Key findings
- eBay nets the seller the least of every channel at every price. On a $1,000 card with $10 shipping the seller keeps $858.50, because the 13.25% final value fee is charged on the item, the shipping and the buyer's sales tax. That is $143.50 in fees, 14.35% of the card's price.
- A $27.95 a month eBay Store changes the math on big cards. It drops the fee cap from $7,500 to $2,500, so a $5,000 card nets $4,625.64 instead of $4,291.40, a $334.24 difference on one sale.
- TCGplayer caps its commission at $75 per product. Since February 10, 2026 the rate is 10.75% with a $75 ceiling, so a $5,000 Pokemon card pays the same commission as a $700 one and nets $4,791.62.
- Fanatics Collect auctions charge graded sellers nothing. The buyer pays a 20% premium on top of the hammer, and the seller's only cost is shipping the card in: $992.00 on a $1,000 hammer. Buy Now listings pay 6% when priced under 120% of Card Ladder value.
- Whatnot charges no commission above $1,500 on a single card. Since January 14, 2026, under a promotion Whatnot calls limited-time, the standard 8% applies to the first $1,500 of the price and 0% to the rest, so a $5,000 single nets $4,724.26. Breaks are excluded, and sellers with $15,000 or more in four-week sales pay less than 8% on the first $1,500. The 2.9% processing fee runs on the whole order with shipping and tax. A $1,000 card nets $888.38.
- The spread between the best and worst marketplace on a $1,000 card is $133.50: Fanatics Collect auction at $992.00 against eBay, no Store at $858.50.
- Taking payment yourself costs 1.9% to 3.3%. Venmo business profile is the cheapest published rate at 1.9% plus $0.10, netting $982.71 on $1,000. PayPal Goods and Services is 2.99% with no fixed fee since October 1, 2026.
- Facebook Marketplace checkout is now 10% with an $0.80 minimum under its May 26, 2026 terms, while two older Meta pages still print 5%.
- A card show table is the only channel with no per-sale fee. Published table prices for recurring shows run from $100 for an evening to $375 for a three-day show, spread across every sale that weekend.
What the seller keeps, by channel
Ranked by the $1,000 card. The buyer pays $10 shipping where shipping applies, the seller spends $8 on the mailer, no promoted listings, and marketplaces that collect sales tax are assumed to collect 7% on the item and charge their fees on it. Every fee line is in the dataset.
| Channel | Type | $50 card | $1,000 card | $5,000 card | Kept, $1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card show, cash | in person | $50.00 | $1,000.00 | $5,000.00 | 100% |
| Fanatics Collect auction | auction | $42.00 | $992.00 | $4,992.00 | 99.2% |
| Venmo business | payment | $50.76 | $982.71 | $4,906.71 | 98.27% |
| Cash App for Business | payment | $50.29 | $975.59 | $4,871.59 | 97.56% |
| Square, in person | payment | $48.55 | $973.85 | $4,869.85 | 97.39% |
| Stripe | payment | $49.96 | $972.41 | $4,856.41 | 97.24% |
| PayPal Goods and Services | payment | $50.21 | $971.80 | $4,852.20 | 97.18% |
| Square, online | payment | $49.72 | $968.37 | $4,836.37 | 96.84% |
| Fanatics Collect Buy Now | marketplace | $39.00 | $932.00 | $4,692.00 | 93.2% |
| Goldin Buy Now | consignment | $37.85 | $909.00 | $4,577.00 | 90.9% |
| Mercari | marketplace | $46.00 | $901.00 | $4,501.00 | 90.1% |
| TCGplayer | marketplace | $43.66 | $898.62 | $4,791.62 | 89.86% |
| Facebook Marketplace | marketplace | $45.65 | $894.00 | $4,466.00 | 89.4% |
| Whatnot | marketplace | $43.86 | $888.38 | $4,724.26 | 88.84% |
| eBay, Basic Store | marketplace | $43.76 | $868.22 | $4,625.64 | 86.82% |
| eBay, no Store | marketplace | $43.19 | $858.50 | $4,291.40 | 85.85% |
Every fee line, with its source
| Channel | Fee lines (October 2026; Whatnot rechecked November 13, 2026) |
|---|---|
| Card show, cash | No per-sale fee on a cash sale: on the only costs are the table, travel and any card processing (see Square in person) (source) |
| Fanatics Collect auction | Seller fee, Weekly and Premier Auctions, graded collectibles: on hammer price; 'There are no fees to sell graded collectibles in Weekly or Premier Auctions' (source) Buyer's premium (buyer pays): 20% on added to the hammer price on Weekly and Premier Auction sales (source) Premier Auction minimum to Fanatics Collect: $1,000.00 on a minimum of $1,000 of the price realized is paid to Fanatics Collect per Premier listing; Premier opening bid $1,000; Premier eligibility stated as $10,000 market value on one page and $25,000 on another (source) Weekly Auction opening bid: $5.00 on all Weekly Auction listings open at $5, no reserve (source) Shipping into the vault: $8.00 on seller ships to Fanatics Collect at own cost (assumed $8) (source) |
