The short version
- Typical range: £10 – £120 — see the full art prints value guide
- What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
- Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
- Category: Art & Collectibles
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.
- Look at the print under magnification. Regular dot patterns mean a mechanical reproduction; continuous ink or plate texture suggests an original process.
- Check for a pencil signature and an edition number in the margin, and note whether the signature is in the plate rather than added by hand.
- Check the margins and the reverse for foxing, tape residue, trimming or light staining.
The photographs that sell art prints
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 whole print flat and square on, entire sheet including margins
- The pencil signature and edition number, close and legible
- A magnified area of the image showing the print texture
- The reverse, plus any foxing, tape, tear or trimmed edge
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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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
Artist, title, process and edition: “Signed Lithograph, [Artist], Edition 24/150, 1978”. Say screenprint, lithograph, etching or giclée reproduction — the process is most of the value. Never use the word original for something printed in an edition of thousands.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- Artist and title, and the year if known
- Print process, and edition number if there is one
- Sheet and image dimensions, and whether it is framed or mounted
- Whether the signature is hand-applied in pencil or printed in the plate
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about art prints. 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.
Photograph the signature closely. A pencil signature in the margin is worth a great deal more than one printed in the image, and buyers know exactly how to tell them apart.
Answer with what you can evidence — the process, the edition marking, where it came from. If you do not know, say so plainly; an honest uncertainty sells, a wrong claim does not.
Check the margins and reverse in daylight and photograph any spotting. Foxing is common on older prints and buyers price it in when they can see the extent.
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 art prints 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 £65 sale — roughly the middle of the range for art prints — 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 | £65 |
| Poshmark | −£13 | £52 |
| eBay | −£9 | £56 |
| Mercari | −£6 | £59 |
| Etsy | −£4 | £61 |
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 to a collector audience, with a lift in autumn. Named artists sell quickly when correctly identified; decorative prints compete on subject and framing.
Post flat between stiff boards, never rolled unless it arrived rolled. Framed prints are far riskier — glass and post are a poor combination, so consider selling the frame separately or locally.
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 art prints worth?
Typically £10 to £120, with signed limited editions by known artists far above. See the art prints value guide for the condition bands.
How do I tell a print from an original?
Look at the surface under magnification and at an angle. Mechanical reproductions show a regular dot grid; etchings and screenprints show plate marks, ink relief or a physical texture the scanner cannot fake.
Does the frame add value?
Usually very little, and a poor frame can actively hurt. Photograph the print itself properly rather than relying on the frame to carry the listing.
See also: what a used art prints is worth · browse live art & collectibles listings · condition grades explained.