How the eBay UK Buyer Protection Fee works
A plain-English guide to the eBay UK Buyer Protection Fee (BPF) — who pays it, how it's calculated, worked examples, and which listings are exempt. 2026 schedule.
What is the Buyer Protection Fee?
The Buyer Protection Fee is a charge eBay applies to most private-seller listings in the UK. It is paid by the buyer, added on top of the item price, and shown in the buyer's total at checkout. It is separate from any selling fees a seller pays, and it funds eBay's buyer-protection programme.
Who pays it — and who doesn't
- Private sellers (UK): the BPF applies and is charged to the buyer.
- Business sellers: no Buyer Protection Fee (£0).
- Excluded categories: cars, motorcycles & vehicles, classified ads, and property are exempt (£0), even on private listings.
How it's calculated
The fee is a fixed £0.10 plus a tiered percentage of the item price (delivery is excluded from the percentage base):
| Item-price band | Rate on that band |
|---|---|
| £0 – £20 | 7% |
| £20 – £300 | 4% |
| £300 – £4,000 | 2% |
| Above £4,000 | 0% |
The percentage is applied band-by-band (like income tax), then £0.10 is added. There is an effective maximum BPF of £86.70, reached at an item price of £4,000.
Worked examples
| Item price | Buyer Protection Fee | Buyer pays |
|---|---|---|
| £5.00 | £0.45 | £5.45 |
| £25.00 | £1.70 | £26.70 |
| £100.00 | £4.70 | £104.70 |
| £1,500.00 | £36.70 | £1,536.70 |
| £4,000.00 | £86.70 | £4,086.70 |
For example, on a £100 item: £0.10 flat + 7% of the first £20 (£1.40) + 4% of the next £80 (£3.20) = £4.70. Try any price in the calculator →
Postage
Delivery cost is not part of the percentage base — the BPF is calculated on the item price only. Postage is still added to the buyer's displayed total, but it doesn't increase the fee.
Buying more than one
For a multi-quantity purchase of the same listing, the £0.10 flat charge applies once, while the percentage applies per unit. Three copies of a £5 item: £0.10 + (3 × £0.35) = £1.15.
Working backwards from a total
If you only know the buyer-displayed price, you can recover the underlying item price and the embedded fee — this is the "inverse" calculation. A displayed £104.70 maps back to a £100.00 item plus £4.70 BPF.
Need this in code?
hunta is a maintained API for the eBay UK Buyer Protection Fee — forward, inverse and batch, penny-accurate, verified daily. Free tier, no card required.
Get a free API key Read the docs"eBay" is a trademark of eBay Inc. hunta is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by eBay Inc. Figures are estimates based on eBay's published schedule and may change; verify against eBay's official current fees before relying on them. Last updated 28 June 2026.