Swappa’s fees look simple: 3% from the seller and 3% from the buyer. The tricky part is everything around that 3%. PayPal’s fee is charged on the buyer’s whole payment, including the buyer’s own 3% and sales tax, so the same phone nets slightly different amounts depending on where the buyer lives. Shipping is always yours to pay, because every listing ships free. And PayPal shows a “Partner Fee” line that looks far bigger than 3%. The calculator above applies each fee to the amount Swappa names, rounds each line to the cent, and keeps what the buyer pays separate from what you pay.
Every Swappa fee at a glance
| Fee | Amount | Charged on | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seller fee | 3% | Your Ask price | When the item sellssource |
| Buyer fee | 3%, paid by the buyer | Your Ask price (added to make the listing price) | Every sale; never taken from yousource |
| PayPal fee | 3.49% + $0.49 | Buyer’s total: listing price + sales tax | PayPal orders (most sales)source |
| PayPal international fee | +1.50% | Buyer’s total | Buyer pays from a non-US PayPal account (the buyer must pay it back)source |
| Stripe card fee | 2.9% + $0.30 | Buyer’s total: listing price + sales tax | Card orders; Power and Enterprise sellers onlysource |
| Featured listing | $5.00 | Each featured listing | Optional; non-refundablesource |
| Listing | Free | Each listing | Alwayssource |
| Shipping | Paid by you | Build it into your Ask price | Ground, tracked, insured for the full pricesource |
| Sales tax | Buyer’s state rate, paid by the buyer | Listing price | Buyers in 46 states + DCsource |
Three things catch sellers out:
- PayPal charges on more than your price. Its 3.49% applies to the listing price plus sales tax. On a $300 Ask it is charged on $309 even when there is no tax.
- The Partner Fee isn’t all yours. PayPal lumps your 3%, the buyer’s 3% and the sales tax into one line. Only your 3% is a cost to you.
- Shipping comes out of your Ask price. Swappa expects ground shipping with tracking and insurance for the full price, and you can’t cancel a sale because you forgot to include it.
What you keep at common prices
Each row assumes PayPal, a buyer in a state with no sales tax, and no Featured listing. Shipping isn’t subtracted, so take your label off the last column.
| Ask price | Total fees | Fee rate | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100.00 | $7.08 | 7.08% | $92.92 |
| $150.00 | $10.38 | 6.92% | $139.62 |
| $200.00 | $13.68 | 6.84% | $186.32 |
| $300.00 | $20.27 | 6.76% | $279.73 |
| $400.00 | $26.87 | 6.72% | $373.13 |
| $500.00 | $33.46 | 6.69% | $466.54 |
| $700.00 | $46.65 | 6.66% | $653.35 |
| $1,000.00 | $66.44 | 6.64% | $933.56 |
Fees take 7.08% of a $100 Ask but 6.64% of a $1,000 one, because PayPal’s $0.49 is the same on every order. On pricier items the rate approaches 6.59%: 3% for Swappa plus 3.49% of 103% of your price for PayPal.
How the fees add up on one order
A $300 Ask price, paid through PayPal by a buyer whose sales tax is 8% (the example rate Swappa uses):
- Buyer pays in total$333.72
- of which 3% buyer fee (paid by the buyer)3% × $300.00 · listing shows $309$9.00
- of which sales tax 8% (paid by the buyer)8% × $309.00$24.72
- Sale amount$300.00
- Swappa seller fee (3%)3% × $300.00 Ask price−$9.00
- PayPal fee3.49% × $333.72 + $0.49−$12.14
- You keep$278.86
The buyer pays $333.72: your $300 Ask, their $9.00 buyer fee, and $24.72 of tax on the $309 listing price. Swappa’s seller fee is 3% of $300, or $9.00. PayPal’s fee is 3.49% of the whole $333.72 plus $0.49, which comes to $12.14. You receive $278.86. In PayPal, your $9.00, the buyer’s $9.00 and the $24.72 of tax appear together as a $42.72 Partner Fee, which is why it can look as if Swappa took over 14%.
PayPal or Stripe: what each one costs
Most Swappa sales go through PayPal at 3.49% + $0.49. Power and Enterprise sellers (registered businesses) can also turn on Stripe card checkout at 2.9% + $0.30. PayPal stays on, and the buyer chooses how to pay. On a $100 Ask a card order leaves $93.71 instead of $92.92, and on a $500 Ask the gap is $3.22. Individual sellers can’t use Stripe, but their buyers can still pay by card through PayPal’s guest checkout, at the PayPal rate. Swappa’s 3% is the same either way.
Sales tax and buyers outside the US
Swappa collects sales tax for buyers in 46 states and DC, based on the shipping address, and charges nothing for doing it. The tax is charged on the listing price. You never pay it, but the processing fee is charged on it. Pick the buyer’s state in the calculator to use Swappa’s published average rate for that state, or choose “I know the exact rate” and type it. A $300 Ask to a California buyer at the 8.26% state average leaves you $278.84; the same sale to a buyer in Oregon, with no sales tax, leaves $279.73.
International buyers can only buy with a US shipping address and a US payment source. If one pays from a non-US PayPal account anyway, PayPal adds 1.50%, and Swappa requires the buyer to pay that back to you before you ship. Choose “Non-US PayPal” in the calculator to see the extra and what you keep once it’s repaid.
Refunds and PayPal holds
A full refund issued in PayPal with the amount left unedited reverses the Partner Fee: your 3% comes back to you, and the buyer gets their 3% and the tax. PayPal keeps its processing fee, so refunding a $300 sale in full costs you $11.27. Typing in a different amount turns it into a partial refund, which doesn’t reverse Swappa’s fees correctly. If the buyer simply changed their mind, you may hold back PayPal’s fee from the refund; on those returns Swappa refunds its fees at its support team’s discretion.
Swappa doesn’t hold your money, but PayPal sometimes holds a new seller’s payment. Swappa says those holds typically release within 21 days, or sooner once tracking shows delivery.
Ways to keep more of each sale
- Price from what you want to keep. In “What to charge”, a $289.59 Ask nets exactly $270.00 with PayPal and no tax. Rounding down to $289 leaves $269.45.
- Put shipping and insurance in the Ask price. Enter your label under “Shipping you pay” so the calculator shows what’s left after it.
- Collect the international PayPal extra from non-US PayPal buyers before you ship. Swappa’s rules make the buyer pay it.
- Refund the full amount without editing it, so Swappa’s fees reverse automatically.
- Business sellers: turn on Stripe. Card orders cost 2.9% + $0.30 instead of 3.49% + $0.49.
- Feature a listing only when the $5 is likely to pay off. It isn’t refunded if the item doesn’t sell.
For the same item on other sites, compare with the eBay fee calculator or the Mercari fee calculator.
Recent Swappa fee changes
None of Swappa’s current fee pages, help answers or blog posts announce a fee change, and none record one in the last three years: the 3% seller fee, 3% buyer fee and $5 Featured listing are current as of October 23, 2026. We re-check Swappa’s fee pages every day and update this calculator when they change.