UK Marketplace Seller Fees Compared: eBay, Amazon, Etsy, MC999

eBay, Amazon and Etsy UK seller fees side by side, checked against each platform's own fee pages on 5 November 2026: listing fees, commission by category, per-order fees, subscriptions and payment processing, with a worked example for a shop taking 40 orders a month at £35.

Checked on 5 November 2026: eBay charges UK business sellers a final value fee by category (12.9% in Everything Else), plus 40p per order over £10 and a 0.35% regulatory operating fee. Amazon UK's Professional plan costs £25 a month excluding VAT, plus a referral fee by category (15% in Everything else). Etsy charges UK sellers $0.20 per listing, a 6.5% transaction fee, 4% + £0.20 payment processing and a 0.48% regulatory operating fee. MC999 takes no commission on sales and charges a monthly fee based on the scale of your business. For 40 orders a month at £35, platform fees come to £213.50 on eBay, £235.00 on Amazon and about £167.65 on Etsy, before VAT and advertising.

UK seller fees compared at a glance

eBay figures are for business sellers and Amazon figures for the Professional plan, all from the platforms' own fee pages.

Fee type	eBay UK (business)	Amazon UK (Professional)	Etsy UK	MC999
Listing or insertion fee	30p per listing without a Shop; a Basic Shop includes 250 free fixed price listings a month	None listed (a high-volume fee applies only above 2 million SKUs)	$0.20 per listing, charged again on renewal (listings last 4 months)	No per-listing fee stated
Commission or final value fee	By category, on the total including postage: 12.9% in Everything Else	By category, on the total including delivery: 15% in Everything else	6.5% of the order total, including postage	None
Fixed per-order fee	30p on orders of £10 or less, 40p on orders over £10	None; minimum referral fee £0.25 per item	£0.20, within payment processing	None
Monthly subscription	Optional Shop: £27, £77 or £437	£25 excluding VAT	None in the standard fees	Based on the scale of your business; free for 6 months for the first 300 approved UK Founding Sellers
Payment processing	Included in the final value fee	None listed separately	4% + £0.20 per order	Your own provider's fees
Other	Regulatory fee 0.35%; international fee 1.05% to 2.0%; £14 dispute fee	Refund administration fee; FBA and advertising optional	Regulatory fee 0.48%; Offsite Ads 15% or 12%	None stated

eBay's business fees and Amazon's plan fees are shown excluding VAT, and Etsy adds VAT to its fees where applicable. VAT registered sellers can reclaim VAT on business purchases through their VAT return, except on the Flat Rate Scheme (GOV.UK); for anyone else, VAT on fees is a cost.

Worked example: 40 orders a month at £35

A UK business takes 40 single-item orders a month at an average of £35 including postage, so £1,400 of sales. Assumptions: UK buyers only, each platform's catch-all category, 40 new listings in the month, no advertising, all fees before VAT.

eBay UK, business seller without a Shop

Final value fee: £1,400 × 12.9% = £180.60
Per-order fee: 40 × £0.40 = £16.00
Regulatory operating fee: £1,400 × 0.35% = £4.90
Listing fees: 40 × £0.30 = £12.00
Total: £213.50, or £5.34 per order (15.25% of sales)

With a Basic Shop the listings fall inside the free allowance: £27.00 + £180.60 + £16.00 + £4.90 = £228.50 (eBay fees for business sellers).

Amazon UK, Professional plan

Referral fees: £35 × 15% = £5.25 per order; 40 × £5.25 = £210.00
Subscription: £25.00
Total: £235.00, or £5.88 per order (16.8% of sales)

On the Individual plan: £210.00 + (40 × £0.75) = £240.00 (Amazon UK pricing).

Etsy, UK seller

Listing fees: 40 × $0.20 = $8.00, about £5.93 at the ECB reference rates for 4 November 2026 ($1 = £0.7407)
Transaction fee: £1,400 × 6.5% = £91.00
Payment processing: (£1,400 × 4%) + (40 × £0.20) = £56.00 + £8.00 = £64.00
Regulatory operating fee: £1,400 × 0.48% = £6.72
Total: about £167.65, or £4.19 per order (12.0% of sales)

Offsite Ads are extra: 15% of each attributed order (£5.25 on £35), or 12% (£4.20) once a shop has made $10,000 (about £7,407) in 365 days. This shop reaches that in its sixth month, after which Offsite Ads are compulsory (Etsy: Offsite Ads).

MC999

Commission: £0
Monthly fee: your plan fee, based on the scale of your business (no UK amount is published on the MC999 pages checked); £0 for 6 months for the first 300 approved UK Founding Sellers
Payment provider: your own, as MC999 does not process payments. Example: Stripe charges 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards, so (£1,400 × 1.5%) + (40 × £0.20) = £21.00 + £8.00 = £29.00
Total: your plan fee plus your payment provider's charges (£29.00 in the Stripe example)

Buyers from Shopify, BigCommerce or Shopline sellers pay on the seller's own website, and other sellers arrange payment with the buyer directly (MC999: how to sell). Web shop running costs are not counted here.

