eBay fees explained: what eBay charges sellers, and when.

These are eBay's published fees for sellers without a Store, and Store fees differ.¹ The final value fee is a percentage of the total amount of the sale plus a per order fee: $0.30 for orders of $10.00 or less and $0.40 for orders over $10.00.¹ In most categories the percentage is 13.6% on the part of the sale up to $7,500 per item, and 2.35% on any part above that.¹ Some categories use a different percentage, so this page does not list them. The eBay fee and profit calculator holds the category rate tables and does the arithmetic for you.

The part that surprises people is what counts as "the total amount of the sale." It includes the item price, handling charges, shipping you collect from the buyer (some exceptions apply), sales tax and other applicable fees.¹ So the percentage is applied to more than the price on the listing.

Say a buyer pays $100.00 for an item in a category that uses the 13.6% rate, plus $10.00 shipping that you collect. These are sample numbers, not a prediction for any item.

Measured against the $100.00 item price, that fee is 15.36% or 16.45%, which is why a "13.6%" headline understates what leaves your sale. The fee is still only part of your costs: your postage label, packing supplies and what you paid for the item come on top. To see the full picture, change the numbers in the calculator.

Insertion fee

You get up to 250 zero insertion fee listings each month, which is eBay's term for free listings, and more with a Store. After that the insertion fee is $0.35 per listing in most categories.¹ If you create 300 listings in a month, the sample cost is 50 listings at $0.35, or $17.50. After the allowance is used, the fee is not refunded if the item does not sell, it is charged per listing and per category, and it is charged again each time you relist.¹ Good 'Til Cancelled listings renew automatically once a calendar month and are charged an insertion fee and any upgrade fees at each renewal, and they count toward your monthly free listings.¹

Final value fee

This is the percentage plus the per order fee described above. eBay charges one final value fee when the item sells, and says you do not have to worry about third-party payment processing fees.¹ An order is any number of items bought by the same buyer at checkout with the same shipping method, so a buyer who combines three items into one checkout pays you one per order fee, not three.¹ The seller pays the final value fee, and it is deducted automatically from your sale proceeds.²

If you list the same item in two categories, you pay the insertion fee for the second category too, and eBay charges the higher of the two final value fees if it sells.¹

If your account is Below Standard and also rated Very High for "Item not as described" returns, eBay charges only the Below Standard surcharge.¹ Both surcharges are calculated as a percentage of the total amount of the sale, and eBay indicates which listings are affected on your Account Summary.¹ The calculator includes the Below Standard surcharge but not the item not as described one, so add that yourself if it applies to you.

Listing upgrades. Extras such as a subtitle, Bold, Gallery Plus or international site visibility each have a fee that depends on your price and listing format. Scheduled Listing and adding up to 24 photos cost nothing.¹ Check eBay's fee page for the current amounts before you add one to every listing.

Promoted Listings. The ad fee is separate from your selling fees. eBay offers two campaign strategies. With the priority strategy you pay for clicks on your ads. With the general strategy you pay only when the item sells after a click on your ad, as a percentage of the total sale.³ Because an ad is a cost on top of your selling fees, work out the break-even before you turn it on: see Promoted Listings break-even. Ad charges appear in your monthly financial statement.¹

An eBay Store. A Store is a monthly subscription. eBay says fees differ for Store subscribers, and a Store gets more zero insertion fee listings (more free listings each month).¹ Whether the subscription pays for itself depends on how much you sell, so use the Store break-even calculator with your own volume. Store prices and Store rates are not repeated here because they change.

Shipping labels. If you buy and print shipping labels on eBay, additional terms apply and the cost is billed to you as a service separate from selling fees.¹ Plan your packing costs with the shipping supplies guide.

