eBay US fees for resellers: what you pay on eBay.com and how to build it into a price

What are the main eBay US fees for resellers?

The eBay US fees that matter most to a reseller are charged when an item sells, not when it is listed. eBay's seller fees page for eBay.com sets out the main ones, and a reseller who prices from cost needs every one of them in the formula.

The international fee figure and the note that sellers using eBay International Shipping pay no international fee on eligible items come from eBay's export site page on selling fees, which applies to listings on ebay.com. Store subscribers have different fees, set out on eBay's store fee pages.

What is the final value fee charged on?

This is the point most resellers get wrong. eBay says the final value fee is calculated on the total amount of the sale, including the cost of the item, shipping, sales tax and other applicable fees. It is not a percentage of your item price alone.

Two consequences follow:

• Shipping is in the fee base. Charging $5 shipping raises your fee as much as adding $5 to the item price. Free shipping folded into the price costs the same in fees for the same total.
• Sales tax is in the fee base. The sales tax the buyer pays at checkout is not your money, but eBay still charges the percentage fee on it. The higher the tax rate where the buyer lives, the more you pay in fees on the same item.

eBay's own example on the fee page shows a 13.6% rate on a $210.50 payment plus a $0.40 per-order fee, totalling $29.03. The per-order fee is the same whether the order holds one item or several. Some categories, such as certain sneakers over $150, do not charge the per-order fee.

How do you build eBay US fees into a price?

Because the percentage fees are charged on the final total, you must gross them up, not add them to your cost. With sales tax in the fee base, the formula has one more term than most sellers use.

Price including shipping = (item cost + per-order fee + profit) / (1 minus (final value fee % + ad rate %) x (1 + sales tax rate))

The sales tax rate varies by the buyer's location, so you cannot know it in advance. Use a cautious average for your buyers, or a figure towards the higher end of the rates you see on your orders. Leaving it out entirely will make your fees slightly higher than your formula expects on every taxed sale.

A worked example

Example, with hypothetical numbers: suppose an item costs you $24.00 delivered, you want $6.00 profit, and for the arithmetic you assume a 13.6% final value fee (the rate in eBay's own example; check the real rate for your category), a 4% ad rate and a 7% average sales tax.

1. Percentage fees: (13.6% + 4%) x 1.07 = 18.83% of your price.
2. Fixed fees: $0.40 per order, since the order will be over $10.
3. Price = (24.00 + 0.40 + 6.00) / (1 minus 0.1883) = $37.45.
4. Check: the buyer pays $37.45 plus $2.62 sales tax, a total of $40.07. The final value fee on $40.07 at 13.6% is $5.45, the ad fee at 4% is $1.60 and the per-order fee is $0.40. You receive $37.45, so profit is 37.45 minus 5.45 minus 1.60 minus 0.40 minus 24.00 = $6.00.

If you had ignored the sales tax and used 17.6% instead of 18.83%, the price would have been $36.89 and profit on a taxed sale about $5.55. Small per sale, but it adds up over thousands of orders.

When do eBay US fees change for an order?

• Overseas buyers. The international fee applies when the delivery or buyer address is outside the US, unless the item ships through eBay International Shipping and is eligible.
• Below Standard status. If your account is Below Standard on the 20th of the month, final value fees on sales in the following calendar month carry an extra 6%. Above Standard and Top Rated sellers do not pay it.
• Top Rated Plus listings. eBay's Top Rated Seller page on its export site says Top Rated sellers get a 10% discount on final value fees on listings that offer same or one-business-day handling and 30-day or longer free returns. The discount applies to the total sale including shipping and tax, excludes the per-order part of the fee, and is available only to US residents.
• Ad rate changes. Raising a Promoted Listings rate raises the cost of every attributed sale from then on.
• More listings than your allowance. Past the free 250, each new listing costs $0.35, which matters if you list and end large numbers of items each month.

Does an eBay Store lower your fees?

eBay says Store subscribers have different selling fees and more free listings each month than the 250 a seller without a Store gets. Whether a Store saves you money depends on your volume and categories, and the monthly subscription is a fixed cost you pay whether you sell or not.

To decide, work it out with your own numbers:

• Take last month's sales and listing count.
• Work out the fees you paid without a Store, from your eBay statement.
• Work out what the same month would have cost on each Store level, using eBay's store fee pages, and add the subscription.
• Compare the totals, and repeat with a quiet month as well as a busy one.

If a Store only saves money in your busiest months, it may not be worth it across the year. Our break-even test for an eBay shop subscription walks through the same sum step by step. Whatever you decide, put the subscription into your pricing as a monthly overhead divided across your usual number of orders.

What about refunds and cancellations?

eBay has rules on when fees are credited back after a cancellation or refund, and not every situation qualifies. Check the current rules on eBay's fee pages before relying on a credit. In your pricing, the safer approach is to include an average allowance for refunds and returns as a cost per order, worked out from your own records.

If you source from a retailer, know the policy first: eBay's drop shipping policy allows dropshipping from a wholesale supplier, but listing an item and then buying it from another retailer or marketplace that ships directly to your buyer is not allowed, and you remain responsible for on-time delivery and the buyer's satisfaction. Our guide to starting on eBay in the US sets out the rules and the setup in order.

Do eBay fees affect your taxes?

eBay fees are a business cost, so keep your eBay statements with your records. On reporting, the IRS says online marketplaces must file Form 1099-K when a seller's payments exceed $20,000 in more than 200 transactions, a platform may send one below that threshold, and income must be reported whether or not you receive a form. Our guide to Form 1099-K for eBay sellers explains what the form shows. For your own position, check with the IRS or a qualified accountant.

A quick checklist for pricing with eBay US fees

1. Look up the final value fee for each of your main categories on eBay's fee page.
2. Use $0.40 per order for orders over $10 and $0.30 at $10 or less.
3. Gross up the percentage fees, including your ad rate, and allow for sales tax in the fee base.
4. Add the 1.65% international fee for overseas buyers, or use eBay International Shipping where eligible.
5. Count how many listings you create each month against the free 250.
6. Keep your account above Below Standard to avoid the extra 6%.
7. Recheck every price when eBay changes its fees or you change your ad rate.