If you sell on eBay UK as a private seller, you pay no final value fee on sales to UK buyers. The buyer pays a Buyer Protection fee instead. Business sellers pay a final value fee (12.9% in the "everything else" group, with different rates in some categories) plus a per-order fee and a 0.35% regulatory operating fee, with 20% VAT on top.
This eBay UK fee calculator uses the 2026 rates. Choose your seller type first. For a business account, pick the category group and whether VAT applies to your fees, and it shows the full deduction.
eBay fees for UK private sellers
Since 1 October 2024, UK-based private sellers have paid £0 final value fee and £0 regulatory operating fee on domestic sales. Sell a jacket for £40 with £4 postage, and the full £44 comes to you. Your only cost is the postage label you buy.
Free selling on eBay UK still has edges:
- Listings: 300 free listings a month, then 35p each. An eBay Shop for private sellers at £19.99 a month raises that to 400. Relisting or renewing doesn't use another listing or cost another 35p.
- International buyers: a 3% international fee applies when the delivery address is outside the UK.
- Promoted Listings: if you pay to promote an item and the sale comes from an ad click, you pay your chosen rate, plus VAT.
- Cars, motorcycles and other vehicles have their own separate fees and aren't covered here.
| Sale price | Total fees | Fees as % of price | You receive |
|---|---|---|---|
| £10.00 | £0.00 | 0.0% | £10.00 |
| £25.00 | £0.00 | 0.0% | £25.00 |
| £50.00 | £0.00 | 0.0% | £50.00 |
| £100.00 | £0.00 | 0.0% | £100.00 |
| £250.00 | £0.00 | 0.0% | £250.00 |
Private seller selling to a UK buyer: no seller fees. Business sellers see the calculator above.
How the eBay Buyer Protection fee works
The Buyer Protection fee is how eBay makes money from private-seller items. The buyer pays it at checkout. It doesn't come out of your payout, but it does raise what the buyer sees, which can matter when you're pricing against Vinted or Depop.
The fee is a fixed 10p per item plus a percentage of the item price in bands:
- Up to £20: 7%
- £20 to £300: 4%
- £300 to £4,000: 2%
- Above £4,000: nothing
The bands stack like income tax: each rate applies only to the slice of the price inside that band. Postage isn't included, and the fee already contains VAT. The most a buyer can pay is £86.70.
It only applies to items from UK-based private sellers. Business sellers' items and listings from private sellers based outside the UK don't carry it, nor do vehicles, classified ads or property.
How to work out the eBay Buyer Protection fee
Add 10p to 7% of the first £20 of the item price, 4% of the part between £20 and £300, and 2% of the part between £300 and £4,000. Postage is left out. Take a £100 item:
- Fixed part: 10p.
- First £20 at 7%: £1.40.
- The next £80 (from £20 to £100) at 4%: £3.20.
- Add them: £0.10 + £1.40 + £3.20 = £4.70. The buyer pays £104.70 plus postage.
A £10 item works out at 80p (10p plus 7% of £10), and a £20 item at £1.50. With "Private seller" picked, the page works as an eBay Buyer Protection fee calculator: the fee appears as a buyer line under your payout, and "Buyer pays" shows their full checkout total, postage included.
eBay business seller fees UK
Business accounts pay on every sale. The final value fee is charged on the total amount of the sale, meaning item price plus postage plus any applicable taxes, and the rate depends on the category:
- Everything else (the default): 12.9%
- Books, comics and magazines; mobile phones; computers, tablets and networking: 9.9%
- Collectables, sports memorabilia, toys and games, musical instruments: 10.9%
- Clothes, shoes and accessories: 11.9%
On top of that rate:
- Per-order fee: 30p on orders of £10 or less, 40p on orders over £10. The 40p rate started on 12 February 2026; before that it was 30p across the board.
- Regulatory operating fee: 0.35% of the total sale.
- VAT: eBay quotes all of these fees without VAT and adds 20%.
