Soda vs eBay: An Open Marketplace vs a Trade-Only Network
eBay is a public marketplace with tiered final value fees on every watch sold. Here's how a trade-only network of verified dealers with no commissions compares.
By Dejan Zoric
5 min read
The short answer
eBay is a public marketplace where individuals and businesses sell watches to the public, paying a tiered final value fee on each sale, with mandatory authentication for eligible watches of $2,000 and up. Soda is a trade-only network where verified dealers trade with each other at trade prices with no commissions. On the Team plan, Soda can also publish your watches to eBay US.
Key takeaways
- eBay charges a final value fee on every watch sold, tiered by price, plus a per-order fee.
- On a $10,000 watch, eBay's listed fees come to about $648 without a store and about $435 with a Basic or higher store, before the store subscription.
- Soda is trade-only: verified dealers, trade prices, binding deals and no commissions.
- On the Team plan, Soda can publish your inventory to eBay US with a separate end user price.
Facts about other companies come from their own public websites, checked October 6, 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
On this page
eBay is the biggest open marketplace most dealers will ever list on: sellers of every size reach the public, and the platform takes a fee on every sale. Soda is the opposite kind of room. Only verified watch businesses get in, they trade with each other at trade prices, and nobody takes a cut.
That's the short verdict. You don't have to choose between them, either, and I'll explain why at the end.
I sold watches for years before building Soda. The trade I knew ran on group chats, screenshots and trust that couldn't be checked, not on public auction pages. Here's a fair, sourced look at how the two compare. For the full picture across every type of tool, see our watch dealer platform comparison.
What eBay is
eBay is a general public marketplace with a large watch category. For Watches, Parts & Accessories, as of October 2026, a seller without a store pays a final value fee of 15% on the sale up to $1,000, 6.5% on the portion from $1,000 to $7,500 and 3% on anything above $7,500, plus a $0.40 per-order fee on orders over $10. After 250 free listings a month, each further listing costs $0.35.[1]
Sellers with a Basic or higher store pay less per sale in this category: 12.5% up to $1,000, 4% from $1,000 to $5,000, and 3% above $5,000. Store subscriptions are listed from $4.95 a month on a yearly plan ($7.95 on a monthly plan) for Starter, with Basic at $21.95 a month on a yearly plan or $27.95 on a monthly plan.[2]
For watches, eBay's Authenticity Guarantee is mandatory and free for eligible watches priced $2,000 and above, and available as an $80 add-on for select watches from $500 to $1,999.99. Smartwatches, parts, accessories and customised watches with non-original parts aren't eligible.[3]
Why I built Soda differently
eBay is built so anyone can sell anything to anyone. That openness is its strength for retail, and it's why every sale carries a fee: the platform brings the buyer.
Between dealers, the buyer isn't the problem. We know where the buyers are. The problem is trust, speed and records: knowing who's real, making a deal stick and getting paid to the right account. I built Soda for the people who actually do this work, with one flat subscription instead of a percentage of every deal.
eBay vs Soda at a glance
As of October 2026, from each company's own pages.
| eBay | Soda | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | A public marketplace for every kind of seller | Dealer-to-dealer trade |
| Who you sell to | The public | Verified dealers with real full name, company and rank, manually reviewed |
| Fee per watch sold (no store) | 15% up to $1,000, 6.5% to $7,500, 3% above, plus $0.40 per order | No commissions. No initiation fee. |
| Fee per watch sold (Basic+ store) | 12.5% up to $1,000, 4% to $5,000, 3% above, plus a store subscription | One flat subscription, two plans with the same features |
| Prices | Retail prices for end buyers | Trade prices between dealers |
| Claiming a watch | Retail checkout | Mark as Sold: first confirmed buyer wins, backup queue |
| Offers and trades | Best Offer on fixed-price listings | Binding offers and trade offers with cash either way |
| Publishing to eBay | Listed on eBay directly | Team plan: publish to your own eBay US account from your Soda inventory |
What a percentage costs on a real watch
Take a $10,000 watch, using eBay's listed fees for this category. Without a store: 15% of the first $1,000 is $150, 6.5% of the next $6,500 is $422.50 and 3% of the last $2,500 is $75, plus $0.40 for the order. That's about $648 on one sale.[1] With a Basic or higher store, the same watch costs $125 plus $160 plus $150, plus $0.40: about $435, before the store subscription.[2]
That's a reasonable price for reaching the public. It isn't a price that works on a dealer-to-dealer deal where the margin is already thin. On Soda, there are no commissions on listings, Mark as Sold, offers, trade offers or auctions. Solo is $80 USD a month and Team is $150 USD a month, with every plan on the pricing page.
