Marketplaces charge one bundled percentage that includes payment processing; your own site pays only the processor but has to bring its own buyers. Here is what each option takes from the same orders, at the published U.S. rates as of October 2026.
eBay charges a final value fee on the total amount of the sale, meaning the item, buyer-paid shipping and sales tax: 13.6% in most categories up to $7,500, 13.25% for trading cards and comics, 15.3% for books, movies and music, and 8% with no per-order fee for athletic shoes at $150 or more. A per-order fee of $0.40 ($0.30 on orders of $10 or less) applies on top. Payment processing is included. Because the fee also applies to the shipping the buyer pays, box size matters twice: UPS, FedEx and USPS bill large, light parcels by dimensional weight (see the dimensional weight calculator).
Etsy splits its charges: $0.20 per listing, a 6.5% transaction fee on the item, shipping and gift wrap, and for U.S. sellers 3% + $0.25 payment processing on the full order including tax. Offsite Ads add 15% (12% for shops with $10,000 or more in yearly sales) on orders they bring in, capped at $100.
Your own site pays only a processor. Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢ for online cards, Square’s free plan 3.3% + 30¢ online, and PayPal 3.49% + 49¢ for its Checkout button and Venmo.
Fees on four orders (item plus buyer-paid shipping, no sales tax), with the share of the order in brackets:
| Where you sell | $12 order | $30 order | $100 order | $400 order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| eBay, most categories (no Store) | $2.03 (16.9%) | $4.48 (14.9%) | $14.00 (14.0%) | $54.80 (13.7%) |
| Etsy, no Offsite Ad | $1.59 (13.2%) | $3.30 (11.0%) | $9.95 (9.9%) | $38.45 (9.6%) |
| Own site, Stripe online card | $0.65 (5.4%) | $1.17 (3.9%) | $3.20 (3.2%) | $11.90 (3.0%) |
| Own site, Square Free online | $0.70 (5.8%) | $1.29 (4.3%) | $3.60 (3.6%) | $13.50 (3.4%) |
| Own site, PayPal Checkout button | $0.91 (7.6%) | $1.54 (5.1%) | $3.98 (4.0%) | $14.45 (3.6%) |
On every order the marketplaces cost several times what a processor alone does. That gap is the price of their traffic: an eBay or Etsy listing is in front of buyers already searching, while a store on your own domain pays for its audience through ads, email or search work. The eBay row also explains why it is the most expensive on paper: its 13.6% covers what Etsy splits into transaction and processing fees, and its per-order fee is charged on top. Use the eBay fee calculator, the Etsy fee calculator and the payment processing fee calculator to run your own orders, costs and categories. Amazon is built differently again: a selling-plan fee ($0.99 per item sold, or $39.99 a month on the Professional plan) plus a referral fee by category, 15% of the total including shipping in many categories with a $0.30 minimum; the Amazon fee calculator runs those numbers.
Fixed fees decide the result on cheap items. On the $12 order, Etsy’s $0.45 of fixed fees and eBay’s $0.40 per-order fee push Etsy to 13.2% and eBay to 16.9% of the order, while Stripe takes 5.4%. Bundling small items into one order, setting a minimum order or raising the price slightly protects margin more than switching platforms.
On eBay, Promoted Listings add the ad rate you choose on the total sale when a promoted item sells: at 5%, the $30 order’s fees rise from $4.48 to $5.98. On Etsy, an order that arrives through an Offsite Ad adds 15%, taking the same $30 order from $3.30 to $7.80. Small Etsy shops can opt out of Offsite Ads; shops above $10,000 a year cannot.
eBay credits the final value fee on a full refund through its refund flow and proportionally on a partial refund, but the per-order fee is kept on partial refunds and on cancellations within the seller’s control, and a refund sent outside eBay earns no credit. Etsy returns transaction and processing fees when you refund through Shop Manager, while listing fees come back only if the sale is canceled.
Marketplaces and payment apps file Form 1099-K only when a seller’s payments for the year exceed $20,000 and 200 transactions, the threshold the IRS confirmed in October 2025 after the One, Big, Beautiful Bill restored it. Profit from selling is still reportable without a form, and the fees above are deductible business costs for a seller running a business. A tax preparer can confirm how your sales should be reported.
Rates are U.S. list prices for sellers without an eBay Store, Etsy Plus or negotiated processing. eBay Store subscribers pay lower rates (12.7% in most categories), Etsy charges different processing rates outside the U.S., and every option charges extra for international cards or buyers. Fees change often; each company’s fee page is the final word.
At U.S. list rates, Etsy usually takes less from the same order (about 9.5% plus $0.45 against eBay’s 13.6% plus $0.40 in most categories), unless the Etsy order came through an Offsite Ad.
No. eBay’s final value fee includes payment processing, so there is no separate card or PayPal fee on eBay sales.
Only the processor’s fee: 2.9% + 30¢ per online card payment on Stripe, 3.3% + 30¢ on Square’s free plan, and 3.49% + 49¢ for PayPal Checkout, at October 2026 U.S. rates.
Yes. eBay’s final value fee and Etsy’s transaction and processing fees all apply to the shipping the buyer pays.
Only if your payments from one platform exceed $20,000 and 200 transactions in the year. Income from selling is reportable either way.