Fees for eBay, Vinted and Depop explained and how much it costs to sell things online

Have you thought about selling items online on platforms like eBay, Vinted, and Depop and how much the fees are?

With online selling of second-hand items growing as a go-to side hustle, some may wonder which is the best online sales platform to use. With several second-hand "marketplace" apps and websites available for flogging your unwanted stuff, platforms like eBay, Vinted, Depop, and Facebook Marketplace claim the spotlight.

Being businesses themselves, these platforms often pack additional fees for sellers or buyers. To enable people to make their choice wisely, we have assembled a comprehensive guide enlisting all the fees that these sites impose, and the sorts of items you can peddle on each site.

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Remember though, if your online sales activities regularly rake in profits, tax obligations might creep up on you if earnings cross £1,000 in a tax year, reports the Mirror.

eBay

The standard seller fee for most items listed on eBay stands at 12.8% of the final sale amount, including postage. You're also faced with a deterred operating fee of 0.42%, plus a fixed charge of 30p per order.

If the sale price of a single item surpasses the £5,000 mark, brace yourself for an additional 3% tax for the portion above this threshold. In a recent update, listing of second-hand clothing items on eBay now comes without a fee - guaranteeing you freedom from these charges when offloading clothing. There are also no listing charges for your first 1,000 listings each month.

If you're looking to monetise your eBay account, various listing enhancements are available for purchase. A "reserve price" can be assigned to your product, which symbolises the lowest price at which your item should sell.

If bids do not meet the reserve price, the product remains unsold. This costs 4% of the reserve price and the minimum you can set it at is £50 and the max is £150 - this is charged whether the item sells or not.

For an additional cost of £2, a "subtitle" may supplement your hoarding, offering buyers more detail about your entry. If you fancy boosting visual appeal, larger images can be appended to your listing for £2.50 (free for clothing items).

You can target multiple buyer groups by adding a second category or opting for a targeted duration of one or three days for a small sum of 35p.

eBay accommodates a gamut of products spanning electronics, video games, footwear, attires, furniture, playthings, literature, loose Lego, board games, and sports equipment. Nonetheless, collectables like rare coins, wrist watches, and vintage toys frequently grace the platform.

Vinted

Vinted operates slightly differently; it levies no charges on sellers. Instead, purchasers bear a "protection fee" that shelters them in scenarios where the delivered item is damaged, differs from the description, or fails to show up; thus permitting a refund claim.

The precise fee hinges on the purchase price; any order below £500 attracts a fee ranging from 3p to 8p plus 3% to 8% of the procurement price exclusive of postage costs. Orders costing above £500 amass a fixed buyer fee of 3% of the total price, inclusive of any VAT.

You can also utilise the "Item Bump" feature which ensures your listed item is displayed prominently in the news feed and potential buyers' search results. Bumps last for either three or seven consecutive days, with the cost dependent on your chosen price for your listing and the duration of the 'Bump'.

There's the option of the "Wardrobe Spotlight" feature that promotes all the items you have up for sale for an entire week at the price of £6.96. Sellers can avail of the "Collections" feature as well, letting them craft personalised collections of up to 10 items from their listings along with a specific title.

This gets pinned at the top of the seller's account and also appears as a secluded section in followers' 'Newsfeeds'. The Collections fee varies between £8.95, £10.95 or £12.95 based on the collection count chosen.

Vinted's main focus lies in selling clothing and soft furnishings yet site policy makes allowances for additional items to be sold:.

Depop

Recently, Depop did away with its 10% fee for sellers while launching a new "marketplace" fee. This is essentially a service charge of up to 5% off the item purchase price alongside a fixed amount not exceeding £1, levied on buyers.

A payment processing fee of 2.9% along with 30p remains, being calculated on the overall transaction inclusive of shipping costs.

Depop offers sellers the option to boost their listings, ensuring items appear "prominently" in search results on both Depop's website and app, complete with a "boosted" badge. For this service, sellers are charged 8% of the total transaction amount, which includes shipping costs, if the item sells within 28 days of boosting.

The fee applies even if you cancel the boost, provided the item is purchased after being viewed during the boost period. While Depop is popular for fashion and accessories, it also welcomes a variety of other items such as homeware, art, records, cameras, and face masks.

Facebook Marketplace, on the other hand, operates without any selling or buying fees, making it completely free to use. It's typically used for local sales of larger items like furniture, but it's also a platform where you can sell virtually anything, from vehicles to appliances.

The only time fees come into play is if you decide to set up a professional shop with checkout through Meta's Commerce Manager, which isn't necessary for casual selling on Facebook Marketplace.

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