In short: On a $60 card with free shipping, eBay takes $8.35 and TCGplayer takes $8.25, so the two are within a dime of each other. On a $4 card eBay takes $0.83, which is 20.75% of the sale, because the $0.30 order fee does not care what the card cost. A shop paying 60% of market hands over $36 on that $60 card and takes the packing, the postage and the returns with it.
| Venue | Fees | Share of price | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| eBay | $7.95 plus $0.40 | 13.9% | $47.16 |
| TCGplayer | $6.45 plus $1.80 | 13.8% | $47.26 |
| Local shop, cash today | $24.00 kept by the shop | 40.0% | $36.00 |
eBay charges 13.25% on the item price, the shipping the buyer pays and sales tax, plus a per-order fee of $0.30 under $10.00 and $0.40 above it. The TCGplayer row uses the marketplace seller, level 1 to 4 rates. Direct orders carry a separate per-card fee that this calculator does not model.
Put in what the buyer pays, not what you hope to keep
Sale price is the item price. Shipping is what the buyer is charged, which matters because eBay charges its percentage on that too. Sales tax is the buyer's tax, which eBay also includes in its fee base. Your own postage cost comes out at the end, after the fees.
The shop row is the one number you supply yourself: shops quote a percentage of market for singles, so ask for the percentage before you hand anything over. The default of 60% is an example, not a market rate.
The published cuts, checked 2026-09-19
eBay's final value fee in the trading card categories is 13.25% of the total amount of the sale up to $7,500 per item, plus 2.35% on the portion above that, plus a per-order fee of $0.30 on orders of $10.00 or less and $0.40 above. The fee base includes the item price, the shipping the buyer pays and sales tax.
TCGplayer's Marketplace seller at levels 1 to 4 pays a 10.75% commission on the order subtotal, capped at $75 per product, plus a transaction fee of 2.5% of the order total and $0.30. A Pro account pays 9.25% commission plus a 2.5% Pro fee, both capped the same way, plus the same transaction fee.
Sources: eBay selling fees, TCGplayer fees
| Venue | Fees | Share of the sale | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| eBay | 13.25% is $7.95, plus $0.40 | 13.9% | $51.65 |
| TCGplayer, level 1 to 4 | 10.75% is $6.45, plus 2.5% and $0.30 | 13.8% | $51.75 |
| TCGplayer Pro | 9.25% plus 2.5% Pro fee, plus 2.5% and $0.30 | 14.3% | $51.45 |
| Local shop at 60% of market | The shop keeps $24 | 40% | $36.00 |
The flat fee is what kills cheap singles
Sell a $4 card on eBay and the percentage is $0.53, but the order fee adds $0.30, so the sale gives up $0.83. That is 20.75% before a stamp. At $2 the same sale gives up $0.57, which is 28.5%.
This is the arithmetic behind the standard advice to list cheap cards in lots. One $40 order of ten cards pays one order fee; ten $4 orders pay ten.
Charging for postage does not dodge the fee
Charge the buyer $4.49 for postage on that $60 card and eBay's fee base becomes $64.49, so the fee rises from $7.95 to $8.54. Fifty-nine cents of the postage charge goes to eBay before you have bought the stamp.
Free shipping is not free either; it just moves the same postage into the price. The calculator handles both: put the postage in the buyer's column or in the price and compare the two lines.
What the shop's 40% is actually buying
The shop row looks brutal next to the marketplace rows until you count what sits inside the marketplace number. Listing the card, photographing it, describing the condition, packing it, walking to the post office, answering a message about whether it is real, and carrying the return if the buyer disagrees with your condition call. None of that appears in the fee.
Put a number on your own time and the gap closes fast. On a $60 card the difference is $15.65, and a listing that takes twenty minutes end to end has just paid you about $47 an hour. On a $6 card the difference is $1.57, and nobody works for that.
The other thing the shop buys is certainty. A marketplace sale is a price you hope for; the shop's offer is a price you can take today.
The price you type in is the number that decides everything
Fees are a fixed percentage of a number you have to get right first. Search sold listings rather than active ones, filter to the exact set, collector number, language and finish, then read the last ten sales and take the middle one. An asking price is a hope, and hopes are over-represented in the listings that have not sold.
Condition moves that number more than the venue does. The same card in Near Mint and in Lightly Played can be twenty percent apart, which dwarfs the dime between eBay and TCGplayer.
What this calculator leaves out
TCGplayer Direct charges a separate per-card fee on top of the commission, and international sellers pay a higher transaction fee, so neither is modelled here. Promoted listings, store subscriptions, currency conversion and refunds are also out of scope.
It also assumes the sale completes. A dispute on eBay costs $20 on its own, which is more than the fee on most single cards.
Price the card before you model the fee
The fee is the easy half. The hard half is knowing what the exact printing sells for, because two cards with the same name and art can be a set apart in price. CardLens matches the printing from a photo and shows the recent eBay sales behind its value range, so the number going into this calculator is one you can check. Free on the App Store, with an optional premium subscription.
Questions sellers ask about fees
The recurring ones are which venue is cheaper, whether shipping is taxed, and what a shop is really paying for.
Questions collectors ask
What percentage does eBay take on trading cards?
13.25% of the total amount of the sale up to $7,500 per item, plus 2.35% above that, plus a per-order fee of $0.30 on orders of $10.00 or less and $0.40 on larger ones. The percentage applies to shipping and sales tax as well as the item price.
What percentage does TCGplayer take?
A Marketplace seller at levels 1 to 4 pays 10.75% commission on the subtotal, capped at $75 per product, plus a transaction fee of 2.5% of the order total and $0.30. Pro and Direct accounts use different rates.
Is eBay or TCGplayer cheaper for selling cards?
On a $60 card with free shipping they are within a dime: $8.35 on eBay against $8.25 on TCGplayer at level 1 to 4. The difference that matters is audience, not fees, since TCGplayer buyers are already searching by card.
Why is the fee on a cheap card so high?
Because the per-order fee is flat. On a $4 sale the $0.30 order fee is 7.5% of the price on its own, which takes the total to 20.75%. Selling cheap cards in lots spreads that one fee across the whole order.
What is a fair percentage for a card shop to pay?
Shops quote a share of market value and the share varies by shop, by game and by how fast the card sells. Ask for the percentage first, then compare it against the net figure this calculator gives for selling it yourself.
Free on the App Store
Know what the card is worth before you list it.
CardLens matches the exact printing from a photo and shows the recent eBay sales behind its value range.