Sell Your Used Bikini — 0% Fees

A used bikini typically sells for £6 to £28, and on WishThrift it costs you nothing to list — no fee, no commission, so you keep the whole amount you agree. Swimwear sells well second hand when it is honestly described, and the two things buyers want to know are whether the elastic is sound and whether the hygiene liner is intact.

The short version

Typical range: £6 – £28 — see the full bikini 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.

Check the elastic at the leg openings and the underband, and stretch it to see whether it recovers.
Confirm the hygiene liner is present and intact in the bottoms.
Check for chlorine damage and sun fading, and look for pilling on the seat, which is where swimwear wears.

The photographs that sell a bikini

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.

Both pieces laid flat together, front
The reverse of both pieces
The hygiene liner in the bottoms
Labels with sizes and composition, plus any fade, pilling, snag or stretched elastic

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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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

Brand, sizes and style: “Seafolly Bikini, Top 12 Bottom 10, Triangle”. Top and bottom sizes are often different and stating both saves a message. Style names — triangle, bandeau, high waisted — are all real searches.

Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:

Size of each piece, and underband and hip measured flat
Style of top and bottom
Whether the hygiene liner is present, and whether pads are included
Elastic condition, fading and any chlorine damage

What buyers will actually ask

You will receive the same three messages about a bikini. 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.

“Is the hygiene liner still in?”

Check and confirm. It is the first thing buyers of second-hand swimwear ask about and its absence puts many off entirely.

“Has it faded?”

Photograph in daylight. Chlorine and sun fade swimwear noticeably and colour is where disappointment usually comes from.

“Do the pieces match in size?”

Say both sizes plainly. Mixed-size sets are completely normal and often exactly what a buyer wants, but it must be stated.

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 bikini 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 £17 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a bikini — 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	£17
Poshmark	−£3	£14
eBay	−£2	£15
Mercari	−£2	£15
Etsy	−£1	£16

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

Sharply seasonal, from April to July with a small winter-holiday window in December. Out of season it will barely be seen, so hold it until spring.

The cheapest thing on the site to post. Wash it, say so, and send it in a clean sealed bag inside the envelope — presentation matters disproportionately for swimwear.

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

Can you sell used swimwear?

Yes, and it sells perfectly well when the hygiene liner is intact, it has been freshly washed, and you say both plainly. Buyers are realistic; what they will not accept is a missing liner they were not told about.

What is a used bikini worth?

Typically £6 to £28, with designer and resort brands above. See the bikini value guide for the condition bands.

Does chlorine damage show?

Yes — fading, a slightly rough handle and loss of elasticity. Check the seat and underband and describe what you find rather than photographing only the best side.