the verbatim source text behind every rule, in the calculator's fee table for anyone who wants to check the arithmetic.