Sell Your Used Cot Bed — 0% Fees

A used cot bed typically sells for £50 to £250, and on WishThrift it costs you nothing to list — no fee, no commission, so you keep the whole amount you agree. Cot beds are worth more than cots because they last years longer, so make the conversion explicit — and confirm you have every fitting needed to do it.

The short version

Typical range: £50 – £250 — see the full cot bed value guide
What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
Category: Baby & Kids Items

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 it genuinely converts to a toddler bed and that you have the conversion parts, not just the cot fittings.
Gather all bolts, the allen key and the instructions, and count them against the parts list.
Check the slats and base for cracks, test the height adjustment, and clean it thoroughly.

The photographs that sell a cot bed

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 cot bed assembled in cot configuration
The conversion parts and all fittings laid out with the instructions
The mattress base and slats from above
Any teeth marks on the rails, plus any crack or damage

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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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

Type, material and mattress size: “Solid Pine Cot Bed, Converts to Toddler Bed, 140x70cm with Mattress”. “Converts” belongs in the title because it is the whole reason a cot bed is worth more. Say whether the conversion parts are included, since without them it is just a cot.

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

Mattress size in centimetres, and whether a mattress is included
Whether the conversion parts to toddler bed are present
All fittings and instructions accounted for
Material, height adjustment positions, and any damage

What buyers will actually ask

You will receive the same three messages about a cot bed. 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.

“Does it come with the conversion parts?”

Check carefully. Cot beds without their conversion rails are worth no more than a plain cot, and buyers ask specifically.

“Are all the fittings there?”

Count them against the instructions. Missing bolts are the main reason a cot sale falls through at collection.

“Is the mattress included?”

Say either way. Many buyers prefer a new mattress regardless, so it is not a problem when stated upfront.

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 cot bed 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 £150 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a cot bed — 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	£150
Poshmark	−£30	£120
eBay	−£20	£130
Mercari	−£15	£135
Etsy	−£10	£140

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 all year. Cot beds sell faster and for more than plain cots because they last from birth to around four years.

Dismantle it before collection and tape the fittings in a labelled bag to a rail. Include the instructions in the bag — it is a small courtesy buyers consistently mention in ratings.

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 cot bed worth?

Typically £50 to £250, with solid wood models and complete conversion kits at the top. See the cot bed value guide for the condition breakdown.

What is the difference between a cot and a cot bed?

A cot bed converts into a toddler bed by removing a side and repositioning the base, extending its life to around four years. That is why it is worth more — but only if the conversion parts are included.

Do I need the original instructions?

They help a great deal, and most manufacturers publish them online if yours are lost. Say where the buyer can find them if you cannot supply a copy.