eBay Break Even Calculator
eBay sellers juggle insertion fees, final value fees, promoted listings, and Store subscriptions on top of product and shipping costs. This calculator turns your real eBay unit economics into a monthly break-even goal so you know exactly how many orders pay the bills and when profit starts.
Instant calculations · Editable fee assumptions · Export-ready results
Inputs
Values update results instantly. Adjust fee assumptions to match your seller dashboard.
Fixed costs
eBay Store, rent, software, internet — monthly overhead.
Sale details
Average selling price per item before shipping.
What buyer pays for shipping. 0 if free shipping.
Variable costs
Sourcing or manufacturing cost per unit.
What you pay the carrier per order.
Mailer, box, tape, inserts.
eBay fee assumptions
Category final value fee. Usually around 13.25%.
Often $0.40 per order.
Amortized insertion fee if beyond free listings.
Ad rate if using Promoted Listings. 0 if not.
Results
Live estimates based on your inputs and editable fee assumptions.
Monthly fixed costs
$250.00
Overhead to cover.
Contribution per sale
$16.41
Revenue minus variable costs and eBay fees.
Break-even units
16
Orders needed this month.
Break-even revenue
$655.68
Total sales needed to break even.
Orders per day
0.53
Break-even / 30.
Orders per week
3.69
Break-even / 4.33.
Effective eBay fee rate
14.2%
Total eBay fees as % of revenue.
What this means
You need 16 orders this month to cover $250.00 fixed. Each order contributes $16.41 after $5.83 eBay fees. That is 0.5/day or 3.7/week. Break-even revenue $655.68.
Fixed costs vs contribution at break-even
Interactive breakdown of fees, costs, and remaining profit.
Distribution
- Fixed$250.0027.6%
- Variable + eBay fees at BE$393.1243.4%
- Contribution at BE$262.5629.0%
Total $905.68 · 3 segments · interactive
Line-item breakdown
Dollar amounts, share of revenue, and visual proportion.
- Revenue per order
- $40.98
- eBay fees per order
- $5.83
- Variable cost per order
- $24.57
- Contribution per sale
- $16.41
- Monthly fixed
- $250.00
- Break-even units
- 16
- Break-even revenue
- $655.68
- Units per day
- 0.53
- Units per week
- 3.69
- Effective fee rate
- 14.2%
Assumptions used
- • Revenue $40.98 = item $34.99 + shipping charged $5.99
- • eBay fees $5.83 = 13.25% FVF + 0.0% promoted + $0.40 fixed
- • Contribution $16.41 per sale
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eBay Break Even Calculator
Generated 7/31/2026, 7:36:47 AM · Currency USD
Inputs
- Monthly fixed costs: 250
- Average item price: 34.99
- Shipping charged to buyer: 5.99
- Product cost per unit: 12
- Actual shipping cost: 5.49
- Packaging per order: 1.25
- Final value fee %: 13.25
- Per-order fixed fee: 0.4
- Insertion fee per sale: 0
- Promoted Listings rate %: 0
Results
- Revenue per order: $40.98
- eBay fees per order: $5.83
- Variable cost per order: $24.57
- Contribution per sale: $16.41
- Monthly fixed: $250.00
- Break-even units: 16
- Break-even revenue: $655.68
- Units per day: 0.53
- Units per week: 3.69
- Effective fee rate: 14.2%
Interpretation
You need 16 orders this month to cover $250.00 fixed. Each order contributes $16.41 after $5.83 eBay fees. That is 0.5/day or 3.7/week. Break-even revenue $655.68.
How it works
Methodology & formulas
This calculator is transparent by design. Review the steps and formulas so you can trust the estimate and adjust assumptions when your dashboard differs.
Calculation steps
- 1Revenue per sale = salePrice + shippingCharged.
- 2eBay percent fees = revenue × (finalValueFeePercent + promotedRate) / 100.
- 3eBay fees total = percent fees + finalValueFeeFixed + insertionFee.
- 4Variable costs = productCost + actualShippingCost + packagingCost + eBay fees total.
- 5Contribution per sale = revenue − variable costs.
- 6Break-even units = ceil(monthlyFixedCosts ÷ contribution per sale).
- 7Break-even revenue = breakEvenUnits × revenue.
Formulas
- Revenue = salePrice + shippingCharged
- eBayFees = revenue × (FVF% + promoted%)/100 + FVF_fixed + insertion
- Variable = product + shipping_actual + packaging + eBayFees
- Contribution = revenue − variable
- BreakEvenUnits = ceil(fixed / contribution)
- BreakEvenRevenue = breakEvenUnits × revenue
Important assumptions
- Monthly fixed costs must be covered by contribution margin from eBay orders.
- Revenue per order includes item price plus shipping charged to buyer.
- Final value fee applies to item price plus shipping charged, matching eBay's calculation base.
- Insertion and per-order fixed fees are counted once per order.
- Promoted Listings fee only applies when you run ads — leave 0% if not promoting.
- Break-even units are rounded up because you cannot sell partial units.
Worked example
Vintage parts seller
$250 fixed costs. Item $34.99 + $5.99 shipping charged. Product $12, actual shipping $5.49, packaging $1.25. FVF 13.25% + $0.40, no insertion, no promoted.
FAQ
Common questions
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