Sell Your Used Parka — 0% Fees

A used parka 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. Parkas are bought for genuine cold, so the details that sell yours are the fill, whether the hood fur is real or faux, and whether it is actually waterproof.

The short version

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

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 label for the fill: down, feather or synthetic wadding, and the outer fabric.
Check the hood, its fur trim and whether both detach, plus every zip, popper and drawcord.
Test whether water still beads on the outer, and say honestly if the coating has washed off.

The photographs that sell a parka

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.

Full length on a hanger, zipped, hood up
The inner composition label
The hood and fur trim, showing the attachment
Cuffs, hem and any stain, tear or worn area

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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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

Fill, features and size: “Down Filled Parka with Detachable Faux Fur Hood, Khaki, Size L”. Fill type is the warmth signal buyers search on. Say whether the fur is real or faux — buyers care both ways and it is not something to leave ambiguous.

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

Fill type and, for down, the fill power or down percentage
Whether the hood and fur trim detach, and whether the fur is real or faux
Pit-to-pit and full length
Whether it is waterproof, showerproof or neither, and whether the coating still works

What buyers will actually ask

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

“Is the fur real?”

Check the base of the trim: real fur grows from skin, synthetic is stitched into a backing. Photograph it and say which.

“How warm is it?”

Answer with the fill type and weight rather than an opinion. Buyers comparing parkas want the specification.

“Is it still waterproof?”

Run water over a sleeve and watch. Be honest if it beads no longer — reproofing is cheap and buyers accept it when told.

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 parka 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 parka — 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

A short window from October to January, and prices drop sharply after. Storing until autumn is worth real money if you have missed it.

Very bulky. Vacuum bags cut the parcel dramatically — tell the buyer it was vacuum packed so they let the fill loft again.

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 parka worth?

Typically £25 to £120, with down-filled parkas from recognised outdoor brands well above. See the parka value guide.

Down or synthetic: which sells better?

Down sells faster and higher because it is warmer for the weight and packs smaller. Synthetic parkas still sell well when priced honestly, and some buyers prefer them for wet climates.

When should I sell a parka?

October to January. The same coat in April typically fetches a third less, so holding it until autumn is one of the more reliable timing plays in clothing.