eBay Brings Fee Free Selling, Buyer Fees & Shipping Mandate To Australia Amidst Global C2C Pivot
eBay is shaking up selling in Australia, going fee free for small consumer to consumer sellers while adding a Buyer Protection fee and mandatory shipping to mirror changes made in the UK last year.
The updates will be rolling out through late April - early May 2026 and also include new Pro plans for business sellers.
Free Selling
Non-pro account Australia-based sellers with up to $25,000 in sales in the past 12 months will no longer pay Final Value Fees when they sell items on eBay.com.au across all categories (excluding vehicles and classified ads), starting sometime in late April.
Per eBay, these accounts will still pay fees for things like advertising or optional listing upgrades, and will also still pay transaction fees on items delivered outside of Australia, with the international fee increasing from 1.1% to 3%.
From the end of April 2026, we're making it free to sell for Australia-based sellers with up to $25,000 in annual sales.
- Eligible sellers listing on eBay.com.au will no longer pay transaction fees (final value fees) when items sell.
- Some fees may still apply based on your selling activity, such as when using optional listing upgrades or when an item is being delivered outside Australia.
- There are no changes to listing upgrade fees, but the international sales fee will now be calculated as 3% (incl. GST) of the total amount of the sale.
- Note that as part of our free selling experience, you'll generally have to buy labels on eBay to send your eligible items.
Eligibility is determined on a 12 month rolling lookback period and once sellers exceed the $25,000 threshold (which includes shipping and tax from sales across all eBay sites), they'll be required to move into one of eBay Australia's new Pro plans.
Each month, we calculate your total sales on eBay using data from the preceding 12 full calendar months. For example, the calculation in August is based on sales from the previous 1 August – 31 July. We add up your sales across all eBay sites, using the total amount of each sale (including the item price, postage and any applicable tax).
If your total sales is over AU $25,000 and you don't have a Pro plan, we'll notify you on the 20th of the month before upgrading you to a Pro Starter plan from the 1st of the following month. The Pro Starter plan has no monthly cost, but you'll pay transaction fees (final value fees) when your items sell. Learn more about eBay Pro selling fees that will apply to you.
If your total sales is AU $25,000 or less and you don't have a Pro plan, you're eligible for free selling.
If your total sales is AU $25,000 or less and you currently have a Pro plan, you'll have the option to cancel your plan and move to free selling. The cancellation takes effect on the 1st of the following month. You'll continue to pay transaction fees until then if your items sell.
Buyer Protection Fee
As in the UK, eBay is shifting the fee burden to the buyer side of these transactions for Australia, with a Buyer Protection Fee to be introduced also in late April.
When purchasing from Australia-based sellers who don't have a Pro plan, the Buyer Protection fee is calculated as:
- A flat fee of $0.30 per item, and
- 8% of the item price up to $20, and
- 6% of any portion of the item price from $20 to $500, and
- 4% of any portion of the item price from $500 to $5,000
- There's a cap on the total fee amount you'll pay. Any portion of the item price over $5,000 won't incur any additional fee.
Importantly, the Buyer Protection Fee will be added into the price shown to the buyer on the listing and it only applies to items from non-Pro sellers.
Mandatory eBay Shipping Label Purchase
It does not appear eBay is going the fully managed shipping route in Australia like they have with Simple Delivery in the UK.
But they are mandating that non-Pro sellers will need to purchase their labels through eBay for most items as part of the fee-free selling update, with a few exceptions.
From 1 May 2026, Australia-based sellers who are enrolled in free selling will be required to buy a label on eBay when sending items.
This won't apply to:
- Items sold for less than $20, or over $5,000
- Items that may be sent in an envelope. These include: trading cards, comics, magazines, coins and banknotes, jewellery, CDs/DVDs/video games, patches, postcards, greeting cards, seeds, stamps, stickers and decals
- Heavy or bulky items where a label isn't available
- Orders where the buyer selected local pickup
When listing, you can see if your item will be required to use a label bought on eBay. To offer alternative postage options, you'll need a Pro plan.
Delayed Payouts and On Demand Only
Non-Pro Australian sellers will also face delayed payouts until after delivery confirmation, though those who meet certain criteria may be eligible to have funds released 48 hours after the buyer pays.
Once funds are made available, they will have to be withdrawn manually on demand as there will no longer be an option for automatic scheduled payouts for non-Pro sellers.
From 1 May 2026, payouts for sellers without a Pro plan will be on demand only. This means you'll be able to request a payout of your Available funds to your bank account at any time.
Pro sellers can continue to receive payouts daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly, as well as on demand. Learn more about what's changing for sellers.
We're also introducing clear criteria of how the funds for new sellers registered as individuals can typically become available within 48 hours of the buyer paying...
...Your funds will typically become available within 48 hours of the buyer paying if you’ve:
- Completed at least 10 sales with a total of $150 or more within the last 5 years
- Had no more than 2 cases in the past 12 months (such as an unresolved buyer dispute or where eBay reviewed the case and found you responsible)
When eBay made similar changes in the UK last year, sellers reported significant difficulties with on demand withdrawals - so hopefully they've sorted that out before launching the same requirement in Australia.
Liz Morton
New Pro Plans
As part of this change, eBay Australia is transitioning sellers with existing Store plans to their new Pro plans and will be moving those without a current Store subscription who exceed the $25,000 threshold into a fee Pro Starter plan.
eBay Pro is coming soon
The updated fees and terms below apply once we notify you that your eBay Pro plan is active.If you have a current eBay Store subscription on eBay.com.au (Basic, Featured or Anchor Store), it will be moved to the equivalent eBay Pro plan (Pro Basic, Pro Featured or Pro Anchor) and there are no changes to the fees you'll pay.
Please note that if you don't currently have an eBay Store subscription but your registered address is in Australia and your total sales in the past 12 months is more than AU $25,000, you'll be automatically upgraded to a Pro Starter plan as your default selling experience.
There are no changes to the fees you'll pay, as this plan has no monthly cost and the same transaction fees as you pay today when selling without an eBay Store.
Pro sellers and sellers who reside outside Australia will not be eligible for free selling.
Sellers should familiarize themselves with the new Pro plans and applicable fees here.
eBay is also making a sharper distinction between Pro and non-Pro accounts, making some features and capabilities Pro starting May 1, 2026.
From 1 May, advanced selling features will become exclusive to sellers with a Pro subscription.
Advanced selling features include multi-quantity listings, listings with variations, volume pricing, third-party integrations, bulk listing tools, product research tools and more.
Sellers without a Pro subscription will no longer be able to use these features, and:
- Any active multi-quantity listings will be reduced to single-quantity listings
- Any active listings using volume pricing will have the discount removed
- Any active multi-variation listing will be placed on hold
eBay has provided the following chart to show how fees and features will differ between free non-Pro accounts and the various Pro plan levels.
The move comes as part of eBay's broader global pivot to focus on Live and consumer to consumer (C2C) selling.
Liz Morton
That focus is particularly strong in fashion with eBay subsidiary Tise recently expanding into the Australian market and the soon to be completed acquisition of Depop being key to eBay's strategy to bring in younger buyers and stave off growing competition from Vinted.
eBay is also currently running a limited zero selling fee promotion in the US clearly aimed at smaller consumer sellers in select categories, raising questions about whether fee-free C2C selling, along with Buyer Protection Fees and shipping mandates, could be coming to North America in the near future.
Liz Morton
And it will be interesting to see if this move can help eBay win back it's crown as the top online shopping spot in Australia after Amazon has overtaken them in recent years.
Liz Morton
What do you think of eBay's evolving fee structure and C2C pivot? Let us know in the comments below!
