Selling on Amazon vs eBay in 2026: Fees, Fulfillment and Which to Choose

Amazon vs eBay is usually the first big choice a new online seller makes, and most comparisons answer it with fee figures that changed years ago. That matters, because the two marketplaces work very differently once you look past the fee line.

This guide compares selling on Amazon and eBay in 2026 with the fees as they’re published today: what each one takes from the same sale, how fulfillment, payouts and returns work on each, and which kind of seller each one suits. If your products fit both, the last sections cover how to sell on both at once.

About the Author: Diana Walsh writes for the SellerSonar editorial team about Amazon selling models, fees, and account health. Every fee and rule in this comparison was checked against Amazon’s and eBay’s own help pages on October 26, 2026.

What Are Amazon and eBay?

Both marketplaces started in the mid-1990s. Amazon was founded in Seattle in 1994 by Jeff Bezos as an online bookstore. eBay launched in 1995 in California as an auction site and is still best known for auctions, though it sells at fixed prices too.

The main difference is who sells. Amazon is a retailer and a marketplace at the same time: it buys products from brands and sells them itself, and it lets independent sellers list next to it. According to Amazon’s selling stats, more than 60% of sales in the Amazon store come from independent sellers, and more than 75,000 of them passed $1 million in sales in 2025. Amazon has 23 seller marketplaces, from the US and Canada to Japan and Australia.

eBay doesn’t sell anything itself. It earns a share of what its sellers sell, plus advertising. According to eBay’s 2025 annual report, it had 135 million active buyers and 2.5 billion live listings at the end of 2025, and nearly $80 billion in gross merchandise volume that year, 51% of it outside the United States.

Selling on Amazon vs eBay: Key Differences

Fees get most of the attention, but the way each marketplace shows your products shapes your business more. Here are the differences that matter day to day.

Shared product pages vs your own listing

On Amazon, every product has one detail page. If you sell something that’s already in the catalog, you add your offer to the existing page instead of creating a new one. Every seller of that product competes for the Buy Box, the “Add to Cart” button that takes most of the sales. Amazon itself may be one of those sellers, as the retailer behind first-party listings, which is why some sellers see Amazon as their biggest competitor on a product.

That shared page has a downside. Other sellers can join your listing, including sellers offering counterfeits or a different product under your page, which is called listing hijacking. Our guide to removing an Amazon hijacker covers what to do when it happens.

On eBay, each listing belongs to the seller who created it: your photos, your title, your description and your price. Two sellers of the same phone have two separate listings. That gives you more control over how the item looks, but you also have to write and photograph every listing yourself.

Auctions vs fixed prices

Amazon sells at fixed prices only. eBay offers both fixed price (Buy It Now) and auctions. According to eBay’s auction help page, an auction can run for 1, 3, 5, 7 or 10 days, and you can add a Buy It Now price that stays visible until the first bid. Auctions are useful when you don’t know what something is worth, like a rare collectible or a vintage item.

New vs used

Amazon is built for new products, with used and refurbished goods limited to set conditions and, in some categories, to approved sellers. You can still sell used items on Amazon, but eBay is the natural home for used, vintage and one-of-a-kind items, because each listing describes the exact item you’re holding.

Amazon vs eBay Fees in 2026

Both marketplaces take a percentage of each sale. They differ in what else they charge and in what the percentage is calculated on.

Amazon seller fees

You choose between two selling plans. According to Amazon’s pricing page, the Individual plan costs $0.99 for each item sold, and the Professional plan costs $39.99 a month. The break-even point is about 40 sales a month: below that, Individual is cheaper. Professional adds bulk listing tools, reports and access to Sponsored Products ads, but the ads themselves are pay-per-click, not included.

On top of the plan, every sale pays a referral fee. According to the Selling on Amazon fee schedule, most categories pay 15%, with a $0.30 minimum per item. Some pay less, like 8% for Computers and Consumer Electronics, and some pay more, like 17% for clothing priced over $20. Books, music, DVDs and video games also pay a $1.80 closing fee per item.

The referral fee is calculated on the total sale price, including shipping and gift wrap, but excluding the sales tax Amazon collects. If you use FBA, you also pay a fulfillment fee per unit plus monthly storage. For the full list, see our breakdown of Amazon seller fees in 2026.

eBay seller fees

eBay charges two main fees: an insertion fee to list and a final value fee when the item sells. According to eBay’s selling fees page, you get 250 listings a month with no insertion fee, then pay $0.35 per listing, whether it sells or not.

According to the same page, the final value fee in most categories is 13.6% of the total sale up to $7,500 per item, plus 2.35% on anything above that. Each order also pays a per-order fee of $0.30 if the order is $10 or less, or $0.40 if it’s over $10. Some categories differ: Books, Movies and Music pay 15.3%, for example, and Coins and Paper Money pay 13.25%.

Here’s the part sellers miss. According to eBay’s fee page, the “total amount of the sale” includes the item price, handling, shipping and sales tax. So when a buyer pays sales tax, eBay’s percentage applies to that tax too, while Amazon’s doesn’t.

