eBay's US fee structure is the opposite of the UK's in one important way: private sellers in the US do pay final value fees. There's no EEA-style exemption. Everyone — from a once-a-year garage sale seller to an Anchor Store enterprise — pays a version of the same rate card. What varies is how much of a discount you earn through Store subscriptions, Top Rated Seller status, and tiered volume thresholds.
The headline rate most US sellers quote is "13.6%" — which is close to right for the common categories, but media rates are higher (15.3%) and several sub-categories have tiers that cut deep above certain thresholds. This guide covers the current 2026 rate card, the five Store tiers and when each pays back, and a worked example on a $100 sale so you can see what lands in your PayPal-replacement payout.
How eBay US fees stack up
Unlike the UK's three-line structure, US fees have four components — because Managed Payments rolled the card processing fee into the FVF rather than splitting it out. Here's the current stack:
| Fee component | Rate | Applied to |
|---|---|---|
| Final Value Fee (standard) | 13.6% | Total transaction up to $7,500; 2.35% above |
| Final Value Fee (media) | 15.3% | Books, DVDs, music, movies, magazines |
| Per-order fixed fee | $0.40 / $0.30 | $0.40 if total ≥ $10, $0.30 if under |
| International buyer surcharge | +1.65% | Orders shipping outside the US |
The 13.6% figure already bakes in payment processing. You don't see a separate Stripe-style 2.9% line — that's folded in. This makes apples-to-apples comparison with UK/EU rates tricky because UK's 12.9% + 2.9% = 15.8% combined, which is slightly worse than the US's 13.6% flat.
Final value fees by category
Most categories sit at the 13.6% standard rate. The notable exceptions are media (15.3% — highest standard rate on the platform), guitars & basses (6.7% — lowest), and a handful of heavy-equipment categories with tiered drops above $2,500 or $7,500.
| Category | Final value fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Guitars & Basses | 6.7% | Lowest FVF on eBay US |
| Antiques | 13.6% | |
| Baby | 13.6% | |
| Business & Industrial | 13.6% | Heavy equipment drops to 2.35% above $15k |
| Cameras & Photo | 13.6% | |
| Cell Phones & Accessories | 13.6% | |
| Collectibles | 13.6% | |
| Computers, Tablets & Networking | 13.6% | |
| Consumer Electronics | 13.6% | |
| Crafts | 13.6% | |
| Health & Beauty | 13.6% | |
| Home & Garden | 13.6% | |
| Musical Instruments & Gear (non-guitar) | 13.6% | |
| Pet Supplies | 13.6% | |
| Sporting Goods | 13.6% | |
| Toys & Hobbies | 13.6% | Excluding Trading Cards (13.25%) |
| Video Games & Consoles | 13.6% | |
| eBay Motors — Parts & Accessories | 13.6% | |
| Jewelry & Watches | 15% | Drops to 6.5% above $5,000 |
| Clothing, Shoes & Accessories | 15.3% | Highest-volume category at the top rate |
| Books & Magazines | 15.3% | Media rate |
| Movies & TV | 15.3% | Physical DVDs, Blu-ray, VHS |
| Music | 15.3% | CDs, vinyl, cassettes |
Sellers who don't meet eBay's minimum performance standards (defect rate > 2%, late shipment rate > 5%, or cases not resolved > 0.3%) get hit with an additional 6% Above Standard surcharge on top of the category FVF. That turns a 13.6% rate into 19.6% — enough to wipe out most reseller margins. Keep your metrics green.
eBay Store subscription tiers
Unlike the UK's two-shop tier structure, eBay US runs five tiers. The main value isn't the free insertion fees — which most resellers don't hit — it's the final value fee discount layered on top of every sale.
| Store tier | Monthly cost | Free fixed-price listings | FVF discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| No Store | $0 | 250 | None |
| Starter | $7.95 | 250 | Small insertion-fee savings only |
| Basic | $27.95 | 1,000 | ~1% off most categories |
| Premium | $74.95 | 10,000 | ~1–1.5% off most categories |
| Anchor | $349.95 | 25,000 | ~1.5% off most categories |
| Enterprise | $2,999.95 | 100,000 | Maximum discount, negotiable |
The maths is straightforward: Basic pays back at roughly $2,800/month in sales (1% FVF saving on $2,800 = the $27.95 subscription). Anchor pays back around $20,000/month. If you're selling less than $2,500/month there's no Store tier that makes sense — stick with no-store pricing.
