Jamie Iannone has a line he likes to repeat. On eBay’s October 2026 earnings call, the company’s CEO put it this way: “I like to say that the average household has $4 thousand of stuff that could be online, and less than 20% of it is online.”
That figure is his talking point, not a study, and eBay has an obvious interest in getting more of it listed. The buying side is easier to measure.
In eBay’s annual survey on recommerce, the resale of used goods, 47% of consumers polled worldwide said they buy secondhand at least monthly, up from 35% in 2025.
For anyone downsizing, or emptying a parent’s house, that demand is the useful part. What reaches your pocket depends on fees, pricing and one tax rule that trips up a lot of casual sellers.
Fees come off the top
For most categories, eBay charges a final value fee of 13.6% of the total sale up to $7,500, plus 40 cents on orders over $10. On a $100 sale, that is about $14, before you pay for shipping and packaging.
Some categories cost more. Most jewelry runs 15% on sales of $5,000 or less, and handbags carry the same rate up to $2,000. Sellers get 250 listings a month with no insertion fee, so listing a whole closet does not cost anything until something sells.
Run that math before you list a $12 sweater. Shipping and fees can swallow small sales, and a local pickup through a neighborhood marketplace or a garage sale may leave you with more.
Price from what sold, not what is listed
Asking prices on any marketplace tell you what sellers hope for. Filtering a search to sold items shows what buyers actually paid for the same model or maker in the past few months. Match the condition honestly, and photograph flaws. A return can wipe out the profit on a modest sale.
Brand names, complete sets, working electronics and collectibles tend to move. Iannone said collectibles were eBay’s largest growth contributor in late 2026.
Much of the rest of a typical household fills thrift store shelves for a reason. Before you spend a weekend photographing heirlooms, check the inherited items a professional reseller says are worth little.
Jewelry is its own sale
Gold and diamond pieces are valued mostly for their materials, so condition matters less than karat and weight. That makes a broken chain or a single earring worth weighing before it goes in a donation bag. Doing the math on your gold jewelry gives you a floor price before you hear an offer.
If you would rather skip the listing entirely, Unvault gives estimates on gold, diamond and gemstone jewelry from photos you take at home, including broken or mismatched pieces. Selling is optional after you see the estimate, so you can compare it with other offers first.
The IRS rule most sellers get wrong
Marketplaces and payment apps aren’t required to send a Form 1099-K unless your payments for the year top $20,000 and you have more than 200 transactions. Some states set lower thresholds, and a platform can send the form even below the threshold. Most people clearing out a house won’t reach the federal threshold.
The form is not what decides taxes, though. Selling your own used things for less than you paid is a loss, and the IRS says no tax is owed on it. If a form does arrive, you can report the amount and zero it out.
Selling something for more than you paid, such as a collectible bought cheaply decades ago, is a taxable gain, with or without a form. Keep any receipts or records showing what an item originally cost.
Where the $4,000 comes from
Whatever the real number is in your home, it rarely arrives as one big sale. It tends to come from a handful of items worth listing carefully, a batch of small things sold locally and a final carload to a donation center.
Start with what is easy to price. Sort the rest by a single test: Is it worth a box and a shipping label? Whatever fails that test can go to one of the better-run thrift store chains, and the house is clear either way.
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