eBay vs Australian stores: Pokémon fees and costs
By DexCompareUpdated prices checked
On this page7 sections
Buying on eBay Australia can be cheaper than a store, or dearer once postage is added; selling there can cost you nothing in fees, or more than a store would pay you. Here’s how to work out which, with today’s prices from 61 Australian stores as the yardstick and eBay’s published fees, checked 21 October 2026.
The yardstick: what Australian stores charge today
Before you judge an eBay price, know the going rate. Here are the newest set’s headline products in Australia right now: the cheapest store, and the middle price of all the stores that have each one in stock.
30th Celebration
Released| Product | Cheapest store | Middle price | In stock at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booster Box | Cheapest storeSold without a booster box | Middle price— | In stock at— |
| Elite Trainer Box 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box | Cheapest storeA$259.95 | Middle priceA$279.95 | In stock at11 stores |
| Booster Bundle 30th Celebration Booster Bundle | Cheapest storeA$149.95 | Middle priceA$159.99 | In stock at9 stores |
Take the Elite Trainer Box: the cheapest Australian store asks A$259.95 today and the middle price is A$279.95. An eBay listing for the same product only saves you money if its price plus postage comes in under A$259.95 plus that store’s own delivery charge.
Store prices here include GST and exclude shipping. The 30th Celebration set page has every product from the set, and each product page ranks every store that stocks it.
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission. Goes to ebay.com.au.
Buying: an eBay listing against a store
An eBay price and a store price aren’t quite the same thing. Line them up on these points before you decide:
- Postage. Our store prices leave shipping out, and so does an eBay headline price. Compare the total of each: item plus delivery to your postcode.
- GST. Australian stores show prices with Australia’s standard 10% GST included. On eBay, check the total at checkout, especially from a seller overseas, where import charges may apply.
- Where it ships from. An item located overseas can take weeks and is harder to return. eBay shows the item’s location on every listing.
- New or not. Store listings we compare are new, sealed, English-language product. An eBay listing can be anything: read the condition and the description, not just the title.
Older sets are where eBay earns its place. Once a product is out of print and no Australian store lists it, private sellers may be the only source. For a current booster box, Elite Trainer Box or booster bundle, check the stores first.
Buyer protection and seller ratings
eBay runs its own buyer protection for items that don’t arrive or don’t match the listing, which it calls the eBay Money Back Guarantee. Read eBay’s terms for what it covers and how long you have to make a claim before you rely on it, and keep the whole conversation and payment on eBay. A store, for its part, is a business bound by Australian Consumer Law, and a card payment gives you a way to dispute a charge either way.
- Check the seller’s feedback: the score, the percentage positive, and recent comments on sealed product in particular.
- Check the photos show the actual item, from more than one side, not only the publisher’s product image.
- Check the exact product: the set, the type and the language, in the title and in the item specifics.
- Check the returns terms on the listing, and whether the seller accepts returns at all.
- Check a price far under the stores’ twice. The resealed product guide says what to look for.
Selling: eBay Australia’s fees
If you’re on the other side, the fee you pay depends on who you are as a seller. These are eBay Australia’s published rates, as we read them on 21 October 2026 from eBay Australia’s “Selling fees” page:
- Australia-based sellers with up to A$25,000 in sales over the past 12 months and no Pro plan. No final value fee and no per-order fee.
- Sellers registered outside Australia, without a Pro plan: 13.4% of the total up to A$4,000, then 2.5% above it, plus A$0.30 an order.
- Pro plans: the rate depends on the plan and the category, so there is no single figure to print. In the calculator, choose Custom and enter the rate from your Seller Hub.
eBay charges its percentage on the total the buyer pays, which includes the postage you charge, not just the item price. Fees change and promotions come and go, so confirm your own rate in Seller Hub before you price anything big.
Two worked examples
Say you sell an Elite Trainer Box for A$60.00 and a booster box for A$250, charging the buyer A$12.00 postage on each (an example figure: use your own). Here is what eBay takes under each published schedule.
| Sale | Buyer pays | Fees: free selling | Fees: registered outside Australia |
|---|---|---|---|
| An Elite Trainer Box at A$60.00 | Buyer paysA$72.00 | Fees: free sellingA$0.00 | Fees: registered outside AustraliaA$9.95 (13.8%) |
| A booster box at A$250 | Buyer paysA$262 | Fees: free sellingA$0.00 | Fees: registered outside AustraliaA$35.41 (13.5%) |
On the Elite Trainer Box, the buyer pays A$72.00. A seller registered outside Australia pays A$9.65 as a percentage plus A$0.30 for the order, A$9.95 in all, and eBay passes on A$62.05. On the booster box the buyer pays A$262, the fees come to A$35.41 and A$226.59 is left. An Australia-based seller under the threshold keeps the whole A$72.00 and A$262.
Either way, that isn’t profit yet. Take off what the postage really costs you, the packaging, and what you paid for the item. The selling fee calculator does all of that in one go, with these presets or your own rate.
Selling to a store: credit or cash
Some card stores buy sealed product and cards, or take them as a trade-in. A store pays less than it will sell the item for, because it has to sell it again; the offer is often higher in store credit than in cash. Each store sets its own rates, so ask for both figures.
To compare an offer with an eBay sale, put the store’s offer in the trade calculator, which works out what a credit percentage is worth, and the same item in the selling fee calculator. The value checker gives you the price to start from: what Australian stores ask for the same sealed product today.
- A store is the better route
- When you want it done today, when you’ll spend the credit at that store anyway, or when the item is small enough that postage and packing eat most of an eBay sale. No listing, no buyer questions, no parcel that might go missing.
- eBay is the better route
- When what eBay leaves you after fees and real postage is clearly more than the store’s offer, and you don’t mind the time it takes to list, answer questions and post the item.
- Selling to a friend
- No fees on either side. Agree on a price from the cheapest store and the middle price, and meet in person so nothing needs posting.
Where to buy
DexCompare puts Australian stores side by side: each one’s own listed price in AUD, excluding shipping, ranked by price and stock. Stores pay nothing to be listed, and commissions never change the order.
Buying from a store you haven’t used before? Check its contact details, delivery costs and returns policy first, and check the shrink-wrap and seals when your order arrives.