The short version
- Typical range: £2 – £12 — see the full childrens books value guide
- What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
- Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
- Category: Books
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.
- Sort into age bands and series, since that is how parents shop rather than by individual title.
- Check every book for drawing, torn pages and missing flaps or wheels on interactive books.
- Discard anything mouldy or badly damaged rather than padding the bundle with it.
The photographs that sell childrens books
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 bundle laid out with covers visible and countable
- Any complete series grouped together
- A representative interior page
- Any scribbling, tear, missing flap or chewed corner
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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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
Age range, series and quantity: “15 Julia Donaldson Picture Books, Age 2-5” or “[Series] Complete Set, 10 Books, Age 7-9”. Age range and named authors are what parents search. Board books, picture books and chapter books are distinct markets, so say which.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- How many books and which titles or series
- The age range they suit
- Format — board, picture or chapter books
- Honest condition, including any drawing, tears or missing parts
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about childrens books. 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.
Check every book and say. A child’s scribble is completely normal and buyers accept it when told; discovering it across a whole bundle is what causes complaints.
Give the range. Parents are buying for a specific child and reading level, which matters far more than the number of books.
On interactive books, check every one. A lift-the-flap book with the flaps torn off is a different product and should be priced as such.
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 childrens books 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 £7 sale — roughly the middle of the range for childrens books — 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 | £7 |
| Poshmark | −£1 | £6 |
| eBay | −£1 | £6 |
| Mercari | −£1 | £6 |
| Etsy | −£0 | £7 |
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 at the start of school terms. Named authors and complete series sell within days; mixed bundles need to be priced attractively.
Heavy in bulk. Weigh before pricing and consider local collection for a large box, since postage can easily exceed what the books are worth.
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 are used children’s books worth?
Typically £2 to £12 each, and bundles are priced well below that per book. See the children’s books value guide for the bands.
Will people buy books that have been drawn in?
Yes, at a lower price, provided you say so. Parents of young children are realistic about it. What they object to is a bundle described as good condition arriving covered in crayon.
Should I bundle by age or by author?
Both work, but complete series by a named author sell best of all. Failing that, a tight age band is more useful to a parent than a large mixed box.
See also: what a used childrens books is worth · browse live books listings · condition grades explained.