Worked Numbers
eBay Fee Calculator 2026: eBay, Poshmark and Mercari Fees Worked Out
eBay takes a 13.6% final value fee on the total amount of the sale, shipping and sales tax included, plus a per-order fee of $0.30 or $0.40 and any promoted listing ad rate you chose. Poshmark takes a flat $2.95 on sales under $15 and 20% at $15 or more. Mercari takes 10% of the item price plus any shipping the buyer pays. On one illustrative $48 coat that cost $9, that leaves $26.31 profit on eBay, $28.15 on Poshmark and $24.15 on Mercari, and the order depends as much on who pays the shipping label as on the fee rates.
Where the fee figures come from
Each rate below was copied from the platform’s own US fee page on October 19, 2026:
- eBay: Selling fees, the general category row (13.6% on the sale up to $7,500 an item), and General campaign strategy for how the promoted listing ad rate is charged.
- Poshmark: What are the fees for selling on Poshmark?
- Mercari: Fees on Mercari
Fees change, and some eBay categories have their own row. Check the platform’s page before you rely on any figure here. Worked Numbers is not affiliated with eBay, Poshmark or Mercari.
The fee formulas
eBay total sale = (item price + shipping charged) x (1 + sales tax rate)
eBay fees = total sale x (13.6% + your ad rate)
+ $0.30 if the total is $10.00 or less, else $0.40
Poshmark fee = $2.95 if the price is under $15, else price x 20%
Mercari fee = (item price + buyer-paid shipping) x 10%
net payout = what the buyer paid you for item and shipping - fees
profit = net payout - label you pay - packaging - item cost
Fees at different prices
The same formulas at a range of sale prices, on the item price alone (no shipping, no sales tax, no eBay ad), with each fee as a share of the price:
| Sale price | eBay fees | Poshmark fee | Mercari fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5 | $0.98 (19.6%) | $2.95 (59.0%) | $0.50 (10.0%) |
| $10 | $1.66 (16.6%) | $2.95 (29.5%) | $1.00 (10.0%) |
| $15 | $2.44 (16.3%) | $3.00 (20.0%) | $1.50 (10.0%) |
| $25 | $3.80 (15.2%) | $5.00 (20.0%) | $2.50 (10.0%) |
| $48 | $6.93 (14.4%) | $9.60 (20.0%) | $4.80 (10.0%) |
| $100 | $14.00 (14.0%) | $20.00 (20.0%) | $10.00 (10.0%) |
Two things stand out. Poshmark’s flat fee is 59.0% of a $5 sale, against 19.6% on eBay. And the Poshmark threshold barely matters at the edge: a $14.99 sale pays $2.95 and a $15 sale pays $3.00, a difference of $0.05. eBay’s share falls as the price rises because the per-order fee is flat, the same shape as the Etsy fee calculator curve.
eBay fee calculator: one sale worked through
The illustrative coat sells on eBay for $48 with $9.50 shipping charged to the buyer, 7% sales tax, and a 5% promoted listing ad that made the sale. The seller pays a $9.10 label and $1.25 in packaging.
| Line | Working | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Total amount of the sale | ($48 + $9.50 shipping) x (1 + 7% tax) | $61.53 |
| Final value fee + promoted listing ad | (13.6% + 5%) of the total | $11.44 |
| Per-order fee | order over $10.00 | $0.40 |
| All eBay fees | $11.84 | |
| Net payout | item + shipping - fees | $45.66 |
| Shipping label you pay | $9.10 | |
| Packaging | $1.25 | |
| What you paid for the coat | $9.00 | |
| Profit | $26.31 |
To eBay this is a $61.53 sale. It takes $11.84 and pays out $45.66 for item and shipping. eBay charges its fee on money the seller never keeps. The $4.03 of sales tax goes to the state, yet at 18.6% (final value fee plus ad) it carries $0.75 of fees. The $9.50 of shipping pays for the label, and carries $1.77. With no ad on this sale, fees are $8.77 and profit is $29.38.
