UK eBay Fees Explained
What eBay UK charges private sellers and business sellers, with each fee worked through on an example sale.
eBay UK charges private sellers and business sellers in different ways. This guide covers both, then goes through each business fee in the order it appears on a fee invoice. The rates are taken from eBay’s UK fee page as it stood on 30 September 2026.
Private sellers pay no final value fee
Since October 2024, UK-based private sellers have not paid a final value fee or a regulatory operating fee when an item sells. This applies in every category except vehicles. The buyer pays eBay a Buyer Protection fee instead, and that fee is included in the price the buyer sees. The seller receives the item price and the postage the buyer paid.
A private seller pays eBay in two cases. If the item is delivered outside the UK, eBay charges an international fee of 3% of the total sale. Optional listing upgrades, such as a subtitle, are also charged.
A private account is for selling your own belongings. If you buy or make items in order to sell them, eBay’s rules require a business account. The private versus business seller guide compares the two on the same sale.
Business sellers pay three fees on every order
The rest of this guide is about business sellers. On each order a business seller pays a final value fee, a regulatory operating fee and a per-order fee. eBay quotes all three before VAT.
The final value fee is charged on the item price plus postage
The final value fee is a percentage of the total amount of the sale. The total is the item price plus the postage you charged the buyer. If you sell a £40 item with £4.95 postage, the fee is calculated on £44.95.
Postage is therefore charged the fee as well. An item at £44.95 with free postage and an item at £40 plus £4.95 postage pay the same final value fee.
The regulatory operating fee and the per-order fee
eBay adds a regulatory operating fee of 0.35% of the same total. It also adds a per-order fee of £0.30 on orders of £10 or less and £0.40 on orders above £10. In Collectables and in Home, Furniture & DIY, the per-order fee on orders of £10 or less is £0.10.
The per-order fee takes a larger share of a small sale. On a £3 sale in Clothes, Shoes & Accessories, total fees are £0.67, which is 22.3% of the sale. On a £10 sale they are 15.3%.
The per-order fee is charged once per order, not once per item. One order with four items pays it once. Four separate orders pay it four times.
Final value fee by category
The rate depends on the category. Some categories charge a lower rate on the part of a sale above a set price, calculated per item. The table shows the final value fee for a UK business seller, before the regulatory operating fee and the per-order fee.
| Category | Rate on total sale |
|---|---|
| Antiques | 10.9% |
| Art | 10.9% |
| Baby | 10.9% |
| Books, Comics & Magazines | 9.9% |
| Business, Office & Industrial | 12.5% |
| Cameras & Photography (accessories and other) | 9.9% |
| Digital Cameras, Camcorders & Lenses | 6.9% up to £1,000, then 3% |
| Clothes, Shoes & Accessories | 11.9% |
| Coins | 10.9% up to £450, then 3% |
| Collectables | 10.9% |
| Computers & Networking (accessories and other) | 9.9% |
| Laptops, Desktops, Tablets, Printers & Drives | 6.9% up to £1,000, then 3% |
| Crafts | 12.9% |
| Dolls & Bears | 10.9% |
| Event Tickets | 12.9% |
| Everything Else | 12.9% |
| Films & TV | 9.9% |
| Furniture, Bath & Plumbing Fixtures | 10.9% up to £500, 7.9% up to £1,000, then 3% |
| Garden & Patio | 10.9% |
| Health & Beauty | 10.9% |
| Holidays & Travel | 7.9% up to £650, then 3% |
| Home, Furniture & DIY (other) | 11.9% up to £500, then 7.9% |
| Appliances, DIY Tools & Workshop Equipment | 6.9% up to £400, then 3% |
| Jewellery | 14.9% up to £1,000, then 4% |
| Mobile & Smart Phones | 6.9% up to £1,000, then 3% |
| Mobile Phone Accessories & Communication | 9.9% |
| Music | 9.9% |
| Musical Instruments & DJ Equipment | 10.9% |
| Pet Supplies | 12.9% |
| Pottery, Ceramics & Glass | 10.9% |
| Sound & Vision (accessories and other) | 9.9% |
| TVs, Home Audio, Headphones & DVD Players | 6.9% up to £1,000, then 3% |
| Sporting Goods | 10.9% |
| Sports Memorabilia | 10.9% |
| Stamps | 10.9% |
| Toys & Games | 10.9% |
| Trainers | 11.9%, or 7% from £100 |
| Tyres, Sat Navs & Power Tools | 6.9% up to £750, then 3% |
| Vehicle Parts & Accessories | 9.5% up to £750, then 3% |
| Video Game Consoles | 6.9% up to £400, then 2% |
| Video Games & Accessories | 9.9% |
| Watches, Parts & Accessories | 12.9% up to £750, then 3% |
| Wholesale & Job Lots | 12.9% |
| Women's Bags & Handbags | 12.9% up to £800, then 7% |
The table does not list every subcategory. eBay changes its rates from time to time and runs fee promotions. Your eBay fee invoice shows what you were charged.
A worked example
A business seller sells an item in Clothes, Shoes & Accessories for £100 and charges the buyer £4.95 postage. The item cost £30 to buy and £3.50 to post.
- Total amount of the sale: £104.95
- Final value fee at 11.9%: £12.49
- Regulatory operating fee at 0.35%: £0.37
- Per-order fee: £0.40
- Total eBay fees: £13.26
- The seller receives: £91.69
- Profit after £33.50 of costs: £58.19
Total fees are 12.6% of the sale. That is higher than the 11.9% final value fee because the regulatory operating fee and the per-order fee are added to it.
VAT on fees
eBay quotes its fees before VAT, and 20% VAT is added to them. If you are VAT registered you can normally recover the VAT. If you are not registered, you pay it and cannot claim it back.
With VAT, the £13.26 in the example becomes £15.91. The fee calculator has a tick box that adds VAT to the fees.
Optional costs
Promoted Listings
With a general Promoted Listings campaign you choose an ad rate. eBay charges that rate on the total amount of the sale when the item sells within 30 days of a click on the ad. A 5% ad rate on the example above adds £5.25. Total fees go from £13.26 to £18.51. The ad fee is charged in addition to the other fees.
International sales
When an item is delivered outside the UK, eBay adds an international fee on the total sale. The rate depends on where the buyer is: Eurozone & Northern Europe 1.05%, US & Canada 1.8%, All other countries 2%.
Insertion fees and listing upgrades
Private sellers get 300 free listings a month and pay 35p for each listing after that. For business sellers without an eBay Shop, eBay’s fee page lists an insertion fee of 30p per listing. A Shop subscription includes a monthly allowance of free listings. Optional upgrades such as subtitles are charged per listing whether or not the item sells.
Next guide
Private vs Business Seller on eBay UK shows the same sale on both account types and explains which type applies to you.
The fee rates in this guide are the ones our calculator uses. They come from eBay’s UK fee pages as last updated on 30 September 2026. Rates vary by category, seller level, shop subscription and account status, and eBay can change them at any time. This guide is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Check your eBay fee invoice and eBay’s current fee pages before you make pricing decisions.