Top Rated Seller discount
The best fee discount on eBay US isn't the Store subscription — it's Top Rated Seller status combined with Top Rated Plus listings. This gets you 10% off the FVF portion of qualifying sales.
- Top Rated Seller requirements — Transaction defect rate under 0.5%, 100+ transactions and $1,000+ in sales over a rolling 12 months, on-time shipment rate over 94%.
- Top Rated Plus listing requirements — 30-day returns with free return shipping, 1-day handling.
- The discount — 10% off the FVF on any sale that uses a Top Rated Plus listing. On a 13.6% category that drops the effective FVF to 12.24%.
Top Rated Plus + Basic Store together can drop a 13.6% category down to roughly 11%. That's better than the headline UK rate, before you factor in the $0.40 fixed fee. For serious US sellers, the TRS + Store combination is worth £hundreds/month even at modest volumes — but only if you can genuinely maintain the performance metrics.
Worked example: a $100 Nintendo Switch game on eBay US
A mid-price point transaction in the video games category, with standard FVF and no Store subscription.
Pokémon Violet (Nintendo Switch, factory sealed) — sold for $100.00
Combined eBay bite: 14.0% of the transaction. With a Basic Store subscription active, that drops to about 13%. With Top Rated Plus stacked on top, closer to 12%.
Sales tax: eBay collects, but charges FVF on it
Under US marketplace facilitator laws, eBay automatically collects and remits state sales tax for sellers in all 50 states plus DC. The buyer sees tax at checkout; the seller never touches it. Good news.
Bad news: eBay charges the FVF on the sales-tax portion too. If your buyer pays $7 in tax on a $100 sale, that $7 passes through eBay's FVF calculation at the category rate — costing you roughly $0.95 at 13.6%. It's a quiet line item most sellers don't notice until they reconcile their books against their payouts.
Calculate your exact US profit after all fees
Run the numbers on your next US listing.
Privy's profit calculator handles category FVFs, the $0.40 fixed fee, Top Rated Plus discounts, and international surcharges — in USD.
Use the profit calculator →eBay US fees — common questions
Most categories charge 13.6% up to $7,500 per transaction, then 2.35% on the amount above. Books, DVDs, music and movies are 15.3% (the media tier). A $0.40 per-order fixed fee applies above $10, $0.30 under. Store subscribers get reduced rates; Top Rated Sellers using Top Rated Plus listings get a further 10% off the FVF.
On a $100 sale with $5.99 shipping in a 13.6% FVF category, eBay takes approximately $14.81 — the $14.41 FVF plus the $0.40 fixed fee. That's 14.0% of the transaction. Media categories at 15.3% cost about $16.62 on the same sale. Store subscribers and Top Rated Sellers pay roughly 1–3% less.
Five tiers: Starter ($7.95/month), Basic ($27.95), Premium ($74.95), Anchor ($349.95), and Enterprise ($2,999.95). Each tier reduces the FVF by roughly 0.5–1.5% and increases free listings. Basic pays back at ~$2,800/month in sales; Anchor at ~$20,000/month. Below $2,500/month, no Store tier justifies its cost.
Yes — eBay collects and remits state sales tax in all 50 states plus DC under marketplace facilitator laws. Sellers don't need to handle it. However, eBay charges the FVF on the tax portion of the sale too, so you're effectively paying 13.6% on whatever tax your buyer pays.
Top Rated Sellers using Top Rated Plus listings (30-day returns with free return shipping, 1-day handling) get 10% off the FVF. On a 13.6% category that drops the effective FVF to 12.24%. Requirements: 100+ transactions and $1,000+ sales over 12 months, defect rate under 0.5%, on-time shipment over 94%. The discount stacks with Store subscription savings.