Short answer: eBay UK business fees have no single rate — they vary by category. In the worked example below (a 10.9% category at a £48 order total), eBay costs about £5.63 per order versus a Shopify store at £1.21 per order plus £25/month — cheaper on fees alone above 6 orders a month for that category. Your category's rate changes the answer, so check the table first.
| Categories (examples) | Final value fee |
|---|---|
| Many categories — Antiques, Art, Baby, Books, Clothing, Shoes & Accessories, Collectables, Crafts, Dolls & Bears, DVDs, Films & TV, eBay Motors parts | 10.9% |
| Business, Office & Industrial; Coins | 9.9% |
| Cameras & Photography; Mobile Phones & Communication | 8.9% |
| Clothing, Shoes & Accessories — over £400 | 7.9% |
| Collectables — over £400 | 5.9% |
The fee is calculated per item on the total amount of the sale (item price + postage + any applicable tax). Per-order fee on top: £0.30 if the total is £10.00 or less, £0.40 if more (reduced to 10p for orders up to £10 in certain circumstances). See the full table on the official page — do not use a single UK rate for a category you have not checked.
| Platform | Fee per order | Fees at 50 orders/month |
|---|---|---|
| eBay (10.9% category) | £5.63 | £281.60 |
| Shopify (Basic, monthly) | £1.21 + £25/mo | £85.50 |
eBay example = 10.9% of £48 (£5.23) + £0.40 per-order fee. Monthly Shopify figure = 50 × £1.21 + £25 subscription.
Online card rate 2% of £48 + 25p = £1.21 per order, plus the Basic plan at £25/month on monthly billing. At 50 orders that is £85.50 a month.
For a 10.9% category, the Shopify store wins on fees alone above 6 orders a month. For a lower-rate category the crossover moves later, and for a higher-rate category earlier — run your own category rate in the Platform Crossover tool. And remember: eBay brings its own buyers, while a Shopify store needs its own marketing — fees alone never decide the channel.
Fee-only comparison: it does not include discovery, traffic, refunds, apps, fulfilment, packaging, or taxes. Subscription is spread over the month's orders in the monthly figure. Confirm with your seller dashboard before pricing decisions.
Sources (official pages): Etsy fees, Etsy Payments, Etsy regulatory fee, eBay UK fees for business sellers (last updated 30 September 2026), Shopify UK pricing. Etsy/Shopify figures checked 4 Nov 2026; eBay UK figures checked 5 Nov 2026.
No. eBay UK business fees vary by category and by sale value above thresholds. Any page quoting a single UK eBay rate without naming the category is oversimplifying — use the official category table.
£0.30 if the total amount of the sale is £10.00 or less, £0.40 if more. The official page notes a reduced 10p fee for orders up to £10 in certain circumstances.
Discovery and traffic, refunds, apps, fulfilment, packaging, and taxes. This is a fee-only comparison, not a profit forecast.
Amazon referral fees vary by category and its Seller Central schedule is login-gated, so no Amazon figure could be verified from an official page. No Amazon numbers are shown rather than guessed ones.
These pages use one fixed scenario so the comparison is fair. Your prices and order volume change the answer — run them through the free tools: Breakeven Planner, Platform Crossover, Product Pricing & Profit. Every figure and its official source is on the Fee Index, and the method is on the Methodology page.