The short version
- Typical range: £4 – £30 — see the full picture frames value guide
- What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
- Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
- Category: Home & Garden
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.
- Measure the aperture, which is the picture size the frame takes, and separately the external dimensions.
- Check the glass for scratches and the corners for separation, which is where cheap frames fail.
- Confirm the backing board, clips and hanging fixings are all present.
The photographs that sell picture frames
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 frame face on, whole
- The back, showing clips, backing board and hanging fixings
- A corner close up, showing the joint
- The glass in raking light, plus any chip, scratch or separation
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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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
Aperture size and material: “Set of 3 Oak Picture Frames, A4 Aperture, Free Standing”. The picture size the frame takes is the search. Say whether it has glass or acrylic, and whether it hangs portrait, landscape or both.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- Aperture size and external dimensions
- Frame material and finish
- Whether glazed with glass or acrylic, and whether a mount is included
- Whether the backing, clips and hanging fixings are present
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about picture frames. 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.
Give the aperture, not the outside measurement. Buyers are matching a specific print or photograph and the external size tells them nothing useful.
Look across it in raking light and photograph it. Glass scratches are invisible face on and obvious once hung.
Check and say. Frames turn up without backing and clips constantly, and replacing them for an unusual size is fiddly.
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 picture frames 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 £17 sale — roughly the middle of the range for picture frames — 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 | £17 |
| Poshmark | −£3 | £14 |
| eBay | −£2 | £15 |
| Mercari | −£2 | £15 |
| Etsy | −£1 | £16 |
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 before Christmas and in spring. Sets of matching frames sell far better than singles.
Glass makes these awkward to post — use corner protectors and a rigid box, or sell locally. Acrylic-glazed frames post much more safely and it is worth saying which yours has.
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 picture frames worth?
Typically £4 to £30, with large, antique and gilt frames above. See the picture frames value guide for the bands.
Should I sell frames individually or as a set?
Matching sets sell considerably better, because buyers are usually creating a gallery wall. Group them by finish and aperture rather than listing singles.
Is it worth posting a glazed frame?
Only with proper corner protection and a rigid box, and even then it is a risk. Consider removing the glass and saying so, or selling locally.
See also: what a used picture frames is worth · browse live home & garden listings · condition grades explained.