Marketplace Fees & Net Calculation

Why marketplace fees matter

The price you list at and the price you actually net are different numbers. Sports-card fees vary by platform, category, listing format, and shipping configuration. Vault Agent should always quote net (after fees) when comparing sell-through across platforms — gross prices mislead.

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eBay

eBay is the dominant secondary market for sports cards in the US. Fees stack from three sources:

• Final value fee (FVF) — eBay's commission on the total sale, including shipping. For Trading Cards (category 261328) the standard rate runs around 13-14% for non-store sellers and a bit lower for Store-tier sellers. Above $7,500 per item, the rate steps down on the portion above the threshold.
• Per-order fee — a small fixed amount (recently around $0.30) added to every order.
• Promoted Listings — optional ad rate the seller chooses; deducted from the gross at payout. Often 2-12% on top of FVF for visibility.
• International surcharges — extra ~1.5% on top of FVF for sales shipped outside the US.
• eBay Standard Envelope / Authenticity Guarantee — eBay's centralized programs may modify the fee structure for raw cards under $20 (Standard Envelope discount) and high-value graded cards ($500+ goes through Authenticity Guarantee).

Effective fee rate after stacking is usually 13-15% of the sale total for a typical card listing. Confirm current rates on eBay's seller fee page — the FVF schedule updates annually.

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Whatnot

Whatnot is live-stream / show-based; the seller hosts an auction or fixed-price show and buyers bid in real time.

• Final value fee — historically around 8% of the hammer price for Trading Cards categories, lower than eBay.
• Payment processing — bundled into the FVF rate.
• Shipping — buyer-paid on most US shipments; seller can offer a flat ship-per-item or combined-shipping cap. Whatnot's combined-shipping feature lets buyers stack purchases under one ship.

Whatnot's lower FVF is offset by show-production overhead (time on camera, audience build, give-away offers). For a high-velocity seller doing weekly breaks or pulls, Whatnot's net per item can beat eBay. For a one-off listing, eBay's discovery surface still wins.

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Mercari

Mercari is fixed-price-listing focused, popular for casual sellers.

• Selling fee — recently 10% of the sale price.
• Payment processing — around 2.9% + $0.50 per transaction.
• Shipping — Mercari offers prepaid label discounts; pricing similar to eBay's label tools.

Effective net rate is in the 12-13% range after stacking. Lower-effort listing than eBay but smaller audience for sports cards specifically.

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Fanatics Collect

Fanatics Collect (formerly PWCC's auction surface and adjacent products) is sports-card-native and targets the mid-to-high end of the market.

• Seller commission — varies by service tier: standard auction commissions sit around 5% of the hammer for marketplace sellers; consigned-auction commissions (premium service, professional cataloging) are typically 15-20%.
• Buyer's premium — buyers pay an additional 10-20% on top of hammer, which is separate from the seller commission.
• Shipping & handling — bundled into the seller's price.

Best fit for cards above $500 where Fanatics' high-end audience and cataloging premium are worth the higher commission. Below $200, the seller's net is often better on eBay.

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Break-even comparison framework

To compare nets cleanly:

1. Start with the gross sale price you can realistically hit on each platform (use comp data, not aspiration).
2. Subtract platform FVF + per-order fees + payment processing.
3. Subtract shipping if buyer doesn't cover.
4. If grading is involved, subtract the prorated grading cost.

A worked example for a raw card you expect to sell at $50:

• eBay — gross $50, FVF at 13.5% = $6.75, per-order fee = $0.30, label = $4 → net ≈ $39.
• Whatnot — gross $50 (if hit during a show), FVF at 8% = $4, label = $4 → net ≈ $42 but you spend an hour selling it on stream.
• Mercari — gross $48 (slight discount typical), 10% fee = $4.80, processing = $1.89, label = $4 → net ≈ $37.

For high-value cards (>$500), Fanatics Collect's audience can drive a higher gross even after the larger commission, particularly for graded cards. Below $200, eBay's net usually wins.

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Shipping defaults RocketVault assumes

When RocketVault calculates "fair value" or "net to seller," the default fee model is eBay at 13.5% + $0.30 per order + a flat shipping cost. You can override per-listing or per-account. When asking Vault Agent about net values, the answer assumes eBay fees unless you specify otherwise.