eBay began charging buyer fees in the UK this year, following in the footsteps of Mercari, Poshmark, Etsy’s Depop, and collectibles site Delcampe. Aside from the unpopularity of buyer fees, the 75-pence fixed portion of eBay’s fees had a disproportionate impact on low-priced goods – just as sellers had warned eBay in January – and on July 17, eBay adjusted the fees.
Buyer fees apply to items purchased from private sellers and were explained when introduced in February as being part of eBay’s Buyer Protection plan – with the implication that buyers were paying fees to receive greater protection.
On Thursday, eBay UK General Manager Eve Williams announced, “Starting today, we’ve reduced the fixed portion of the Buyer Protection fee from £0.75 to just £0.10. You’ll notice the greatest impact on items priced £10 or less, which means your lower-priced items will now be even more appealing to buyers.”
Williams also wrote in the July 17th announcement that eBay would soon launch a new calculator for sellers “where you can enter a price and see the Buyer Protection fee in real-time, so you’ll know exactly what your buyers will pay. When making or reviewing offers, you’ll also be able to see the fee split out from the total item price.”
eBay CEO Jamie Iannone had announced on October 1, 2024, that he was planning to “introduce a buyer-facing fee in the UK in early 2025 alongside a set of buyer enhancements that provide additional value.” His statement was included in an announcement about eliminating selling fees for consumer sellers in the UK, placed in a paragraph on eBay’s “robust monetization roadmap” to ensure the free-selling would be good “for both customers and our business overall.”
eBay sent an email to sellers in early January announcing the new buyer fees, and sellers immediately pointed out that they would be harmful to sales of low-priced items, with one seller reacting on the eBay UK discussion boards, “If I sell something for £1 is it true that the seller is charged a 75p flat fee? That is so off putting as a buyer and seller.”
Another user in the thread (since NARU’d) wrote, “it’s a question of whether the buyers will accept it though 4% plus 75p makes say a £10 blue ray dvd £11.75. People will start buying from amazon or ali express where they can buy it for £10 or wait and buy it from Tesco, ASDA, Morrisons or Sainsbury with their shopping …no waiting and no fees.”
Information about the fee changes contained in last week’s announcement follows below, and it linked to the eBay UK help page on “Buyer Protection – information for sellers“:
“Since launching Buyer Protection earlier this year, we’ve been actively listening to your feedback on how we can enhance the programme to improve the experience for both our buyers and sellers. That’s why we’re making two key changes to better support your sales.
“Starting today, we’ve reduced the fixed portion of the Buyer Protection fee from £0.75 to just £0.10. You’ll notice the greatest impact on items priced £10 or less, which means your lower-priced items will now be even more appealing to buyers. To make pricing easier, we’ll soon be introducing a new live calculator, where you can enter a price and see the Buyer Protection fee in real-time, so you’ll know exactly what your buyers will pay. When making or reviewing offers, you’ll also be able to see the fee split out from the total item price.
“Buyer Protection helps maintain a safe marketplace. It covers secure transactions, 24/7 customer support, fraud detection, monitoring for unusual activity and taking action to keep you protected. Every purchase is backed by these protections, giving buyers the confidence to browse and shop.
“By lowering the flat fee, we’re making these benefits more accessible for lower-value items, helping you attract more buyers without compromising on trust.”
The buyer fees had been as follows (from February 4 through July 16, 2025):
- A flat fee of up to £0.75 per item, and
- 4% of the item price up to £300, and
- 2% of any portion of the item price from £300 to £4,000
- Any portion of the item price over £4,000 won’t incur any additional fee.
The new buyer fees as of July 17, 2025, are as follows:
- A flat fee of up to £0.10 per item, and
- 7% of the item price up to £20, and
- 4% of any portion of the item price from £20 to £300, and
- 2% of any portion of the item price from £300 to £4,000
- Any portion of the item price over £4,000 won’t incur any additional fee.