eBay scraps fees for selling pre-owned clothing – how much could you save? - Which? News (2024)

Online marketplace eBay has axed fees for people selling preloved clothes, which is good news if you’re gearing up for spring clear out.

According to eBay, the average person is holding onto £400 worth of clothing they don’t wear, which equates to £16.3m nationwide.

It's also unveiling new features such as ‘AI-powered listings’ and eBay Live to make buying and selling fashion easier.

Here, Which? explains what the changes mean for buyers and sellers, and how eBay’s fees compare with rival platforms such as Vinted and Depop.

What's changing with eBay fees?

UK sellers trying to shift their preloved garments will no longer have to pay a final value fee, usually 12.8% of the total amount you get from the sale plus 30p per order.

Users selling clothing will also avoid a new regulatory operating fee, which is 0.42%.

However, you still might have to pay a listing fee and for any listing upgrades.

Here's a summary of the current eBay fees:

To put the changes into perspective, if you sold a book on eBay for £20, you'd pay at least £2.94 in fees, and get around £17.06. But if you sold an item of clothing for £20, you will keep the full £20 as long as you haven't exceeded the number of free listings and don't have any listing upgrades to account for.

eBay says all clothes listings will benefit from the change, even ones which were already listed before the announcement.

• Find out more:best and worst places to shop second hand online

What counts as preloved clothing?

The online marketplace said this included items worn once, many times and even brand new items with tags on that you may never have worn.

However, seller fees will remain for categories such as trainers, watches, handbags and jewellery.

• Find out more:how to sell second-hand online

What does this mean for buyers?

Buyers already benefit from zero buyer fees with eBay and are protected with the Money Back Guarantee scheme.

This covers buyers for 30 days if the item is wrong or faulty, providing you paid with a debit, credit card, PayPal, Apple and Google Wallet.

If you're a regular buyer, although the axing of selling fees won't directly benefit you, it might mean sellers reduce the overall price of some of their items if they'll be saving money on fees.

• Find out more: how to buy second-hand online

How does eBay's seller fees compare?

Here’s what you pay as a seller for selling clothing on the most popular online marketplaces:

The changes from eBay make it very competitive for both sellers and buyers, as there are no fees for either on pre-owned clothing sales.

Depop is now the most expensive platform to sell clothes on, despite recently removing its selling fees for those in the UK. That's because sellers will still need to pay a payment processing fee for using Depop Payments, which is charged on the total transaction amount (including shipping costs and any taxes).

From 19 April Depop is introducing a new fee for buyers, which will be up to 5% of the item purchase price, plus a fixed amount of up to £1, excluding taxes and postage cost.

Vinted also shifts fees onto the buyer (typically 3-8% plus 30p-80p), which means you may get less for your items if buyers factor this into their budget.

Of course, if you want to avoid lots of fees when you buy or sell preloved clothes, you can always head down to your local car boot sale.

• Find out more:'I made £160 from my first car boot sale – here's what I learned'

Do you have to pay tax on your eBay sales?

If you're keen to start selling, be aware that platforms based in another country (such as eBay) now have to report information to HMRC if you earn more than the equivalent of €2,000 (currently around £1,700).

This data will be used to determine who needs to pay income tax on what they've earned. While this might sound scary, many sellers won't be affected at all by the change. That's because you're allowed to earn up to £1,000 each year tax-free under the 'trading allowance'.

However, if you make more than £1,000 from your casual trading activities like selling preloved clothes, it's your responsibility to declare your income to HMRC via a self-assessment tax return.

So, it's important to make sure you're keeping track of your earnings on sites like eBay to avoid being caught out. Word of warning: your earnings, as far as HMRC is concerned, is the amount you make including platform fees, so keep track of the prices your customers actually pay, not just what you receive.

• Find out more: do you need to pay tax on your side hustle?

What else is eBay introducing?

To avoid selling clothes ‘feeling like a chore’, eBay has announced a host of new schemes and features.

AI-generated item descriptions

This feature will suggest an ‘attention-grabbing’ item description for the seller to cut down on listing time. This can only be done on the eBay app right now, but will be expanded to the desktop version in the coming months.

eBay will also be expanding its background removal tool, which creates a white background for your image. This feature is currently available on the app under the enhanced listing tool.

Personalised shopping feed

Buyers will see new customised feeds and fashion-focused search screens to help you find favourite items quickly.

Both Depop and Vinted offer a similar experience where buyers can see items recommended for them based on their likes, searches and sizes.

eBay Live

This will be a new interactive livestream shopping experience and will be piloted in the UK with select sellers, in the coming weeks.

It’s usually hosted by influencers, brands and sellers, where you can chat directly with hosts and buy items in-stream. This already exists in the US and has been going since 2022.

• Find out more: 15 ways to save money on clothes