COS trench coats: price by condition
| Condition | Typical |
|---|---|
| New with Tags | £110 (~$147) |
| Like New | £94 (~$125) |
| Good | £72 (~$95) |
| Fair | £50 (~$66) |
| For Parts | £28 (~$37) |
Seller-declared grades, sterling with an approximate US dollar equivalent at £1 ≈ $1.33 (July 2026). What each grade means.
What holds its value across COS
- Oversized wool and wool-blend coats, which are the label’s signature and the thing buyers search it for by name
- Archive and limited-edition pieces, which are produced in small runs and are the only part of the range with a collectors’ element
- Plain, structured tailoring in neutral colours, which dates far more slowly than anything printed and stays saleable for years
- Heavier knitwear in merino and wool blends, which holds its shape where the cheaper high-street equivalents do not
What pulls COS resale value down
- Pilled knitwear, which is the commonest fault and shows immediately against the plain colours the label favours
- Faded blacks and washed-out greys, which are most of the range and where fading is most obvious
- Anything with a broken or replaced signature button or fastening, since the hardware is deliberately minimal and any substitute shows
- Basic jersey pieces, which are cheap enough new that a used one rarely justifies the postage on its own
Identifying and dating yours
- The neck label reads COS rather than any sub-line, and the care label carries a product code buyers can search to confirm the season
- COS sizing runs large and is cut deliberately oversized, so give flat measurements — buyers who have not worn the label before consistently order wrong
- Photograph the shoulder seams and the inside of the coat, because the construction is most of why somebody chooses this label secondhand
What lifts any trench coat, whatever the label
Trench coats are a classic that rarely dates, so a good one holds value for years provided the fabric has not been ruined by cleaning.
- Recognised heritage makers with a following
- Cotton gabardine with intact water resistance
- Complete with belt, buckle and epaulettes
- Original linings and removable warmers
And what pulls one down
- Missing belts, which are difficult to replace
- Water rings and cleaning damage to gabardine
- Discoloured collars and cuffs
- Broken storm flap buttons
Working out what yours is worth
- Confirm the belt and all buckles are present
- Check the collar and cuffs in daylight
- Look at the composition label for gabardine content
What to state in the listing
- Fabric composition and whether the lining is removable
- Whether the belt, loops and buckle are all present
- Pit-to-pit and full length from shoulder to hem
- Single or double breasted, and whether it is showerproof
Fabric, colour and size: “Cotton Gabardine Trench Coat, Stone, Size 12, Belt Included”. Say “belt included” explicitly — buyers have learned to ask and it separates your listing immediately. Name the colour properly; stone, camel and honey are searched by name.
Preparing and photographing it
- Find the belt and all its loops, and check the buckle. A missing belt is the commonest fault and a real deduction.
- Check the composition: cotton gabardine, poly blend or wool, and whether there is a removable lining.
- Look at the collar edge, cuffs and hem for grubbiness, and have it cleaned if it is dry-clean only and looks tired.
- Full length on a hanger, belted, front
- The belt and buckle laid out separately
- The inner label with composition and care instructions
- The collar, cuffs and hem, plus any stain or fray
When it sells best, and handing it over
Peaks in early autumn and again in spring, since a trench is a between-seasons coat. Midwinter listings sell slowly.
Long and bulky when folded but light. Fold with tissue in the creases and say you have, since gabardine creases sharply.
What buyers ask
Does COS clothing hold its value?
Reasonably, and better than most of the high street, because the designs are plain enough not to date. Coats and tailoring do best; plain jersey basics are barely worth listing on their own.
What size should I list a COS coat as?
Give the label size and the flat measurements together. COS is cut oversized and the label size alone misleads more buyers on this brand than on almost any other.
How much is a COS trench coat worth?
Roughly £25 to £110 depending on condition, against £25 to £110 for trench coats generally. The identification points above are what move a listing to the top of that range.
What the fees would take elsewhere
At the mid-range £67 for a COS trench coat, against what the commission marketplaces would deduct:
| Platform | Fee | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| Poshmark | −£13 | £54 |
| eBay | −£9 | £58 |
| Mercari | −£7 | £60 |
| Etsy | −£4 | £63 |
| WishThrift | −£0 | £67 |
Seller-side rates verified 26 Jul 2026, percentages only — the per-order and processing charges those platforms add are excluded, so the real gap is wider.
Listing is free and there is no commission — read how to sell a trench coat for the title, handover and timing, or the general trench coat value guide if yours is not a COS.
See also: all COS value guides · value guides by brand · buying a trench coat · Clothing · condition grades.