| Venmo business | Seller transaction fee, payment from another Venmo account: 1.9% + $0.10 on payment total; payments of $1.00 or more (source) Tap to Pay (in person): 2.29% + $0.10 on payment total (source) |
| Cash App for Business | Processing fee on payments received from a customer's Cash App: 2.6% + $0.15 on each payment received (source) Tap to Pay (in person): 3% on each in-person payment (source) |
| Square, in person | In-person tap, dip or swipe, Square Free plan: 2.6% + $0.15 on total amount of each transaction including tax and tip (source) In-person, Square Plus plan: 2.5% + $0.15 on per transaction (source) Manually keyed or card on file: 3.5% + $0.15 on per transaction (source) |
| Stripe | Online card payment, domestic cards: 2.9% + $0.30 on per successful transaction (source) In-person Terminal, domestic cards: 2.7% + $0.05 on per successful transaction (source) |
| PayPal Goods and Services | Send/Receive Money for Goods and Services: 2.99% on amount received, US domestic; the table shows no fixed fee for this row (source) Standard Credit and Debit Card Payments (if the buyer pays by card via checkout instead): 2.99% + $0.49 on amount received; fixed fee 0.49 USD (source) PayPal Checkout / Pay with Venmo / Guest Checkout: 3.49% + $0.49 on amount received; applies to a merchant checkout button, not a G&S send (source) |
| Square, online | Online or invoice payment, Square Free plan: 3.3% + $0.30 on per transaction (source) Online or invoice payment, Plus or Premium plan: 2.9% + $0.30 on per transaction (source) Online API: 2.9% + $0.30 on per transaction, all plans (source) |
| Fanatics Collect Buy Now | Buy Now seller fee, listing priced under 120% of Card Ladder market value: 6% on final sale price (source) Buy Now seller fee, listing priced at or above 120% of market value: 12% on final sale price; 12% figure appears in the help center article snippet only, not confirmed on a fetched page (source) FanCash payout option: on 0% marketplace seller fee when the seller chooses FanCash (store credit) at listing; cash payouts carry the standard fee; vault fees still apply (source) Vault intake, authenticated card valued $50 or more: on free; $3 one-time fee for items under $50 not auctioned or sold within 30 days (source) Vault fulfillment fee (withdraw to yourself): 1% on insured value; 3% if removed within 90 days of intake; plus standard shipping and insurance (source) Buyer checkout fee (buyer pays): 2.9% on may be applied at checkout depending on payment method and destination; not a seller fee (source) Shipping into the vault: $8.00 on seller ships the card to Fanatics Collect at own cost (assumed $8); buyer pays outbound shipping from the vault (source) |
| Goldin Buy Now | Marketplace fee, $2,499 and under: 8.3% on sale price; page shows '16.7% Now 8.3%' (seller receives 91.7%) (source) Marketplace fee, $2,500 to $4,999: 8.3% on sale price; page shows '12.5% Now 8.3%' (source) Marketplace fee, $5,000 to $9,999: 8.3% on sale price; page shows '10% Now 8.3%' (source) Marketplace fee, $10,000 to $249,999: 8.3% on sale price (source) Buyer's premium (buyer pays), Marketplace, Weekly and Elite auctions: 22% + $19.00 on final bid or sale price; $19 minimum (source) Auction seller commission: on 'Contact Sales' on the about page; not published (source) Weekly Auction low-value fee: $5.00 on any lot that hammers under $50 or receives no bid; lots over $50 pay no listing fee unless otherwise agreed (source) Shipping to Goldin: $8.00 on seller ships the card in at own cost (assumed $8) (source) |
| Mercari | Selling fee: 10% on item price + buyer-paid shipping, on listings created or updated on or after January 6, 2025 (source) Seller payment processing fee: on none under the January 6, 2025 structure; the old structure charged 2.9% + $0.50 (source) Buyer Protection fee (buyer pays): 3.6% on item price + buyer-paid shipping; charged to the buyer (source) Instant Pay cash-out (optional, excluded): $3.00 on per instant cash-out; ACH direct deposit free (source) |
| TCGplayer | Marketplace commission, Level 1-4: 10.75% on order subtotal (item + shipping); capped at $75 per product sold, shipping portion uncapped; raised from 10.25% on February 10, 2026 (source) Transaction fee: 2.5% + $0.30 on order total including shipping and tax; per order (source) Pro seller (non-Direct) commission: 9.25% on order subtotal; plus a 2.5% Pro fee, so 11.75% combined before the transaction fee; cap $75 per product applies (source) Commission cap raised from $50 to $75: $75.00 on per product sold; effective February 10, 2026 (source) International PayPal processing: 2% on capped at $20; not used in nets (source) |
