What does an eBay sale really make you?
Profit per sale
£7.84
31.4% margin · £4.75 in eBay fees
- Sale total
- £24.99
- Final value fee
- −£3.20
- Per-order fee
- −£0.30
- Ad fee
- −£1.25
- Returns allowance
- −£0.50
- Item cost
- −£8.40
- Packaging
- −£0.40
- Postage label
- −£3.10
- Break-even price
- £15.21
- Price for a 10% margin
- £17.99
Prices are for the item, with the postage you charge on top. Figures exclude VAT and international fees.
How it works
Profit is what’s left after five things eBay sellers forget.
Profit = sale total − final value fee − per-order fee − ad fee − returns − item cost − packaging − postage label.
The sale total is the item price plus any postage you charge. eBay works its final value fee out on that total, so free postage and charged postage give different fees. The ad fee only applies to sales that came through a promoted listing, so for a whole shop it’s the share of sales that do.
A calculator works for one sale at a time. Your real fees vary order by order. SellerDesk reads the fees eBay actually charged on every order and does this sum for your whole shop. Read the guide to working out your real profit.
Frequently asked questions
Which eBay fees does the calculator include?
The final value fee (a percentage of the item price plus postage), the per-order fee, and the Promoted Listings ad fee if the sale came through an ad. You enter the rates, because eBay’s differ by category, seller type and shop subscription.
Where do I find my final value fee rate?
In eBay’s fee pages for your country and category, and on each order’s fees in Seller Hub. Business sellers, private sellers and shop subscribers can all pay different rates.
Why include a returns allowance?
Returns cost you the refund, often postage both ways, and sometimes the item. Spreading that over every sale as a percentage gives a truer profit than pretending returns don’t happen.
How is the price for a target margin worked out?
It finds the item price where profit, after every fee and cost, is that share of the sale total, then rounds up to the next price ending in .99.
Does it include VAT?
No. If you’re VAT registered, work with prices and costs excluding VAT, and remember eBay’s fees may carry VAT too.
Do this for every sale, automatically.
Connect your eBay store and SellerDesk works out the profit on every order from the fees eBay actually charged.
Nothing changes on eBay until you approve it.