eBay Final Value Fees for Auctioned (sold) Items

What is a "Reserve" price, a "Private" auction, or "Dutch" auction?

At the end of an auction, you will be charged a Final Value Fee based on the final sale price (final value) of your item:

Regular and Reserve Auctions (when the reserve has been met) The final value is the closing bid. Remember, there is no Final Value Fee charged if the reserve is not met.

Dutch Auctions The final value is the lowest successful bid, multiplied by the quantity of items you sold.

Then here's how you calculate your Final Value Fee (if you sold real estate or vehicles, see below):

1.Take the first $25 of your final value, and calculate 5% of that. If your item sold for $25 or less, this is your Final Value Fee.

2.If your final value was more than $25, take the additional amount, from $25.01 to $1,000, and calculate 2.5% of that.

3.If your final value was more than $1,000, take that additional amount and calculate 1.25% of the remaining amount.

4.Add these amounts together and you have your Final Value Fee!

For Real Estate and Vehicles:
Because these items often have higher price tags, there's a different Final Value Fee structure to protect you against excessive Final Value Fees. These fees apply only when there is a successful high bid on the item:

Reserve Price

Setting a reserve price lets you start the bidding at a price lower than you would be willing to sell for. To use the Reserve Price option, set the real amount you are willing to accept for your item; this is your reserve price. Your reserve price is hidden from bidders, but your item's information will note whether the reserve price has been met yet. All Reserve Price Auctions are subject to a Reserve Price Auction fee that is refunded when you successfully complete your auction on eBay. Leave the reserve price blank if you don't want to use a reserve price.

Learn more about Reserve Prices. Note: reserve price auctions are not eligible for the Hot Items section or for Dutch Auctions.

Private Auction Details

The Private Auction option specifies that the identity and email addresses of bidders are not visible on your auction page. Only the seller and the high-bidder will be notified of the auction results Don't use this option unless you have a specific reason —for example, to avoid embarrassment for bidders. Note: this option cannot be used for Dutch Auctions.

Dutch Auction

This auction format is perfect for sellers with many identical items to sell. Sellers start by listing a minimum price, or starting bid, and the number of items for sale.

Bidders specify both a bid price and the quantity they want to buy.

All winning bidders pay the same price which is the lowest successful bid. This may be less than what you bid!

Here are some examples of how Dutch Auctions work: A seller has 10 pens for auction at $1 each. 25 people bid $1 for one pen each. In this case, only the earliest 10 bidders will win a pen since the bid amounts are the same and the earlier bids are accepted before the 15 later bids.

But, say one of those 25 bidders places a bid for higher than $1 — let's say, $2. Since this person's bid is higher than all the others, she will be guaranteed a pen. The other 9 pens will be won by the earliest bidders who bid $1. The final price for each pen will be $1 (even though someone placed a high bid of $2) since all winning bidders pay the same price — which is the lowest successful bid.

The majority of Dutch Auctions are simple: Most users win the items they bid on at the minimum asking price. Proxy bidding cannot be used in Dutch Auctions.