Poshmark fee calculator
At $15 or more, Poshmark takes 20% and you keep 80% of the price. On the $48 coat that is a $9.60 fee and a $38.40 payout. In this example the buyer pays the shipping label, so the only other costs are packaging and the $9 the coat cost: profit is $28.15. If you offer a shipping discount, it comes out of your side.
Poshmark’s page also says that sellers in Texas have an additional Texas Seller Fee Tax deducted from earnings. It does not state the rate, so it is not included here.
Mercari fee calculator
Mercari takes 10% of the item price plus any buyer-paid shipping. On the $48 coat with the seller paying the $8.20 label, the fee is $4.80. The example cashes out with Instant Pay, $3 a cash-out, every 5 sales, which is $0.60 a sale; direct deposit has no fee. The payout is $42.60 and profit is $24.15.
Buyer Protection, 3.6% of item plus shipping, is charged to the buyer and does not come out of your payout. Here the buyer pays $49.73 before sales tax.
eBay vs Poshmark vs Mercari on the same item
| eBay | Poshmark | Mercari | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sale price | $48.00 | $48.00 | $48.00 |
| Shipping paid by the buyer to you | $9.50 | label paid by the buyer | none |
| Platform fees | $11.84 | $9.60 | $5.40 |
| Net payout | $45.66 | $38.40 | $42.60 |
| Shipping label you pay | $9.10 | none | $8.20 |
| Packaging and the coat | $10.25 | $10.25 | $10.25 |
| Profit | $26.31 | $28.15 | $24.15 |
Mercari’s fees are $4.20 less than Poshmark’s on this coat, yet Mercari comes last, $4.00 behind Poshmark, because the seller pays the label there. Move the shipping to the buyer on Mercari and the fee rises to $5.62, since it is charged on buyer-paid shipping too, but profit becomes $31.53, the best of the three. The fee rate is only half the comparison: who pays the label is the other half. The Amazon FBA fees post works through a marketplace where the platform ships.
What to list at for a target profit
Working backward from a $20 profit on the $9 coat, with the same shipping arrangements:
| Platform | Break-even price for $20 profit |
|---|---|
| eBay, plus $9.50 shipping, 5% ad | $40.13 |
| Poshmark, buyer pays the label | $37.81 |
| Mercari, you pay the label | $43.39 |
Each figure is the exact break-even before you round it up to a listing price. Dividing by one minus the fee rate, not multiplying by one plus it, is what makes these come out right; the markup vs margin chart shows why.
The insight: an offer costs less than its discount
On Poshmark the fee is a share of the price, so it falls when the price does. Accepting a $40 offer on the $48 coat looks like $8 off, but the fee falls too, so the cut costs you $6.40. Add a $2 shipping discount and the offer costs $8.40, leaving $19.75 profit, just under a $20 target. With the same shipping discount, the break-even offer for the target is $40.31. Price offers against your profit, not against the list price.
How these were calculated
Fees use the US rates from each platform’s own page as read on October 19, 2026: eBay’s general category row (fees above $7,500 an item are not modeled) with the per-order fee and the ad rate charged on the total including shipping and sales tax; Poshmark’s flat fee under $15 and percentage at or above it, on the sale price; Mercari’s selling fee on item plus buyer-paid shipping, with the Instant Pay fee spread over the sales in one cash-out. Profit is the payout less the label you pay, packaging and the item’s cost. Every figure was computed twice, once by the code behind the product below and once by an independent implementation written from the published rates, and the two agree to the cent; the build also refuses to run if the product’s fee constants stop matching the ones quoted here. Sale prices, shipping, tax and ad rates are illustrative, not what any item sells for. This is not financial, legal or tax advice.
To run this on your own items, labels and offers, the pack below has the three platforms side by side, plus a highest-price-to-pay sheet for sourcing and a monthly sell-through tracker.