Who's on the other side of the deal
eBay is open by design: its buyers are the public, and its sellers range from individuals to large businesses. On Soda, nobody trades until our team has manually reviewed them: ID, a selfie holding the ID and business documents. Every profile shows the real full name, company and rank, with the verification date, completed deals, completion rate, ratings, vouches and strikes. Contact details stay private and you talk in the app. Our team doesn't trade on Soda.
Auctions built for the trade
On Soda, live auctions are for dealers only. Every bidder is a verified business bidding under a real name, bids are binding, max bids and tiered increments are built in, and any bid in the final minute extends the clock by 60 seconds. No deposits. Once an auction ends, the winner and seller move straight into a deal page with secure, verified payment details shown only inside that deal. We never touch your money.
A trade floor, not a listing feed
On the Soda marketplace, every verified dealer's public listings and auctions are in one place, with one search bar that understands references in any format, nicknames and typos. A buyer taps Mark as Sold to commit at the listed price; the first confirmed buyer wins, the seller confirms within 24 hours, and there's a backup queue if the first buyer falls through. A Looking For request alerts you in the app and by email the moment a matching watch is listed.
eBay's own fees and rules still apply to sales on eBay, including Authenticity Guarantee for eligible watches of $2,000 and up.[3] Wholesale and end user prices never mix: other dealers never see your end user price, and eBay never sees your wholesale price. For the process side of running stock across channels, see watch dealer inventory management.
Who Soda is for
Soda is for registered watch businesses that trade with other dealers: independents, wholesalers and teams. It isn't open to the public and it isn't for selling to collectors. If eBay is your retail channel, keep it, and let Soda handle the trade and the publishing. If most of your volume moves dealer to dealer, Soda was built for you. For the retail side, see how to sell watches online.
The bottom line
eBay is an open marketplace that brings you the public and takes a tiered fee on every watch you sell. Soda is a trade-only network of verified dealers, with trade prices, binding deals, live auctions and no commissions. They do different jobs, and on the Team plan you can run both from one inventory.
Your wholesale floor, with eBay on the side
No commissions. No initiation fee. Trade with verified dealers on Soda and publish to your own retail channels when you choose. See every row on How we compare, browse all features, then apply for access or book a demo.
Questions dealers ask
Is eBay a good place to sell watches as a dealer?
It reaches a very large public audience, and eBay authenticates eligible watches of $2,000 and up for free. The trade-off is a final value fee on every sale. As of October 2026, without a store that's 15% up to $1,000, 6.5% on the portion up to $7,500 and 3% above that, plus $0.40 per order.
What are eBay's fees for selling a watch?
As listed on eBay's fee pages in October 2026, Watches, Parts & Accessories pay 15% on the first $1,000, 6.5% on the portion from $1,000 to $7,500 and 3% above $7,500, plus $0.40 per order over $10. Basic and higher store subscribers pay 12.5%, 4% from $1,000 to $5,000, and 3% above $5,000.
What is the best eBay alternative for selling watches to other dealers?
eBay is built for selling to the public. For dealer-to-dealer trade, look for a trade-only platform where every member is a verified business and deals are binding. Soda was built for that, with no commissions on trades.
Can I use eBay and Soda together?
Yes. On the Team plan, Soda can publish watches from your inventory to your own eBay US account as fixed-price listings with Best Offer, using a separate end user price. eBay's own fees and rules, including Authenticity Guarantee, still apply to those sales.