Sell Your Used Flats — 0% Fees

Used flats typically sell for £8 to £35, and on WishThrift it costs you nothing to list — no fee, no commission, so you keep the whole amount you agree. Flats wear out from the inside, so the insole and the heel lining tell the real story — and buyers who have bought disappointing used flats before know to ask.

The short version

Typical range: £8 – £35 — see the full flats value guide
What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
Category: Shoes & Footwear

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.

Look at the insole for wear through to the board, and at the heel lining for holes.
Check the sole at the ball of the foot, which is where flats thin first.
Clean them and reshape with tissue so they stand properly for photographs.

The photographs that sell flats

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 pair side on, standing, shaped with tissue
The insoles from above, showing wear
Both soles, showing thinning at the ball
The size label and any scuff, split seam or worn heel lining

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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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, style and size: “Leather Ballet Flats, Size 38, Tan”. Style names — ballet, pointed, loafer-style — are real searches. Say the material, because leather flats mould comfortably and synthetic ones do not, and buyers know the difference.

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

Size as marked with equivalents, and insole length in centimetres
Upper and lining material
Whether they have any arch support or a padded insole
Insole, heel lining and sole condition

What buyers will actually ask

You will receive the same three messages about flats. 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.

“How worn are the insoles?”

Photograph them from above. Insole wear shows exactly how much a shoe has been used and is the honest answer to how worn are they.

“Are they leather lined?”

Check inside and say. Leather linings wear far better and are worth more, and buyers with sensitive feet ask specifically.

“What is the insole length?”

Measure heel to toe in centimetres. Flats have little give, so a wrong size is unwearable rather than merely tight.

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 flats 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 £21 sale — roughly the middle of the range for flats — 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	£21
Poshmark	−£4	£17
eBay	−£3	£18
Mercari	−£2	£19
Etsy	−£1	£20

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 in spring and September. Comfortable branded flats sell year round; fashion flats are seasonal.

Light and cheap to post. Box them with tissue inside so they hold shape rather than arriving flattened.

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 flats worth?

Typically £8 to £35, with designer and comfort brands above. See the flats value guide for the condition bands.

Do worn insoles put buyers off?

Only when they are hidden. Photograph them clearly and price accordingly — buyers of used flats expect some wear and simply want to see how much.

Can flats be resoled?

Thin-soled flats often cannot be economically resoled, though a cobbler can add a protective sole to a new pair. Say honestly how much sole is left rather than implying they can be renewed.