eBay and Mercari are both massive reselling marketplaces, but they cater to different seller profiles. eBay is the veteran with 132 million active buyers and a complex fee structure. Mercari is the mobile-first upstart with a simpler approach. Comparing their fees helps you decide where to list — or whether to list on both.
eBay Fee Breakdown
eBay's primary fee is the final value fee, which is 13.6% of the total sale (item + shipping) for most categories. On top of that, there's a $0.30-$0.40 per-order fee. Some categories like jewelry pay more (15.3%), while business and industrial items pay less (9.3%). eBay Store subscribers get reduced rates, but even the cheapest store plan ($4.95/month) only drops fees by about 0.5-1%.
Mercari Fee Breakdown
Mercari keeps it simple: 10% of the sale price plus buyer-paid shipping. That's it. No listing fees, no per-order fees, no payment processing surcharge. This straightforward structure makes profit calculation dead simple — multiply your sale price by 0.9, subtract your costs, and that's your profit.
Head-to-Head Comparison
On a $50 item with no buyer-paid shipping, eBay charges roughly $7.20 (14.4% effective rate) while Mercari charges $5.00 (10% flat). That's a $2.20 difference per sale. Multiply that across 100 sales per month and you're looking at $220 in additional fees on eBay.
However, eBay's advantages extend beyond fees. The platform offers auction-style listings, extensive seller protections, global shipping through eBay International Shipping, and a far larger buyer pool. Mercari's audience is primarily US-based and skews younger. For niche items, collectibles, and electronics, eBay's search traffic and established buyer trust often result in higher sale prices that more than offset the fee difference.
Shipping is another consideration. eBay integrates with all major carriers and offers commercial shipping rates through its label printing system. Mercari provides prepaid labels with integrated tracking. Both platforms charge fees on shipping when the buyer pays for it, so "free shipping" listings where you bake the cost into the item price can sometimes be strategic.
The ideal approach for many resellers is to use both. List items where eBay's audience creates price premiums (collectibles, electronics, parts) on eBay, and use Mercari for everyday items where the lower fee directly translates to higher profit.