The short version
- Typical range: £40 – £220 — see the full record player value guide
- What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
- Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
- Category: Vinyl & CDs
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 the stylus under magnification for wear, and note the cartridge make and model if you can read it.
- Test both speeds with a strobe disc or a phone app, and confirm the platter turns evenly without wow.
- Check whether it has a built-in phono preamp, which decides what the buyer needs to connect it to.
The photographs that sell a record player
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 deck with the lid open, from above
- The cartridge and stylus close up
- The rear panel showing outputs and any preamp switch
- The platter, belt or drive, plus any damage to the plinth or lid
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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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, model and preamp status: “Audio-Technica AT-LP60X Turntable with Built-in Preamp”. Whether it has a phono stage is genuinely decisive for a first-time buyer. Say whether the stylus is new or worn, since it is a known replaceable cost.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- Brand, model, and drive type: belt or direct
- Cartridge and stylus make, and approximate hours of use
- Whether it has a built-in phono preamp and USB output
- Speed accuracy, and whether the lid, mat and counterweight are present
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about a record player. 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.
Inspect it and be honest about hours used. Styli are consumable and buyers accept replacing one, but a worn stylus damages records so it must be disclosed.
Check the rear panel. Without one the buyer needs a separate phono stage or an amplifier with a phono input, and beginners often do not realise.
Test with a strobe or phone app and report. Belt-driven decks drift as belts age and this is an easy, cheap fix worth mentioning.
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 record player 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 £130 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a record player — 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 | £130 |
| Poshmark | −£26 | £104 |
| eBay | −£18 | £112 |
| Mercari | −£13 | £117 |
| Etsy | −£8 | £122 |
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
Steady with a strong Christmas lift. Recognised brands with working cartridges sell within days; unbranded suitcase players sell slowly and cheaply.
Fragile. Secure or remove the platter and the counterweight before posting, and protect the tonearm and stylus separately — those are what arrive broken.
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 record player worth?
Typically £40 to £220, with quality separates and vintage decks well above suitcase players. See the record player value guide for the condition breakdown.
Does a worn stylus reduce the value?
It reduces it by roughly the cost of a replacement, which for most cartridges is modest. Disclose it clearly — a worn stylus damages the buyer’s records, so hiding it causes real harm and a justified complaint.
Do I need to include a preamp?
Not necessarily, but say clearly whether the deck has one built in. Buyers new to vinyl frequently do not realise a phono stage is required and end up disappointed.
See also: what a used record player is worth · browse live vinyl & cds listings · condition grades explained.