eBay seller fees explained (US)

eBay does not take one blended “commission.” A US listing can cost an insertion fee when you publish, then a category final value fee plus a small per-order fee when it sells. Ads, Stores, and international shipping are extra layers — not a second guess at the same percent.

Not affiliated with eBay. Figures below were read from eBay’s public US selling-fees help pages on 27 Aug 2026 (Wayback captures cited next to each table; live ebay.com served a captcha to this fetch). eBay can change this. Confirm the live % and flats in your Seller Hub / Account Summary before you price a SKU. This page is a planning model, not tax or legal advice. Paste your category % into the card — do not trust a blog’s single “eBay takes 15%.” No affiliate IDs on this page.

Keep / floor card (paste your category %)

Default FVF is the published most-categories 13.6% row (no Store / Starter), not a sitewide blend. Change it to the category you actually listed. Per-order default is the published $0.40 for orders over $10.00. Insertion default is $0 (inside the 250 free listings).

Keep here is item+shipping minus FVF on (item+shipping+tax) minus per-order minus insertion. You do not keep the tax dollar — eBay’s own worked example subtracts fees from the item price, not from the tax-inclusive total. Official $10 rule: $0.30 at or below $10.00, $0.40 above. Qualifying athletic shoes $150+ publish no per-order fee.

eBay fees this run
Keep (before COGS)
List price to hit floor
Fee base used

The US eBay fee stack (what actually comes out)

Keep ≈ (item + shipping you collected) − insertion (if any) − category FVF% × (item + shipping + tax + other fees eBay includes) − per-order fee − optional ads/international − your COGS/label

Source for the non-Store schedule: eBay Selling fees (US, id=4822), fetched 27 Aug 2026 via Wayback capture 21 Aug 2026. Store subscriber rows: eBay Store selling fees (id=4809), fetched 27 Aug 2026 via Wayback capture 15 Mar 2026 (nearest Store snapshot this fetch reached).

1. Insertion fee — 250 free, then $0.35 in most categories

eBay charges an insertion fee when you create a listing, not only when it sells. Every month you get up to 250 zero insertion fee listings, or more with an eBay Store. After the allowance, the published most-categories rate is $0.35 per listing.

Classified Ad format (limited categories): $9.95 for a 30-day listing and no final value fee. Real estate has its own insertion/notice table; this guide does not flatten it into $0.35.

In the card, leave insertion at $0 while you are inside the free allowance. Put $0.35 (or your Store excess rate) on a sale only if that listing actually paid one.

2. Final value fee — category %, not one blended take

When the item sells, eBay charges one final value fee: a percentage of the total amount of the sale, plus a per-order fee. eBay’s help text says you don’t have to worry about third-party payment processing fees — this guide will not invent a PayPal or card % on top of FVF.

Total amount of the sale includes item price, handling, shipping collected from the buyer (some shipping exceptions apply), sales tax, and other applicable fees. An order is any number of items the same buyer checks out with the same shipping method.

Published per-order fee (same page):

Examples from the US “Basic fees for most categories” table (no Store / Starter uses this band). This is not the full table — open the official page for every row.

Published category exampleFinal value fee % (per item)
Most categories (incl. many Motors parts & accessories)13.6% of total sale up to $7,500; 2.35% on the portion over $7,500
Books & Magazines; Movies & TV (except Movie NFTs); Music (except Vinyl Records and Music NFTs)15.3% up to $7,500; 2.35% over
Coins & Paper Money (except Bullion); select collectibles / trading-card categories13.25% up to $7,500; 2.35% over
Bullion13.6% if total sale is $7,500 or less; 7% if over $7,500 (rate applies to the whole amount)
Women’s Bags & Handbags15% if $2,000 or less; 9% if over $2,000
Jewelry & Watches (except Watches, Parts & Accessories)15% if $5,000 or less; 9% if over $5,000
Watches, Parts & Accessories15% up to $1,000; 6.5% on the portion $1,000–$7,500; 3% over $7,500
Listed NFT categories5% of total sale
Guitars & Basses6.7% up to $7,500; 2.35% over (insertion free)
Select heavy equipment / presses / food trucks3% up to $15,000; 0.5% over ($20 insertion)
Men’s/Women’s athletic shoes8% if total sale is $150 or more (no per-order fee); 13.6% if under $150

Do not average those rows into one “eBay rate.” Two SKUs in two categories are two calculator runs.

