Sell Your Used Film Camera — 0% Fees

A used film camera typically sells for £30 to £250, and on WishThrift it costs you nothing to list — no fee, no commission, so you keep the whole amount you agree. Film cameras are bought to be used, so the questions that matter are whether the shutter fires at all speeds, whether the light seals have perished, and whether the meter works.

The short version

Typical range: £30 – £250 — see the full film camera value guide
What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
Category: Cameras & Photography

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.

Fire the shutter at every speed and listen — slow speeds sticking is the classic fault on stored film cameras.
Open the back and check the light seals. Perished foam is extremely common and cheap to replace, but must be disclosed.
Put a fresh battery in if it has a meter, and check the meter responds to changing light.

The photographs that sell a film camera

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 camera body with lens, three-quarter view
The open back showing the film chamber and light seals
The lens front element against a bright background, showing clarity
The top plate with speed dial and counter, plus any dent or brassing

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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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 format: “Canon AE-1 35mm SLR with 50mm f/1.8 Lens, Working”. Format matters — 35mm, medium format, point and shoot are different audiences. Say plainly whether it is tested and working or sold as seen, because that distinction sets the price band.

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

Brand, model and film format
Whether the shutter fires accurately at all speeds
Light seal condition, and whether they have been replaced
Whether the meter works, what battery it takes, and which lens is included

What buyers will actually ask

You will receive the same three messages about a film camera. 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 the shutter work at all speeds?”

Fire through the whole dial and listen. Slow speeds sticking is the most common fault on cameras that have been in a cupboard for years.

“Have the light seals been replaced?”

Open the back and look for crumbling black foam. It is a cheap repair and buyers accept it readily when told, but leaks ruin film.

“Does the meter work?”

Fit a fresh battery and test it. Many older meters need a battery type no longer made, so say which it takes.

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 film camera 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 £140 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a film camera — 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	£140
Poshmark	−£28	£112
eBay	−£19	£121
Mercari	−£14	£126
Etsy	−£9	£131

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

Strong and growing demand as film photography stays popular. Well-known bodies sell within days; obscure models take longer but find dedicated buyers.

Compact and reasonably robust. Remove any battery before posting and pack with the lens detached if it is heavy.

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 film camera worth?

Typically £30 to £250, with sought-after models and medium format far above that. Working condition matters enormously. See the film camera value guide.

Should I test a film camera before selling?

Yes, at least the shutter, the wind-on and the meter. A tested working camera sells for substantially more than one listed as untested, and testing costs you nothing but a few minutes.

Do perished light seals ruin the value?

No. They are one of the most common and cheapest repairs in film photography, and buyers replace them routinely. Just say so rather than letting the buyer discover light leaks on their first roll.