How do I calculate my profit on an eBay sale?
Profit is what the buyer pays you, less eBay's fees, less your shipping label, less what the item cost you. On a $25.00 item with $5.00 shipping, an $8.00 item cost and a $4.50 label, eBay's fee is $4.48 and the profit is $13.02.
The formula
- What the buyer pays you: the item price plus the shipping they pay. (Sales tax is collected by eBay and passed on, so it is not yours.)
- Take off eBay's fees: the final value fee and per order fee, plus any ad fee, international fee and insertion fees.
- Take off your costs: what the item cost you and the shipping label you paid.
- What is left is your profit.
One worked sale
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Buyer pays you (item + shipping) | $30.00 |
| eBay final value fee (13.6% of $30.00 = $4.08) | $4.08 |
| eBay per order fee | $0.40 |
| Left after eBay's fees | $25.52 |
| What the item cost you | $8.00 |
| Your shipping label | $4.50 |
| Profit | $13.02 |
Margin and return on cost
- Margin is profit as a share of what the buyer paid you: $13.02 ÷ $30.00 = 43.4%.
- Return on cost is profit as a share of what the item cost you: $13.02 ÷ $8.00 = 162.8%.
They answer different questions: margin tells you how much of each sale you keep, return on cost tells you what your buying money earned.
What this leaves out
Packing supplies, your time, returns and refunds, and anything eBay charges outside the sale are not in the sum. Your eBay invoice is the final word.
Work out your own sale in the free fee and profit calculator. It uses the same math as this page.
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More answers
Sources
- Selling fees. Checked November 3, 2026.
An estimate for one item sold to one buyer, using eBay's published rates for US sellers on eBay.com. Your eBay invoice is the final word. eBay is a trademark of eBay Inc. Tyasi is an independent product, not affiliated with or endorsed by eBay. For US eBay sellers.