The short version
- Typical range: £1,500 – £9,000 — see the full jet ski value guide
- What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
- Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
- Category: Vehicles
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.
- Read the engine hours and gather the service history, including impeller and wear ring condition.
- Say honestly whether it has been used in salt water and whether it was flushed after every use.
- Start it and run it, check the trailer’s tyres, lights and bearings, and locate all ownership paperwork and the hull identification number.
The photographs that sell a jet ski
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 whole machine on its trailer, side on
- The engine bay open, showing the engine and its condition
- The pump, impeller and intake grate underneath
- The hull identification number, the hours reading on the display, and any crack, scuff or repair
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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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
Make, model, year, hours and trailer: “[Make] [Model] 2016, 78 Hours, Trailer Included”. Hours are the headline figure, exactly like mileage on a car. Seating capacity and whether it is supercharged are both real searches.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- Make, model, year and seating capacity
- Engine hours, service history and last service date
- Fresh or salt water use, and the flushing routine
- Whether a road trailer is included, and its condition and paperwork
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about a jet ski. 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.
Give the reading from the display and support it with service records. Hours are the primary value driver and an unsupported low figure invites suspicion.
Answer honestly. Salt use is not disqualifying if it was flushed diligently, but concealing it is, and corrosion in the engine bay tells the story anyway.
Say clearly, and cover the tyres, lights and bearings. A trailer that cannot safely make the journey home turns a completed sale into a problem.
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 jet ski 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 £5,250 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a jet ski — 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 | £5,250 |
| Poshmark | −£1,050 | £4,200 |
| eBay | −£714 | £4,536 |
| Mercari | −£525 | £4,725 |
| Etsy | −£341 | £4,909 |
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
Tightly seasonal, from April to August with a peak in early summer. Prices drop noticeably from September, so a machine ready in spring is worth materially more.
High value and easily misrepresented in both directions. Insist on cleared funds before release, write a dated receipt naming both parties and the hull number, and let the buyer see it run before they commit.
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 jet ski worth?
Typically £1,500 to £9,000 depending on age, hours and whether a trailer is included. See the jet ski value guide for the bands.
Does salt water use reduce the value?
It reduces it somewhat, and much more if it was not flushed after each use. Disclose it and show a clean engine bay and service history, and buyers will accept it readily.
What counts as high hours?
Anything much above 150-200 hours is well used for a personal watercraft, though a diligently serviced high-hours machine can be a better buy than a neglected low-hours one. Show the servicing either way.
See also: what a used jet ski is worth · browse live vehicles listings · condition grades explained.