The short version
- Typical range: £1,500 – £9,000 — see the full van value guide
- What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
- Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
- Category: Vehicles
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.
- Gather the registration document, full service history, MOT certificates and receipts for any recent major work.
- Confirm no finance is outstanding and be ready to evidence it, since buyers check against the registration.
- Clean it inside and out including the load area, and note the ply lining, bulkhead, roof height and load length.
The photographs that sell a van
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 van from a front and a rear three-quarter angle
- The load area with the doors open, empty and swept
- The cab interior and the odometer reading
- The service book, MOT paperwork, and every dent, scuff, rust patch or repair
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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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
Make, model, year, mileage and specification: “[Make] [Model] L2 H2 2018, 84k Miles, Full Service History, MOT to [date]”. Body length and roof height codes are how trade buyers search, and mileage plus MOT expiry are what everyone filters on.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- Make, model, year, mileage and engine
- Body length and roof height, and internal load length, width and height
- MOT expiry, service history and any recent major work with receipts
- Ownership status, previous keepers, and whether any finance is outstanding
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about a van. 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.
Answer directly and be prepared to show it. Buyers run a check as a matter of routine, and undisclosed finance destroys the sale and your credibility together.
The full history is publicly checkable, so summarise it honestly including advisories. A buyer who finds an advisory you did not mention assumes there is more you did not mention.
Expect it. Check their licence and that they are insured to drive it, go with them, and treat any reluctance to show a licence as a reason to stop.
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 van 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 £5,250 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a van — 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 | £5,250 |
| Poshmark | −£1,050 | £4,200 |
| eBay | −£714 | £4,536 |
| Mercari | −£525 | £4,725 |
| Etsy | −£341 | £4,909 |
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
Steady year round with a lift in early spring as trades gear up. Well-documented vans with a long MOT and full history sell within a week; high-mileage vans without records take much longer.
Never release the van or the registration document until funds have fully cleared in your own account. Complete the registration transfer immediately so liability moves with the vehicle, write a dated receipt naming both parties, the registration and the price, and keep a copy. WishThrift does not hold funds.
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 van worth?
Typically £1,500 to £9,000 depending on age, mileage, condition and history. See the van value guide for the condition bands.
How do I take payment for a van safely?
A bank transfer that has fully cleared in your account before the keys and documents move. Refuse overpayment refunds, staged payments after collection, and any third-party payment-holding service introduced by the buyer.
Should I sell a van with an expired MOT?
You can, but expect a substantially lower price, since the buyer carries the risk of what a test finds. Getting it tested first usually returns more than it costs unless you already know it needs major work.
See also: what a used van is worth · browse live vehicles listings · condition grades explained.