Sell Your Used Football — 0% Fees

A used football typically sells 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. Footballs are low value and sell on brand and whether the ball still holds air, so this is usually a bundle listing rather than a single item.

The short version

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

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.

Pump it to the recommended pressure and leave it for a day to check the valve holds.
Check the panels and stitching, particularly on stitched balls where seams split.
Clean it and note the size and whether it is a match ball, training ball or a replica.

The photographs that sell a football

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 ball whole, clean, showing the brand
The valve area and any pressure marking
The panel seams close up
Any scuff, split seam or delamination

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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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, size and type: “Adidas Match Football, Size 5, Thermally Bonded”. Size is the search because it is age specific. Match versus training ball is a genuine distinction and worth stating.

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

Size number and the age group it suits
Brand, and whether it is a match, training or replica ball
Construction — stitched, thermally bonded or moulded
Whether it holds air, and the panel and seam condition

What buyers will actually ask

You will receive the same three messages about a football. 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 it hold air?”

Pump it and leave it a day. A slow valve leak is the standard fault and it is easily tested before listing.

“What size is it?”

Give the number. Sizes 3, 4 and 5 suit different age groups and it is the main thing a parent checks.

“Is it a match ball?”

Say plainly. Match balls are worth considerably more than training or replica balls that look similar.

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 football 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 a football — 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 at the start of the football season in August, and around major tournaments. Bundles of training balls sell to clubs and coaches.

Deflate slightly before posting to reduce the parcel size and protect the panels, and say you have done so along with the recommended pressure.

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

Are used footballs worth selling?

Branded match balls yes, individually. Ordinary training balls are worth little alone, so bundle several together — coaches and clubs buy them in quantity.

What is a used football worth?

Typically £8 to £35, with official match balls above. See the football value guide.

Can a leaking valve be fixed?

Sometimes with valve oil and a proper needle, which reseats a dried valve. If it still leaks, describe it as not holding air rather than hoping the buyer will not check.