TL;DR
Your real profit is the sale price minus every cost: platform selling fees, shipping, gas, supplies, and your time. Local pickup on Marketplace often has no selling fee, while shipping platforms take a cut - factor the true costs before you price.
New resellers celebrate the sale price and forget the costs hiding behind it. A $60 sale is not $60 in profit - fees, shipping, gas, and your time all come out first. Knowing your real net on every flip is what separates a business that grows from a hobby that quietly loses money.
Local pickup vs shipping fees
Where you sell changes what you keep. Local pickup on Facebook Marketplace typically has no platform selling fee - cash in hand is the full amount. Shipping platforms like eBay, Poshmark, and OfferUp shipping charge a selling fee that is a percentage of the sale, so a portion of every sale goes to the platform. Check the current fee for whichever platform you use, since they change and vary by category.
The costs people forget
- Shipping: if you offer it, either you pay it or you build it into the price - never let it eat your margin by accident.
- Packing supplies: boxes, tape, and bubble wrap add up across many sales.
- Gas and time: driving to source and to meet buyers is a real cost, especially on cheap items.
- Cleaning and repair: the hour you spend fixing an item is part of what it cost you to sell it.
Do the math before you commit
Run the real net before you buy and before you price. A $60 item that costs a selling fee, $8 shipping, and $3 in supplies nets closer to $43 before your time. That matters most on cheap items, where fees and gas can turn a small profit into a wash. If a flip only works before costs, it does not work.
Getting paid and cashing out
Local pickup is usually cash, which clears instantly and carries no fee. Shipping platforms pay out to your linked bank account after the sale, sometimes with a short hold on new sellers, so check each platform's payout timing. Plan your cash flow around when money actually lands, especially early on when a hold can catch you off guard.
Fees are just a line in the math
It is easy to resent platform fees, but on shipping platforms they buy real things: buyer traffic, payment processing, and protection if a sale goes wrong. Priced in correctly, a fee is just a line in your calculation, not a loss. Resellers who account for every cost up front price with confidence and never feel shorted when the money lands.
Common questions
Does Facebook Marketplace charge a selling fee?
For local pickup, Facebook Marketplace typically has no platform selling fee - cash in hand is the full amount. Fees generally apply to shipped orders. Check the current terms, since fees change and vary by how the item is sold.
What costs come out of my sale price?
Any platform selling fee, shipping, packing supplies, gas to source and meet, and cleaning or repair. Subtract all of it from the sale price to find your real profit. The sale price alone is never your profit.
Why does this matter most on cheap items?
On low-priced flips, fees, shipping, and gas can eat most of the margin and turn a small profit into a wash. Running the real net before you buy tells you whether a cheap item is worth the time at all.
Do shipping platforms take more than local pickup?
Usually yes. eBay, Poshmark, and OfferUp shipping charge a percentage selling fee, while local pickup on Marketplace often has none. Factor the platform's fee into your price so shipping does not quietly eat your margin.
How fast do I actually get the money?
Local pickup cash clears instantly. Shipping platforms pay out to your bank after the sale, sometimes with a hold on new sellers. Check each platform's payout timing and plan cash flow around when money truly lands.
Are platform fees worth paying?
On shipping platforms, often yes - they buy buyer traffic, payment processing, and protection if a sale goes wrong. Priced in correctly, a fee is just a line in your math. The key is accounting for it before you set your price.
Keep going
Know your real profit on every single flip
Get the other 14 in the pricing stack, plus the full FB Marketplace Resellers Club community - $9/mo, cancel anytime.
Join the Club