| Facebook Marketplace | Marketplace selling fee (US): 10% on entire amount of the transaction including sale price, shipping fees and applicable taxes; minimum fee $0.80 (source) Chargeback fee: $20.00 on per chargeback; waived if the seller wins the dispute (source) Local pickup sale: on no selling fee when no Facebook checkout is used (source) |
| Whatnot | Commission, Sports and TCG, standard tier (under $15,000 in four-week sales): 8% on the first $1,500 of a single card's sale price, not shipping or tax (see the next line for the portion above $1,500); US tier schedule effective September 21, 2026, set by total sales in the previous four-week period: 8.00% under $15,000, 7.75% from $15,000, 7.50% from $35,000, 7.25% from $50,000, 7.00% from $100,000, 6.75% from $250,000, 6.50% at $500,000 and up; custom rates as low as 3% for the highest-volume sellers (source) 0% commission on the portion of the sale price above $1,500 (Reduced Commission on High-Value Orders, a limited-time promotion since January 14, 2026): on the portion of an individual order's sale price over $1,500 in Trading Card Games and the Sports Singles subcategories (also Comics & Anime, Toys & Hobbies, Coins & Money, Entertainment Cards, Bags & Accessories, Jewelry & Watches); sports breaks and Surprise Products are excluded; payment processing still applies to the full transaction; Whatnot calls it a limited-time promotion and reserves the right to modify, suspend or end it at any time (source) Payment processing: 2.9% + $0.30 on total order value paid by the buyer, including item price, buyer-paid shipping and taxes; per transaction; the same at every commission tier (source) Standard Whatnot Commission Fee (Seller Academy, older flat statement): 8% on confirms 8% and 2.9% + $0.30 on a Whatnot-owned page that WebFetch could open (source) Giveaway shipping: on seller pays the shipping on physical giveaway items, debited from the seller balance; no commission or processing fee on giveaways (source) Shipping: on buyers pay shipping by default at Whatnot's published rates (which include a Whatnot handling fee); Whatnot generates a prepaid tracked label; sellers may choose to cover part or all of shipping in a show (source) |
| eBay, Basic Store | Final value fee, trading cards, Basic/Premium/Anchor/Enterprise Store: 12.35% on total amount of the sale up to $2,500 per item (source) Final value fee on the portion above $2,500: 2.35% on portion of the per-item sale total over $2,500 (source) Per-order fee: $0.40 on every order; $0.30 if the order total is $10.00 or less (source) Basic Store subscription (not deducted): $27.95 on per month on monthly billing ($21.95/mo on yearly billing) (source) |
| eBay, no Store | Final value fee, Sports Trading Cards / Collectible Card Games / Non-Sport Trading Cards: 13.25% on total amount of the sale (item price + shipping charged + sales tax + handling) up to $7,500 per item (source) Final value fee on the portion above $7,500: 2.35% on portion of the per-item sale total over $7,500 (source) Per-order fee: $0.40 on every order; $0.30 if the order total is $10.00 or less (source) International fee (excluded from nets, domestic buyer assumed): 1.65% on total amount of the sale when the buyer's address is outside the US and eBay International Shipping is not used (source) Promoted Listings General ad fee (optional, excluded from nets): 2% on minimum selectable rate 2% (range 2% to 100%) of the total sale amount including item price, shipping, taxes and other fees; charged only if the item sells within 30 days of an ad click (source) eBay Standard Envelope postage (only for items $20 or less, so not used in these scenarios): $0.82 on 1 oz $0.82, 2 oz $1.11, 3 oz $1.40; max $20 selling price not including tax; no graded cards; max 24 raw cards; tracking included; protection up to $20 single item (source) Authenticity Guarantee (single cards $200 or more, raw or graded): on no seller fee: eBay covers the cost of authentication; seller pays shipping to the authentication partner (label auto-filled if using eBay labels); graders accepted PSA, SGC, CGC, CSG, BGS (source) eBay Vault (fee page no longer resolves; vault was sold to PSA in 2024): on eBay vault terms still live: eligible items $250 or more; fees referenced to a vault fee page that returns 404; not included in nets (source) |
Method and assumptions
Every rate comes from the platform's own help center, fee page, terms or dealer contract, opened in October 2026 and linked in the fee-line table. Whatnot's two help articles were read again on November 13, 2026. No third-party blog figures were used. Where a help page could not be opened, the rate was taken from the platform's indexed page text and cross-checked against a second page from the same platform, and the notes file says which ones.
