The short version
- Typical range: £40 – £250 — see the full retro console value guide
- What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
- Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
- Category: Gaming
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.
- Test it on a modern television and note what adapter is required, since most retro consoles need one.
- Check for battery corrosion in any cartridge or save battery, and clean the cartridge or disc contacts.
- Gather every original controller, lead, power supply and the box, and identify the exact regional model.
The photographs that sell a retro console
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 console with all controllers and leads laid out together
- The console powered on and displaying a game on screen
- The model and region markings on the underside
- The box if present, plus any yellowing, scuff, corrosion or missing part
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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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
Console, region and completeness: “Super Nintendo SNES PAL, Boxed with 2 Controllers, Tested”. Region matters because cartridges and power supplies differ. The words boxed, complete and tested are all filters collectors actually use, so only claim what is true.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- Exact console model and region
- What is included — controllers, leads, power supply, box, manuals, games
- Whether it has been tested on a modern display and what adapter it needs
- Yellowing, corrosion or modification, described honestly
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about a retro console. 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.
Test it and say what adapter you used. Most retro consoles output over connections modern sets no longer have, and buyers need to know what else they must buy.
Disclose any modification, including region mods and replacement capacitors. Some buyers want a modded console and others specifically do not, but nobody wants a surprise.
Check the compartment and any save battery and photograph it. Corrosion spreads and is a genuine condition issue.
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 retro console 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 £145 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a retro console — 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 | £145 |
| Poshmark | −£29 | £116 |
| eBay | −£20 | £125 |
| Mercari | −£14 | £131 |
| Etsy | −£9 | £136 |
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 to collectors year round with a Christmas lift. Boxed complete consoles sell quickly; bare untested units are slow and worth a fraction.
Pack heavily — retro plastic is brittle and boxes are a large part of the value. Post the console and box double boxed, with the box protected in its own right.
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 retro console worth?
Typically £40 to £250, with boxed complete examples and rarer models far above. See the retro console value guide for the bands.
Does yellowed plastic reduce the value?
Somewhat, and it is very common on older consoles. Photograph it in daylight and describe it honestly. Do not attempt aggressive whitening treatments before selling, which can go badly wrong.
Is the original box worth keeping?
Absolutely. On retro hardware the box and inserts can be worth as much as the console itself, so never throw one away or post it unprotected.
See also: what a used retro console is worth · browse live gaming listings · condition grades explained.