What eBay actually takes before you see a payout.

eBay's final value fee applies to the total amount a buyer pays, including shipping charged to them, not just your item price. Sellers who calculate margin against item price alone consistently overstate what they actually keep.

Final value fee basis

The final value fee is charged on item price plus buyer-paid shipping plus, in many categories, sales tax collected. Rates step down above a per-category threshold, and a separate per-order fixed fee usually applies for lower-priced orders.

Insertion and store fees are separate

Insertion fees apply per listing (often with a free monthly allowance) regardless of whether the item sells. Store subscription fees are a fixed monthly cost. Neither scales with revenue the way final value fees do, so high-volume sellers should model them separately from per-order fees.

Promoted listings change the math per order

Ad fees for promoted listings are a percentage of the sale, charged only when the ad contributes to a sale. This is easy to forget when estimating margin from a listing's organic performance alone.

Reconcile against a real payout

eBay fee structures change by category and over time. Use this calculator to plan, then check an actual seller payout statement periodically to confirm your assumed rates still match what's actually being charged.