The short version
- Typical range: £50 – £300 — see the full compressor value guide
- What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
- Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
- Category: Tools & DIY
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.
- Drain the tank completely through the bottom valve and note what comes out. Rusty water indicates internal corrosion.
- Check the tank exterior for rust, dents and any pitting, especially around the base and seams.
- Run it and time how long it takes to reach cut-out pressure, and check it holds pressure with the motor off.
The photographs that sell a compressor
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 compressor whole, from the side
- The tank underside and drain valve
- The pressure gauges with the tank at cut-out pressure
- The rating plate showing tank size, pressure and year, plus any rust or dent
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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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
Tank size, pressure and output: “50L Air Compressor, 8 Bar, 9.6 CFM, Belt Drive”. Tank litres and air delivery are the searches, since buyers match them to a tool’s requirement. Belt drive versus direct drive is a real distinction on quality and noise.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- Tank capacity in litres and maximum pressure
- Air delivery in CFM or litres per minute, which is what tools actually need
- Belt or direct drive, and motor power and supply
- Tank age, and whether it has been drained regularly
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about a compressor. 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 honestly. Water left in a receiver corrodes it from the inside, and internal corrosion is not visible from outside. It is the most important question about a used compressor.
Fill it, switch off and watch the gauge. A tank that bleeds down has a leak somewhere and the buyer needs to know.
Quote the figure from the plate. Buyers match it against the tool they want to run, and tank size alone does not tell them.
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 compressor 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 £175 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a compressor — 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 | £175 |
| Poshmark | −£35 | £140 |
| eBay | −£24 | £151 |
| Mercari | −£18 | £157 |
| Etsy | −£11 | £164 |
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 spring lift. Larger belt-drive machines sell to trade buyers whenever they appear.
Very heavy, so collection is normal. Drain the tank fully before it moves, both for weight and so the buyer can inspect it. Never transport a pressurised tank.
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
Is an old air compressor safe?
It depends almost entirely on the receiver. Tanks corrode from the inside where water collects, and a badly corroded one can fail under pressure. If yours has not been drained regularly, or shows rusty water or external pitting, say so plainly — it is a safety matter rather than a haggling point.
What is a used compressor worth?
Typically £50 to £300, with belt-drive and larger tanks above. See the compressor value guide for the bands.
Why does CFM matter more than tank size?
Because air delivery determines whether the compressor can keep up with a tool continuously. A big tank with low delivery runs a sander for a minute and then stalls, which is why buyers ask.
See also: what a used compressor is worth · browse live tools & diy listings · condition grades explained.