Sell Your Used Roof Box — 0% Fees

A used roof box typically sells for £50 to £250, and on WishThrift it costs you nothing to list — no fee, no commission, so you keep the whole amount you agree. Roof boxes sell on capacity and on whether the mounting hardware and keys are included — a box without either is far harder to use than buyers expect.

The short version

Typical range: £50 – £250 — see the full roof box 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.

Confirm both keys are present and that every lock operates, since these boxes lock at several points.
Check the mounting clamps are all there and note which bar types they fit.
Check the shell for cracks and the lid seal and hinges, and clean it inside and out.

The photographs that sell a roof box

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 box closed, from the side, whole
The box open, showing the interior and seal
The mounting clamps underneath
Both keys and the model marking, plus any crack, scuff or worn seal

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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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

Capacity, dimensions and fitting: “Thule Roof Box, 420L, Dual Side Opening, with Keys”. Capacity in litres is the search. Say which bar types the clamps fit and whether it opens from one or both sides, which matters for access.

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

Capacity in litres and external dimensions
Maximum load, and whether it opens from one or both sides
Which roof bar types the mounting fits
Whether both keys are included, and shell, seal and lock condition

What buyers will actually ask

You will receive the same three messages about a roof box. 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.

“Are both keys included?”

Confirm. Replacement keys are model specific and can be slow and expensive to obtain, and a locked box without keys is a serious problem.

“Will it fit my roof bars?”

Describe the clamp type and the bar widths it accommodates. Most fit standard bars but the range varies and buyers need to check.

“Is the shell cracked?”

Check the corners and mounting points, which is where stress cracks appear. Photograph anything you find.

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 roof box 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 £150 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a roof box — 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	£150
Poshmark	−£30	£120
eBay	−£20	£130
Mercari	−£15	£135
Etsy	−£10	£140

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 from April to August and before winter sports season. Larger capacity boxes from known brands sell within a fortnight in season.

Very bulky — too large to post economically, so collection only in practice. Give the external dimensions so the buyer arrives with a vehicle that can carry it.

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 roof box worth?

Typically £50 to £250, with larger premium-brand boxes above. See the roof box value guide for the condition bands.

Can I get replacement keys?

For major brands usually yes, by quoting the lock number, but it takes time and costs money. Always state clearly how many keys you have.

Will it fit any roof bars?

Most modern boxes fit standard bars within a range of widths, but not all. Describe the clamp type and let the buyer check against their own bars.