Some subcategories differ from the group rate. Mobile phones, laptops, desktops and tablets pay 6.9% up to £1,000 and 3% above. Trainers in Clothes, Shoes and Accessories pay 7% when the item price is £100 or more. Business, Office and Industrial is 12.5%, and vehicle parts are 9.5% up to £750 then 3%. Check eBay's business fees page for anything specialist.
| Fee | How it is charged (UK) |
|---|---|
| Final value fee | 12.9% of the full order total (item, shipping and tax). Business sellers, everything else. |
| Final value fee | 9.9% of the full order total (item, shipping and tax). Business sellers, books, phones and computers. |
| Final value fee | 10.9% of the full order total (item, shipping and tax). Business sellers, collectables, toys and musical instruments. |
| Final value fee | 11.9% of the full order total (item, shipping and tax). Business sellers, clothes, shoes and accessories. |
| Per-order fee | £0.30 per order. Business sellers, orders of £10 or less. |
| Per-order fee | £0.40 per order. Business sellers, orders over £10. |
| Regulatory operating fee | 0.35% of the full order total (item, shipping and tax). Business sellers. |
| Promoted Listings ad fee | your chosen rate, charged on the full order total (item, shipping and tax). Only when the sale comes from an ad click. |
| Buyer Protection fee (fixed part) (buyer pays) | £0.10 per order. Private-seller items, per item. |
| Buyer Protection fee (percentage part) (buyer pays) | 7% up to £20, then 4% up to £300, then 2% up to £4,000, then 0% above £4,000, charged on the item price. Private-seller items. Includes VAT. |
Worked example for a business seller
You sell an item in an "everything else" category for £100 and charge £10 postage, so the total is £110.
- Final value fee: 12.9% of £110 = £14.19.
- Per-order fee: 40p.
- Regulatory operating fee: 0.35% of £110 = about 39p.
- Fees before VAT: £14.98. Add 20% VAT: £17.97 in total.
- You keep £110 minus £17.97, which is £92.03, before paying for postage.
If you're VAT-registered and reclaim the VAT on your eBay invoices, set the VAT option to "None" and the fees come to £14.98.
Other business charges
- Insertion fees: without a Shop, business sellers pay 30p per listing with no free allowance. Shop subscriptions include bundles of free listings.
- International fee: 1.05% for buyers in the Eurozone and Northern Europe, 1.8% for the US and Canada, and 2% everywhere else.
- Below Standard surcharge: an extra 6 percentage points on the final value fee, or 7 after four consecutive months.
- Currency conversion: 2.5% when eBay converts currency, rising to 2.75% from 1 December 2026.
Common questions
Is selling on eBay UK really free?
For UK private sellers selling to UK buyers, yes: £0 final value fee and £0 regulatory operating fee. You still pay postage, any listings beyond 300 a month, international fees and optional ads.
Who pays the eBay Buyer Protection fee?
The buyer pays it, at 10p plus 7%, 4% or 2% of the item price by band, added at checkout on items from UK private sellers. You receive your full price.
Do eBay UK business sellers pay VAT on fees?
Yes, 20%. eBay's business fees are quoted excluding VAT and the 20% is added on top. VAT-registered sellers can usually account for it in their VAT return.
What changed in eBay UK fees in 2026?
On 12 February 2026 the business per-order fee rose from 30p to 40p for orders over £10, and several category rates changed. The fee change log tracks every update.
How does this compare with the US site?
eBay.com charges everyone 13.6% of the total plus $0.40 in most categories, with no private-seller exemption. See the US eBay fee calculator for those rates.
Sources
eBay (UK) fees last checked against these official pages on 2026-10-11. We re-check every source daily and update the calculator when a platform changes its fees.
- eBay UK Help: Private sellers selling fees
- eBay UK Help: Business selling fees
- eBay UK Help: Buyer Protection
- eBay UK Seller Centre: rate card change, January 2026