Sell Your Used Ladder — 0% Fees

A used ladder typically sells for £25 to £120, and on WishThrift it costs you nothing to list — no fee, no commission, so you keep the whole amount you agree. Ladders sell on height and class, and there is one rule worth stating plainly: a ladder with a bent stile or a damaged rung should be scrapped, not sold.

The short version

Typical range: £25 – £120 — see the full ladder value guide
What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
Category: Tools & DIY

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.

Check every rung and both stiles for bends, cracks and corrosion, and confirm the feet are present and not perished.
Test the locking mechanisms on extension and combination ladders and check the rope and pulley if fitted.
Measure the closed and extended lengths, and note the class or duty rating from the label if present.

The photographs that sell a ladder

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 ladder fully extended, whole, against a wall
The ladder closed, with a tape showing transport length
The feet and the locking hooks or catches
The label showing class or rating, plus any bend, crack, corrosion or missing foot

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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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, height and class: “Aluminium Extension Ladder, 3.5m Closed, 6m Extended, Class 1”. Both lengths matter because one decides reach and the other decides transport. Duty class is a genuine search for trade buyers.

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

Closed and extended length, and number of sections
Material, and class or duty rating from the label
Whether the feet, locking catches and rope are present and sound
Any bend, crack or corrosion, described plainly

What buyers will actually ask

You will receive the same three messages about a ladder. 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.

“What length is it closed?”

Give it. Transport is the main obstacle to a ladder sale and a buyer needs to know whether it goes on a roof rack or in a van.

“Are the feet in good condition?”

Check both and photograph them. Perished or missing feet are a slip risk and replacements are model specific.

“What class is it?”

Read the label if there is one. Trade buyers often need a specific duty rating and will not buy an unrated domestic ladder for work use.

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 ladder 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 £72 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a ladder — 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	£72
Poshmark	−£14	£58
eBay	−£10	£62
Mercari	−£7	£65
Etsy	−£5	£67

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 summer with outdoor work. Trade-rated ladders sell quickly year round; domestic step ladders are plentiful and compete on price.

Collection almost always — ladders are long and posting is impractical. Give the closed length so the buyer arrives with a suitable vehicle and straps.

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 ladder worth?

Typically £25 to £120, with trade-rated and longer extension ladders above. See the ladder value guide for the bands.

Should I sell a damaged ladder?

No. A bent stile, cracked rung or corroded joint can fail without warning at height. Ladders are one of the few items where scrapping is genuinely the right answer rather than discounting.

Do ladders need a safety rating to sell?

Domestic ladders may be unrated and that is fine for home use, but say so. Trade buyers need a specific class, so quote the label if there is one and state clearly if there is not.