Used generators in Edinburgh typically sell for £80 to £500 (about $110 to $675). Generators are judged on running hours and how they start, and a machine that has sat unused for years is often harder to sell than a used one.
Selling a generator in Edinburgh
Edinburgh is a university and finance city whose population swells enormously every August for the festival, and that single month does more to move second-hand goods here than any other part of the year. Outside it, the Old and New Town tenement stock means most people live in flats and buy furniture to fit them.
August brings a large temporary population that arrives with things and leaves without them, and September brings the students. Between them the autumn is reliably the best time to buy here and a slower time to sell.
The Old Town is steep, cobbled and awkward for vehicles, with restricted access on several streets, so anything heavy needs a conversation about where a van can actually stop. Trams and buses cover the rest of the city and handle small handovers fine.
Edinburgh, in Scotland, has around 530,000 people, which means a steady local market where the usual things move reliably and the unusual ones are worth listing with a wider radius in mind. Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee are close enough that a buyer there may well make the trip for the right thing.
Handing it over in Edinburgh
Most private sales settle by bank transfer or cash on collection. Faster Payments clear in seconds, which makes a transfer as safe as cash for the seller — wait for it to land before the item leaves your hands.
What generators are worth
What lifts the price
- Inverter generators, which are quieter and cleaner
- Starts readily from cold
What pulls it down
- Hard starting from stale fuel and gummed carburettors
- High running hours with no service history
Working out what yours is worth
- Start it from cold and run it under load
- Drain and refresh the fuel before demonstrating
Getting it ready
- Check the oil, drain the fuel before transport, and note the fuel type and tank capacity.
- Test every socket with something you can see working, and check the RCD or breaker if fitted.
Photograph
- The whole generator from a three-quarter angle
- The engine, plate and hours meter if fitted
Put in the description
- Continuous and peak output in watts
- Whether it is an inverter generator, and what sockets it has
Drain the fuel before transport — a fuelled generator on its side leaks and is a fire risk. Collection is usual given the weight.
Listing is free and there is no selling fee, so the whole amount the buyer pays stays with you. You and the buyer agree the handover between yourselves.
Same region (Scotland)
Common questions
Where can I sell a generator in Edinburgh?
Put it on WishThrift free and deal with the buyer direct. The Old Town is steep, cobbled and awkward for vehicles, with restricted access on several streets, so anything heavy needs a conversation about where a van can actually stop. Trams and buses cover the rest of the city and handle small handovers fine.
Does it start easily?
Start it from cold and answer from that. Stale fuel is the usual reason a stored generator will not start, and a machine that starts readily is worth substantially more.
How much is a generator worth in Edinburgh?
Most used generators change hands for £80 to £500 (about $110 to $675). Condition and completeness move that figure more than anything else.
More: selling a generator across the United Kingdom, what generators are worth, everything second hand in Edinburgh, or Tools & DIY in Edinburgh.
Guide range converted from sterling at the 2 August 2026 rate, not a quote — sellers set their own price.