The short version
- Typical range: £15 – £90 — see the full floor lamp value guide
- What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
- Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
- Category: Home & Garden
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.
- Plug it in and test it with a working bulb. Check the switch, and flex the cable gently along its length looking for cracked insulation.
- Inspect the plug for scorching and the cable entry at the base and the lampholder, which are the wear points.
- Clean the shade carefully. Fabric shades mark permanently, so dust rather than wipe unless you know the material.
The photographs that sell a floor lamp
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 lamp assembled and upright, whole, against a plain wall
- The lamp switched on, so the buyer can see it works and how it throws light
- The base, the switch and the plug
- The shade inside and out, plus any dent, chip, rust or cable damage
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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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
Style, material and height: “Brass Arc Floor Lamp, 180cm, Marble Base” or “Mid Century Tripod Floor Lamp, Teak”. Height matters because buyers are matching a specific corner, and the shade fitting type matters to anyone planning to replace it.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- Overall height, and base diameter or footprint
- Material of the stand and the shade, stated separately
- Bulb fitting type and maximum wattage, from the label near the lampholder
- Whether the cable, plug and switch are sound, and whether the shade is included
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about a floor lamp. 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.
Test it with a known-good bulb and say so. It is a ten-second check that removes the buyer’s only real doubt.
State it in the title as well. Lamps are frequently sold as base-only and buyers have learned to ask rather than assume.
Read the fitting or the label and give the type and maximum wattage. It decides whether the buyer already has bulbs that fit.
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 floor lamp 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 £52 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a floor lamp — 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 | £52 |
| Poshmark | −£10 | £42 |
| eBay | −£7 | £45 |
| Mercari | −£5 | £47 |
| Etsy | −£3 | £49 |
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 all year, with a clear lift from September as evenings draw in and again in January. Mid-century and designer pieces sell within days; generic lamps take a couple of weeks.
Awkward rather than heavy. Most dismantle into a base, stem and shade, which makes them postable — but pack the shade in its own box, because it will crush against the base otherwise.
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 floor lamp worth?
Typically £15 to £90, with mid-century and designer pieces well above. The floor lamp value guide prices each condition grade.
Can I sell a lamp with a damaged cable?
Not as working. Rewiring a lamp is inexpensive for someone competent, so list it honestly as needing rewiring and priced accordingly rather than as a functioning light — damaged flex is a fire risk, not a blemish.
Do old lamps need a new plug?
If it has a very old plug or no fuse, say so. Many buyers will simply fit a new one, but it belongs in the description rather than as a surprise.
See also: what a used floor lamp is worth · browse live home & garden listings · condition grades explained.