A few other eBay fees to know:

• eBay Store: optional. According to eBay’s store selling fees page, plans run from $7.95 a month (Starter) to $2,999.95 a month (Enterprise, billed yearly). Basic and higher plans lower the final value fee in many categories to 12.7%, up to $2,500 per item.
• International fee: 1.65% when the buyer is outside the US, unless the item ships through eBay International Shipping.
• Performance surcharge: if your account is rated Below Standard, eBay’s fee page says you pay an additional 6% on the final value fees the following month.
• Dispute fee: $20 for each payment dispute, such as a chargeback.

How Much Do Amazon and eBay Take From a $100 Sale?

Fee tables are hard to compare, so here’s the same $100 item sold both ways, with free shipping to a US buyer, using the rates in Amazon’s fee schedule and eBay’s fee page. On Amazon it sits in Home and Kitchen (15%); on eBay it’s in “most categories” (13.6%).

• Amazon, Professional plan, you ship it: $15.00 referral fee, so you keep $85.00. The $39.99 monthly fee is shared across all your sales.
• Amazon, Individual plan: $15.00 plus $0.99, so you keep $84.01.
• Amazon with FBA: for a 12 to 16 oz large standard item priced over $50, the 2026 FBA rate card lists $5.15 for the holiday peak (October 15, 2026 to January 14, 2027) and $4.86 for the rest of 2026. With Amazon’s 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge, that’s about $5.33 or $5.03. You keep about $79.67 at peak and $79.97 outside it, and Amazon has already delivered the item.
• eBay, no store, no sales tax: 13.6% is $13.60, plus the $0.40 per-order fee, so you keep $86.00.
• eBay, buyer pays 8% sales tax: eBay’s 13.6% applies to the $108 total, which is $14.69, plus $0.40. You keep $84.91 of your $100 price.
• eBay with a Basic store or higher: 12.7% plus $0.40 is $13.10, so you keep $86.90, minus the store fee.

So on a self-shipped item, the two are within a dollar or two of each other, and sales tax can flip which one is cheaper. FBA costs about $5 more per unit, but that buys picking, packing, delivery, returns and customer service, which you’d otherwise pay for in postage and time. The category matters more than the platform: a $100 item in Computers pays $8 on Amazon at the 8% rate, while $100 of clothing pays $17. To run your own numbers, try our free FBA calculator.

💡 Expert Tip: Don’t compare the headline percentages. Take one real product, with its real category, weight and shipping cost, and work out what you’d keep on each marketplace. A product that’s barely profitable on one can be clearly profitable on the other.

Fulfillment: FBA vs Shipping It Yourself

This is the biggest practical difference between the two.

Amazon gives you two options. With Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), you send stock to Amazon’s warehouses. According to Amazon’s FBA features and fees page, FBA fees cover storing your products, picking, packing, shipping and returning orders, and customer service. FBA products are also eligible for Prime delivery.

With Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM), you ship orders yourself, and you can still offer the Prime badge through Seller Fulfilled Prime if you meet its standards. Our FBA vs FBM comparison goes deeper.

eBay has no warehouse program like FBA: you store, pack and ship every order yourself or through a third-party logistics company. eBay does sell shipping labels, and for international orders it runs eBay International Shipping. You send the item to a domestic hub, and eBay handles the international leg and customs. It covers orders up to $2,500 including shipping and packages up to 44 lbs.

If you have a lot of small, fast-moving products, FBA saves the most time. If you sell a few items a week, shipping them yourself on either platform is usually cheaper.

Getting Paid: Payouts and Holds

Neither marketplace pays you the moment an item sells, and new sellers wait longest on both.

Amazon holds sales money until after delivery. According to Amazon’s payments based on delivery date policy, the standard reserve period is 7 days after the delivery date, called “DD+7”. Amazon’s own example: an item sold on January 1 and delivered on January 6 becomes available for payout from January 14. Amazon can extend that period based on your risk and performance, and it can hold extra money for open A-to-z Guarantee claims and chargebacks.

eBay lets you choose daily, weekly, every two weeks or monthly payouts. According to eBay’s getting paid page, sales usually show as available within 1 to 2 days of the buyer’s payment, and the bank takes another 1 to 3 business days. New sellers face holds, though. According to eBay’s payment holds page, a new private seller usually gets funds 2 days after delivery confirmation with an eBay label, 7 days with a third-party label, or 31 days after payment if there’s no tracking.

The practical lesson is the same on both: ship fast and always upload tracking. It’s the one thing that speeds up your money on either marketplace.

Returns and Buyer Protection

Both marketplaces protect buyers first, which is why many sellers feel exposed on both.

On Amazon, FBA orders are returned to Amazon, which handles the customer for you. For orders you ship yourself, you manage returns under Amazon’s return rules, and a buyer who isn’t satisfied can file an A-to-z Guarantee claim.

