eBay trading card fees, as of 25 October 2026: 13.25% of the total sale up to $7,500 and 2.35% of anything above that if you have no store or a Starter store, or 12.35% up to $2,500 and 2.35% above it with a Basic store or higher. Every order also pays $0.30 (order total of $10 or less) or $0.40 (over $10). The percentage is charged on the total amount of the sale, which includes shipping and the sales tax eBay collects from the buyer. The eBay card fee calculator works out any sale.
| Price + shipping | $105.00 |
|---|---|
| Sales tax (collected and paid by eBay)counts toward the fee, never reaches you | $8.40 |
| Final value fee13.25% × 113.40 total incl. shipping and tax | −$15.03 |
| Per-order feeorder total over 10.00 | −$0.40 |
| Postage | −$5.00 |
| You keep after postage | $84.57 |
| Card cost | −$40.00 |
| Profit on the card | +$44.57 |
The trading card rate card
These rates apply to eBay’s Sports Trading Cards, Non-Sport Trading Cards and Collectible Card Games categories (Pokémon, Magic, One Piece and other TCG singles list under Collectible Card Games).
| Seller type | Rate on total sale | Above the threshold | Per-order fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| No store or Starter store | 13.25% up to $7,500 | 2.35% | $0.30 / $0.40 |
| Basic, Premium, Anchor or Enterprise store | 12.35% up to $2,500 | 2.35% | $0.30 / $0.40 |
The thresholds are calculated per item. The per-order fee is charged once per checkout order, which eBay defines as “any number of items purchased by the same buyer at checkout with the same shipping method.” A buyer who checks out five base cards together costs you one $0.40, not five.
There is no separate payment processing fee on eBay. Processing is built into the final value fee, which is the main structural difference from Whatnot, where commission and a 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee are charged separately (see Whatnot fees explained).
Cards were left alone in the February 2025 increase
eBay raised final value fees in most categories on 14 February 2025, by up to 0.35 points (most categories went from 13.25% to 13.6%). eBay’s update tables show Sports Trading Cards, Non-Sport Trading Cards and Collectible Card Games unchanged at 13.25% for non-store sellers and 12.35% for Basic and higher stores. That is why card fees now sit below eBay’s general 13.6% rate.
What the fee is charged on
eBay’s selling fees page says the total amount of the sale “includes the item price, any handling charges, any shipping costs collected from the buyer (some exceptions apply), sales tax, and any other applicable fees.” Two consequences for card sellers:
- You pay a fee on shipping. If you charge $5 to ship a toploader in a bubble mailer, 13.25% of that $5 goes to eBay.
- You pay a fee on sales tax you never keep. eBay is a marketplace facilitator: it calculates, collects and remits sales tax on orders shipped to buyers in the states it lists, and sellers cannot opt out. The tax passes through eBay to the state, but it is still inside the fee base.
eBay’s own example uses a trading card. A $9,500 card with free shipping and 6% sales tax has a total sale of $10,070. The fee is:
| Part | Arithmetic | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| First $7,500 | 13.25% × $7,500 | $993.75 |
| Remaining $2,570 | 2.35% × $2,570 | $60.395 |
| Per-order fee | Order over $10 | $0.40 |
| Final value fee | $993.75 + $60.395 + $0.40 = $1,054.545 | $1,054.55 |
About $570 of that $10,070 is sales tax the seller never keeps, and it is still charged a fee.
Other fees that can apply
- International fee: 1.65% of the total sale when the buyer’s delivery or registered address is outside the US. US sellers who ship through eBay International Shipping are not charged it on eligible items.
- Below Standard surcharge. If your account is rated Below Standard at the monthly evaluation on the 20th, eBay adds 6 percentage points to the final value fee on the following month’s sales, and 7 points after four or more consecutive months. A Very High rate of “item not as described” returns adds 5 points (6 after four months) in the affected categories. Both are charged on the total amount of the sale.
