Amazon FBA vs eBay: which keeps more of a sale?
Amazon charges 15% and ships the parcel for you. eBay charges about 13.6% and leaves the post office to you. Which one wins depends almost entirely on how heavy your product is — and on a fee eBay added recently that most comparison articles still ignore.
The two fee structures are not comparable on percentage alone
Amazon's 15% referral fee is only half the bill. Fulfilment by Amazon adds a per-unit fee based on size and weight — $4.40 for a large-standard unit up to one pound in 2026 — plus a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge on that fulfilment fee. So on a $45 item you pay roughly 15% plus $4.55, whether or not the customer pays for shipping.
eBay's final value fee for most categories is 13.6% up to $7,500, then 2.35% on the portion above. On top of that sit a per-order fee of $0.30 on orders of $10 or less and $0.40 above it, and a 0.35% regulatory operating fee for business sellers. Payment processing is already inside the final value fee — there is no separate line.
| Platform | Fees | Fee rate | Net per sale | vs best |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon FBA | $11.30 | 25.1% | $15.70 | — |
| eBay | $6.68 | 14.8% | $14.32 | -$1.37 |
Worked at a $45.00 sale, $18.00 unit cost and $6.00 of shipping you pay, general merchandise. Change any of those and the order can flip — that is what the calculator above is for.
Where the answer flips
The crossover is the cost of posting the parcel yourself. FBA's $4.40 is fixed by size tier, so it stops scaling once you pass a pound. A commercial carrier does not: a three-pound box to a rural address can cost $11, and that lands entirely on you on eBay.
Run the numbers both ways. A phone case at $18 costs about $3.20 to post — eBay wins, because its 13.6% on $18 is $2.45 against Amazon's $2.70 plus $3.50 in fulfilment. A cast-iron pan at $65 costs $14 to post — Amazon wins by a wide margin, because FBA charges $6.50 for the same parcel and absorbs the dimensional weight risk.
What the percentages hide
Amazon's referral fee has a $0.30 minimum per item, which matters only below $2. eBay's per-order fee matters below $10, where it adds 3–4 percentage points of effective rate. Both are regressive: they punish cheap inventory and disappear on expensive inventory. If your catalogue is mostly under $15, neither platform is a good home for it — the fixed components eat the margin before the variable ones start.
There is also a difference in what you are buying. FBA includes customer service, returns processing and Prime badging, which lifts conversion in a way the fee table cannot show. eBay's lower total cost comes with you answering the messages, handling the INR claims and absorbing the carrier's mistakes. On a $45 item the fee gap here is about $1.40 — smaller than the conversion difference Prime usually creates.
Amazon vs eBay — FAQ
Is Amazon or eBay cheaper for sellers in 2026?
It depends on weight. Amazon costs about 15% plus a fixed fulfilment fee ($4.40 for a large-standard unit up to 1 lb, plus a 3.5% fuel surcharge), while eBay costs about 13.6% plus a $0.40 per-order fee, a 0.35% regulatory fee and whatever postage you pay. On light items eBay is usually cheaper; on anything above roughly two pounds Amazon's fixed fulfilment fee beats commercial postage.
Does eBay charge a final value fee on shipping?
Yes. eBay calculates the final value fee on the total amount the buyer pays, including shipping and handling charges. That is why a strategy of pricing the item at $1 and the shipping at $40 does not work — the fee follows the total, and eBay also charges the per-order fee on that total.
Why does Amazon charge a fuel surcharge on FBA?
Amazon introduced a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge on FBA fulfilment fees in April 2026 for US and Canada orders. It is calculated on the fulfilment fee, not the sale price, so it adds about 15 cents to a $4.40 fulfilment fee. It is small per unit but applies to every unit you ship.
Do private sellers pay eBay final value fees?
In most categories, occasional sellers listing personal items pay no final value fee. Once you buy to resell you are a business seller and the full schedule applies, including the 0.35% regulatory operating fee. This comparison uses business-seller rates because a store buying inventory is a business by eBay's definition.
Which platform is better for low-priced items?
Neither is comfortable below about $12. eBay's $0.40 per-order fee is 3.3% of a $12 sale, and Amazon's referral fee has a $0.30 floor. At $8, eBay's fixed components alone consume over 5% before the percentage fee applies. If your average order value is under $12, bundling or multi-packs matter more than platform choice.
Sources & last checked. Rates reflect Amazon's published 2026 US FBA schedule (15% referral for general merchandise, $4.40 fulfilment for a large-standard unit up to 1 lb, 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge) and eBay's 2026 US business-seller fees (13.6% final value fee to $7,500 then 2.35%, $0.30/$0.40 per-order fee, 0.35% regulatory operating fee). Last reviewed October 2026.
Amazon FBA Calculator →
Referral, fulfilment by size tier, fuel surcharge and storage.
eBay Fee Calculator →
Category rates, per-order fees and Promoted Listings.