eBay

Nine dimensions merchants should review before joining:

Merchant snapshot

A niche marketplace for used/refurbished/collectibles and auto parts, with low barriers and mid-range fees; best for long-tail and enthusiast-category sellers, not for new-standardized-product price wars.

Entry requirements

Both individuals and businesses can register, with low barriers: monthly free listing allowances (listings beyond that incur insertion fees, per the official rules); the US site uses Managed Payments, requiring a linked bank account for payouts; Chinese sellers can onboard cross-border (eBay international selling, supporting multiple country sites). Since 2021, buyer payments settle directly into the seller's account, with fees deducted from settlement.

Fee structure

Final value fees from 2025.2.14: 13.25% for most categories (2.35% on the portion over $7,500), or 13.6%/2.35% with a store; books/movies/music at 14.95%; NFTs at 5%; coins/gold bars as low as 4.5%–9% (official Seller Center January 2025 update). Advertising (Promoted Listings) is charged separately per click/sale. For specifics, refer to the official fee schedule.

Getting traffic

On-site search plus the used/collectibles community mindset (Authenticity Guarantee, Guaranteed Fit) brings precise long-tail traffic; Promoted Listings ads generated $1.5B+ in FY24 revenue, 2.3% of GMV; AI tools (Magical Listing, image search) lower listing costs; livestream shopping is in pilot. Flat US GMV (~$39.1B) reflects the ceiling of platform traffic, with growth supported by international and vertical categories.

Fulfilment & logistics

Seller self-fulfillment is the norm: eBay Labels (USPS/FedEx/UPS discounts) and eBay International Shipping, the official cross-border logistics service (eIS, including customs clearance and last mile); refurbished items and collectibles must follow platform packaging/authentication processes (e.g., sneaker/handbag/watch authentication). No owned fulfillment warehouses; delivery times are determined by seller SLAs.

Payments & settlement

Managed Payments (mandatory): eBay collects buyer payments and settles them to the seller's bank account, multi-currency (USD/EUR/GBP, etc.); settlement typically arrives within 1–2 days; final value fees, insertion fees, and ad costs are deducted directly from settlement.

Compliance

US 1099-K tax reporting (required once transaction-value thresholds are met); the INFORM Consumers Act requires seller identity verification; the EU GPSR (General Product Safety Regulation) has required safety-responsibility information for goods sold into Europe since Dec 2024; refurbished certification and authentication services must meet platform standards. US tariff policy raises the cost of cross-border used/refurbished items.

Key risks

1) Flat US GMV (~$39.1B, on par with 2022–23) and slightly declining buyers (132M→131M); 2) fee increases have sparked seller discontent (community posts: final value fees in some markets rose to 13.25%); 3) tariffs raise cross-border costs, squeezed from multiple sides by Amazon's used section, Temu's low prices, and Vinted (Europe); 4) a scale ceiling after "strategic contraction" (Marketplace Pulse commentary).

Best-fit sellers

Best for sellers of used/refurbished/collectibles (sports cards, watches, sneakers, handbags), auto parts, and enthusiast long-tail items; friendly to individual and small sellers with no inventory-pressure risk; multi-site coverage across North America, Europe, and Australia/NZ. Not suitable for sellers pushing volume with new standardized products or those needing Prime-level logistics and advertising scale.

Sources

1. ebay.com
2. ebayinc.com
3. community.ebay.com