The short version
- Typical range: £6 – £35 — see the full belt value guide
- What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
- Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
- Category: Clothing
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 from the inside of the buckle to the middle hole, in inches and centimetres. That is the size.
- Check the leather at the fold behind the buckle, which is where belts crack and eventually break.
- Check the buckle for plating loss and the keeper loop, which is frequently missing.
The photographs that sell a belt
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 belt laid out straight, full length, whole
- The buckle close up, front and back
- A tape from the buckle to the middle hole
- The fold behind the buckle, plus any crack, worn hole or plating loss
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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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
Material, size and buckle: “Leather Belt, 36in, Silver Buckle, Full Grain”. The buckle-to-middle-hole size is the number buyers need. Say full grain, genuine leather or synthetic — those terms mean quite different things and buyers who know that pay accordingly.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- Size measured buckle to middle hole, and total length
- Width in millimetres, and whether it fits belt loops of a given size
- Material and buckle type, including whether the buckle is removable
- Condition of the fold, the holes and the keeper loop
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about a belt. 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 buckle-to-middle-hole measurement. Total length includes the buckle and the tail and is not the size, which is where most confusion comes from.
Look at the cut edge and any marking and describe what you see. Split leather and bonded leather are quite different from full grain and wear very differently.
Check and say. It is a small part but its absence is obvious in wear and awkward to replace.
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 belt 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 £20 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a belt — 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 | £20 |
| Poshmark | −£4 | £16 |
| eBay | −£3 | £17 |
| Mercari | −£2 | £18 |
| Etsy | −£1 | £19 |
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 Father’s Day. Designer belts sell quickly; unbranded belts compete on price.
Very cheap to post. Coil it loosely rather than folding, since a hard fold in leather leaves a permanent crease.
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 is a used belt worth?
Typically £6 to £35, with designer and full-grain leather well above. See the belt value guide for the condition bands.
How do I measure a belt size?
From the inside of the buckle to the middle hole. That is the waist measurement it is designed for, and it is not the same as the total length of the strap.
Can a belt be shortened?
Most can, by cutting the tail and repunching or moving the buckle if it is removable. Say whether the buckle detaches, since it makes altering it far easier.
See also: what a used belt is worth · browse live clothing listings · condition grades explained.