Marketplace Fee Transparency Report

Executive Summary

The third quarter of 2026 continued to demonstrate the complexity of marketplace fee structures and seller policies across major e-commerce platforms.

During Q3, marketplace sellers operated within fee systems that included referral and transaction fees, fulfillment and storage costs, advertising charges, payment-processing fees, performance-related fees, and market-specific regulatory charges.

Seller Transparency Hub tracks these developments through publicly available marketplace documentation, fee schedules, policy announcements, and historical records.

The Q3 2026 report expands on the Q2 2026 report by introducing a continuing quarterly framework for monitoring marketplace fee structures and policy changes over time.

Rather than examining individual fees in isolation, this report organizes marketplace information by fee type, effective date, marketplace, seller condition, product condition, and geographic applicability.

The objective is to create a continuously updated public record that makes marketplace cost and policy information easier to identify, compare, and monitor.

Q3 Key Findings

1. Marketplace costs remain multi-component

Seller costs can extend beyond a basic selling or referral fee.

Depending on the marketplace and fulfillment model, sellers may encounter:

• Referral or final-value fees
• Fulfillment fees
• Storage fees
• Transaction fees
• Payment-processing fees
• Advertising fees
• Listing fees
• Currency-conversion fees
• Regulatory operating fees
• Performance-related fees
• Dispute or other service-related charges

As a result, understanding the cost of selling on a marketplace often requires reviewing multiple fee categories rather than relying on a single headline percentage.

2. Q3 included documented marketplace fee and policy changes

The third quarter included several documented developments.

eBay introduced changes to selling fees and seller-performance-related fees beginning July 1, 2026, with the specific scope varying by marketplace, category, item condition, and seller-performance criteria.

Amazon's 2026 FBA fee structure continued during Q3, including the 3.5% fuel and logistics-related surcharge that began April 17, 2026.

Etsy's regulatory operating fee changes introduced in June 2026 remained applicable during the Q3 reporting period for affected countries.

These developments demonstrate why effective dates are an important component of marketplace fee research.

3. Seller policies can affect marketplace economics

Marketplace costs are not limited to published monetary fees.

Seller-performance requirements can also affect the practical cost and operational risk of selling.

For example, eBay introduced a Shipping Service Standard Policy effective August 31, 2026. Sellers within the policy's scope are evaluated using Acceptance Scan Rate requirements, with potential account-level consequences for sellers that do not meet the applicable standard.

This illustrates the relationship between marketplace policy requirements and seller operations.

4. Historical tracking is necessary for meaningful comparison

A marketplace fee published today does not necessarily represent the fee that applied during an earlier reporting period.

For this reason, Seller Transparency Hub records:

• Fee name
• Fee type
• Marketplace
• Effective date
• Previous information where available
• Current information
• Seller eligibility or conditions
• Product or category requirements
• Geographic applicability
• Source documentation

This structure allows marketplace information to be reviewed longitudinally rather than as isolated snapshots.

Marketplace Coverage

This report covers four major marketplace platforms:

Amazon Marketplace

Q3 Fee Environment

Amazon's 2026 U.S. marketplace fee structure continued to include referral fees and multiple fulfillment-related charges.

For sellers using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), fulfillment fees vary according to product type, size tier, and shipping weight.

Amazon's 2026 FBA fee schedule became effective January 15, 2026. Amazon reported an average increase of approximately $0.08 per unit sold for 2026 FBA fees.

Beginning April 17, 2026, Amazon applied a 3.5% fuel and logistics-related surcharge to FBA fulfillment fees in the United States and Canada, as well as to certain related fulfillment programs.

This surcharge therefore remained applicable throughout the Q3 reporting period.

Low-Price FBA

Amazon continued to provide reduced FBA fulfillment rates for eligible products priced below $10.

Amazon's published documentation states that products priced below $10 automatically receive Low-Price FBA rates, which are $0.86 lower than the corresponding standard FBA rates.

Other applicable Selling on Amazon and FBA fees continue to apply.

Q3 Observation

The Amazon fee environment demonstrates the importance of separating:

base fulfillment rate

from

applicable surcharge

and

product-specific eligibility.

A seller's actual fulfillment cost may therefore depend on product size, shipping weight, price, fulfillment program, and applicable surcharge.

Upcoming Post-Q3 Change

Amazon announced holiday peak fulfillment fees beginning October 15, 2026.

Because October 15 falls outside the Q3 reporting period, this change is recorded as an upcoming Q4 development, rather than a Q3 fee change.

This distinction is important for maintaining accurate quarterly historical records.

Walmart Marketplace

Q3 Fee Environment

Walmart Marketplace continued to publish a category-based referral fee structure.

Walmart states that Walmart Marketplace and Walmart Fulfillment Services operate without setup, monthly, or hidden marketplace fees.

Referral fees vary by product category and product type.

Examples in Walmart's published fee schedule include:

• Consumer Electronics: 8%
• Books: 15%
• Home, Kitchen, Decor & Garden: 15%
• Pet Supplies: 15%
• Personal Computers: 6%
• Tires & Wheels: 10%
• Toys & Games: 15%

Some categories use different rates depending on total sales price.

For example, certain categories apply one rate to the portion of the sales price below a specified threshold and another rate above that threshold.

Fulfillment and Storage

Walmart's published pricing information also includes separate Walmart Fulfillment Services costs.

Storage pricing varies by period, with Walmart publishing different rates for January–September and peak-season storage.

This creates another example of why seller cost analysis requires more than a single marketplace referral percentage.

Q3 Observation

Walmart's published structure emphasizes the importance of:

• Product category
• Product type
• Total sales price
• Fulfillment method
• Storage period

when determining the applicable seller cost.

Seller Transparency Hub therefore records Walmart fee information at the category and condition level where the published documentation supports that level of detail.

eBay

Q3 Selling Fee Changes

eBay announced changes to selling fees and seller-performance-related fees beginning July 1, 2026, across selected eBay marketplaces.

The scope of these changes varies according to marketplace, fee structure, category, item condition, seller performance, and effective date.

This makes eBay's July 2026 changes particularly relevant to quarterly fee monitoring.

Core Selling Fee Structure

eBay's selling-cost structure includes:

• Insertion fees
• Final value fees
• Optional listing upgrades
• Advertising fees
• International fees
• Additional final value fees
• Dispute fees
• Currency-conversion charges
• Store-related fees

For ebay.com, eBay currently provides up to 250 zero-insertion-fee listings per month for most casual sellers, subject to applicable terms and exclusions.

Final value fees vary according to category and other listing conditions.

Q3 Policy Development: Shipping Service Standards

A significant Q3 policy development was eBay's Shipping Service Standard Policy.

Effective August 31, 2026, sellers within the scope of the policy are evaluated using an Acceptance Scan Rate based on valid carrier acceptance scans.

eBay states that sellers falling below the applicable standard may be subject to actions including listing removal or administrative ending, payout holds, selling-limit adjustments, or buying and selling restrictions.

This development demonstrates that seller economics can be affected not only by direct fees but also by operational compliance requirements.

Q3 Observation

eBay illustrates the importance of connecting:

fee data + seller performance + operational policy.

A marketplace transparency system that tracks only percentage fees would not capture the full range of seller-facing marketplace requirements.

Etsy

Q3 Fee Structure

Etsy's fee system continued