Marketplace Fee Comparison: Where You Keep the Most
One sale, six platforms, one table. The fee difference is usually larger than the price difference.
Short answer
On the same $50 sale, the resale marketplaces compared here take very different amounts. Vinted charges sellers nothing; Depop about 4.2%; Mercari 10%; Whatnot roughly 11%; eBay US around 14%; and Poshmark a flat 20%. Across a $50 item that is a spread of roughly $10 per sale between the cheapest and the most expensive — before any consideration of which platform actually has a buyer for it.
Your numbers
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The same sale, six marketplaces
| Platform | Total fees | Effective fee rate | Net profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| eBay (US) | $7.20 | 14.4% | $21.30 |
| Poshmark | $10.00 | 20.0% | $18.50 |
| Mercari | $5.00 | 10.0% | $23.50 |
| Depop (US) | $2.10 | 4.2% | $26.40 |
| Vinted (US) | $0.00 | 0.0% | $28.50 |
| Whatnot (US) | $5.75 | 11.5% | $22.75 |
Fees are the second question, not the first
It is tempting to list wherever the fee is lowest. On a per-sale basis that is Vinted, and the table below shows it clearly. But a sale you do not make has a 0% fee and a 0% payout.
The right sequence is: which platform has buyers for this item, then what does each charge on that sale. Fees decide margin; audience decides whether there is a sale at all.
The category effect is bigger than the platform effect
eBay's rate card alone spans 6.7% to 15.3% depending on category. That is a wider spread than the gap between eBay and several other platforms.
Vinted and Depop, by contrast, charge sellers nothing or nearly nothing across the board — their fee structure does not vary with what you sell, only with whether you can reach a buyer.
How to read the table
The comparison holds the sale constant and varies only the platform. Shipping is entered as a cost you bear, so the table reflects a seller who pays for the label — adjust the inputs if the buyer pays.
The effective rate column is the number to compare, not the headline rate. It captures the fixed fees, the fee bases and the platform's quirks in one figure.
Rate table
| Most categories | 13.6% up to $7,500.00, then 2.35% |
|---|---|
| Books, movies & music | 15.3% up to $7,500.00, then 2.35% |
| Trading cards | 13.25% up to $7,500.00, then 2.35% |
| Jewelry & watches | 15% up to $1,000.00, 6.5% to $7,500.00, then 3% |
| Women's bags & handbags | 15% up to $2,000.00, then 9% |
| Athletic shoes $150+ (authenticated)per-order fee waived | 8% |
| Guitars & basses | 6.7% up to $7,500.00, then 2.35% |
| Motors parts & accessories | 13.6% up to $7,500.00, then 2.35% |
| Per-order fee | $0.30 on orders up to $10.00, $0.40 above |
| Promoted Listings (standard)charged only on sales attributed to the ad | your chosen ad rate, 2%–20% of the sale |
| International sale | about 1.65% of the total transaction |
| Currency conversiontypically 2–3% worse than mid-market, never shown as a fee | embedded in the exchange rate |
- Rates last verified
Formula
effective rate = total marketplace fees ÷ total the buyer paysWhat each term means
eBay US- 13.6% of the total the buyer pays plus $0.40, in a standard category
Poshmark- 20% of the item price on sales of $15 and above
Mercari- 10% of item price plus buyer-paid shipping
Depop- 0% commission plus 3.3% + $0.45 processing
Vinted- 0% — the buyer pays the fee instead
Whatnot- 8% of the item price plus 2.9% + $0.30 on the whole order
Assumptions
- US marketplaces, USD, identical sale inputs on every row.
- eBay is modelled with a store-free account in a standard category; Poshmark uses the 20% tier.
- Buyer-paid fees on Vinted and Mercari are shown for context and never deducted from the seller payout.
- Reach, audience size and sell-through rate are outside the scope of a fee table — and they usually matter more.
Worked examples
A $50 item with free shipping, seller pays a $6.50 label
- Buyer pays
- $50.00
- Total fees
- $7.20
- Effective rate
- 14.4%
- Net profit
- $21.30
Fee breakdown
- Final value fee · Most categories
13.60% × $50.00−$6.80 - Per-order fee
$0.40−$0.40
The widest gap is between Poshmark and Vinted: roughly $10 per sale, or about $400 on forty sales a month.
The same item at $15 — the Poshmark threshold
- Buyer pays
- $15.00
- Total fees
- $2.44
- Effective rate
- 16.3%
- Net profit
- $1.06
Fee breakdown
- Final value fee · Most categories
13.60% × $15.00−$2.04 - Per-order fee
$0.40−$0.40
At low prices the fixed components dominate. Vinted's zero-fee model and Poshmark's flat $2.95 behave very differently on identical sales.
Every figure above is computed from the rate schedule on this page for eBay (US), using the same engine as the calculator — not typed in by hand.
Common mistakes
Choosing a platform on fees alone
The cheapest platform is worth nothing without a buyer. Sell-through rate multiplies every fee calculation you make.
Comparing headline rates
Depop's 0% still carries processing, and eBay's 13.6% includes its regulatory fee. Only the effective rate on your actual sale is comparable.
Assuming you must pick one
Crosslisting the same item is normal. The comparison tells you which platforms justify the extra effort for that item, not that you must choose one.
Forgetting the shipping base differences
eBay and Mercari include shipping in the fee base; Poshmark does not. Identical prices therefore produce different fees.
Ignoring buyer-side fees
Vinted and Mercari add a protection fee at checkout. It does not reduce your payout, but it does raise the total the buyer sees against your price — which affects conversion.
Questions
- Which resale marketplace has the lowest seller fees?
- Vinted, at zero — no commission, no listing fee and no processing fee. Depop is next at roughly 4–5% effective for US sellers, then Mercari at 10%, Whatnot at about 11%, eBay US around 14% in a standard category, and Poshmark at 20% above $15.
- Does the cheapest platform always make more money?
- No. Fees only matter on sales that happen. A platform with a 20% fee and a buyer beats a platform with a 0% fee and no buyer every time.
- How much difference does the platform make on a $50 sale?
- Roughly $10 between the cheapest and most expensive of the six compared here, before the fixed fees and shipping bases shift the result.
- Should I sell on more than one platform?
- Crosslisting is common and usually sensible for higher-value items. The trade-off is admin time and the risk of selling the same item twice.
- Why is eBay's rate higher than most?
- eBay reaches a far larger and broader buyer base than the fashion and collectibles platforms, and its category rates reflect that reach. For branded and collectible goods the audience frequently justifies the fee.
- Do these rates apply outside the US?
- No. Each marketplace sets rates per market. eBay UK business sellers, for example, work from a different rate card with VAT added on top of fees.
Related calculators
These calculators apply published marketplace fee schedules. They are general information tools, not tax, legal, accounting or financial advice — check your own payout statement and speak to a qualified professional where it matters.
eBay (US) — 13.6% + $0.40. Rates last verified: . the marketplace's own fee page.