Sell Your Used Cello — 0% Fees

A used cello typically sells for £150 to £800, and on WishThrift it costs you nothing to list — no fee, no commission, so you keep the whole amount you agree. Cellos sell on size and setup, and the practical constraints are that the buyer must transport something very large and check the soundpost is standing.

The short version

Typical range: £150 – £800 — see the full cello value guide
What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
Category: Music & Instruments

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.

Confirm the size: full, three-quarter, half or quarter.
Check the bridge is standing straight, the soundpost is in place, and the endpin extends and locks.
Inspect the top, back and ribs for cracks and open seams, and check the bow.

The photographs that sell a cello

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 cello front on, full length, upright
The bridge and f-holes, with the soundpost visible through
The endpin and its locking mechanism
The bow, case or bag, and any crack or open seam

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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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

Size and contents: “Full Size 4/4 Cello with Bow and Soft Case, Ready to Play”. Size is the primary filter. Say whether a case is hard or soft, since transporting a cello without a proper case is a real problem for the buyer.

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

Size as a fraction
Whether it is ready to play and when last set up
Any crack, open seam or repair, and the condition of the endpin
Whether a bow, case, rosin and stand are included

What buyers will actually ask

You will receive the same three messages about a cello. 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 it ready to play?”

Confirm the bridge is up, the soundpost standing and the strings usable. A cello needing a luthier before it plays is a different purchase.

“What case does it come with?”

Say hard or soft. Cellos are large and fragile, and a buyer without a case cannot easily get it home.

“Any cracks?”

Check the top, back and ribs in raking light and photograph anything you find. Cellos take knocks and honest disclosure is expected.

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 cello 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 £475 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a cello — 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	£475
Poshmark	−£95	£380
eBay	−£65	£410
Mercari	−£48	£427
Etsy	−£31	£444

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

Lifts in September and before Christmas. Student sizes sell fastest; full-size instruments sell more slowly but at higher prices.

Very large and effectively collection only unless you can source a proper shipping case. Say whether it fits in a car and whether you can help.

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 cello worth?

Typically £150 to £800 for student and intermediate instruments, with handmade cellos far above. See the cello value guide.

Can a cello be posted?

It is risky and expensive, and most sell for collection. If you must post, it needs a hard case and full insurance, and even then couriers often exclude instruments from damage cover.

What size cello does a child need?

Sizes run from 1/8 to 4/4 and are matched to the player’s height and arm length. Give the fraction so a teacher or parent can check against their own sizing chart.