eBay fees in the UK: what eBay takes from a sale

How much does eBay charge business sellers per sale?

When an item sells, eBay takes a final value fee. For business sellers this has two parts: a percentage of the total amount of the sale, and a fixed per-order fee.

The total amount of the sale includes the item price, the postage the buyer pays, and any applicable taxes. So if you charge £4 postage, eBay takes its percentage of that £4 too.

The per-order fee is 30p for orders of £10 or less and 40p for orders over £10. eBay counts an order as everything the same buyer buys at checkout with the same postage method, so the fee is per order, not per item.

The percentage depends on the category you list in. Some categories have a lower rate above a set amount per item. The table shows a few examples. eBay’s fee page lists every category and its exceptions.

As an example only: a £20 order (including postage) in the Everything Else category would cost 12.9% of £20 (£2.58), plus the 40p per-order fee, plus the 0.35% regulatory operating fee (7p). That’s £3.05 before any VAT, ad fee or international fee.

eBay deducts these fees from your sales proceeds automatically. OneDS shows the profit on an item after eBay fees before you publish it.

Watch out If you list an item in two categories, eBay charges the higher of the two final value fees when it sells.

Other fees when an item sells

On top of the final value fee, business sellers can pay these charges on a sale. Each one is a percentage of the total amount of the sale, including postage and taxes, unless stated.

• Regulatory operating fee: 0.35% on every sale.
• International fee: charged when the buyer’s delivery address is outside the UK. It’s 1.05% for the Eurozone and Northern Europe (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden), 1.8% for the US and Canada, and 2% for all other countries.
• Seller currency conversion charge: 2.5% when eBay converts your funds, for example for a sale on another eBay site. eBay says this rises to 2.75% for UK-registered sellers from 1 December 2026.
• Dispute fee: £14 for each chargeback or other disputed amount you’re found responsible for under eBay’s policies.

Do you pay to list items on eBay?

Business sellers without an eBay Shop pay 30p for each fixed price listing and 30p for each auction-style listing. Listing fees are not refunded if the item doesn’t sell.

Good ’Til Cancelled listings renew monthly, and listing fees apply again at each renewal.

An eBay Shop subscription gives you a monthly allowance of free listings and cheaper listings after that. Whether it’s worth it depends on how many listings you have.

Optional upgrades cost extra and are charged whether or not the item sells. For example, a subtitle is £2, Gallery Plus is £2.50 (free in some categories), and a reserve price on an auction costs 4% of the reserve, up to £150.

How do Promoted Listings fees work?

Promoted Listings are eBay’s ads. They’re optional, and eBay says they’re available to Above Standard and Top Rated sellers with recent sales activity.

With the general campaign strategy, you choose an ad rate between 2% and 100% of the item’s total sale amount, including postage and taxes. You pay it only when the promoted item sells within 30 days of a click on your ad.

With the priority campaign strategy, you pay per click instead, whether or not the item sells.

Treat the ad rate as a cost on every promoted sale. A 5% ad rate on a £20 order adds £1 to your fees.

Fees that go up if your performance drops

If your seller level is Below Standard on the 20th of a month, eBay adds 6 percentage points to your final value fee on sales in the next calendar month. After four or more months in a row at Below Standard, it’s 7 percentage points.

If your rate of item not as described returns is Very High compared with similar sellers, eBay adds 4 percentage points in the affected categories the next month (5 points after four or more months in a row). There are exceptions for low numbers of requests.

If you refund a buyer or a sale is cancelled, you may get some fees back as fee credits. For a partial refund, the credit is in proportion to the amount refunded. eBay’s fee credits page lists which fees are credited in each situation.

Do private sellers pay eBay fees in the UK?

eBay says selling is free for UK-based private sellers, except in Cars, Motorcycles & Vehicles. You don’t pay final value fees or the regulatory operating fee when your items sell.

You get 300 free listings a month (400 with an eBay Shop subscription). After that, each extra listing is 35p. Optional upgrades still cost money, and a 3% international fee applies if the delivery address is outside the UK.

eBay’s private seller fees are shown including VAT at 20%.

Which fees apply depends on whether you sell as a private individual or as a business.

Is VAT charged on eBay fees?

eBay’s fees for business sellers are shown without VAT. eBay’s tax policy says VAT may apply to your fees depending on where you live, and that eBay will either add it as a separate charge on your invoice or include it in the fee.

Check your eBay invoice to see whether VAT is added to your fees. If you’re VAT-registered, you may be able to reclaim it. Check with an accountant how this works for your business.