eBay's take is two pieces: a percentage final value fee (FVF) on the total amount of the sale, plus a flat per-order fee. Both are easy to underestimate.
| Category | Final value fee |
|---|---|
| Most categories (default) | 13.6% |
| Books, Movies & Music | 15.2% |
| Jewelry & Watches | 15% |
| Trading cards | 13.25% |
| Clothing & Accessories | 13.6% |
| Consumer electronics | 13.6% |
| Sneakers over $150 | 8% |
| Guitars & Basses | 6.35% |
| Heavy equipment | 3% |
Plus $0.40 per order ($0.30 on orders under $10). The FVF applies to the item price and shipping and sales tax collected.
An eBay Store subscription reduces the final value fee by roughly 1.0–1.5 percentage points in most categories. On $50k/yr of sales at 13.6%, shaving 1.3 points is about $650/yr — often more than the subscription costs. The calculator has a store toggle so you can compare both.
$45 item, $8 shipping charged, 13.6% FVF, cost of goods $14, actual shipping cost $9.10:
| Buyer pays | $53.00 |
| Final value fee (13.6% of $53.00) | -$7.21 |
| Per-order fee | -$0.40 |
| Cost of goods | -$14.00 |
| Your shipping cost | -$9.10 |
| Profit | $22.29 |
| Margin on buyer total | 42.1% |
Note the trap: charging shipping doesn't dodge the fee — eBay charges FVF on it. Free shipping baked into the price costs the same in fees.
Checking one product? The free calculator does eBay FVF + per-order fee + shipping cost instantly — no signup.
Checking a whole catalog? The $9 bulk profit audit takes your CSV and hands back every SKU's fees, profit, margin and break-even price, with the money-losers flagged.
Exact fee breakdowns for the prices sellers ask about most.