On eBay, you set your own return policy, including no returns for change-of-mind purchases, but the eBay Money Back Guarantee still covers items that don’t arrive or don’t match the listing. According to eBay’s return help page, the seller has 3 business days to respond to a return request before the buyer can ask eBay to step in. Items sent through eBay International Shipping automatically get a 30-day return policy.

Pros and Cons of Amazon and eBay

Amazon

Pros:

• A huge audience of buyers who come ready to buy new products.
• FBA takes storage, delivery, returns and customer service off your hands.
• Prime eligibility through FBA or Seller Fulfilled Prime.
• Selling to 23 marketplaces from one company, with tools for each.
• The referral fee isn’t charged on sales tax.

Cons:

• You compete for the Buy Box on shared pages, sometimes with Amazon itself.
• Strict rules on product condition, categories and account health.
• FBA adds fulfillment, storage and other fees that change every year.
• Less control over how your product page looks if other sellers or Amazon edit it.
• Money is held until at least 7 days after delivery.

eBay

Pros:

• 250 free listings a month and no monthly plan required.
• Auctions for items with an uncertain price.
• The natural place for used, vintage, collectible and one-off items.
• Your listing is yours: your photos, your description, your return policy.
• Flexible payout schedules, with daily payouts available.

Cons:

• No warehouse program: you pack and ship everything yourself.
• The final value fee applies to sales tax and shipping, not just the item price.
• New sellers face payment holds and selling limits.
• Every listing needs your own photos and description.
• Below Standard sellers pay a fee surcharge.

Amazon or eBay: Which Should You Choose?

Start with what you sell, not with the fees. The product decides which marketplace’s buyers are looking for it.

If you resell products you buy in stores or online, our guide to online vs retail arbitrage explains how sellers source them. And if you’re leaning toward Amazon but want to test cheaply first, here’s how to start selling on Amazon for free.

Selling on Both Amazon and eBay

Many sellers don’t choose. They list the same stock on both marketplaces and let whichever one sells first take the order. If you do that, three things keep it manageable:

• Keep one stock count. If a product sells on eBay, its quantity on Amazon has to drop too, or you’ll sell stock you no longer have. Most multichannel sellers use inventory software that syncs both.
• Price each channel for its own fees. A price that works on Amazon at 15% may not work on eBay once the fee applies to tax and shipping, or the other way round.
• Use FBA stock for eBay orders if it helps. According to Amazon’s FBA page, Multi-Channel Fulfillment lets Amazon fulfill orders “you sell on your own website and other channels” from your FBA inventory. Check that it fits eBay’s handling time and tracking rules before you rely on it.

One thing you can’t do is list an item on eBay and then buy it on Amazon to ship to your buyer. eBay’s drop shipping policy doesn’t allow buying from another retailer or marketplace that ships directly to your customer. Our guide to Amazon dropshipping covers what both marketplaces allow.

Keeping Watch on the Amazon Side

If you choose Amazon, or add it next to eBay, the shared product page is the risk you don’t have on eBay. Another seller can join your listing and undercut you, Amazon can win the Buy Box, a detail on your page can change, or your fees can go up. SellerSonar monitors Amazon only, and here’s what it watches there:

• Sellers on your listings: alerts when a new seller appears (a possible hijacker), a seller leaves or a seller’s price changes. Buy Box won and lost alerts, with the Buy Box Tracker, start on the Premium plan. All Buy Box and pricing alerts are off by default, so switch them on under Alerts, then Delivery Settings.
• Listing changes: title, image and other detail page changes, plus suppressed listing alerts with a dated snapshot of the page. SellerSonar can’t tell you why Amazon suppressed a listing; that reason is in Seller Central.
• FBA fee changes: alerts when the FBA fee for a product rises or falls, with the total change and percentage.
• Every Amazon marketplace: monitoring covers all 23, so you can watch a product before you expand into a new country.
• Check frequency: according to SellerSonar’s plans, every 4 hours on Pro, every 2 hours on Premium, and as often as every hour on Business and Enterprise.

Our Buy Box monitoring page shows how the tracker works, and our guide to winning the Buy Box covers the strategy.

Amazon vs eBay: The Verdict

For new products you can restock, Amazon brings more buyers and, through FBA, a way to grow without packing every order. For used, rare and one-off items, eBay is simpler, cheaper to start and built for exactly that kind of listing. On fees alone, per Amazon’s and eBay’s published rates, the two are closer than most sellers think: about $85 to $86 of a $100 sale if you ship it yourself.

Final Expert Recommendations: Pick the marketplace that matches your product first, then check the fee math on a real item, including sales tax, shipping and, on Amazon, FBA. If your stock sells on both, keep one inventory count and price each channel for its own fees. Whichever you choose, ship fast and upload tracking; it’s how you get paid sooner on both.

If you sell on Amazon, SellerSonar can watch your listings, the Buy Box and the other sellers for you. Try it free for 14 days, with 5 ASINs and 10 keywords and no credit card.