The short version
- Typical range: £50 – £350 — see the full espresso machine value guide
- What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
- Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
- Category: Kitchen & Appliances
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.
- Descale it fully, then run clean water through. Say you have done it; it is the question every buyer asks.
- Note the portafilter diameter, usually 51mm, 54mm or 58mm, because accessory compatibility depends on it.
- Test the pump pressure, the steam wand and the group head, and backflush if the machine supports it.
The photographs that sell an espresso machine
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 machine front on, clean, with the portafilter in place
- The group head and shower screen, clean
- The portafilter and baskets, with a ruler or note of the diameter
- All accessories included: tamper, baskets, milk jug, water filter
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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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
Brand, model and portafilter size: “Gaggia Classic Pro Espresso Machine, 58mm Portafilter, Descaled”. The 58mm size is a genuine selling point because it matches commercial accessories. Put descaled in the title if you have room — it is what this audience searches for.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- Brand, model and portafilter diameter
- Boiler type: single, dual or thermoblock
- Whether it has been descaled and backflushed recently
- Accessories included: baskets, tamper, milk jug, pressure gauge modifications
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about an espresso machine. 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.
Do it, then say so with confidence. Scale is what kills these machines and buyers treat a descaled machine as a cared-for one.
Measure it. 58mm matches commercial accessories and is worth more; 51mm and 54mm limit the buyer’s upgrade path.
Test it with milk, not water. Blocked steam wands are the most common fault and the one buyers check first.
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 espresso machine 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 £200 sale — roughly the middle of the range for an espresso machine — 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 | £200 |
| Poshmark | −£40 | £160 |
| eBay | −£27 | £173 |
| Mercari | −£20 | £180 |
| Etsy | −£13 | £187 |
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 lifts before Christmas and in January. Well-regarded prosumer models sell within days; basic machines take longer.
Heavy, and the boiler and tank must be drained completely before posting or it will leak. Local collection lets you pull a shot in front of the buyer, which sells the machine far better than photographs.
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 espresso machine worth?
Typically £50 to £350, with well-regarded prosumer models well above that. See the espresso machine value guide for the condition breakdown.
Does descaling really matter to buyers?
More than almost anything else. Limescale is the main cause of failure in espresso machines, so a recently descaled machine with the fact stated commands a noticeably better price.
Should I include the original baskets and tamper?
Yes, and list them. Baskets are portafilter-size specific and a machine sold without them costs the buyer more to get running, which they will deduct from your price.
See also: what a used espresso machine is worth · browse live kitchen & appliances listings · condition grades explained.