What you paid for the item

What the customer pays

If you switch this off, postage is treated as "free" (built into your item price above) — but you still pay the real postage cost on the left. eBay's fees are worked out on whatever the customer actually pays in total either way.

VAT

Switch the second one off for zero-rated items, like most kids' clothing (check gov.uk if you're unsure where an item falls). When it's off, none of the sale price is set aside for VAT, even though you're VAT registered overall. When both are on, 20% VAT is treated as already included in what the customer pays, and it's taken off before working out your profit. eBay's published business-seller rates are shown excluding VAT, and normally 20% VAT is added on top of eBay's own fees — but because your VAT number is registered with eBay, that VAT is handled as a reverse charge on your VAT return instead of being an extra cash cost, so it's not shown as a cost below.

eBay Promoted Listings

You set your own ad rate per listing on eBay (typically 2–15%), only charged when a buyer clicks a promoted listing and buys within a set window. The results below always show your profit both ways, so you can see the difference.