TCGplayer fees vs eBay are close for an ordinary U.S. trading card sale, but the bases differ. A Standard TCGplayer Marketplace seller pays 10.75% commission on the item and buyer-paid shipping, plus 2.5% of items, shipping and tax and $0.30 per transaction. eBay's no-Store trading-card schedule charges 13.25% on the total sale up to $7,500 per item, then 2.35% above that, plus an order charge. TCGplayer excludes buyer tax from its commission base; eBay generally includes it in its percentage base.
For a $100 card with free shipping and $8 buyer tax, the modeled Standard TCGplayer charges are $13.75; eBay without a Store is $14.71. That $0.96 difference is an estimate under the stated assumptions, not a universal winner. eBay Basic or higher Store subscriptions change the rate, and TCGplayer Pro, Sync and Direct accounts have other charges. This guide compares one domestic U.S.-dollar card order under current official policies reviewed October 6, 2026. It is a marketplace-choice guide, not a replacement for either platform's full fee schedule.
When are TCGplayer fees vs eBay lower?
Under the narrow Standard-versus-no-Store example, TCGplayer often charges less because its 10.75% commission does not include buyer tax. Below the commission cap, 10.75% plus the 2.5% transaction percentage gives 13.25% on item price and shipping, matching eBay's basic trading-card percentage before tax and fixed charges. eBay's percentage also applies to tax, and its fixed charge rises from $0.30 to $0.40 when the order exceeds $10.
That arithmetic does not settle where you should sell. A higher achievable sale price, a different shipping cost or an account-specific fee can outweigh a small baseline saving. An eBay Store can reduce the card-category rate, but the subscription still costs money. TCGplayer Pro adds a separate Pro fee despite its lower commission. Compare realistic offers for the same card and condition, with the same seller costs, rather than treating list prices as guaranteed revenue.
What does each platform charge a Standard card seller?
TCGplayer's Marketplace Seller, Level 1–4, row lists 10.75% commission and 2.5% plus $0.30 for a domestic transaction. Its official calculation examples define subtotal as items plus shipping, while order total adds buyer sales tax. They calculate item commission and shipping commission separately. The $75 commission cap is per product and does not cap shipping commission. The transaction fee has its own larger base and is not limited by that item cap.
eBay's basic schedule explicitly lists Non-Sport Trading Cards, Sports Trading Cards and Collectible Card Games at 13.25% on the total sale up to $7,500 per item and 2.35% on the portion above that. Its final value fee includes payment processing, so do not add a generic PayPal processing charge. The fixed order fee is $0.30 at $10 or less and $0.40 above $10. These category rates exclude NFT categories and should not be replaced with eBay's most-categories 13.6% rate.
- TCGplayer Standard: capped item commission plus uncapped shipping commission, transaction percentage and one fixed transaction charge.
- eBay no Store: the published card-category percentage on the total sale plus one fixed order charge.
- Seller revenue in these examples: item price plus buyer shipping; collected buyer sales tax is not seller revenue.
How do shipping and sales tax change the fee base?
Both platforms generally charge their card-sale percentages on buyer-paid shipping, but tax is treated differently. TCGplayer includes buyer tax in the 2.5% domestic transaction calculation, not the Standard commission. eBay's stated total amount of the sale includes item price, handling, buyer shipping, sales tax and other applicable fees. eBay publishes shipping exceptions, including some expedited, international and eBay International Shipping arrangements. Check the relevant rule rather than applying every shipping exception to every order.
Keep buyer shipping and actual postage in separate columns. A buyer's $5 shipping payment raises seller revenue and usually the fee base; a $6 label is a seller expense that reduces profit. Free shipping sets buyer shipping to zero but does not make the label free. Packing materials and insurance can add costs too. Tax paid by the buyer can raise platform fees without becoming money the seller keeps, which is why a buyer's checkout total is not a useful substitute for seller revenue.
Worked example: a $10 card with no shipping or tax
Assume one $10 card, no buyer shipping or tax, a domestic Standard TCGplayer Marketplace account and an eBay no-Store card-category listing. TCGplayer item commission is $1.075, rounded to $1.08 using its published nearest-even rule. Its transaction percentage is $0.25 and the fixed charge is $0.30. Total modeled charges are $1.63, leaving $8.37 before inventory and fulfillment costs.
eBay's percentage calculation is $10 times 13.25%, or $1.325. Using nearest-cent half-up rounding as the comparison assumption gives $1.33. The order is $10 or less, so adding $0.30 produces the same $1.63 total. eBay's cited policy does not specify every half-cent rounding edge; the statement could differ by a cent. If either sale has $4 of inventory and $1 of actual postage and packaging, illustrative profit is $3.37. The absence of buyer tax here is an arithmetic scenario, not a tax-exemption claim.
Worked example: a $100 card with $8 buyer tax
Assume one $100 card, no buyer-paid shipping, $8 buyer tax and the same domestic Standard/non-Store settings. TCGplayer commission is $10.75. The transaction base is $108; 2.5% gives $2.70, and the $0.30 fixed charge makes that component $3.00. Total modeled charges are $13.75. Revenue is $100, so pre-cost payout is $86.25.
eBay applies 13.25% to $108, producing $14.31. Add the $0.40 charge for an order over $10 to reach $14.71. Pre-cost payout is $85.29. If the card cost $50 and postage plus packaging cost $5 on either platform, modeled profit is $31.25 on TCGplayer and $30.29 on eBay. Neither number includes advertising, insertion charges, account adjustments or subscription allocation. The $0.96 baseline difference can disappear if the eBay buyer offers a meaningfully higher item price.
