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WishThrift

How to Sell a Used Cufflinks

Used cufflinks typically sell for £10 to £60, and on WishThrift it costs you nothing to list — no fee, no commission, so you keep the whole amount you agree. Cufflinks are small, easy to post and sell almost entirely on material and maker — and the fitting type is the practical detail buyers check.

The short version

  • Typical range: £10 – £60 — see the full cufflinks value guide
  • What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
  • Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
  • Category: Jewellery & Watches

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.

  • Check both cufflinks are a genuine matching pair, and photograph any hallmark or maker’s mark.
  • Test the swivel bar or fitting on each, since a seized or broken bar makes them unusable.
  • Clean gently according to the material, avoiding dips on anything with enamel or stones.

The photographs that sell cufflinks

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.

  1. Both cufflinks together, face up
  2. The reverse showing the fittings and any mark
  3. A hallmark magnified, if present
  4. Any enamel, stone or engraving, plus every scratch or plating loss

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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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, style and maker: “Sterling Silver Cufflinks, Hallmarked, Swivel Bar”. Material is the price and any maker’s name carries the listing. Say the fitting type, since chain link, swivel bar and whale back all wear differently.

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

  • Material, with hallmark photographed if present
  • Dimensions and weight
  • Fitting type, and whether both swivel freely
  • Any enamel damage, stone loss or plating wear

What buyers will actually ask

You will receive the same three messages about cufflinks. 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.

“Are they solid silver or plated?”

Photograph the hallmark. Sterling and plated cufflinks look identical in photographs and are worth quite different amounts.

“Do the fittings work?”

Test both. A seized swivel bar makes a cufflink unwearable and it is not always a simple repair.

“Are they a matching pair?”

Compare them closely. Odd cufflinks turn up frequently and selling a mismatched pair as matching is an avoidable complaint.

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 cufflinks 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 £35 sale — roughly the middle of the range for cufflinks — here is what the commission-charging platforms would take, and what you would keep on each:

Where you sell itFeeYou keep
WishThrift£0£35
Poshmark−£7£28
eBay−£5£30
Mercari−£4£31
Etsy−£2£33

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 before Christmas, Father’s Day and wedding season. Hallmarked silver and designer pairs sell within days in those windows.

Very cheap to post. Use a small rigid box with the pair secured so they cannot rattle against each other and scratch, and a tracked service.

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 are used cufflinks worth?

Typically £10 to £60, with precious metal and designer pairs far above. See the cufflinks value guide for the condition bands.

Do cufflinks need a hallmark?

Small items are often below the weight threshold requiring hallmarking, so genuine silver pairs are sometimes unmarked. Photograph whatever marking exists and describe the rest honestly.

Which fitting is best?

Swivel bars are easiest to use, chain links are traditional and sit differently, and whale backs are common on modern pairs. Say which yours are — wearers have preferences.

See also: what a used cufflinks is worth · browse live jewellery & watches listings · condition grades explained.