The short version
- Typical range: £20 – £120 — see the full cookware set value guide
- What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
- Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
- Category: Kitchen & Appliances
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.
- Lay out every piece and match lids to pans, then count what is actually there against what the set should contain.
- Test induction compatibility by holding a magnet to each base and say what happens.
- Check the non-stick coating on each pan. Scratched or flaking coating must be disclosed, because it is the reason people replace pans.
The photographs that sell a cookware set
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 whole set laid out together on a plain surface, everything visible
- The bases of all the pans together, showing material and any warping
- The inside of the pans, showing the coating condition honestly
- Any maker’s stamp, plus every scratch, flake or missing lid
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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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
Brand, piece count and material: “Le Creuset 5 Piece Stainless Steel Pan Set, Induction Compatible” or “Non-Stick Cookware Set, 7 Pieces”. Piece count and the words induction compatible are both direct searches, and the second one saves you a stream of identical questions.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- Exactly which pieces are included, with diameters
- Base material — stainless steel, aluminium, hard anodised or non-stick coated
- Whether every piece is induction compatible, oven safe and dishwasher safe
- Coating condition per pan, and whether all lids are present
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about a cookware set. 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.
Hold a magnet to each base and report the result. A magnet that grips means it will work, and that test is more reliable than anything printed on a decade-old pan.
Photograph the inside of each pan in daylight. Buyers assume the worst about used non-stick, so an honest clear photo of a good surface actively helps you.
Count them and say. A pan without its lid is worth much less, and missing lids are the most common gap in a used set.
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 cookware set 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 £70 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a cookware set — 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 | £70 |
| Poshmark | −£14 | £56 |
| eBay | −£10 | £60 |
| Mercari | −£7 | £63 |
| Etsy | −£5 | £65 |
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
Lifts before Christmas and in September when people set up new households. Stainless and cast sets sell steadily; well-used non-stick sets are slow at any price.
Heavy and bulky together, so weigh the boxed set before quoting postage. Collection often makes more sense for a full set, and nesting the pans with paper between them prevents scratching in transit.
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 cookware set worth?
Typically £20 to £120, with premium stainless and cast brands well above and worn non-stick at the bottom. The cookware set value guide prices each grade.
Should I sell scratched non-stick pans?
Be honest about it and price them as what they are. Many buyers will not want flaking non-stick at all, so it is usually better to sell the sound pieces of a set separately than to bundle a worn pan in quietly.
Do people pay more for a complete set?
Yes, noticeably. A matched set with all lids attracts buyers furnishing a kitchen from scratch and beats the sum of the same pans sold individually.
See also: what a used cookware set is worth · browse live kitchen & appliances listings · condition grades explained.