How eBay’s selling fees work in the UK
Business sellers
When your item sells, eBay charges a final value fee and a regulatory operating fee on the total amount of the sale, plus a flat per-order fee. That total includes the item price, the postage the buyer pays and any applicable taxes.
- Final value fee: a percentage set by category. Some categories drop to a lower rate on the part of the sale above a price point.
- Per-order fee: £0.30 for orders of £10 or less, £0.40 for orders over £10. eBay cuts it to 10p on orders up to £10 in Home, Furniture & DIY and selected Collectables categories, for listings created since 2022.
- Regulatory operating fee: 0.35% of the total sale.
eBay’s business fees exclude VAT. These are the final value fees for the categories in the calculator:
| eBay category | Final value fee |
|---|---|
| Clothes, Shoes & Accessories | 11.9% |
| Women’s Bags & Handbags | 12.9% up to £800, 7% above |
| Trainers (men’s and women’s) | 11.9%, or 7% if the item price is £100 or more |
| Toys & Games | 10.9% |
| Home, Furniture & DIY | 11.9% up to £500, 7.9% above |
| Furniture, Bath, and Other Home Plumbing & Fixtures | 10.9% up to £500, 7.9% from £500 to £1,000, 3% above |
| Books, Comics & Magazines | 9.9% |
| Video Games & Consoles (except consoles) | 9.9% |
| Video Game Consoles | 6.9% up to £400, 2% above |
| Health & Beauty | 10.9% |
The trainers threshold uses the item price without postage. Some subcategories have their own rates, such as Appliances and DIY tools in Home, Furniture & DIY, so check eBay’s full table and choose “Other” if yours differs.
Private sellers
It’s free for UK-based private sellers to sell on eBay, except for cars, motorcycles and other vehicles. There’s no final value fee and no regulatory operating fee. You get 300 free listings a month and pay 35p for each listing after that. Optional upgrades cost extra, and eBay charges a 3% international fee if the buyer’s delivery address is outside the UK.
Buyers pay something instead. eBay adds a Buyer Protection fee to a private seller’s price: 10p per item, plus 7% of the item price up to £20, 4% of the part from £20 to £300 and 2% of the part from £300 to £4,000. The buyer pays it to eBay, so you still receive your price, but buyers see the higher total. Business sellers’ listings include Buyer Protection at no extra cost to the buyer.
Vinted
Vinted’s price list has no fee for sellers when an item sells. The buyer pays a Vinted fee at checkout, which Vinted says is “usually 3% to 8% + £0.3 to £0.8”, depending on the item, the order value and whether it’s a bundle. So a buyer pays more than your listed price, which is why the calculator lets you set a different Vinted price. Sellers pay only for optional extras, such as bumping an item or Showcase. Vinted Pro, Vinted’s account for businesses, is free too.
Vinted is for second-hand items. Its commercial selling rules say you can’t sell new items bought specifically to resell, including stock from wholesalers, bulk orders or retail stores, and the rule applies to everyone, Vinted Pro sellers included. If you sell to make a profit, Vinted says you need a Pro account, and Pro sellers can’t sell items bought in bulk for resale, a large number of brand-new items, or cosmetics and beauty products. New stock from the shops belongs on eBay or Amazon.
Private or business seller?
This question decides your eBay fees and whether you may need to tell HMRC about your income.
- HMRC. If you sell goods you bought intending to sell for a profit, GOV.UK says you’re “probably trading”. You need to tell HMRC if your total trading income, before expenses, is more than the £1,000 trading allowance in a tax year (6 April to 5 April). Selling your own personal possessions usually isn’t taxed as income, though Capital Gains Tax can apply to an item sold for more than £6,000.
- eBay. eBay’s business seller policy says you must register as a business if you sell items you bought to resell, and business sellers can’t present themselves as private individuals. Business sellers must also tell buyers they have 14 days to withdraw from the transaction, for items covered by the Consumer Contracts Regulations. eBay’s free selling is for private sellers.
- Vinted. Vinted’s commercial selling rules say standard accounts can’t be used to sell professionally, including buying items to resell at a profit, and that nobody, Pro sellers included, can sell new items bought specifically to resell. Vinted Pro is Vinted’s account for businesses. Vinted says you need to be registered as a business to use it, and that Pro is free. Pro sellers must let buyers return an item within 14 days of receiving it.
- Platform reporting. Selling platforms may have to report sellers’ details and income to HMRC. Platforms don’t have to report sellers who make fewer than 30 sales of goods and receive €2,000 (about £1,700) or less in a year. That’s a reporting threshold, not a tax-free allowance. HMRC has said that being reported doesn’t automatically mean you need to complete a tax return.