3. Store subscribers — more free listings, different FVF table

The Aug 2026 selling-fees page says fees are different with a Store and points to Store selling fees. From the Store page capture of 15 Mar 2026:

Store typeSubscription / month (monthly vs yearly renewal)After-allowance insertion (fixed-price, published)
Starter$7.95 / $4.95250 listings, then $0.30
Basic$27.95 / $21.951,000 all-category fixed-price, then $0.25 (plus select-category extras on that page)
Premium$74.95 / $59.9510,000 all-category fixed-price, then $0.10
Anchor$349.95 / $299.9525,000 all-category fixed-price, then $0.05
EnterpriseYearly renewal $2,999.95 (monthly “not currently available” on that capture)100,000 all-category fixed-price, then $0.05

Starter Store FVF on that page matches the 13.6% most-categories band (up to $7,500). Basic, Premium, Anchor, and Enterprise publish a separate table: many categories at 12.7% up to $2,500 per item, then 2.35% over $2,500 — not 13.6%, and not the same $7,500 step. Some Store categories are lower still (the Store page lists 9.35% for most cell phones and most consumer electronics, 7% athletic shoes $150+, and other exceptions). Paste the row; this card will not pretend Store FVF is always 12.7%.

Auction-style listings that sell can credit insertion back for Basic and higher (exclusions apply). Confirm on the live Store fees page — our Store snapshot is older than the Aug 2026 non-Store capture.

4. Promoted Listings — optional, no invented ad %

Promoted Listings is an advertising product, not the final value fee. The selling-fees page says if you use advertising programs, additional terms apply and you pay the costs shown on your monthly financial statement. A fetch of eBay’s Promoted Listings help article (id=4164) did not return a usable rate table on 27 Aug 2026 (captcha / archive miss). This guide will not invent a default Promoted Listings percent. If Seller Hub shows an ad rate on an attributed sale, paste that % into the profit calculator service/ads field. Leave it at 0 for organic sales.

Other published add-ons (not in the default card)

Motors vehicle listings and eBay Live have separate fee pages; this article does not quote those tables.

US worked example (eBay’s own numbers)

From eBay’s selling-fees “Examples of fee calculations” (same id=4822 page, 21 Aug 2026 capture): used smartphone, Buy It Now $400, free shipping, already used the zero-insertion allowance, meeting performance expectations. 6% sales tax → eBay’s total amount of the sale = $424.

A $100 most-categories sale with $0 tax in the model, inside the free-listing allowance: 13.6% × $100 + $0.40 = $14.00 fees, $86.00 keep before COGS and labels. That is planning math using the published most-categories row — not a promise, and not the rate for books, handbags, or guitars.

Second official example on the same page: a $9,500 trading-card listing (free shipping, 6% tax → $10,070 fee base) uses 13.25% on the first $7,500 and 2.35% on $2,570, plus $0.40, plus $0.35 insertion and a $4.00 Bold upgrade. eBay’s published total fees: $1,058.90. Category tables matter at high tickets.

How to put this in the profit calculator

  1. Open the seller-fee calculator. Do not leave a generic preset in place — type the FVF % from your listing’s category (or from a settled order).
  2. Put the per-order $0.30 / $0.40 in the flat field. Add insertion only if that SKU paid one this month.
  3. Leave ads / extra % at 0 for organic. Duplicate the scenario with your Promoted Listings ad rate only when the sale is attributed.
  4. If the buyer is overseas and you are not on eBay International Shipping, add the published 1.65% international fee as an extra %.
  5. True COGS + label belong in cost fields. Confirm a payout line in Seller Hub; eBay can change this.

eBay-specific margin killers

FAQ

What is eBay’s US final value fee?

One fee when the item sells: category % of the total amount of the sale plus $0.30 (orders $10.00 or less) or $0.40 (over $10.00). Most categories without a Store: 13.6% up to $7,500 per item, 2.35% above. Other categories differ. Source: eBay selling fees, fetched 27 Aug 2026.

Does eBay charge a separate payment-processing fee?

The official US selling-fees page says you don’t have to worry about third-party payment processing fees. We are not adding a PayPal or card % on top of FVF. If your statement ever shows a distinct processing line, paste that into the hub calculator; this page did not fetch one.

How many free insertion listings do I get?

Up to 250 zero insertion fee listings per month without a Store (or Starter’s published 250). After that, most categories are $0.35 (Starter excess $0.30 on the Store page). Stores Basic and higher publish larger allowances. GTC renewals count. Confirm in Seller Hub.

Is there one eBay percent for every category?

No. Use the published examples in the table, or paste the % from your listing. This page will not invent a blended take-rate. Amazon-style category referral is a different stack — compare take-home in Etsy vs Amazon only after you paste each marketplace’s real %.

Are Promoted Listings in the default keep?

No. Optional ads. We could not fetch a published default ad-rate table, so we quote none. Paste your Seller Hub ad rate only on attributed sales.

Where do I get official numbers?

Start with Selling fees (US) and Store selling fees. Then match a settled order in Seller Hub. Last checked for this page: 27 Aug 2026.

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