Category and VAT change these totals: jewellery pays 14.9% on eBay (up to £1,000 per item) and 20% on Amazon (up to £225), while laptops pay 6.9% and 7%.

What each fee means

Listing fee: charged per listing, whether or not the item sells.
Commission: called a final value fee on eBay, a referral fee on Amazon and a transaction fee on Etsy; each is a percentage of a total that includes postage.
Regulatory operating fee: a further percentage of each sale, 0.35% on eBay and 0.48% on Etsy (Etsy).
Payment processing: inside eBay's final value fee, separate on Etsy (Etsy), and charged by your own provider on MC999.
Subscription: a fixed monthly charge, however much you sell.

Category rates: where the differences are largest

eBay and Amazon set commission by category; Etsy's 6.5% is the same everywhere. eBay rates are before the per-order and regulatory fees.

Category	eBay UK business final value fee	Amazon UK referral fee
Catch-all	Everything Else: 12.9%	Everything else: 15%
Vehicle parts	Vehicle Parts & Accessories: 9.5% up to £750 per item, 3% above	Automotive and Powersports: 15% up to £45, 9% above
Jewellery	Jewellery & Watches: 14.9% up to £1,000 per item, 4% above	Jewellery: 20% up to £225, 5% above
Computers	Computers, Tablets & Networking: 9.9%; laptops, desktops and tablets 6.9% up to £1,000 per item, 3% above	Computers: 7%; Electronic Accessories: 15% up to £100, 8% above
Pet supplies	Pet Supplies: 12.9%	Pet Supplies: 15%; Pet Clothing and Food: 5% for items up to £10, 15% above
Clothing	Clothes, Shoes & Accessories: 11.9%	Clothing and Accessories: 5% for items up to £15, 10% from £15 to £20, 15% above £20 (FBA differs above £40)

A £1,200 laptop pays (£1,000 × 6.9%) + (£200 × 3%) = £75.00 on eBay before the per-order and regulatory fees, and £1,200 × 7% = £84.00 on Amazon. For clothing, see our guide to low-fee platforms for UK clothing sellers.

Fee changes with dates

eBay: from 1 December 2026, the seller currency conversion charge for UK-registered sellers rises from 2.5% to 2.75%. It applies when eBay converts your funds for items on other eBay sites.
Amazon: lower Clothing and Accessories bands took effect on 15 December 2025, lower bands for Home Products, Pet Clothing and Food and other categories on 5 January 2026, and a 1.5% surcharge on FBA fulfilment fees on 17 April 2026.
Etsy: the help pages checked show no dated changes.

Commission or a flat monthly fee: which suits which seller

Commission rises with every sale; a fixed fee does not. Break-even is the monthly fee divided by the fee it replaces per order or per listing.

Amazon: £25 ÷ £0.75 = 33.3, so from 34 items a month the Professional plan costs less than the Individual plan's per-item fee. Amazon suggests the Individual plan below 35 items a month.
eBay: £27 ÷ £0.30 = 90, so above 90 new fixed price listings a month a Basic Shop costs less on listing fees alone.
At 80 orders, sale-based fees double: eBay from £201.50 to £403.00, Amazon referral fees from £210.00 to £420.00, Etsy from £161.72 to £323.44. Subscriptions stay fixed.

Commission suits few or irregular sales, because a quiet month costs little; a flat fee suits steady volume with enough margin to carry a slow month. Also compare what each platform provides, such as checkout, payment handling and buyer protection. For more options, see our round-up of sites like eBay for UK sellers.

Where MC999 fits

MC999 is a UK online marketplace that takes no commission on sales; sellers pay a monthly fee based on the scale of their business. Sellers with Shopify, BigCommerce or Shopline connect their store and buyers complete the purchase on the seller's own website, while sellers without a web shop list items manually and arrange payment with the buyer. The first 300 approved UK Founding Sellers get the monthly fee free for 6 months: see the MC999 Founding Seller page.

FAQ

Do UK marketplaces charge fees on postage?

Yes, all three do. eBay's final value fee is calculated on the total including postage, Amazon's referral fee covers the item price, delivery and any gift wrapping, and Etsy's 6.5% transaction fee applies to postage and gift wrap. At 12.9% on eBay, a £4 postage charge adds about 52p in fees.

Do private sellers pay fees on eBay UK?

UK-based private sellers pay no final value fee or regulatory operating fee, except on vehicles. They get 300 free listings a month, then pay 35p per listing, plus a 3% fee on overseas deliveries. Buyers pay a Buyer Protection fee instead: 10p per item plus 7% of the price up to £20, 4% from £20 to £300 and 2% from £300 to £4,000.

Should I choose Amazon's Individual or Professional plan?

Individual costs £0.75 per item sold and Professional £25 a month, both excluding VAT, with referral fees on either. From 34 items a month (£25 ÷ £0.75 = 33.3), Professional costs less in plan fees. Only Professional sellers can sell in restricted categories.

Can I opt out of Etsy Offsite Ads?

Only if your shop has never made $10,000 USD in any 365-day period; until then the fee is 15% on attributed orders. Once a shop reaches $10,000, it must take part for the lifetime of the shop, at 12%. The fee never exceeds $100 USD per order.