eBay will make sneaker resellers pay more fees starting next year

eBays days of no added fees for sneakers sold for more than $100 will soon come to an end.

The platform announced that beginning January 22, all sneakers sold over the $100 mark will now be subject to an 8-percent “final value” fee. This fee will be reduced to 7 percent for any Store subscribers on eBay, membership in which starts at $22 per month. Fees for sneakers sold for less than $100 will remain unchanged, with a 12.55 percent rate for non-Store sellers and 11.7 percent for subscribers.

eBay began waiving fees for sneakers sold over the $100 mark two years ago as the first of several measures seeking to bring back sellers after the emergence of dedicated platforms such as StockX and GOAT. In October 2020, eBay began offering free authentication for kicks sold for more than $100 as part of a partnership with Sneaker Con, and just last month announced it had reached a deal to acquire the company’s authentication operation.

The day was coming — Anyone with a business sense had to know eBay couldn’t afford to waive fees forever, particularly after acquiring Sneaker Con’s international authentication operations. The temporary measures did succeed in bringing more sneaker sellers to the platform, though, as eBay reported a “triple digit” increase in sales over $100 in spring 2021.

The good news for sellers is that eBay’s new fees will still make it cheaper to sell on eBay than competing platforms. StockX charges a 10-percent transaction fee and 3-percent processing fee, while GOAT takes $5 plus 9.5 percent commission in addition to a 2.9-percent cash out fee. Stadium Goods, meanwhile, takes a whopping 20-percent commission in addition to a 1-percent payment processing fee.

A new 7-percent fee will allow eBay to properly profit off of the growing sneaker resale market, which is estimated to be worth $30 billion by 2030. The two years prior without fees is best viewed as a promotional period, and now it’s time for the real business to begin.