- Three card prices: $50, $1,000 and $5,000. One item per order, US buyer and seller, domestic shipping.
- The buyer pays $10 shipping where the channel charges it. The seller spends $8 on a tracked bubble mailer. Whatnot shipping is pass-through: the buyer pays Whatnot's rate and Whatnot issues the label.
- Whatnot is modelled at the standard tier for a single card: 8% commission on the first $1,500 of the price and 0% above it. That is Whatnot's Reduced Commission on High-Value Orders promotion, in effect since January 14, 2026, which Whatnot calls limited-time. Breaks are excluded and pay the commission on the whole price. Sellers with $15,000 or more in four-week sales pay 7.75% down to 6.50% on the first $1,500.
- Marketplaces that collect sales tax and charge fees on it (eBay, Whatnot, TCGplayer, Facebook) are assumed to collect 7% on the item. Mercari's fee base excludes tax. Direct payment channels and the show table assume no marketplace-collected tax.
- No promoted listings, no international fees, no store subscription deducted (the eBay Store row notes the $27.95 monthly fee separately).
- Vault channels (Fanatics Collect, Goldin) use the $8 as the cost of shipping the card in; the buyer pays shipping out. Fanatics auctions assume the hammer price equals the sale price.
- Card show table prices are listed for named recurring shows but not deducted per card, since a table spreads across every sale that weekend.
What the net does not include: income tax on the profit, which the card sale tax calculator adds on top, and sales tax collected at a show table, which is the buyer's money passed to the state (see the Card Show Sales Tax Index).
CITE THIS
Free to quote and reuse with credit to Comped and a link to this page (CC BY 4.0). Suggested citation:
Comped. "What a $1,000 Card Sale Nets on Each Platform (October 2026)." https://www.comped.io/research/card-sale-fees-by-platform-2026. Checked November 13, 2026.
Related guides
- Card sale tax calculator: enter the net from this table and see the tax on the deal.
- The 1099-K for card sellers in 2026: the form reports the gross, you report the profit after these fees.
- The Card Vendor's Master Guide to Write-Offs: platform and payment fees are deductible the year you pay them.
- Cost basis for cards bought with cash or by trade: the other half of the profit math.
FAQ
Can I quote these numbers?
Yes. The findings, the tables and the graphics are free to quote and reuse with credit to Comped and a link to this page. The dataset is published under CC BY 4.0 as CSV and JSON, with the source page for every fee line.
Why does eBay charge its fee on sales tax?
eBay's fee page defines the total amount of the sale as the item price, handling, shipping collected from the buyer, sales tax and any other applicable fees. The final value fee applies to that total. It is the single biggest reason the eBay net is lower than sellers expect.
Is a card show really fee free?
Per sale, yes, if the buyer pays cash. The table costs money, which is why it is listed and not deducted per card, and a card reader at the table costs 2.6% plus 15 cents on Square's free plan. Sales tax collected at the table is not a fee; it is the state's money.
How often are these fees rechecked?
Every quarter, and whenever a platform announces a change. Three of the fee lines here changed in 2026 alone: TCGplayer's commission and cap in February, Facebook Marketplace's checkout fee in May, and Whatnot's commission tiers in September. Whatnot was rechecked on November 13, 2026. Its $5,000 figure was corrected from $4,444.26 to $4,724.26, because Whatnot has charged 0% commission on the part of a single card's price above $1,500 since January 14, 2026 and the first version of this table charged 8% on the whole price.
Which pages could not be opened directly?
TCGplayer's help center, Fanatics Collect's support articles, Cash App's help pages and Heritage's site blocked automated reading. Whatnot's public help pages block it too, so on November 13, 2026 its seller fees and high-value order articles were read through the help center's article API, which returns the same article text. The other rates were taken from the platform's own indexed page text and cross-checked against a second page from the same platform, as the notes file records. Heritage and PWCC have no computed net for that reason.
SOURCES
- The platform pages linked on every fee line in the table above, opened October 2026. Whatnot's pages were read again on November 13, 2026.
- The full fee dataset (JSON), the net-by-channel CSV and the research notes listing what was blocked and what is unconfirmed.
This is general information for card sellers, not tax or legal advice for your situation. Rules change and states differ; a CPA who knows your numbers wins every time.