eBay Seller Fees 2026 Explained: What You Actually Keep Per Sale
eBay seller fees in 2026: final value fees by category, the per-order fee, promoted listings, international and currency fees, and what you keep per sale.
"How much does eBay take?" sounds like it should have a one-line answer. It does not. The fee depends on the category, the total the buyer paid (including tax), whether the item was promoted, where the buyer lives and how your seller account is rated. This guide lays out every fee a US seller pays as of October 2026, with the official sources, and then works through what you actually keep on real sales.
All rates below come from eBay's selling fees help page unless noted. eBay changes fees from time to time, so check that page before you reprice a whole store.
The final value fee: the big one
The final value fee is a percentage of the total amount of the sale. eBay defines that as the item price, any handling and shipping charged to the buyer, sales tax, and other applicable fees. That last part surprises people: you pay a percentage of tax money you never keep.
Most categories
For most categories, the fee is 13.6% of the total sale amount up to $7,500, plus 2.35% on any portion above $7,500.
Categories with different rates (as of October 2026)
- Books, Movies and Music: 15.3% up to $7,500, 2.35% above
- Coins and Paper Money (non-bullion): 13.25% up to $7,500, 2.35% above
- Trading cards and many collectibles: 13.25% up to $7,500, 2.35% above
- Women's handbags: 15% up to $2,000, 9% above
- Jewelry and Watches: 15% up to $5,000, 9% above
- Watches, Parts and Accessories: 15% up to $1,000, 6.5% from $1,000 to $7,500, 3% above
- Guitars and Basses: 6.7% up to $7,500, 2.35% above
- Athletic shoes $150 and up: 8%, with no per-order fee (under $150: 13.6%)
- Heavy equipment and select Business and Industrial categories: 3% up to $15,000, 0.5% above
If you sell across many categories, your blended rate will sit somewhere between these. In our own shop, a mixed liquidation store, eBay fees average about 12.5% of sales once everything is counted.
The per-order fee
On top of the percentage, every order carries a fixed fee: $0.30 for orders of $10 or less, $0.40 for orders over $10. It looks small, but it is a big share of a cheap sale. On a $6 item, $0.30 is 5% of the price before the percentage fee even starts. This is one reason low-priced singles are often better as bundles or lots.
Promoted Listings: the fee you choose
Promoted Listings are optional, but most competitive categories now assume you use them.
General (cost per sale)
You pick an ad rate from 2% to 100%, and eBay charges it on the total sale amount, including shipping and tax, per its general campaign help page. The ad rate in effect at the time of the sale is the one that applies.
The attribution rule changed this year. Since January 13, 2026, eBay US charges the general ad fee when the promoted item sells and any buyer clicked its ad within the most recent 30 days, per eBay's Promoted Listings update announcement. The item must be promoted both at the click and at the sale. In practice, a promoted item that gets traffic will usually carry the ad fee when it sells, so treat it as a fixed cost, not an occasional one.
Priority (cost per click)
Priority campaigns charge per click instead of per sale. You pay whether or not the item sells, so they are a budget decision, not a per-item fee. Track the total spend each month and divide it across the sales it produced.
Smaller fees that still add up
- Insertion fees: your first 250 listings each month are free, then $0.35 per listing (store subscriptions change these allowances).
- International fee: 1.65% of the total sale amount when the buyer's address is outside the US.
- Currency conversion charge: applies when eBay converts currency for you. For US-registered sellers it rises from 3% to 3.25% on October 14, 2026.
- Below Standard penalty: sellers rated Below Standard pay an extra 6% on final value fees (7% after four consecutive months). A Very High "item not as described" rate in a category adds 5%.
- Top Rated Plus discount: qualifying Top Rated Plus listings get 10% off the final value fee, but not off the per-order fee, per eBay's Top Rated Seller Program page.
What you actually keep: four worked sales
Each example assumes the buyer pays 8% sales tax on the item and shipping.
A $100 item with $10 shipping charged
- Total sale amount: $100 + $10 + $8.80 tax = $118.80
- Final value fee: 13.6% of $118.80 = $16.16
- Per-order fee: $0.40
- Total eBay fees: $16.56
That is 15.1% of the $110 you actually received for the item and shipping. If the item is also promoted at 4%, add $4.75, for $21.31 in fees, or 19.4%.
A $20 book with $5 shipping
- Total sale amount: $20 + $5 + $2.00 tax = $27.00
- Final value fee: 15.3% of $27.00 = $4.13
- Per-order fee: $0.40
- Total eBay fees: $4.53, which is 18.1% of the $25 received
A $200 pair of sneakers, free shipping
- Total sale amount: $200 + $16.00 tax = $216.00
- Final value fee: 8% of $216.00 = $17.28
- Per-order fee: none in this category at $150 and up
- Total eBay fees: $17.28, 8.6% of the price
An $800 guitar, free shipping
- Total sale amount: $800 + $64.00 tax = $864.00
- Final value fee: 6.7% of $864.00 = $57.89
- Per-order fee: $0.40
- Total eBay fees: $58.29, 7.3% of the price
The lesson: your real fee rate depends heavily on category mix, ad rate and order size. A store full of $10 items pays a much higher effective rate than a store of guitars.
AI Flip Ledger reads eBay's Transaction report and matches every final value fee, per-order fee, ad fee and refund to its order, so you see your actual fee rate by month and by channel instead of guessing. If anything in your report does not line up, email the owner directly at [email protected]. A real person answers.
Fees are only part of the cost
eBay's fees are the easiest cost to see because they show up on the report. They are rarely the biggest cost. For most free-shipping resellers, shipping labels and cost of goods are larger. In our books, labels were about 22% of gross sales, well above the fee rate. To know what you keep, subtract all four: fees, ads, labels and cost of goods, per sale.
How Facebook Marketplace compares
If you cross-list, compare channels per item. Facebook Marketplace charges no selling fee on local pickup sales, and 10% (minimum $0.80) on shipped sales through Meta's checkout, calculated on the full amount including shipping and taxes, per Meta's Marketplace Seller Protection Policy (as of October 2026). A heavy item that would cost $25 to ship on eBay is often worth more as a local Facebook sale, even at a lower price.
Five ways to keep more of each sale
- Price for the tax effect. Fees on tax are small per sale but real. Do not undercut by pennies when the buyer's tax is costing you fee dollars.
- Set ad rates by margin. A flat 8% ad rate across the store can wipe out profit on low-margin items. Lower it where the margin is thin.
- Bundle cheap items. The $0.30 or $0.40 per-order fee hurts most on small sales. One $30 lot beats five $6 singles.
- Protect your seller rating. The Below Standard surcharge is a 6% tax on every sale. Ship on time and describe condition honestly.
- Check the currency change. If you sell cross-border and let eBay convert currency, the October 14 increase raises your cost on those sales.
Frequently asked questions
What is eBay's final value fee in 2026?
For most categories it is 13.6% of the total sale amount up to $7,500, plus 2.35% above that, as of October 2026. Some categories, such as books (15.3%), guitars (6.7%) and sneakers $150 and up (8%), have different rates.
Does eBay charge fees on shipping and sales tax?
Yes. The final value fee and the Promoted Listings General fee are both calculated on the total sale amount, which includes shipping charged to the buyer and sales tax.
What is the eBay per-order fee?
$0.30 for orders of $10 or less and $0.40 for orders over $10, as of October 2026. Athletic shoes $150 and up do not carry a per-order fee.
When does eBay charge the Promoted Listings General fee?
Since January 13, 2026, eBay US charges it when a promoted item sells and any buyer clicked its ad in the prior 30 days, with the item promoted at both the click and the sale.