I still remember my first Whatnot stream. I had spent three hours prepping inventory, setting up ring lights, and hyping the show on Instagram. The adrenaline was real. I sold 40 items in an hour. The chat was flying, the "Sold" notifications were popping, and I felt like I had cracked the code to easy money.
Then I ended the stream and looked at my payout.
I had sold a stack of comics for $5 each. After the commission, the processing fee, and the shipping costs I accidentally subsidized because I didn't own a scale, my net profit per book was about $2.80. I wasn't a business mogul; I was working for less than minimum wage.
If you are thinking about jumping onto Whatnot because you see people moving thousands of dollars of inventory in minutes, you need to pause. The volume is real, but the margins are tricky. Whatnot fees are lower than eBay on paper, but the "hidden" costs of live selling—giveaways, shipping errors, and the processing fee math—can eat you alive if you aren't careful.
The Core Breakdown: 8% vs. The World
When people ask how much does whatnot take, the headline answer is "8%." This is significantly lower than eBay (typically ~13.25%) or Poshmark (20%). It is the main reason sellers are flocking to the platform.
The Commission (8%)
This is straightforward. If you sell a Funko Pop for $100, Whatnot takes $8.
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Good News: This 8% does not apply to the shipping cost or sales tax. It only touches the item price.
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Exceptions:
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Coins & Money: Reduced to 4%.
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Electronics: Reduced to 5%.
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High Value: If you sell a card for $2,000, you pay 8% on the first $1,500 and 0% on the remaining $500 (in specific categories).
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The Payment Processing Fee (The Silent Killer)
This is where the math gets messy. You pay 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.
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The Trap: This applies to the TOTAL amount the buyer pays. That means you pay a fee on the sales tax the buyer pays to the state, and you pay a fee on the shipping cost the buyer pays to USPS.
My Honest Failure: I once sold a heavy bundle of books for $15. The shipping was $12 (paid by buyer). The tax was $2. Total transaction: $29.
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Processing Fee: 2.9% of $29 ($0.84) + $0.30 = $1.14.
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Commission: 8% of $15 = $1.20.
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Total Fees: $2.34.
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Effective Fee Rate: 15.6% of my sale price. Because shipping was high relative to the item price, the processing fee ate up a huge chunk of my margin.
Whatnot Fees vs eBay Fees: The 2025 Showdown
It is impossible to evaluate whatnot seller fees 2025 without comparing them to the giant in the room.
Verdict: Whatnot is mathematically cheaper for most items. However, eBay has 135 million buyers. Whatnot has a fraction of that. You pay eBay more for access to a larger, passive audience. You pay Whatnot less, but you have to be the entertainment.
I use Closo to automate checking my net profit across both platforms – saves me about 3 hours weekly – because knowing exactly which platform yields the highest payout for a specific item (like a low-weight, high-value card vs. a heavy pair of boots) is the difference between profit and breaking even.
The "Giveaway" Trap: Paying to Work
Here is the most dangerous button on the Whatnot screen: "Run Giveaway." Giveaways are essential for growing your follower count. They keep the chat engaged. But they are not free.
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Whatnot Fee: $0 (They don't charge commission on $0 items).
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Your Cost: You pay for the item and you pay for the shipping.
The Math of a "Free" Slab: If you give away a graded card to a viewer in California and you live in New York:
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Item Cost: $20 (your inventory cost).
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Shipping Cost: ~$4.50 (deducted from your account balance).
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Total Loss: $24.50.
If you run 5 giveaways in a stream, you start the night -$122.50 in the hole. You have to sell a lot of product to make that back.
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Strategy: Only run giveaways ("Buyer Appreciation") after you have hit a profit goal for the night. Do not open the stream with 5 giveaways hoping people will stay; they will take the free stuff and leave.
The "Sudden Death" Auction Dynamic
What does selling fee mean in the context of a $1 auction? It means risk. Whatnot culture loves the "$1 Start." You start a $50 item at $1 and let the chat bid it up. Sometimes, it goes to $60. Sometimes, it sells for $3.
