SellersCalc

Fee comparison

Reverb vs eBay Fee Calculator

Two places to sell the same guitar, five and a half percentage points apart. Here is what that costs per sale.

Reverb payout = price − (5% selling + 3.19% processing + $0.49), about 8.19% + $0.49; eBay payout = price − (13.6% + $0.40). On a $500 amp Reverb pays you $458.56 and eBay pays $431.60, so Reverb keeps you $26.96 ahead; at $1,000 the gap widens to $54.01. The crossover is $5.67 — below it eBay actually wins, because Reverb charges a $0.50 minimum selling fee that swamps a cheap sale, and above it Reverb wins by roughly 5.4 points of the price. For anything a musician would ship, Reverb is the cheaper venue and it is not close. The real question is reach: eBay puts your listing in front of everyone, Reverb in front of people who came to buy gear, and a pedal that sells on Reverb at $120 beats one that sits unsold on eBay at $130. Reverb also caps its selling fee at $500, which only bites above a $10,000 sale. Note eBay's 13.6% is the most-categories rate and it rose from 13.25% — musical instruments largely match it, but change the field if your category differs. Single-platform detail sits in the Reverb fee calculator and the eBay fee calculator.

Reverb vs eBay Fee Calculator — your numbers

Payout gap (Reverb − eBay)

$26.96

Reverb payout

$458.56

eBay payout

$431.60

Crossover price

$5.67

Estimate only. Results reflect exactly the numbers you enter — verify against your own accounting before making pricing decisions.

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Fee defaults last reviewed 2026-08-15. Platforms change their fees — every rate above is editable, so enter your current numbers for an exact result.

Worked examples

A $500 amp on both

Total sale (item + shipping) $500.00
Reverb selling fee 5%
Reverb selling fee minimum $0.50
Reverb payment processing 3.19%
Reverb processing fixed fee $0.49
eBay final value fee 13.6%
eBay per-order fee $0.40
Payout gap (Reverb − eBay) $26.96
Reverb payout $458.56
eBay payout $431.60
Crossover price $5.67

Reverb $458.56 vs eBay $431.60: $26.96 more on Reverb.

A $5 patch cable

Total sale (item + shipping) $5.00
Reverb selling fee 5%
Reverb selling fee minimum $0.50
Reverb payment processing 3.19%
Reverb processing fixed fee $0.49
eBay final value fee 13.6%
eBay per-order fee $0.40
Payout gap (Reverb − eBay) -$0.07
Reverb payout $3.85
eBay payout $3.92
Crossover price $5.67

Reverb $3.85 vs eBay $3.92 — below $5.67 the $0.50 minimum flips it.

The Reverb vs eBay fee difference is unusual among marketplace pairs in having no meaningful crossover: most comparisons swap winners somewhere in the normal price range, but here one platform is simply cheaper everywhere a real sale happens. That makes the decision a demand question rather than a fee question. If you sell a category eBay dominates, its audience can be worth the 5.4 points; if you sell instruments, pedals or pro audio, Reverb is both cheaper and better targeted.

Shipping is where gear sellers usually lose the margin they just saved. Both platforms charge their percentage on the shipping you collect, so an under-priced label is taxed twice — once by the carrier and once by the marketplace. Work out the true per-unit figure with the shipping cost per unit calculator before setting a flat rate, and check the whole sale with the net profit calculator once item cost is in.

Frequently asked questions

Which is cheaper for selling gear, Reverb or eBay?

Reverb, at any price above about $5.67. Its combined selling and processing stack is roughly 8.19% plus $0.49 against eBay's 13.6% plus $0.40, so you keep about 5.4 percentage points more of every sale. On a $500 amp that is $26.96; on a $1,000 guitar it is $54.01.

Why does eBay win on very cheap items?

Reverb applies a $0.50 minimum selling fee. On a $5 cable, 5% would be $0.25, so the minimum doubles that portion of the fee and Reverb ends up costing more overall. The two are equal at $5.67, and above that Reverb pulls away.

Does the Reverb selling fee cap change the answer?

Only on very expensive sales. Reverb caps the selling fee at $500, which is reached at a $10,000 sale price. Above that the gap widens faster still, because eBay keeps charging 13.6% while Reverb's percentage stops growing. Below $10,000 the cap is irrelevant.

Can I get a lower processing rate on Reverb?

Yes. Reverb Preferred Sellers pay about 2.99% instead of 3.19% on payment processing. Change the processing field to model it — it moves a $500 sale by about $1.00, so it matters at volume rather than on any single sale.

Are these rates current?

They are the published 2026 defaults and every one is an editable field, because both platforms change them. Verify against Reverb's selling fees page and eBay's final value fee schedule before pricing at the margin. Treat the output as an estimate.

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Part of the Marketplace & Payment Fees collection.