Sell Your Used Desk — 0% Fees

A used desk typically sells for £30 to £180, and on WishThrift it costs you nothing to list — no fee, no commission, so you keep the whole amount you agree. Desks sell on the worktop dimensions, because buyers are matching a specific alcove or wall — so lead with the measurements and say whether it dismantles.

The short version

Typical range: £30 – £180 — see the full desk 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.

Measure the worktop width and depth, and the height from floor to surface.
Check for wobble, tighten the fittings, and inspect the top for scratches, ring marks and cable holes.
Establish whether it dismantles and whether you have the fittings.

The photographs that sell a desk

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 desk from a corner
The worktop straight on in daylight, showing its actual condition
The underside, showing construction and any cable management
Any drawers open, plus damage or wear

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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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

Dimensions and type: “Solid Wood Writing Desk, 120cm x 60cm, 3 Drawers”. Width in centimetres is the primary search because buyers have a gap to fill. Say if it is a standing or height-adjustable desk, which is a separate and higher-value search.

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

Worktop width and depth, and height from the floor
Material: solid wood, veneer, laminate or glass
Number of drawers, and whether it has cable management
Whether it dismantles, and whether the fittings are included

What buyers will actually ask

You will receive the same three messages about a desk. 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.

“What are the worktop dimensions?”

Give width and depth in centimetres. This is what buyers are actually measuring against and vague answers lose the sale.

“Is it sturdy or does it wobble?”

Test it with weight on the front edge. Wobble is often just loose fittings, but say what you found.

“Will it fit in a car?”

If it dismantles, say so and give the largest flat dimension. It decides whether the buyer needs a van.

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 desk 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 £105 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a desk — 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	£105
Poshmark	−£21	£84
eBay	−£14	£91
Mercari	−£10	£95
Etsy	−£7	£98

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 with strong lifts in September and January, and around moving season. Height-adjustable and solid wood desks sell fastest.

Collection, and dismantling first makes it far easier. Keep the fittings together in a labelled bag.

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 desk worth?

Typically £30 to £180, with solid wood and height-adjustable desks well above laminate flat-pack ones. See the desk value guide for the condition breakdown.

Do standing desks sell for more?

Yes, considerably, particularly electric height-adjustable ones from recognised brands. If yours is adjustable, say so in the title — it is a different and better search.

Should I sand out marks on the top?

On solid wood, light sanding and re-oiling can help. On veneer or laminate, do not attempt it — you will go through the surface layer and make it worse. Photograph the marks honestly instead.