The headline fee (“13.6%”, “20%”, “8-45%”) is only the start. Here is how to work out what you actually keep.
The formula
Net profit = sale price - marketplace fees - item cost - shipping cost
Margin = net profit / sale price
Marketplace fees themselves break down as:
Marketplace fees = (selling % x price) + per-order fixed fee + payment processing
Why your effective fee beats the headline
On a $10 item with a “13.6% + $0.40” fee, you pay $1.36 + $0.40 = $1.76, or 17.6% - not 13.6%. The fixed fee is a bigger share of a small sale. On a $200 item the same fee is just 13.8%. This is why our rankings compute an effective fee on a $50 sale so every marketplace is comparable.
| Sale price | ”13.6% + $0.40” effective rate |
|---|---|
| $10 | 17.6% |
| $25 | 15.2% |
| $50 | 14.4% |
| $200 | 13.8% |
The costs the headline hides
- Fulfillment - Amazon FBA adds ~$3.18-$7+ per standard unit.
- Percentage on shipping/tax - eBay and Amazon charge their fee on shipping (and eBay on tax), inflating the rate.
- Ads - eBay Promoted Listings, Etsy Offsite Ads (12% above $10k/yr), TikTok Shop creator commissions.
- Subscriptions - Amazon Pro ($39.99/mo), Shopify ($29+/mo), eBay Stores.
- Returns, chargebacks, currency conversion - all reduce your real net.
Just use the calculator
Rather than do this by hand, drop your sale price, item cost and shipping into the profit calculator. Pick the marketplace (and Amazon category) and it shows fees, net payout and margin instantly. Then compare marketplaces on the all-marketplaces page.
Snapshot June 2026 - fees change; verify on each official fee page.