The short version
- Typical range: £20 – £120 — see the full coffee table value guide
- What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
- Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
- Category: Furniture
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.
- Clear it and clean the top properly, including into the corners and any glass rebate.
- Check it for wobble on a flat floor and tighten the legs, which loosen over years of being nudged.
- If it has a glass top, inspect the edges carefully for chips — a chipped edge is a safety point, not a cosmetic one.
The photographs that sell a coffee table
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 table from a standing angle, on a plain floor
- The top surface shot across the light so marks are visible rather than hidden
- The legs and the joint where they meet the frame
- Any shelf, drawer or glass edge, plus every scratch or chip close up
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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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 and shape lead: “Round Oak Coffee Table, 90cm” or “Glass and Chrome Coffee Table, Rectangular”. Diameter or length in the title saves an entire message exchange, because the buyer is fitting it between a sofa and a rug they already own.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- Length, width or diameter, and height in centimetres
- Material of the top and the frame, stated separately if they differ
- Whether it has storage — a shelf, drawer or lift top
- The condition of the top surface, described honestly including ring marks
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about a coffee table. 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.
Photograph it across the light rather than describing it. Coffee table tops always have some marking, and a clear photo settles the question far better than an adjective.
Look for an etched mark in a corner and say what you find. If there is no mark, say you cannot confirm it rather than assuming.
Check underneath. Removable legs turn an awkward collection into a boot-sized one, and it is worth knowing before the buyer books a van they did not need.
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 coffee table 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 £70 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a coffee table — 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 | £70 |
| Poshmark | −£14 | £56 |
| eBay | −£10 | £60 |
| Mercari | −£7 | £63 |
| Etsy | −£5 | £65 |
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
Steady year-round, with a lift in January and again in early autumn. Solid wood and mid-century shapes sell within a couple of weeks; heavy glass tables move more slowly because buyers with small children avoid them.
Collection is usual. If the legs unbolt, do it before they arrive and wrap a glass top in a blanket — a chipped edge on the way home is a dispute you cannot resolve afterwards.
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 coffee table worth?
Most sell for £20 to £120, with solid wood and mid-century designs at the top and flat-pack at the bottom. See the coffee table value guide for grade-by-grade pricing.
Do ring marks stop it selling?
No, but hiding them does. Ring marks are expected on a used table and many buyers plan to sand or oil the top. Show them clearly and price accordingly and the listing performs better, not worse.
Should I sell a glass coffee table with a chipped edge?
Only with the chip photographed and described. A chip can propagate under load, so the buyer needs to make that decision knowingly rather than find it at home.
See also: what a used coffee table is worth · browse live furniture listings · condition grades explained.