September 2026 Fee Watch. UK eBay still runs two very different fee worlds on the same marketplace: private sellers on most non-motors domestic sales, and business sellers paying final value fee (FVF), order fees, and regulatory fees. Mixing those models up is the fastest way to under-price stock.
Private sellers: platform FVF is £0 on most domestic sales
Since October 2024, UK private (consumer) sellers typically pay £0 final value fee, £0 order fee, and £0 regulatory fee on ordinary non-motors domestic sales. Your cash cost is still product, postage, packaging, returns, and time. Buyers may see a separate Buyer Protection fee — that is charged to the buyer, not deducted from your seller proceeds like business FVF.
Private status is an account/compliance question, not a vibe. If eBay has you as a business seller (VAT, volume, trading style, or registration), the £0 line in any calculator does not apply to you.
Business sellers: FVF is the swing factor
Business sellers pay a category final value fee on item price + postage charged to the buyer, plus a fixed order fee (£0.30 at or under £10 sale total, £0.40 above), plus a small regulatory percentage. Rates are usually quoted excluding VAT; if you are VAT-registered you reclaim input VAT on fees — if you are not, the VAT on fees is a real cost.
What Profit’s clothes/general decision band uses about 11.9% FVF plus order and regulatory fees (reviewed against public eBay UK seller fee pages). Always confirm your live category band in Seller Hub before buying inventory.
Side-by-side example (£45 sold, £0 postage charged)
- Private: marketplace fees £0 → you keep £45 before product/postage cost.
- Business (ex-VAT fees): ~£5.36 FVF + £0.40 order + ~£0.16 regulatory ≈ £5.92 → about £39.08 before VAT on fees.
- Business (fees + 20% VAT): ≈ £7.10 in fees → about £37.90 kept before your costs.
On a £20 sale the order fee bites harder as a share of revenue. On a £200 sale the percentage FVF dominates. Re-run both before you commit to a sourcing trip.
What to re-check this week
- Account type in My eBay → Account → Personal information / seller account type.
- Category FVF for the SKUs you actually list (not a generic “eBay fees” blog number).
- Whether postage charged to the buyer is inside the FVF base (it usually is).
- VAT treatment of fees if you are VAT-registered.
- Promoted Listings or store subscription — those sit on top of FVF and are not in the base private-vs-business comparison.
Run the numbers in the free eBay UK fee calculator, or drop the embeddable widget on a reseller blog so readers can compare private £0 vs business FVF without leaving the article.