- Insertion fees. Non-store sellers get 250 zero-insertion-fee listings a month, then $0.35 per listing; stores get larger allowances.
- Dispute fee. $20.00 per chargeback or dispute you are found responsible for.
- Tax on eBay’s fees. eBay says it currently collects sales tax on certain selling fees for sellers located in Hawaii, South Dakota, Texas and Washington.
Store subscriptions
| Store | Monthly renewal | Yearly renewal (per month) |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $7.95 | $4.95 |
| Basic | $27.95 | $21.95 |
| Premium | $74.95 | $59.95 |
| Anchor | $349.95 | $299.95 |
| Enterprise | Not available | $2,999.95 |
A Starter store does not lower the card rate; it still pays 13.25%. The 12.35% rate starts at Basic. Whether Basic pays off depends on volume: on a $113.40 order the store saves $1.03, so it takes about 22 such sales a month to cover the yearly-plan price and about 28 for the monthly plan. If you sell mostly $5 to $20 base and inserts, the saving per sale is far smaller.
Same $100 card on Whatnot and eBay
Assumptions: a $100 card, $5 shipping, a $5 label. On eBay the buyer pays $5 shipping to you and you buy the $5 label; eBay collects 8% sales tax on item plus shipping ($8.40). On Whatnot the buyer pays $5 shipping straight to the prepaid label and $8 sales tax on the item. No store on eBay, Standard tier on Whatnot, domestic buyer.
| Line | eBay (no store) | eBay (Basic store) | Whatnot (Standard) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buyer pays | $113.40 | $113.40 | $113.00 |
| Percentage fee | 13.25% × $113.40 = $15.03 | 12.35% × $113.40 = $14.00 | Commission 8% × $100 = $8.00 |
| Fixed / processing fee | $0.40 | $0.40 | 2.9% × $113 = $3.28, + $0.30 = $3.58 |
| Total fees | $15.43 | $14.40 | $11.58 |
| Paid to you | $105.00 − $15.43 = $89.57 | $105.00 − $14.40 = $90.60 | $100.00 − $11.58 = $88.42 |
| After the $5 label | $84.57 | $85.60 | $88.42 (label already paid by buyer) |
On these assumptions the same card nets $3.85 more on Whatnot than on eBay without a store, before the eBay store subscription or any card cost. The gap comes from the fee base: eBay’s 13.25% reaches the shipping and tax, while Whatnot’s commission touches only the $100 item price. eBay’s fee on the $8.40 of tax alone is $1.11, money you never receive. The comparison flips when a card needs eBay’s search traffic to sell at all, or when a show stream would sell it below comps. Fees are only one input; sell-through and price are the bigger ones.
eBay in the UK
As of 17 October 2026, UK private sellers pay no final value fee or per-order fee; buyers pay a Buyer Protection fee instead, which is not a seller cost. UK business sellers pay 10.9% for Collectables, Sports Memorabilia and Toys & Games, a 0.35% regulatory operating fee, and £0.30 per order (£0.40 above £10 since 12 February 2026), all on the total including postage and tax. We could not confirm whether trading cards qualify for the reduced 10p per-order fee eBay UK lists for “selected Collectables categories”, or how VAT applies to business sellers’ fees; check your invoice. Whether you count as a private or business seller is a tax question too, covered in UK card sellers and HMRC.
Getting real fee numbers into your books
eBay’s Orders report (Seller Hub, Orders, Download report) has buyer, price, shipping and the tax eBay collected, but no fees. The Transaction report (Payments, Reports) has Final Value Fee columns, fixed and variable, per order. Import either into the Pullsheet ledger; with the Transaction report the exact fees come across, and with the Orders report Pullsheet estimates them from your eBay fee settings. Sales tax eBay remitted is left out of your income, since it was never yours. For year-end totals and Form 1099-K, see 1099-K for card sellers in 2026.
This guide explains eBay’s published fees as of 17 October 2026; it is not tax advice, and eBay can change its rates, so check the fee pages before pricing a high-value card.