How to Sell a Broken Polaroid Camera

A broken Polaroid camera is still worth selling — typically £6 to £28 at For Parts, against £25 to £110 in working order.

Can you sell a Polaroid camera that does not work?

Yes. Repairers, people replacing one component and buyers who want a project all shop deliberately at this end. None of them will accept a fault they discover after paying.

What actually goes wrong with Polaroid cameras

These are the faults that move a Polaroid camera down the grades, and the first things a buyer will ask about:

Cameras taking discontinued film formats
Perished bellows with light leaks
Corroded battery contacts
Dirty rollers causing streaked images

Grading it honestly

Fair covers something heavily used, or with a described fault or missing part: around £11 to £50. For Parts covers something not working or incomplete, sold as seen: roughly £6 to £28. Grades are seller-declared and nobody inspects them for you, so grading up does not raise what you get — it produces a buyer who arrives expecting something else. All five grades explained.

Working out what you actually have

Establish the fault properly rather than guessing at it:

Confirm which film format it takes and whether that film is still sold
Shine a torch inside the bellows in a dark room to find leaks
Clean the rollers and run a test pack if you have one

Photographing the fault

Photograph the damage directly and in focus — it is the evidence that the rest of the description is honest:

The camera closed and opened, whole, from the front
An actual photograph it has taken, held next to the camera
The film compartment with the rollers visible
The model name and any battery compartment, plus every scuff or crack

What to state in the listing

Alongside the fault itself, buyers of broken Polaroid cameras want these confirmed:

Model, and the exact film format it takes
Whether that film is still manufactured
Whether it has been tested, and with what result
Battery type, and whether the camera takes batteries or the film pack does

Model and film type: “Polaroid 600 Instant Camera, Tested and Working” or “Instax Mini 9, Boxed”. The film format is the critical detail because it determines whether the camera is usable at all. The word tested belongs in the title when true — most listings cannot say it.

What buyers will ask

Answer these in the listing rather than waiting to be asked:

“Does it work?”

Load film, take a picture, photograph the result. This single test is worth more than every other thing you can do for an instant camera listing.

“What film does it take?”

Name the exact format. Buyers have been caught out buying cameras for discontinued film, so they check carefully.

“Are the rollers clean?”

Open the door and look. Dirty rollers streak every picture, they clean in a minute, and mentioning it shows you know the camera.

Is it worth repairing first?

Usually not, unless it is cheap and you can evidence it. What lifts the price is condition and completeness, which a repair rarely restores:

Models that take film still in production
Working flash and functioning rollers
Folding models with intact bellows
Original strap, case and manual

If the work would cost more than the gap between £28 and what a sound one fetches, sell it as is broken and let the buyer decide.

When to list it

Steady year round with a strong Christmas lift, since instant cameras are a common gift. Tested working vintage models sell within days.

Getting it to the buyer

Light and easy to post. Remove any film pack and batteries before sending, and pad the bellows on folding models, which crease permanently if compressed.

WishThrift does not process payments, arrange delivery or hold funds. Confirm the money 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? Free to list, no commission, and neither side pays a buyer-protection fee — create a free account, or read the full Polaroid camera selling guide if yours turns out to be sound.

Frequently asked questions

Is a broken Polaroid camera worth anything?

Yes — typically £6 to £28 at For Parts against £25 to £110 working. Repairers and people harvesting one component buy deliberately at this end. Cameras taking discontinued film formats

Should I repair it before selling?

Usually not, unless the repair is cheap and you can evidence it. The things that genuinely lift the price are models that take film still in production and a repair rarely restores those.

What do buyers ask about a faulty Polaroid camera?

The fault itself, in detail. Load film, take a picture, photograph the result. This single test is worth more than every other thing you can do for an instant camera listing. The listing that answers it before being asked is the one that sells.