Once the buyer's order is confirmed, eBay automatically deducts selling fees and other costs, and your sales proceeds show as Processing funds.² It typically takes 1 to 2 days from confirming the buyer's payment for proceeds to show as Available for payout, longer if the transaction is on hold.²

• Daily (the default). A payout is typically initiated about 2 days after the payment is confirmed.²
• Weekly. Initiated on Tuesdays for sales from the previous Monday to Sunday. Biweekly payouts go out every second Tuesday and monthly payouts on the first Tuesday of the month.²
• After initiation. Your bank typically takes another 1 to 3 business days to make the money available. You need a checking account; savings and PayPal accounts cannot receive payouts.²
• Express payouts. To a verified debit card or eligible bank account, funds typically arrive within 30 minutes for a flat $2.00 fee per payout.²

Payouts can be held for registration, compliance or performance reasons, or when eBay cannot deduct your fees from a payment method on file.² eBay has also announced that, starting November 4, 2026, it is gradually introducing eBay balance to eligible US-based private sellers and sole proprietors, with payouts on demand by default for them. You can still choose a scheduled payout.² Check Payout Settings in the Payments tab of Seller Hub to see which applies to your account.

When you refund a buyer through eBay, you may get some or all of your fees back as a credit. For a partial refund, credits are proportional: a 20% refund of the sale total credits 20% of the eligible fees.⁴ What comes back depends on the reason:

• If you cancel for a reason outside your control, such as the buyer asking or an address problem, the final value fee and the per order fee are credited, along with the Promoted Listings general fee, any performance surcharge and the international fee.⁴
• If you cancel because the item is out of stock or damaged, the final value fee is credited but the per order fee is not.⁴
• For a full refund on a change-of-mind return, the per order fee is credited too. For returns where the item arrived damaged, is defective, or does not match the description, and for item not received, the final value fee is credited but the per order fee is not.⁴

You get no credit if you refund outside eBay, for example by sending money through PayPal, or if eBay steps in and closes the case with a refund.⁴ Credits are typically added to your Available funds, and per-order credits can take up to 10 days to show.⁴ Insertion fees can be credited for a qualifying relist, for example within 90 days of the original ending using eBay's relist tool.⁴

1. Open the Payments tab in Seller Hub to follow each payout, with its Payout ID and details.²
2. Read your financial statement, where eBay lists fee credits and advertising charges.^4,1
3. Open your Account Summary to see which listings carry extra performance fees.¹
4. Compare a few real orders with the calculator. If a number differs, look for a category rate, a Store rate, a surcharge or a credit.

For records you keep yourself, our eBay accounting software guide covers how to match fees to sales.

No tactic changes the percentage in your category, and none of these is a promise of any particular saving. They only remove charges you chose to take on.

• Stay inside your zero insertion fee listings (the free listings each month) when you can, and avoid listing one item in two categories unless the second category is worth the extra insertion fee.¹
• Skip upgrades you cannot show earn their fee back. Scheduled listings and up to 24 photos are free.¹
• Describe items accurately. A Very High rate of "Item not as described" returns triggers an extra charge, and a Below Standard level triggers another.¹
• Handle refunds and cancellations on eBay, so credits can apply, and keep contact with buyers inside eBay's messages.^4,1
• Treat ads as a cost per sale. Set a ceiling using the break-even math before you raise an ad rate.
• Test a Store with your real numbers in the Store break-even calculator before subscribing.

Vehicles, real estate and eBay Live have separate fee structures. eBay publishes fees for vehicles on eBay Motors and for eBay Live on their own pages, and real estate listings have an insertion fee and a notice fee.¹ This page also does not cover sales tax, income tax, or fees on eBay sites outside the US. Fees on other eBay sites follow that site's fee page.¹

Strooply's eBay profit tracker syncs your sales and the charges eBay posts against them, including final value fees, the promoted listing ad fee, shipping labels bought through eBay, refunds and return shipping, then subtracts what you paid for the item. Once eBay posts the payout, the tracker uses the actual payout as the starting amount. Before that, the figure is the sale amount minus fees, so it can change. Before you list, the fee and profit calculator estimates what eBay will take. Strooply does not show eBay's fee credit rules or payout timing, so use Seller Hub for those. See how Strooply works.