The short version
- Typical range: £10 – £50 — see the full hose reel 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.
- Connect it and run water through, checking for leaks at the reel connection and along the hose.
- Check the winding mechanism and any retraction spring through its full travel.
- Confirm the connectors, spray nozzle and wall bracket are present, and note the hose length.
The photographs that sell a hose reel
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 reel whole, with hose wound on
- The hose connection and swivel joint, the usual leak point
- All fittings, nozzle and bracket laid out
- The hose surface, plus any crack, kink, perishing or leak
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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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
Type, hose length and fittings: “Hozelock 30m Auto Reel with Hose and Wall Bracket”. Hose length is the search and whether the hose is included is the value question. Say if it is auto-retracting, which is a distinctly higher bracket.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- Hose length and diameter, and whether the hose is included
- Type — freestanding, wall mounted, cart or auto-retracting
- Whether the wall bracket, connectors and nozzle are included
- Whether it has been water tested, and any leak or perishing
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about a hose reel. 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.
Run water through it and watch the swivel joint. That connection is where hose reels leak and it is easily tested before listing.
Say plainly. A bare reel is worth far less and buyers assume a hose unless told otherwise.
Test the full length. The retraction spring is the mechanism that fails and it is effectively the whole feature.
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 hose reel 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 £30 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a hose reel — 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 | £30 |
| Poshmark | −£6 | £24 |
| eBay | −£4 | £26 |
| Mercari | −£3 | £27 |
| Etsy | −£2 | £28 |
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
April to August is the window, peaking in early summer. Winter listings sit, so hold until spring.
Heavy with a hose on, so weigh it before quoting postage. Drain the hose completely first, both for weight and to stop it splitting if it freezes.
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 hose reel worth?
Typically £10 to £50, with auto-retracting models and included hoses above. See the hose reel value guide for the bands.
Can a perished hose be replaced?
Yes, and reels from the main brands take standard replacement hose. Say the reel brand and hose diameter so the buyer knows what they would need.
Should I drain it before selling?
Yes, always before transport, and certainly before winter. Water left in a hose or reel splits both when it freezes.
See also: what a used hose reel is worth · browse live home & garden listings · condition grades explained.