KaratMarket vs. Traditional Marketplace Fees: What It Actually Costs to Sell Gold, Silver & Jewelry Online

The short version

KaratMarket charges a flat 2.75% seller fee (lower with sales volume, down to a 2% floor). Typical final-value fees at large general marketplaces for the categories that matter here run 13% to 15%, plus a per-order fee on top. That's not a rounding difference — it's roughly 5x the cost on the exact same sale.

What general marketplaces typically charge

• Coins & paper money (non-bullion): around 13% final value fee, plus a per-order fee
• Bullion: around 13-14% up to a few thousand dollars, dropping to a lower rate above that threshold, plus a per-order fee
• Jewelry & watches (most items): around 15% up to several thousand dollars, dropping at higher price points, plus a per-order fee
• Plus insertion/listing fees once you exceed the free monthly allowance most platforms offer

The same sale, two platforms

Say you sell a $2,000 gold necklace. At a typical general-marketplace jewelry fee tier around 15%, that's a $300 fee before you've even paid for shipping supplies or dealt with a return. On KaratMarket, the seller fee on that same $2,000 sale is 2.75% — $55. That's $245 that stays in your pocket instead of going to platform fees, on one listing.

Why the gap is this big

General marketplace fee structures are built for selling everything from car parts to sneakers — precious metals and jewelry just get folded into whatever category fee applies, with no adjustment for the fact that bullion sells near a known, transparent spot price with thin margins to begin with. A 13-15% fee makes sense for a used electronics flip; it eats the entire realistic margin on a bullion sale.

It gets cheaper the more you sell

KaratMarket's fee drops with your track record: 10 completed sales cuts your fee by 0.25 points, 25 sales cuts it by 0.5 points, down to a 2% floor. Most general marketplaces don't reward volume sellers the same way in these categories — the percentage stays the same whether it's your first sale or your five hundredth.