How eBay fees work for US sellers, with a worked example

On eBay.com you pay one final value fee when an item sells. It is a percentage of the whole sale plus a small fee per order, and the whole sale includes more than the item price. This guide covers the standard rates for sellers in the United States without an eBay Store, as we read them on eBay's own fees page on 2026-11-04. Rates differ for Store subscribers, for vehicles and for other eBay sites, and eBay can change them, so confirm on the page linked at the end.

The fees in one list

• Final value fee. 13.6% of the total amount of the sale up to $7,500 per item, and 2.35% on the part above that. Some categories have other rates, for example books, magazines, movies and music.
• Per-order fee. $0.30 for orders of $10.00 or less and $0.40 for larger orders. An order is everything one buyer buys at checkout with the same shipping method.
• Insertion fee. You get up to 250 listings a month with no insertion fee. After that it is $0.35 per listing, and it is not refunded if the item does not sell.
• Extra fees. An international fee of 1.65% when the buyer or delivery address is outside the US and you do not use eBay International Shipping, a seller currency conversion charge of 3.25% when eBay converts your funds, a surcharge of 6% while your seller level is Below Standard, and a $20 fee when you are found responsible for a dispute such as a chargeback.

What "total amount of the sale" means

eBay applies the percentage to the item price, any handling charge, the shipping you collect from the buyer, sales tax and other applicable fees. So a buyer who pays $2 of sales tax makes the final value fee a little bigger, even though the tax is not your income.

A worked example

A US seller sells one item for $20, charges $5 shipping, and the buyer pays $2 sales tax, so the total amount of the sale is $27.

• Final value fee: 13.6% of $27 = $3.67
• Per-order fee: $0.40, because the order is over $10
• Fees in total: $4.07

The money you keep before your own costs is the $25 you earned ($20 plus $5 shipping, without the tax) minus $4.07, which is $20.93. Take off what the item and the postage cost you to find your real profit.

Things sellers often forget

• The percentage is charged on shipping and tax as well as on the item.
• A cheap order has a bigger share of its price taken by the fixed per-order fee.
• Falling to Below Standard adds a surcharge on every sale for the following month.
• Optional extras such as promoted listings are billed on top of these fees.

How to use this when you set prices

The eBay Fee & Profit Calculator uses these rates and lets you switch the extra fees on or off, and the Target Margin Price Calculator works backwards from the margin you want. If your category or account has different rates, edit them in the calculator.

Sources

Rates last checked on 2026-11-04 on eBay's own page:

• eBay selling fees

CodexValley is independent and is not affiliated with eBay. This guide is general information, not financial advice.