There are a few different costs involved with selling baseball cards on eBay. The main costs are eBay listing fees, payment processing fees, and shipping costs. Let’s break down each of these fees:
eBay Listing Fees: Whenever you create an eBay listing to sell an item like baseball cards, eBay charges an insertion fee. For trading cards and collectibles like baseball cards, the insertion fee is normally 35 cents per listing if the starting price is under $10. If the starting price is $10 or higher, the insertion fee is 50 cents per listing. In addition to the insertion fee, eBay also charges a final value fee on the total selling price of the item including shipping costs. For trading cards and collectibles, the final value fee is generally 10% of the total sales price. For example, if you sell a baseball card for $10 with $3 shipping, the total sale price is $13. eBay would charge you a 10% final value fee of $1.30 on that sale.
Payment Processing Fees: Whenever a buyer pays for an item on eBay using PayPal, eBay charges PayPal fees on the transaction. For domestic U.S. payments via PayPal, PayPal charges a fee of 2.9% of the total sale price plus a flat fee of 30 cents per transaction. For example, on a $13 transaction as mentioned above, PayPal would charge 2.9% of $13, which is about 38 cents, plus the 30 cent transaction fee, making the total PayPal fee 68 cents on that transaction. These PayPal fees apply to electronic payments from U.S. domestic buyers. There are also international transaction fees if shipping internationally.
Shipping Costs: In addition to eBay and PayPal fees, sellers are responsible for the costs of shipping each item to the buyer. Shipping baseball cards usually averages $2-5 for standard First Class Mail service within the United States, depending on the size/weight of the package. Sometimes Priority Mail shipping is needed for larger card lots and that can cost $6-10 typically. Factoring in packaging materials like penny sleeves, toploaders, cardboard and bubble mailers, average shipping costs tend to be $3-7 per order within the U.S. for baseball cards. International shipping tend to cost significantly more, usually starting around $10-$15 for simple First Class International shipments.
Other Costs: There are a few other smaller costs involved as well. First, sellers need supplies like penny sleeves, toploaders and other packaging materials to properly ship cards. These supplies typically run $0.10-$1 per item depending on what’s needed. Second, sellers pay for their eBay seller fees (10% fee on final value up to $250 per month) which allows them to list up to 250 items per month for free. Larger volume sellers may go over the 250 item limit and pay extra insertion fees. Third, banking/payment processing services like Coinbase charge around 1-2% to move funds from PayPal to bank accounts. Fourth, sellers may spend time listing items which has an opportunity cost of their own labor.
To summarize all the average potential costs of selling baseball cards on eBay:
eBay Insertion Fees: $0.35-0.50 per listing
eBay Final Value Fees: 10% of total sale price
PayPal Transaction Fees: 2.9% + $0.30 of sale price
Shipping Costs: $3-7 average within US
Supply/Packaging Costs: $0.10-1 per item
Seller Fees: 10% fee up to $250 monthly limit
Payment Processing Fees: 1-2% to transfer funds
Factor in all these potential fees and costs, the breakeven point to profit from selling a single baseball card on eBay is around $5-8 typically after fees. Sellers need to aim for profit margins of a few dollars on each transaction to account for these eBay, PayPal and shipping related expenses. High volume sales help improve profitability by spreading the fixed listing/seller fees across more transactions. Sourcing cards cheaply through auctions and estate sales can also boost margins. With careful pricing and cost management, baseball card selling can be a profitable venture on eBay.
There are various fees and costs involved with selling collectibles like baseball cards on eBay. Understanding these potential expenses upfront is important for setting profitable listing prices and managing expectations. With the right cards, pricing strategy and sales volume, sellers can earn good returns after accounting for all the eBay and PayPal fees and shipping costs.
