Trading card selling fees in 2026

What eBay, TCGplayer and Whatnot actually take when you sell Pokemon cards, and what lands in your bank afterwards.

Updated September 2026

Most sellers estimate margin against market price. Market price is not what you receive. Between commission, payment processing, the per order fee and shipping, a meaningful share of every sale never reaches you, and the gap is wide enough to turn a flip you were pleased with into one that barely paid for itself.

Here is what each marketplace charges right now, and what it means on real numbers.

The rates, side by side

For a card seller on each marketplace's standard plan: an eBay account without a Store subscription, a TCGplayer Level 1 to 4 seller, and a Whatnot seller in the trading card categories.

Marketplace	Fee	Rate	Charged on
eBay	Final value fee	13.25%	Item + shipping + tax, per item; 2.35% on the part over $7,500
	Per-order fee	$0.30 / $0.40	Per order: $0.30 up to $10.00, $0.40 above (order total)
TCGplayer	Marketplace commission	10.75%	Item price, capped at $75 per item
	Commission on shipping	10.75%	Buyer-paid shipping, no cap
	Transaction fee	2.5%	Item + shipping + tax
	Transaction fee, fixed	$0.30	Per order
Whatnot	Commission	8%	Item price (Standard tier; 6.5% at the top tier)
	Payment processing	2.9%	Item + shipping + tax
	Payment processing, fixed	$0.30	Per order

Not counted: Whatnot's 0% commission on the part of an order over $1,500. It is not confirmed on the marketplace's own pages since its last fee change, so no figure here assumes it.

The detail that costs people the most

On eBay, the fee applies to the total the buyer pays, including shipping and sales tax. Not the item price. If a card sells for $200 with $5 shipping and $15 of sales tax, the fee is calculated on $220, not $200. At an average 7.5 percent sales tax that is worth about a full percentage point of your real margin, and it is the single most commonly missed cost when sellers do this arithmetic in their head. The per order fee also moves with the order total: $0.30 on an order of $10.00 or less, $0.40 on anything above.

TCGplayer changed in February 2026

TCGplayer moved to a 10.75% commission for Level 1 to 4 sellers on February 10, 2026, with a transaction fee of 2.5% plus $0.30 charged separately. The same 10.75% is also taken from the shipping the buyer pays. Any margin calculation built on the older rate is now understating fees. Commission on the card itself is capped at $75 per item, which starts to bind at about $697.67. From about $892.94 a single costs less to sell on TCGplayer than on eBay or on Whatnot at its Standard tier.

Whatnot moved to tiers in September 2026

On September 21, 2026 Whatnot replaced its flat commission with a volume tiered schedule. Card sellers pay 8% until their sales in Whatnot's four-week period reach $15,000, stepping down to 6.5% at $500,000 and above. The rate is locked for the period; reaching a tier lowers it for the next one. Commission is charged on the item price only. Payment processing of 2.9% plus $0.30 is charged on the item, shipping and tax, and does not change with the tier.

Tier	Four-week sales	Commission
Standard	$0–$14,999	8%
Tier 1	$15,000–$34,999	7.75%
Tier 2	$35,000–$49,999	7.5%
Tier 3	$50,000–$99,999	7.25%
Tier 4	$100,000–$249,999	7%
Tier 5	$250,000–$499,999	6.75%
Tier 6	$500,000+	6.5%

What you actually keep

Worked examples for one card per order, with no shipping and no sales tax so the comparison stays clean. Whatnot is shown at its Standard tier.

A $50 sale

Channel	Fees	You keep
eBay	$7.03	$42.97
TCGplayer	$6.93	$43.07
Whatnot	$5.75	$44.25

A $200 sale

Channel	Fees	You keep
eBay	$26.90	$173.10
TCGplayer	$26.80	$173.20
Whatnot	$22.10	$177.90

A $500 sale

Channel	Fees	You keep
eBay	$66.65	$433.35
TCGplayer	$66.55	$433.45
Whatnot	$54.80	$445.20

A $1,000 sale

Channel	Fees	You keep
eBay	$132.90	$867.10
TCGplayer	$100.30	$899.70
Whatnot	$109.30	$890.70

Why this matters for buying

A sealed box at $120 retail with a $160 market price looks like $40 of profit. After eBay fees on $160 you keep $138.40, so the real margin is $18.40 before shipping and before your time. That is the difference between a flip worth chasing and one that is not.

Lowball works from this same fee table. Choose your channel and the Trade Block shows every pile net of that channel's fees, before shipping and sales tax.

Open Lowball

Costs the headline rate leaves out

Shipping

eBay Standard Envelope runs about $1 for raw singles under $20 and is the cheapest realistic option for cards. Anything requiring tracking and a bubble mailer starts near $4 to $5. On a $20 card, shipping can cost more than the marketplace fee.

Promoted listings

Optional on eBay, but competitive categories effectively expect it. The ad rate is one you choose, and it is charged on top of the 13.25% final value fee: a seller running a 5 percent ad rate is paying 5 points more than the headline, and most people never fold that into their margin estimate.

Returns and chargebacks

Not a line item until it happens, and then it is the whole sale plus shipping both ways. Worth holding a small mental reserve against, particularly on higher value cards.

Which channel to use when

Sealed product generally does best on eBay, where the audience is largest, and its headline rate is close to TCGplayer's anyway.
High value singles favour TCGplayer from about $892.94, where its fee becomes the lowest of the three against Whatnot's Standard tier (a seller at Whatnot's top tier pays less than on TCGplayer up to about $1,087.07). The $75 commission cap that gets it there binds from $697.67. On a $1,000 single TCGplayer takes $100.30, Whatnot $109.30 at the Standard tier and eBay $132.90.
Volume and bulk suit Whatnot, where the rate is lowest and live selling moves quantity, if you are willing to be on camera.
Cash, in person carries no fee at all, which is exactly why dealer buy rates at shows look the way they do.

Common questions

What does eBay charge to sell trading cards?

13.25% of the total the buyer pays, including shipping and sales tax, plus a per order fee of $0.30 on orders of $10.00 or less and $0.40 above. The part of a single item's sale over $7,500 is charged 2.35%. Promoted listings, if you use them, add your chosen ad rate on top.

What are TCGplayer's seller fees?

For Level 1 to 4 sellers, a 10.75% commission on the item, capped at $75 per item, the same 10.75% on the shipping the buyer pays, and a transaction fee of 2.5% of the order plus $0.30.

What does Whatnot take from a sale?

A commission on the item price of 8% at the Standard tier, falling to 6.5% for the highest volume sellers, plus payment processing of 2.9% of the order plus $0.30.

Which marketplace is cheapest?

By headline rate, Whatnot. But TCGplayer's $75 commission cap makes it the cheapest of the three from about $892.94 against Whatnot's Standard tier (from about $1,087.07 against Whatnot's top tier): on a $1,000 card it takes $100.30 against $109.30 on Whatnot at the Standard tier. eBay usually returns more on sealed product because it reaches more buyers. Cheapest rate and highest net are not always the same channel.

Do these fees apply to sales tax?

On eBay, yes: the final value fee is charged on the total the buyer pays. TCGplayer's transaction fee and Whatnot's payment processing are also charged on the full order including tax; their commissions are not.

How do I calculate this quickly?

Lowball does it automatically. Choose your channel and the Trade Block shows every pile net of that channel's fees, worked out from the same table as this page.

Sources

Figures verified on September 29, 2026 against each marketplace's own pages: