eBay.ca seller fees: what a Canadian seller actually keeps
eBay.ca charges a percentage of the total amount of the sale plus a per-order fee — and the fixed part steps up at CA$10. That step is why a price rise of one cent can cost you nine. Every rate below is eBay's own, in Canadian dollars, with both of eBay's published worked examples reproduced exactly.
Rates from eBay.ca's own Selling fees page. The final value fee is charged on the total amount of the sale — item price, handling, the shipping the buyer pays and the sales tax — and the per-order fee is CA$0.30 at CA$10.00 or less, CA$0.40 above it. All eBay fees are stated in Canadian dollars.
What eBay.ca charges, by category
| Category | Final value fee (per item) | Insertion |
|---|---|---|
| Most categories | 13.6% to CA$7,500, then 2.35% | 250 free/month, then CA$0.30 |
| Books & Magazines, Movies & TV, Music | 15.3% to CA$7,500, then 2.35% | same |
| Coins & Paper Money (except Bullion) | 13.25% to CA$7,500, then 2.35% | same |
| Bullion | 13.6% to CA$7,500, then 7% | same |
| Collectibles: comics, trading cards, CCG | 13.25% to CA$7,500, then 2.35% | same |
| Business & Industrial (heavy equipment, presses, food trucks) | 3% to CA$15,000, then 0.5% | CA$20 |
| Guitars & Basses | 6.7% to CA$7,500, then 2.35% | free |
| Athletic shoes, CA$150 or more | 8%, and no per-order fee | free at CA$150+ |
| Athletic shoes, under CA$150 | 13.6% to CA$7,500, then 2.35% | free |
| NFTs | 5% flat | — |
Plus, on every category: a per-order fee of CA$0.30 at a total amount of the sale up to CA$10.00 and CA$0.40 above it; an international fee of 0.4% for the United States and 1% elsewhere when eBay International Shipping is not used; and a 3% seller currency conversion charge if eBay converts the payout.
eBay's own worked example, reproduced
A Buy It Now smartphone at CA$400, free shipping, sold to a buyer in Ontario with 13% HST. eBay's own page does the arithmetic: the total amount of the sale is CA$452, the final value fee is 13.6% of CA$452 plus CA$0.40 = CA$61.87, plus a CA$0.30 insertion fee, so the total is CA$62.17 and the seller keeps CA$337.83 of the CA$400 price. Our model returns those four figures on the nose, and the second published example — a CA$9,500 trading card at 13.25% on the first CA$7,500 and 2.35% above, plus a CA$4.00 Bold upgrade, total fees CA$1,074.47, keeps CA$8,425.53 — to the cent as well.
Four findings the arithmetic produces
- The per-order fee is a cliff at CA$10, not a slope. At CA$10.00 the fixed fee is CA$0.30 and the seller keeps CA$8.34 — 16.6% of the price. At CA$10.01 the fixed fee is CA$0.40 and the seller keeps CA$8.25 — 17.6%. Raising the price by one cent costs nine cents. If you are pricing just above a round CA$10, price at CA$10.00 or jump far enough above to pay for the step.
- Athletic shoes have a CA$150 cliff worth CA$8.81. At CA$149.99 the fee is 13.6% plus CA$0.40 and the seller keeps CA$129.19. At CA$150.00 the rate drops to 8% with no per-order fee and the seller keeps CA$138.00. One cent of price is worth nearly nine dollars in the hand — the largest single arbitrage on the schedule.
- The international fee is missing from most fee guides. A Canadian buyer on a CA$45 item costs CA$7.32 in fees (16.3% of the price). A US buyer costs CA$7.52 and a buyer anywhere else CA$7.82, unless the item goes through eBay International Shipping, which waives it and brings the UK buyer back to CA$7.32. If you also take payouts in a currency you did not list in, eBay's 3% conversion charge is added on top.
- Insertion fees are charged on listings that never sell. The 250 free listings reset monthly; after that every listing is CA$0.30 per category, non-refundable if the item does not sell, and charged again on every relist and on the monthly renewal of a Good 'Til Cancelled listing. 300 listings with nothing sold costs CA$15.00; on a CA$45 sale a paid insertion moves the fee from CA$7.32 to CA$7.62.
The line most sellers get wrong
The fee is not charged on your item price. eBay charges it on the total amount of the sale, which includes the sales tax the buyer pays and the shipping they are charged. In the CA$400 example that is CA$52 of tax on which you pay the full 13.6%. Price an item at a round number with free shipping and the tax still lands in the fee base — which is why the effective rate on a CA$45 item is 16.3% of the price and not the 13.6% the category table suggests.
Related: the general eBay fee calculator, Etsy against eBay, Amazon and TikTok Shop on one product, what a return really costs per order, what a Canadian card rate takes per sale, or the price a target margin needs.
Margin Guard Pro reads your own sales export and returns the real margin per order — the fees, the shipping and the product cost separated — and holds 20,000 orders instead of 200.
Margin Guard Pro — US$17.40 with LAUNCH40 (list US$29)eBay, Etsy, Amazon and Walmart change their fee tables and categories without announcing it. I check and send one short email when something real changes. No sequence, no selling you something every Tuesday.
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