The short version
- Typical range: £1,000 – £15,000 — see the full boat value guide
- What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
- Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
- Category: Vehicles
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.
- Find the hull identification number and all ownership paperwork, plus registration if the boat is registered.
- Establish whether any finance is outstanding. A buyer will run a check and an undisclosed agreement ends the sale instantly.
- Service or at least run the engine, gather the service history, and note the trailer’s condition and whether it is included.
The photographs that sell a boat
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 boat out of the water, side on, on its trailer
- The interior, cockpit and helm
- The engine, running, and the hull below the waterline
- The hull identification number, the paperwork, and any osmosis, crack, repair or gelcoat damage
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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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
Make, model, length, year and engine: “[Make] 18ft Bowrider, 2008, 115hp Outboard, Trailer Included”. Length and engine power are the searches, and stating that a road trailer is included materially changes who can buy it.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- Make, model, year and length
- Engine make, power, hours and last service
- Whether a road trailer is included, and its condition and any registration
- Hull identification number, ownership status, and whether any finance is outstanding
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about a boat. 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.
Answer directly and be ready to evidence it. This is the first thing a careful buyer checks and the fastest way to lose one is to be vague about it.
Give the reading and the service history. Hours are to a boat what mileage is to a car and buyers price against them.
A serious buyer will want a sea trial or at least to see the engine run under load. Arrange it if you can — it is what converts a high-value enquiry into a sale.
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 boat 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 £8,000 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a boat — 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 | £8,000 |
| Poshmark | −£1,600 | £6,400 |
| eBay | −£1,088 | £6,912 |
| Mercari | −£800 | £7,200 |
| Etsy | −£520 | £7,480 |
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
Strongly seasonal. February to July is the market, peaking in spring. Listing in autumn means a longer wait and a lower price, so overwintering is often the better financial decision.
High value, so never release the boat or documents before funds have fully cleared in your account — not a payment notification, cleared funds. Write a simple dated receipt naming both parties, the hull number and the price, and both keep a copy. WishThrift does not hold or process payments.
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 boat worth?
Anything from around £1,000 to £15,000 for typical trailerable craft, driven by engine hours, condition and whether a trailer is included. See the boat value guide.
What paperwork do I need to sell a boat?
Proof that you own it — a bill of sale chain where possible — the hull identification number, any registration documents, engine service history, and trailer paperwork if one is included.
How should I take payment for a boat?
A bank transfer that has fully cleared before anything changes hands. Never accept a promise of payment, an overpayment that asks for a refund, or a third-party payment-holding service the buyer introduces.
See also: what a used boat is worth · browse live vehicles listings · condition grades explained.