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WishThrift

Fair Shoes and Footwear — Second-Hand Buying Guide

Fair means a fault the seller has named, and it prices shoes and footwear at about 45% of the top grade: $2 to $73 across this category (about £2 to £54). A specific failure: the sole separating at the toe, a hole worn through the tread, a broken eyelet, a collapsed heel counter.

Where the line falls

Shoes wear from the ground up: the outsole goes first, then the heel counter collapses, and the upper creases along the flex point.

For comparison, one grade up is Good Shoes and Footwear and one step down is For Parts Shoes and Footwear.

What shoes and footwear are worth here

GradeShare of top priceTypical range
Goodabout 65%$4 to $105
Fairabout 45%$2 to $73
For Partsabout 25%$1 to $40

Guide ranges, not quotes, at £1 ≈ $1.35 (August 2026). All five grades.

What pulls the price down at this grade

  • Ankle Boots — Worn heel tips and eroded heel blocks
  • Boots — Cemented soles that cannot be replaced
  • Chelsea Boots — Stretched or perished gussets, which cannot be tightened
  • Cycling Shoes — Failed BOA dials and broken ratchets
  • Dance Shoes — Worn-through suede soles
  • Flats — Wear-through at the ball of the foot
  • Flip Flops — Toe posts pulling through the sole
  • Football Boots — Worn-down or missing studs
  • Heels — Worn-through heel tips showing the metal pin

Listing at the Fair grade

Photograph the failure with the shoe flexed, so a buyer can see how far the separation opens rather than guessing at it.

Shots that carry the most weight in shoes and footwear:

On a typical $38 listing, a marketplace charging 20% takes $8, one charging 13.6% takes $5 and one charging 10% takes $4. WishThrift charges neither side, so you keep the whole $38. Listing is free.

Browse shoes and footwear

See every listing at the Fair grade, or the whole Shoes & Footwear category at every grade. The grade is the seller’s own; WishThrift does not inspect or verify items.

Other grades in shoes and footwear: New with Tags, Like New, Good, For Parts.

Common questions

Is the sole coming away, and how far along?

Still recognisably a pair of shoes and possibly still wearable, but with one part that has actually given way rather than merely worn.

What is the difference between Fair and For Parts shoes and footwear?

Anything falling short of Fair is graded For Parts Shoes and Footwear.