eBay

Nine dimensions merchants should review before joining:

Merchant snapshot

Na di marketplace for second-hand/refurbished/collectibles an auto parts niche; barrier dey low, fees dey medium; e dey good for long-tail an enthusiast-category sellers, e no dey good for price war of new standard products.

Entry requirements

Individual an company fit register; barrier dey low: every month get free listing allowance (if you pass am, dem go charge listing fee, as e dey for official). US site dey use Managed Payments, you need to link bank account for collection. Chinese sellers fit enter as cross-border (eBay international sales, support many country sites). Since 2021, buyer payment go straight to seller account, and fees dey deduct from settlement.

Fee structure

Final value fee from 2025.2.14: most categories na 13.25% (part above $7,500 na 2.35%); with store na 13.6%/2.35%. Books/video/music category na 14.95%; NFT na 5%; coins/gold bars etc dey low to 4.5%–9% (official Seller Center 2025 January update). Advertising (Promoted Listings) dey charge extra by click/transaction. As e dey for di official fee table.

Getting traffic

On-site search + second-hand/collectibles community mindshare (Authenticity Guarantee, Guaranteed Fit) dey bring precise long-tail traffic. Promoted Listings ads FY24 revenue na $1.5B+, about 2.3% of GMV. AI tools (Magical Listing, image search) dey reduce listing cost; live shopping dey still for pilot. US GMV dey stagnant (~$39.1B) wey show di ceiling of di big traffic pool; growth dey supported by international an vertical categories.

Fulfilment & logistics

Mainly seller self-shipment: eBay Labels (USPS/FedEx/UPS discount), eBay International Shipping official cross-border logistics (eIS, include customs clearance an last mile). Refurbished items an collectibles must follow platform packaging/authenticity process (like sneaker/handbag/wristwatch authentication). No self-run fulfilment warehouse; delivery time dey depend on seller SLA.

Payments & settlement

Managed Payments (compulsory): buyer payment eBay go collect am first, then settle to seller bank account, multi-currency (US dollar/Euro/Pound etc); settlement usually reach account within 1–2 days. Final value fee, listing fee an advertising fee dey deduct from settlement directly.

Compliance

US 1099-K tax reporting (if you reach di transaction threshold, you must declare). INFORM Consumers Act require seller identity verification. EU GPSR (General Product Safety Regulation) from 2024.12 require safety-responsible-person information for products selling to Europe. Refurbished certification an authenticity service must follow platform standard. US tariff policy don increase di cost of cross-border second-hand/refurbished items.

Key risks

1) US GMV stagnant (~$39.1B, same as 2022-23) an buyers small drop (132M to 131M); 2) Fee increase dey make sellers vex (community post: some markets final value fee rise to 13.25%); 3) Tariff dey push cross-border cost up, Amazon second-hand section, Temu low price an Vinted (Europe) dey press from many sides; 4) After strategic shrink, scale get ceiling (MP comment).

Best-fit sellers

E dey good for second-hand/refurbished/collectibles sellers (sports cards, wristwatches, sneakers, handbags), auto parts an enthusiast long-tail sellers; individual an small sellers dey welcome, no pressure of holding stock. E cover North America + Europe + Australia/NZ multiple sites. E no dey good for sellers wey wan use new standard products to chase volume, or wey need Prime-level logistics an advertising scale.

Sources

research/sections/na_platforms.md; 各地区电商平台Top5深度研究报告.md 第2章; https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/resources/seller-updates/2025-january/final-value-fee; https://www.ebayinc.com/stories/news/ebay-inc-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2024-results/; https://community.ebay.com/forum/selling-57920/topic/ebay-raised-fees-to-1325-percent-143330/

eBay appear for di Top-5 lists of 2 regions: North America, Australia / NZ.

• North America（#4）：Strongest in C2C / collectibles / refurbished; pivoting to live shopping and AI
• Australia and New Zealand（#3）：C2C / secondhand / auto parts / collectibles

Every figure come from dat region Top-5 report and source audit. No cross-region conversion or new estimates: