Sell Your Used Bomber Jacket — 0% Fees

A used bomber jacket typically sells for £20 to £90, and on WishThrift it costs you nothing to list — no fee, no commission, so you keep the whole amount you agree. Bomber jackets are bought on fit through the shoulders and the state of the ribbing, because perished cuffs and hem are what make an old bomber look tired.

The short version

Typical range: £20 – £90 — see the full bomber jacket 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 ribbed cuffs, collar and hem for stretch or loss of elastic, which is where bombers age first.
Test the main zip along its full length, since a two-way zip that has lost a tooth is a real deduction.
Read the composition label: nylon, wool blend, leather and satin bombers are quite different products.

The photographs that sell a bomber jacket

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.

Front on a hanger, zipped, full jacket in frame
The ribbed cuffs and hem close up, showing elasticity
The inner label with brand, size and composition
The lining and any tear, pull or stain

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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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, style and size: “MA-1 Nylon Bomber Jacket, Sage Green, Size M”. Material is the price driver here and the search term. If it is a genuine military issue or a recognised brand, put that in the title — both are searched deliberately.

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

Outer material and lining composition
Pit-to-pit and body length laid flat
Condition of the ribbing at cuffs, collar and hem
Whether the zip is one-way or two-way and runs cleanly

What buyers will actually ask

You will receive the same three messages about a bomber jacket. 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.

“Has the ribbing gone baggy?”

Stretch a cuff and let it go. Perished ribbing is the classic bomber fault and the thing that makes it look old in photographs.

“What are the measurements?”

Give pit-to-pit and length. Bombers are cut boxy and label sizes vary hugely between brands and eras.

“Is the lining intact?”

Turn it inside out and check under the arms. Satin linings split there and it is worth showing rather than hiding.

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 bomber jacket 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 £55 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a bomber jacket — 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	£55
Poshmark	−£11	£44
eBay	−£7	£48
Mercari	−£6	£49
Etsy	−£4	£51

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

Strongest from September to November and again in early spring. Nylon bombers sell year round; wool and leather ones follow the cold.

Light and easy to post, and folds small. A mailing bag is fine unless it is leather, which is worth boxing.

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 bomber jacket worth?

Typically £20 to £90, with genuine military issue and recognised brands well above. See the bomber jacket value guide.

Does worn ribbing lower the price?

Noticeably, because it is the most visible sign of age on a bomber. It can be replaced by a tailor for a modest sum, so photograph it and let the buyer weigh that up.

Which bomber jackets sell best?

MA-1 and flight-style nylon bombers in classic colours move fastest, followed by wool varsity styles. Novelty prints and heavily branded fast-fashion bombers sell slowly.