Sell Your Used Rowing Machine — 0% Fees

A used rowing machine typically sells for £80 to £450, and on WishThrift it costs you nothing to list — no fee, no commission, so you keep the whole amount you agree. Rowing machines sell better than most gym equipment because they fold, but the buyer’s real question is the resistance type — air, water, magnetic and hydraulic are entirely different products.

The short version

Typical range: £80 – £450 — see the full rowing machine value guide
What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
Category: Sports & Outdoors

Before you photograph it

Ten minutes here is worth more than anything else you will do. Buyers are deciding between your listing and someone else’s, and preparation is what visibly separates the two.

Identify the resistance type and note the brand and model.
Row on it for a few minutes and check the chain or strap runs smoothly, the seat rollers do not grind, and the monitor reads.
Fit a fresh battery in the monitor and clean the rail, which is where dust and grit collect.

The photographs that sell a rowing machine

Four photographs do almost all the work. Shoot in daylight, near a window, with the item against something plain — and do not use the flash, which flattens texture and hides exactly what buyers are trying to see.

The machine assembled, side on, whole
The monitor lit and displaying a reading
The seat and rail, clean
Folded or separated for storage, plus the flywheel or water tank

Photograph the flaws too. It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover. Buyers who can see the damage stop imagining something worse.

Writing the title and description

Resistance type and brand: “Concept2 Model D Air Rowing Machine with PM5 Monitor”. Resistance type is the primary filter. Say whether it separates or folds for storage, which is the second thing every buyer wants to know.

Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:

Resistance type: air, water, magnetic or hydraulic
Brand, model and monitor type
Assembled and stored dimensions, and whether it separates or folds
Maximum user weight, and the condition of the seat rollers and chain or strap

What buyers will actually ask

You will receive the same three messages about a rowing machine. Answering them in the listing itself removes the back-and-forth, and answering them well when they do arrive is what turns an enquiry into a sale.

“What resistance type is it?”

Name it. Air and water machines feel completely different from magnetic ones and buyers usually know which they want.

“Does it fold or come apart?”

Say so and give the stored dimensions. Storage is the main hesitation with rowing machines and this answer resolves it.

“Does the monitor work?”

Fit a fresh battery and photograph it displaying a reading. A dead monitor makes buyers assume the machine is neglected.

Pricing it so it actually sells

Start from the honest condition grade rather than the price you hope for. WishThrift listings use five grades — New with Tags, Like New, Good, Fair and For Parts — and what each grade means is worth reading before you choose, because grading up is the most expensive mistake sellers make. It does not raise the price; it produces a buyer who arrives expecting something else.

The rowing machine value guide prices all five grades for this item. Pick your grade, take the figure, and if you sit between two grades price toward the lower one. Items priced honestly sell faster than items priced hopefully, and on a free platform there is no fee eating the difference anyway.

What you keep, compared

On a £265 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a rowing machine — here is what the commission-charging platforms would take, and what you would keep on each:

Where you sell it	Fee	You keep
WishThrift	£0	£265
Poshmark	−£53	£212
eBay	−£36	£229
Mercari	−£26	£239
Etsy	−£17	£248

Seller-side rates verified 26 Jul 2026 — Poshmark: 20% commission on sales of $15 and above; eBay: 13.6% final value fee, plus a per-order fee; Mercari: flat 10% selling fee; Etsy: 6.5% transaction fee, plus a listing fee and payment processing. Percentages are applied to the sterling figure above; the fixed per-order and processing charges those platforms add are quoted in their own currency and are not included here, so the real deductions are slightly larger. Full breakdown: marketplace selling fees compared.

Timing and getting it to the buyer

January is by far the strongest month, with a secondary lift in autumn. Recognised brands hold value remarkably well and sell within days in season.

Collection in practice, though many separate into two parts that fit in a car — say so if yours does, because buyers assume they need a van.

WishThrift does not process payments or arrange delivery — you and the buyer agree both directly — so confirm payment has cleared before the item leaves your hands, and keep the conversation on the site so there is a record of what was agreed.

Ready to list it? It takes about two minutes, costs nothing, and there is no commission when it sells — create a free account or see how selling works.

Frequently asked questions

What is a used rowing machine worth?

Typically £80 to £450, with well-regarded air and water machines holding value strongly. See the rowing machine value guide for the condition breakdown.

Which rowing machine resistance is best?

Air machines are the gym standard and hold value best; water machines are quieter with a distinctive feel; magnetic machines are the quietest and cheapest. State which you have — buyers usually have a firm preference.

When should I sell a rowing machine?

January, comfortably. New year demand is real and prices are noticeably higher than mid-year, so holding one until January is usually worth doing.