Used sofa beds in the UK typically sell for £80 to £400 (about $110 to $540). A sofa bed is two products in one listing, and buyers want proof of both — so photograph it opened out, with the mattress visible.
What sofa beds are worth in the UK
| Condition | Typical | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| New with Tags | £400 | Unused, tags or seals intact |
| Like New | £340 | Barely used, no visible wear |
| Good | £260 | Light signs of use, complete and working |
| Fair | £180 | Heavily used, or a described fault or missing part |
| For Parts | £100 | Not working or incomplete, sold as seen |
Guide ranges converted from sterling at the 2 August 2026 rate, not quotes — sellers set their own price. Grades are seller-declared; WishThrift does not inspect or verify them.
What lifts the price
- Mechanisms that open and close smoothly
- Mattresses with no sagging or staining
What pulls it down
- Sagging or stained mattresses
- Bent metal frames in the bed section
Selling a sofa bed in the UK
Most private sales settle by bank transfer or cash on collection. Faster Payments clear in seconds, which makes a transfer as safe as cash for the seller — wait for it to land before the item leaves your hands.
Royal Mail, Evri and InPost cover the whole country, and InPost lockers mean neither side has to be in for a delivery. Tracked 48 is the usual default for small parcels.
Two practical things shape a UK sale. Bank holidays and the run-up to Christmas slow collections right down, so build a few extra days in. And postage from mainland Britain to Northern Ireland, the Highlands and the islands carries surcharges that catch sellers out — quote for the buyer’s actual postcode rather than a flat rate.
Second-hand demand peaks in January, in the weeks before Christmas, and at the start of the academic year in September.
Working out what yours is worth
- Open and close the bed fully several times
- Photograph the mattress laid out flat
Getting it ready
- Open and close the mechanism several times to confirm it works smoothly, and check the frame for bending.
- Vacuum thoroughly, check the mattress for staining, and find the fire-safety label.
Photograph
- The sofa closed, from a corner, in daylight
- The mattress surface, showing its actual condition
- The mechanism, plus the fire-safety label and any damage
Put in the description
- Dimensions as a sofa and as a bed, in centimetres
- Bed size — single, double or king — and mattress thickness
- Mechanism type, and whether it operates smoothly
Size as both, plus mechanism: “3 Seater Sofa Bed, Double, Pull Out Metal Action, Grey”. The bed size is a primary search. Naming the mechanism type helps, because click-clack, pull-out and futon styles suit very different buyers and comfort expectations.
Collection only and heavier than an equivalent sofa because of the mechanism. Say which floor it is on and whether the legs come off.
It costs nothing to list
There is no listing fee, no selling fee and no commission, so the £400 a buyer pays is the £400 you keep. You and the buyer settle up and arrange the handover between yourselves; WishThrift does not hold the money or ship the item.
Where in the UK
The United Kingdom is a big place and what sells well moves with it. These are the parts of the United Kingdom with their own page for sofa beds.
Common questions
Where can I sell a sofa bed in the UK?
List it free on WishThrift and deal with the buyer direct. There is no selling fee, so the whole amount stays with you. Most private sales settle by bank transfer or cash on collection. Faster Payments clear in seconds, which makes a transfer as safe as cash for the seller — wait for it to land before the item leaves your hands.
Is the mattress stained?
Photograph it opened out. Buyers assume the worst about an unphotographed sofa bed mattress, so showing a clean one helps you.
What should I check on a sofa bed?
The mechanism. Open and close it fully several times, because a jamming mechanism is the most common fault and is expensive to fix.
How do I photograph one?
Both closed and fully opened, with the mattress visible. Buyers want to see the bed, not just the sofa.
More: how to sell a sofa bed, what sofa beds are worth, or Furniture across the United Kingdom.