Reverb Fee Calculator

What the calculator includes

The sale price is the amount the buyer pays for the item. Shipping charged is added to the sale total. Tax collected is added to the order total for processing-fee calculations, but it is not treated as seller revenue in the final payout.

The selling fee is 5 percent of the item-plus-shipping total, clamped to a minimum of 0.50 and a maximum of 500 in the default currency. The calculator also shows a CAD maximum of 680 when the currency selector is set to CAD. Those caps are stored values, not a statement of Reverb's current global policy.

Payment processing is modelled as 2.9 percent of the order total plus a fixed 0.49. Cross-border, currency conversion, VAT/GST, bump and shipping-label charges are optional inputs. The summary separates the marketplace fees from the extra costs so you can see what is driving the total.

The stored fee model

The order total is sale price plus shipping plus tax. The payout subtotal is the order total minus processing and the selling fee, floored at zero. Currency conversion is applied to that subtotal, not to the full order total.

The net proceeds figure is the sale price plus shipping minus all fees. Tax is excluded from net proceeds because it is collected on behalf of the buyer's tax authority, even though it can increase the processing fee.

Why tax is not seller income

A sale that collects 100 in tax does not mean the seller earned an extra 100. The tax is a pass-through amount. The calculator still includes it in the order total because payment processors often charge their percentage on the full charge, including tax.

That creates a small but real cost: the processing fee rises with the tax amount, while the net payout does not. The summary shows the effect without pretending that the tax is revenue.

If you remit tax separately, keep that obligation out of your profit calculation. The calculator's net figure is a pre-tax selling result, not an accounting profit and not a tax return.

Cross-border, conversion and VAT

Cross-border selling can add a percentage charge on the order total. The selector offers 0, 1 or 4.4 percent as stored scenarios. The right value depends on where the buyer and seller are located and on the account's setup; the calculator cannot determine eligibility.

Currency conversion is modelled as 0 or 2.5 percent of the payout subtotal. It is applied after processing and the selling fee, which is why the line is smaller than a simple percentage of the sale price. The actual conversion cost may be bundled into an exchange rate rather than shown as a separate charge.

VAT/GST is applied to the Reverb fees in this model, not to the item price. Bump and shipping-label costs are added as fixed amounts. Check each line against your statement instead of assuming that every charge is a percentage of the sale.

A worked example

Suppose the item sells for 1,000, shipping is 25, and tax is 0. The total sale is 1,025. The selling fee at 5 percent is 51.25. Processing is 2.9 percent of 1,025 plus 0.49, which is 30.215. Total fees are 81.465 and estimated net proceeds are 943.535.

If you add 1 percent cross-border, the cross-border charge is 10.25. If you also add 2.5 percent conversion, it applies to the payout subtotal after processing and the selling fee, not to the full 1,025. The summary shows each value rather than hiding them in one number.

The example is deliberately simple. A real order can include tax, a promoted-listing bump, a purchased shipping label and a different currency. Enter those values to see how quickly the net payout moves.

How to use the page

Choose the currency, then enter the sale price and the shipping you charge. Add tax only if you collect it. Set the processing rate and fixed fee if your account differs from the stored 2.9 percent plus 0.49 model.

Add bump and label costs when they apply. Select a cross-border rate and a conversion rate only when you know the order involves them. Enter a VAT/GST percentage if the marketplace charges tax on its fees in your jurisdiction.

Read the total sale, effective rate, total fees and net proceeds. Use the itemised table to check each line. Change one input at a time so you can see which charge has the biggest effect on the result.

Limits and caveats

The calculator is client-side JavaScript. It does not connect to Reverb, verify your account, look up a category-specific rate or store your sale. Every figure comes from the stored model and the values you type.

The selling-fee cap, processing rate and optional percentages are estimates. Reverb can change its pricing, and different countries or payment methods can have different rules. The calculator cannot tell you which rate legally applies to your order.

It also does not calculate income tax, sales-tax remittance, refunds, chargebacks, promoted-listing budgets or shipping-carrier surcharges. Those items belong in a bookkeeping or tax workflow, not in a quick marketplace-fee estimate.

Fees that are easy to miss

A promoted-listing bump and a purchased shipping label are not percentage fees, but they reduce the payout just as surely. Enter them as fixed amounts and compare the result with the same sale without them. A small bump can erase the margin on a low-priced item.

Refunds and chargebacks are not modelled. If an order is cancelled after processing, the original fees may not be fully returned, and a dispute can add its own charge. Keep a reserve for those outcomes instead of treating the calculator's net as guaranteed cash.

Currency symbols and caps change with the selector, but the underlying percentages stay the same in this stored model. Do not assume that changing the currency converts the sale; it only changes the labels and the CAD cap.

A note on marketplace changes

Marketplace fees are not static. A category-specific rate, a temporary promotion or a regional policy can change the number that actually appears on your statement. Recheck the stored assumptions whenever Reverb updates its seller terms.

The calculator is most useful for comparing scenarios, not for reproducing an invoice to the cent. Change one variable at a time, keep a note of the inputs, and compare the result with the real payout before making a pricing decision.

Frequently Asked Questions