eBay fees explained: what UK sellers actually pay (2026)
UK business sellers pay four separate eBay charges on every order: a category final value fee, a per-order fee, a regulatory operating fee, and VAT on top of all three. Private sellers, since October 2024, pay none of them. Most confusion about eBay fees comes from not knowing which of those two situations you are in.
Private or business? It changes everything
Since 1 October 2024, UK private sellers pay no final value fee, no per-order fee and no regulatory fee on ordinary domestic sales. eBay charges the buyer a Buyer Protection Fee instead.
Business sellers pay the full stack. If you are buying to resell, you are trading — and that is a business account whatever the listing says.
Beware old calculators. Several fee calculators still show UK private sellers paying around 12.8%. That has not been correct since October 2024. If a tool charges a private seller a final value fee, its data is out of date — and so is any advice built on it.
The four charges, one at a time
1. Final value fee
The main commission. Two things surprise people:
It is charged on the postage too. The percentage applies to the total the buyer paid — item plus the postage you charged them. Charge £3.95 postage and eBay takes its cut of that as well.
Many categories are tiered. Not one flat percentage but a higher rate up to a threshold and a lower rate above it. Jewellery, for example, runs at one rate up to a limit and a much lower rate on the portion above.
Rates run from roughly 6.9% on some technology to 14.9% at the top end, with most everyday categories between 9.9% and 12.9%.
2. Per-order fee
A flat charge per order: £0.30 on orders up to £10, £0.40 above. Small, but on a £6 item it is 5% before anything else.
3. Regulatory operating fee
0.35% of the total sale, covering eBay's compliance costs. Easy to forget because it is small and recent.
4. VAT on the fees
20% on top of everything above. If you are VAT-registered on the standard scheme this is generally reclaimable — but it leaves your account first, so it affects cash flow either way.
The charges people forget
| Charge | When it applies |
|---|---|
| International fee | Selling to overseas buyers. Varies by region — lower for Europe, higher for the US and elsewhere |
| Promoted listings | Whatever ad rate you set, charged on the sale when the ad gets credit |
| Shop subscription | Monthly, whether you sell or not |
| Listing fees | Above your free allowance |
| Currency conversion | Around 2.5% when eBay converts your funds |
| Below Standard penalty | Commonly cited as an extra 4% on every sale if your account falls below eBay's minimum standards |
That last one is worth dwelling on. It is not a fee you opt into — it is applied because of your metrics. See what late dispatch actually costs for how accounts end up there.
Overheads versus per-order costs
An important distinction for working out whether a product makes money.
Per-order costs — final value fee, per-order fee, regulatory fee, VAT on those, promoted listings. These belong to individual sales.
Overheads — shop subscription, listing fees. You pay these whether or not anything sells, so attributing them to individual orders makes every product look worse than it is and hides which lines genuinely lose money.
Keep them separate. Your accountant will want them separate too.
A worked example
A kitchen item, £22.00 plus £3.50 postage, business seller, 12.9% category:
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Buyer paid | £25.50 |
| Final value fee, 12.9% | −£3.29 |
| Per-order fee | −£0.40 |
| Regulatory operating fee | −£0.09 |
| VAT at 20% on fees | −£0.76 |
| eBay takes | £4.54 |
That is 17.8% of what the buyer paid — not the 12.9% headline rate. The gap between those two numbers is where a lot of pricing goes wrong.
Work out your own
Our eBay fee calculator has the full UK and US category tables with tiered rates, and does the reverse calculation too — tell it the profit you want and it gives you the price to list at.
When fees change
eBay adjusts its fees periodically, and did so during 2026. Anything you read, here included, should be checked against eBay's own fee pages before you price on it. A calculator is a tool for understanding the shape of the cost, not a substitute for the current schedule.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage does eBay take in the UK?
For business sellers, a category final value fee of roughly 6.9% to 14.9% on the item plus postage, a per-order fee of £0.30 or £0.40, a 0.35% regulatory operating fee, and 20% VAT on all of it. In practice a 12.9% category works out nearer 17.8% of what the buyer paid.
Do UK private sellers pay eBay fees?
Not on ordinary domestic sales, since 1 October 2024. eBay charges the buyer a Buyer Protection Fee instead.
Are eBay fees charged on postage?
Yes, for business sellers. The final value fee applies to the total the buyer paid, which includes postage.
Can I claim eBay fees back?
eBay fees are a business expense. The VAT element is generally reclaimable if you are VAT-registered on the standard scheme. How that applies to you is a question for your accountant.
Why is my eBay fee higher than the advertised rate?
Usually because the headline figure is only the final value fee. Add the per-order fee, the regulatory fee and VAT on all of them, plus any promoted listing rate, and the real total is several points higher.