Enter what you paid and what you expect to sell for. Kickflip applies eBay's category final value fee, per-order fee, your Promoted Listings ad rate and shipping to show your real profit and margin.
Fee estimates use the primary tier rate from each platform's public schedule. Tiered pricing, promotion rates, and buyer-fee ranges vary — always confirm current rates with the platform before listing.
eBay does not charge one flat rate. The final value fee depends on the category you list in, and several categories drop to a lower percentage above a price threshold. These are the tiers Kickflip uses in the calculator above:
| Category / tier | Selling fee | Payment processing | Buyer-side fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Standard CategoriesFee applies to item price + buyer shipping + tax | 13.6% (<= $7500); 2.35% (> $7500) | $0.30 (sale <= $10); $0.40 (sale > $10) | $0.00 |
| Books, Movies & TV, Music (CDs, DVDs)Media categories base commission rate | 15.3% (<= $7500); 2.35% (> $7500) | $0.30 (sale <= $10); $0.40 (sale > $10) | $0.00 |
| Guitars & BassesLower base rate for musical instruments | 6.7% (<= $7500); 2.35% (> $7500) | $0.30 (sale <= $10); $0.40 (sale > $10) | $0.00 |
| Sneakers ($150+ Authenticated)Processing fee waived for $150+ sneakers | 8.0% (7.0% for Top Rated Sellers) | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Jewelry & Accessories (excl. Watches)Tiered reduction for high-value fine jewelry | 15.0% (<= $5000); 9.0% (> $5000) | $0.30 (sale <= $10); $0.40 (sale > $10) | $0.00 |
| Watches, Parts & AccessoriesMulti-tier scaling for high-end luxury timepieces | 15.0% (<= $1000); 6.5% ($1000-$7500); 3.0% (> $7500) | $0.30 (sale <= $10); $0.40 (sale > $10) | $0.00 |
| Women's Bags & HandbagsReduced fee tier over $2000 threshold | 15.0% (<= $2000); 9.0% (> $2000) | $0.30 (sale <= $10); $0.40 (sale > $10) | $0.00 |
| Heavy Equipment / Commercial MachineryLow percentage model for industrial equipment | 3.0% (<= $15000); 0.5% (> $15000) | $0.30 (sale <= $10); $0.40 (sale > $10) | $0.00 |
| Coins & Paper Money (Non-Bullion)Standard numismatics rate structure | 13.25% (<= $7500); 2.35% (> $7500) | $0.30 (sale <= $10); $0.40 (sale > $10) | $0.00 |
| NFTsFlat digital asset rate | 5.00% | $0.30 (sale <= $10); $0.40 (sale > $10) | $0.00 |
| Store Subscribers (Basic / Premium / Anchor)Reduced FVF rates and higher free listing caps | 4.0% - 12.7% (varies by category) | $0.30 (sale <= $10); $0.40 (sale > $10) | $0.00 |
Rates change. Treat these as estimates and confirm against eBay's current published fee schedule before you commit to a purchase.
Ad costs are the most commonly forgotten line item in an eBay margin calculation because the rate is variable and you choose it:
Retail arbitrage means buying an item in one place and reselling it somewhere the same item sells for more. eBay works on both sides of that trade: it is a deep source of underpriced auction inventory, and it is one of the largest resale audiences in the US. The catch is that eBay's fee stack — final value fee, per-order fee, optional ad rate, and the shipping you absorb — routinely takes a double-digit percentage of the sale price, so a flip that looks profitable on the sticker price often is not.
The calculator above is built for exactly that comparison. Set your buying platform and cost, keep eBay as the selling platform, and it returns profit in dollars and margin as a percentage after every fee. You can also work backwards: switch on the target margin option to have it solve for the sale price you need to hit the return you want.
Doing this at volume? The Kickflip browser extension scans a product page you are already looking at and pulls comparable prices across marketplaces, so you can check a flip without leaving the listing.
For most standard categories eBay's final value fee is 13.6% of the total amount of the sale plus a per-order fee of $0.30 (or $0.40 when the sale is over $10). The percentage varies a lot by category — guitars and basses are 6.7%, books and media are 15.3%, and jewelry, watches and handbags start at 15% with reduced rates above certain price thresholds. Always confirm your exact category rate with eBay before listing.
The final value fee is calculated on the total amount of the sale — the item price plus any shipping the buyer pays plus sales tax — not just the item price. That is why a low-priced item with expensive shipping can carry a much larger fee than sellers expect.
Yes. Promoted Listings Standard adds an ad rate charged on the sale when a buyer clicks your ad and buys within 30 days, and Promoted Listings Advanced charges per click. Both are variable and set by you, so the calculator lets you enter your own ad rate rather than assuming one.
There is no universal number — it depends on your category, sell-through rate, and how much capital you have tied up. What matters is that your margin is calculated after the final value fee, per-order fee, ad rate, shipping you pay, and the sales tax you paid at the source. Kickflip does that math for you so you can compare against your own target.