eBay Germany Hikes FVF For Jewelry Ahead Of Authenticity Guarantee Rollout
eBay is bringing Authenticity Guarantee for jewelry to Germany and once again sellers across the category will be footing the bill with a final value fee increase.
The news was included in the October seller update for eBay Germany, with authentication slated to rollout in November (details translated by Google).
New: Authenticity testing for jewelry – coming soon to eBay
With professionally certified jewelry, you build trust and increase your sales opportunities.More trust, more sales opportunities
Buyers want security—especially for high-value items like real jewelry. Starting in November 2025, eBay will offer authenticity verification and certification by eBay experts for eligible listings.More visibility and sales potential
Tested and certified items build trust, increase purchasing interest, and can improve conversion rates – at no additional cost to you.The next steps
Authenticity verification automatically applies to eligible jewelry items sold on eBay.de. Simply list your jewelry items as usual.
Unfortunately, the "learn more" button just leads to a page that says "coming soon" so there are no further details about categories, price thresholds, or other criteria for eligibility at this time.
However, in the US, eBay currently offers jewelry authentication for items over $500 that meet certain brand, metal, and stone requirements and it's a good bet the program for Germany will likely be similar.
While the claim of "no additional cost" to sellers may be technically accurate, since eBay does not charge directly for authentication services, it appears that once again eBay is subsidizing an offering that will benefit only some sellers by increasing fees for all sellers across jewelry categories - even for items which don't qualify for authentication.
The free increase was also announced in the October seller update, effective November 1, 2025.
Changed sales fees for jewelry
Starting November 1, 2025, new selling fees will apply to listings in the “Jewelry” category.New market-oriented fees for high-quality jewelry
The new sales fee is:
- 16 percent for each share of the sales price up to 500 euros
- 2 percent for each share of the sales price over 500 euros
This adjustment provides a fair and competitive framework for selling jewelry on eBay and is based on current market conditions.
More transparency and competitiveness in fees
With these changes, we aim to increase transparency in the jewelry category while making the process simpler and more cost-effective for sellers.
By contrast, the current FVF fee in the Jewelry category for commercial/business sellers in Germany is:
- 14% for each part of the sales price up to EUR 400.00 plus 2% for each part of the sales price over EUR 400.00 for sellers with a Shop subscription or
- 14% for each part of the sales price up to EUR 990.00 plus 2% for each part of the sales price over EUR 990.00 for those without a Shop subscription
Private sellers in Germany still enjoy fee-free selling across most categories, including jewelry, though it remains to be seen if private listings will be eligible for authentication.
eBay did the similar FVF increases shortly after introducing Authenticity Guarantee for Jewelry in the US in 2022 and again after bringing jewelry authentication to the UK in 2023.
Liz Morton
It's not yet clear who eBay will be partnering with to provide the new jewelry authentication service - they use the Gemological Institute of America for the US and UK programs, but GIA does not appear to have any locations in Germany.
Stay tuned for updates as more details become available and let us know in the comments below what you think of eBay increasing FVF for all jewelry sellers to fund their Authenticity Guarantee expansion!
