Fees and profit
Promoted Listings: what the ad rate takes from your profit
With eBay's general ads you pay only on a sale that came from the ad, but the rate is taken from the total with shipping and tax. The rule, its effect on profit in an example, and what to look at when you choose the rate.
Promoted Listings is the ad that puts your listing forward in eBay's search and on listing pages. With the general strategy you pay per sale, not per click: if a buyer clicks the ad and buys within 30 days, eBay takes the rate you chose. The rate may look small, yet it can take a large share of profit, because it's worked out on the total amount, not the item price.
The rule
- The rate is chosen between 2% and 100%.
- The fee is that share of the total sale amount: item price, shipping, taxes and any other applicable fees included.
- It's charged only on a sale within 30 days of a click on the ad.
- If a buyer clicks one of your promoted listings and buys another of your promoted listings, that sale counts too.
The rule is from eBay's developer documentation (Promoted Listings, read on 5 October 2026).
Example: a $50 sale
With example numbers: a $50 item, free shipping, a $30 cost, in most categories. eBay's final value fee is $6.80 and the per-order fee $0.40; $7.20 in all. Without an ad you keep $42.80 and your profit is $12.80.
- A 5% ad rate: an ad fee of $2.50, a profit of $10.30.
- A 10% ad rate: an ad fee of $5.00, a profit of $7.80.
In this example a 10% rate takes about two fifths of the profit. Because shipping and tax count in the total too, the more the buyer pays for shipping, the higher the ad fee.
Choosing the rate
- Know your profit without the ad first; the rate spends part of it.
- Start low on items with thin margins; according to eBay, a higher rate raises the chance the ad is shown.
- No fee is charged when the sale didn't come from the ad; eBay decides which sales did.
In SellerLibrary
The fee calculator takes an ad rate too: type it in and the ad fee shows on its own line and comes off what you keep. The example's numbers were worked out with the calculator's own code.
For all of eBay's selling fees, see the fees post.
Common questions
What is the Promoted Listings fee taken from?
The total sale amount: item price, shipping, taxes and any other applicable fees included.
Do I pay if the ad is clicked but nothing sells?
Not with the general strategy; the fee is charged only on a sale within 30 days of a click on the ad.
What is the lowest and the highest ad rate?
Between 2% and 100%.
Related posts
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- PolicieseBay seller levels: Top Rated, Above Standard, Below StandardOn the 20th of every month eBay puts a seller in one of three levels. Which measures count, what the thresholds are and what Top Rated Plus saves in fees, from eBay's own policy.
- Product researchAmazon to eBay: the price gap is a reference, not a supply chainThe price gap between Amazon and eBay shows what a product could earn on eBay. How to read it with the right product, the right price, and without breaking eBay's rules.