Worked example: a $1,000 card and the commission cap
Assume a single $1,000 item, no buyer shipping or tax, no advertising and no extra account charges. Standard TCGplayer's raw item commission would be $107.50, but the per-product cap limits it to $75. Its transaction percentage remains $25, plus $0.30. Total modeled fees are $100.30 and pre-cost payout is $899.70. There is no claim here that tax will actually be zero on a valuable card.
eBay without a Store remains below its $7,500 card-category tier boundary. Its percentage is $132.50, plus $0.40, for $132.90 in modeled fees and $867.10 pre-cost payout. The difference is $32.60 before seller costs. Buyer shipping would still create uncapped TCGplayer shipping commission and increase both transaction bases. A basket of several cards does not share one TCGplayer product cap: calculate each product separately and add the fixed transaction fee only once for the transaction.
Does an eBay Store change which option is cheaper?
Yes. eBay's Basic, Premium, Anchor and Enterprise Store schedule lists the relevant non-NFT trading-card categories at 12.35% up to $2,500 per item, then 2.35% on the portion above $2,500. Starter retains the 13.25% card rate and $7,500 boundary. The same order charge applies. For the $100 card plus $8 tax, a qualifying Basic-or-higher Store has a modeled $13.34 percentage charge plus $0.40, or $13.74. That is one cent below Standard TCGplayer in this example, before allocating the Store subscription.
Basic currently costs $27.95 per month with monthly renewal or $21.95 per month with yearly renewal; both are billed monthly under eBay's stated terms. Do not describe the yearly-renewal price as a cancellable month-to-month plan. Divide the appropriate subscription cost across realistic monthly sales when estimating profit. The lower transaction rate alone does not prove a Store pays for itself. Eligible no-Store listings have a published monthly zero-insertion-fee allowance; listing charges, optional upgrades and Store allowances should be checked separately.
What changes for TCGplayer Pro, Sync or Direct?
A Pro non-Direct Marketplace account pays 9.25% commission plus a separate 2.5% Pro fee on item and shipping, as well as the domestic transaction fee. The item portions of commission and Pro fees have separate $75 caps. A non-Direct Sync account has 9.25% commission, the transaction fee and a provider-determined Sync charge. The linked calculator supports these three non-Direct Marketplace tiers, but a zero default Sync charge is incomplete when the provider charges you.
Direct and Pro website orders use other schedules, so they are excluded from these comparisons and the linked tool. International orders and non-U.S. payout arrangements also have different terms. Use the appropriate official row and your own account statement rather than adding a guessed surcharge. TCGplayer explicitly specifies bankers rounding: exact half-cent ties go to the nearest even cent. Component-level rounding can make a one-cent difference, so an apparent tie is not a reason to ignore the actual transaction details.
How should you make the final listing decision?
Choose one card and write down the expected item price, buyer shipping, tax, account tier, inventory cost, label cost and packaging. Estimate TCGplayer's separate components, then compare eBay using the exact card category and Store schedule. The existing eBay calculator uses editable percentage assumptions; confirm whether its settings represent your category and high-value tier before relying on a single blended rate. For an order above a tier boundary, apply the official marginal schedule rather than one percentage to the entire total.
Payout is revenue minus modeled platform deductions. Profit also subtracts inventory and fulfillment, and should include relevant advertising, subscription allocation and other selling costs. Compare the amount you can realistically sell for, not just the fee on an identical hypothetical price. After a sale, reconcile the line items with the actual statement and update your costs for the next listing. Marketplace Math is independent of both platforms and does not guarantee a buyer, a sale price or a final payout.
Sources
- TCGplayer: current fee schedule and bankers rounding ↗
- TCGplayer: official fee calculation examples ↗
- eBay: official U.S. selling fees ↗
- eBay: official Store selling fees and subscription terms ↗
Frequently asked questions
Is TCGplayer always cheaper than eBay?
No. Standard TCGplayer can be cheaper than eBay without a Store, especially when buyer tax or the per-product commission cap matters. eBay Store rates, achievable item price, postage, advertising and account-specific costs can change the result.
Does TCGplayer charge fees on sales tax?
For domestic non-Direct Marketplace orders, buyer tax enters the 2.5% transaction-fee base, but not the stated Marketplace commission subtotal. eBay generally includes sales tax in its final value fee base.
Does an eBay card sale also need a PayPal fee?
Not under the cited eBay final value fee schedule. eBay says the final value fee includes payment processing. Separate optional or account-specific charges still need to be considered.
Is the TCGplayer $75 cap per order?
No. It caps the item commission per product. Shipping commission is uncapped, and the transaction percentage and fixed charge are separate. Pro item fees have a separate cap.
Can I compare a Direct order with this calculator?
No. The tool covers one domestic U.S. non-Direct Marketplace item under Standard, Pro or Sync assumptions. Direct, Pro website, international and multi-item orders require their own fee calculation.