Compare
Fanvault vs eBay.
The original online auction house, with the deepest pool of collectors and buyers on the internet.
Rates verified 2026-08-29
The short answer
eBay's final value fee is 13.6% for most categories, 13.25% on trading cards and comics, and it is computed on the whole sale including shipping and tax, plus a per-order fee; Fanvault charges a flat 8% on the item price and creators keep 92%. eBay wins on sheer buyer liquidity, sold-comps price discovery, Authenticity Guarantee and international reach. Fanvault wins when the buyer is your own fan: a storefront under your name, auctions without commodity search competition, and subscriptions, DMs and digital products the marketplace has no equivalent for.
At a glance
| Feature | Fanvault | eBay |
|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | 8% flat | 13.6% on No Store |
| Monthly cost | None | None |
| Listing fee | None | None |
| Payouts | Stripe Connect, on settlement | Managed Payments payouts on a daily or weekly schedule after order confirmation. |
| Physical fulfillment | Prepaid labels and tracking | Included |
| Auctions | Proxy bidding, anti-snipe | Yes |
| What they sell | Digital, physical, auctions, subscriptions, tips, wishlist | Auctions and fixed-price listings, Collectibles and memorabilia, Trading cards, Sneakers, watches and handbags, Practically everything else |
What you keep
The same sale, run through both platforms. Fanvault's column is computed from the live platform rate, and eBay's from their published No Store rate.
| Feature | Fanvault | eBay |
|---|---|---|
| $25 sale | $23 | $21.20 |
| $100 sale | $92 | $86 |
| $500 sale | $460 | $431.60 |
| $2,500 sale | $2,300 | $2,159.60 |
eBay pricing tiers
| Feature | Monthly | Annual | Seller fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| No Store | Free | Same | 13.6% |
| Basic Store | $27.95 | $21.95/mo | 13.6% |
- No Store: Most categories: 13.6% of the total sale (item + shipping + tax) up to $7,500, then 2.35% above, plus $0.30 per order at $10 or under and $0.40 above. Trading cards, comics and collectible card games run 13.25%. First 250 listings a month are free, then $0.35 each.
- Basic Store: Stores buy more free listings and discounted final value fees in some categories. Tiers run from Starter at $7.95 to Anchor at $349.95 a month.
Where eBay wins
- Buyer liquidity nobody matches. The largest pool of collectors on earth means rare memorabilia finds its market-clearing price on search volume alone.
- Authenticity Guarantee. Free third-party authentication on eligible cards, sneakers, watches and handbags gives high-ticket buyers institutional-grade trust.
- International reach. Global sites and eBay International Shipping put listings in front of buyers worldwide, while Fanvault ships US-only today.
- Price discovery. Completed-listing history is the de facto pricing oracle for collectibles, and sellers everywhere use it to set prices.
How to pick
Choose eBay if
- The item's buyer is a stranger who searches, not a fan who follows you
- You need international buyers or authentication on high-ticket items
- You want sold-comps data to price against
Choose Fanvault if
- Your buyers are your own fans and the item's story is you
- You want to keep 92% instead of losing roughly 14% of item plus shipping plus tax
- You want auctions living next to subscriptions, digital products, tips and DMs on one link
Switching
Keep eBay for commodity items where search traffic sets the price, and move fan-facing pieces, signed items, one-of-ones and personal memorabilia, to a Fanvault storefront where the audience already knows you and the fee math is a flat 8% of item price.
Fanvault vs eBay: common questions
- How much cheaper is Fanvault than eBay really?
- eBay's own example on its fees page shows a $400 sale costing $58.41 in fees, about 14.6% of the item price, because the 13.6% applies to item plus shipping plus tax and a per-order fee is added. The same $400 item on Fanvault costs the creator $32, an 8% flat fee, with the 3% processing fee paid by the buyer. The gap widens as shipping gets more expensive.
- Does eBay charge monthly fees?
- Only if you subscribe to a Store, which runs from $7.95 for Starter to $349.95 for Anchor per month. Without one you still get 250 free listings a month, then pay $0.35 per listing. Fanvault has no monthly fee and no listing fees at any volume.
- Is eBay better for selling collectibles?
- For reaching strangers, yes: no platform matches eBay's collector traffic, its sold-price history or its Authenticity Guarantee on eligible categories. For selling to your own audience it is a weak fit, because the listing competes in commodity search results and the buyer relationship stays with eBay, not with you.
- Do eBay auctions work like Fanvault auctions?
- Both use proxy bidding, where you enter a maximum and the system bids for you. Fanvault adds a 2-minute anti-snipe extension: any bid in the final 2 minutes extends the auction, so the winner is decided by the highest maximum rather than by who clicked last. eBay auctions end at a fixed time, which is what makes sniping a strategy there.
Sources
eBay rates below were read from their own published pages on 2026-08-29. Prices change, so check theirs before deciding.
Other comparisons in this category
Free to start. Keep 92% of every sale.