eBay Profit Calculator: 2026 US Fees, Payout, Margin and Break-Even Price

How it works

Sale = item price + shipping charged · Fee base = sale × (1 + sales tax rate) · Final value fee = category rate on the fee base (most categories: 13.6% up to $7,500 + 2.35% above; Basic or higher Store: 12.7% up to $2,500 + 2.35% above), less 10% with Top Rated Plus · Per-order fee = $0.40 ($0.30 if the order is $10 or less) · Promoted and international fees = rate × fee base · Payout = sale − all eBay fees · Profit = payout − item cost − shipping cost − other costs · Margin = profit ÷ sale

eBay’s main selling cost is the final value fee, a percentage of the total amount of the sale. That total includes the item price, the shipping and handling you charge and the sales tax eBay collects from the buyer, so fees are charged on money you never keep. Most categories pay 13.6% on the first $7,500 per item and 2.35% above that; books and media pay 15.3%, trading cards and coins 13.25%, guitars 6.7%, and some categories such as jewelry, handbags and bullion switch to a lower rate on the whole sale above a price threshold. Sellers with a Basic or higher eBay Store pay lower rates in most categories (12.7% up to $2,500). On top of that comes a per-order fee of $0.40, or $0.30 for orders of $10 or less. Optional costs are added at the rates eBay publishes: a Promoted Listings General ad rate (only on sales that came through the ad), a 1.65% international fee when you ship abroad yourself, and a 10% discount on the final value fee for Top Rated Plus listings (the per-order fee is not discounted). The calculator then subtracts your item cost, shipping label and other costs to give net profit, margin and return on cost, and searches for the item price at which profit is exactly zero. The fee schedule is eBay’s US schedule as published in 2026. It does not include the monthly Store subscription, insertion fees beyond your free listings, or Below Standard surcharges; add those under Other costs if they apply.

Worked example

An item sells for $40 with free shipping in a most-categories listing, to a buyer paying 7% sales tax. Tax is $40 × 7% = $2.80, so the fee base is $42.80. The final value fee is 13.6% × $42.80 = $5.82, plus the $0.40 per-order fee, for $6.22 in eBay fees and a $33.78 payout. After the $12 item cost and $6 shipping cost, net profit is $15.78, a 39.4% margin and an 87.7% return on cost. Profit reaches zero at an item price of $21.54.

Sources: eBay Help: Selling fees (US final value fees by category, per-order fee, international fee) · eBay Help: Store selling fees (Basic and higher Store rates) · eBay: Top Rated Seller program (10% final value fee discount) · Taxomate: eBay seller fees 2026 (fees charged on sales tax, worked example) · eBay Community: how the General Promoted Listings fee is calculated

Frequently asked questions