The Calculation: If it sells for $3:
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Commission: $0.24
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Processing: $0.30 + ($3 * 2.9%) = ~$0.39.
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Total Fees: $0.63.
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Net Payout: $2.37.
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Cost of Goods: $10.
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Result: You lost $7.63.
(Parenthetical aside: I watched a streamer cry—literally cry—because they auctioned a $400 pair of shoes starting at $1, and the stream lagged. The bidding stopped at $45. Sold. There is no "Reserve Price" on Whatnot auctions unless you set it high manually. Once it says Sold, it’s gone.)
The Whatnot Fee Calculator: Do It Before You Stream
You cannot do this math in your head while reading chat and holding up a product. You need a spreadsheet or a mental rule of thumb.
My "Safe Price" Formula:
Why 1.15? Because 8% commission + ~3% processing + variability usually lands around 11-12%. If you buffer for 15%, you are safe.
Example:
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You bought a figure for $20.
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Break Even = $20 * 1.15 = $23.
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If you auction it, do not let it go for less than $23 unless you are intentionally taking a loss to build hype.
People always ask me...
"Does Whatnot charge for cash outs?"
Common question I see. No. Direct deposit (ACH) to your bank account is free. However, it is not instant. It typically takes 2-3 business days to hit your bank after you initiate the transfer. If you use the "Instant Payout" option (to a debit card), there is a fee (usually 1.5%), just like Venmo or PayPal.
"Who pays for shipping on Whatnot?"
People always ask me... The buyer pays, usually. However, you have to set the weight correctly.
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Scenario: You list a shirt as 8oz (Small). Buyer pays $5 shipping.
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Reality: You pack it, and it weighs 13oz.
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Result: You cannot print the label. You have to edit the label to a higher weight class. You (the seller) pay the difference from your account balance. Whatnot does not charge the buyer extra after the sale.
"Are there monthly subscription fees?"
No. Unlike an eBay Store, Whatnot does not charge a monthly subscription fee to sell. It is purely transactional. This makes it a very low-risk platform to start, provided you already have the inventory.
Conclusion
So, are whatnot fees fair? Yes. 8% is an incredibly competitive rate for the exposure you get. But Whatnot is not a passive marketplace. You are paying that 8% not just for the software, but for the speed of the auction format.
The danger isn't the fee itself; it's the environment. The speed, the pressure to run giveaways, and the temptation to start auctions at $1 creates a high-risk, high-reward ecosystem.
If you treat it like a casino, the fees will eat you. If you treat it like a business—calculating your margins, weighing items precisely, and limiting giveaways—it is the most powerful selling tool in 2025.
So, buy a scale. Download a whatnot calculator. And never, ever start a high-value item at $1 unless you have at least 50 people in the room.
If you are looking to source inventory cheap enough to survive the $1 starts, check out our guide on sourcing from the Goodwill Blue Box. And if you want to see how your earnings compare to other platforms, read our breakdown of Mercari vs. eBay fees to see where your slow-moving items should go.
FAQ
Here's something everyone wants to know: Does Whatnot charge fees on shipping and tax?
Yes, but only the payment processing fee. The 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee is calculated based on the total transaction amount, which includes the item price, the shipping cost paid by the buyer, and the sales tax. The 8% commission fee, however, is only charged on the item's selling price.
Common question I see: Is there a fee to become a seller on Whatnot?
No, there is no application fee or monthly subscription cost to become a seller. However, you must apply and be approved. The approval process can be competitive depending on your category (e.g., Sneakers and Luxury Bags require stricter vetting than ephemera or garage sale items).
People always ask me: Can I pass the processing fee to the buyer?
No. You cannot add a surcharge to the buyer to cover your fees. The price the buyer sees is the price they expect to pay (plus their shipping/tax). You must bake your fees into your asking price or your auction starting bid.