This is general information, not tax advice. GOV.UK’s online platform income checker or an accountant can tell you where you stand.
Worked example: a £20 second-hand hoodie
Say you sell a second-hand hoodie for £20 as an eBay business seller. The buyer pays £3.50 postage, and it costs you £3.50 to send. These are the calculator’s defaults:
| Total sale (£20.00 item + £3.50 postage) | £23.50 |
| Final value fee (11.9% of £23.50) | −£2.80 |
| Per-order fee (order over £10) | −£0.40 |
| Regulatory operating fee (0.35% of £23.50) | −£0.08 |
| Postage you pay | −£3.50 |
| You keep on eBay | £16.72 |
eBay’s fees come to £3.28, and £0.43 of that is fees on the postage. List it with free postage instead and the fees are on the £20 alone: £2.38 + £0.40 + £0.07 = £2.85, but the £3.50 postage then comes out of your £20. As a private seller, eBay takes nothing from you and you keep £20, while the buyer pays eBay a £1.50 Buyer Protection fee on top (10p + 7% of £20). On Vinted you keep £20 as well, while the buyer pays £20 plus postage plus a Vinted fee of roughly £0.90 to £2.40 at Vinted’s usual rates. If you’d bought the hoodie new to resell, Vinted wouldn’t be an option: its rules don’t allow it.
What the calculator leaves out
- Listing fees once you’ve used your free listings, optional listing upgrades, promoted listings and eBay Shop subscriptions.
- eBay’s international fee: 3% for private sellers, and 1.05% to 2% for business sellers depending on the buyer’s country.
- eBay’s extra percentage points for Below Standard sellers or a very high rate of “item not as described” requests, its £14 dispute fee, and the 10% final value fee discount Top-rated Sellers get on Premium Service listings.
- Trainers sold through eBay’s Authenticity Guarantee with a free postage label: eBay charges no final value fee on the postage, but the calculator does.
- VAT on eBay’s fees. eBay’s business fees exclude VAT, so your cost is higher if VAT is added and you can’t reclaim it.
- Vinted bumps and Showcase, and the cost of the item, so the result is what you receive, not your profit.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free to sell on eBay in the UK?
For UK-based private sellers, yes: eBay charges no final value fee and no regulatory operating fee when an item sells (vehicles are the exception). You pay 35p for each listing beyond your 300 free listings a month, for any optional upgrades, and a 3% international fee if you post to a buyer outside the UK. The buyer pays eBay a Buyer Protection fee on top of a private seller’s price: £1.50 on a £20 item. Business sellers pay a final value fee, a per-order fee and a 0.35% regulatory operating fee on every sale.
Does eBay charge fees on postage?
Yes, for business sellers. eBay calculates the final value fee and the regulatory operating fee on the total amount of the sale, which includes the item price, postage and any applicable taxes. If you offer free postage, the fees are on the item price, but you pay the postage out of it.
What is eBay’s regulatory operating fee?
It’s a fee of 0.35% that eBay charges business sellers on the total amount of the sale, including postage. UK private sellers don’t pay it.
How much is eBay’s per-order fee?
For business sellers it’s £0.30 on orders of £10 or less and £0.40 on orders over £10. In Home, Furniture & DIY and selected Collectables categories, eBay reduces it to 10p on orders up to £10 for listings created since 2022.
Does Vinted charge sellers a fee?
Vinted’s price list has no fee for sellers when an item sells. The buyer pays a Vinted fee at checkout, which Vinted says is usually 3% to 8% of the price plus £0.30 to £0.80. Sellers pay only for optional extras, such as bumping an item or Showcase.
Can I resell new items on Vinted?
No. Vinted’s commercial selling rules say you can’t sell new items bought specifically to resell, including stock from wholesalers, bulk orders or retail stores, and the rule applies to everyone, including Vinted Pro sellers.
When do I need an eBay business account?
eBay’s business seller policy says you must register as a business if you sell items you bought to resell, and business sellers can’t present themselves as private individuals. GOV.UK says that if you sell goods you bought intending to sell for a profit, you’re probably trading.
How accurate is this calculator?
It applies eBay’s published UK fees for the categories listed to the prices you enter. It doesn’t include listing fees beyond your free allowance, optional upgrades, promoted listings, the international fee, performance surcharges or VAT on eBay’s fees, so check eBay’s fee pages for anything unusual before you list.