Sell Your Used Tool Set — 0% Fees

A used tool set typically sells for £20 to £150, and on WishThrift it costs you nothing to list — no fee, no commission, so you keep the whole amount you agree. Tool sets sell on completeness, so count everything against the case moulding before listing — a set with obvious gaps is worth far less than one you can show is complete.

The short version

Typical range: £20 – £150 — see the full tool set 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.

Lay every tool in its moulded case position and photograph it. Empty slots are immediately visible and must be acknowledged.
Check for rust, rounded sockets and worn screwdriver tips.
Note the drive sizes, the number of pieces claimed, and how many are actually present.

The photographs that sell a tool set

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 full set laid out in its case, from directly above
Any empty slots, clearly visible
A close view of socket and spanner markings
Any rust, rounding or damage, plus the case exterior

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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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, piece count and type: “Halfords Advanced 200 Piece Tool Set, Complete in Case”. Piece count is the main search term. Say honestly whether it is complete — “complete” or “missing 4 pieces, listed below” both work far better than silence.

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

Brand, nominal piece count, and how many pieces are actually present
Which drive sizes are included: quarter, three-eighths, half inch
Metric, imperial or both
Condition of the tools and the case, and any rust or rounding

What buyers will actually ask

You will receive the same three messages about a tool set. 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 it complete?”

Lay it out in the case and count. Photographs of a full case sell sets; vague claims of completeness invite lowball offers.

“Are the sockets metric or imperial?”

Check the markings and say. Buyers usually need one or the other, and a mixed set suits some and frustrates others.

“Is there any rust?”

Look closely at the chrome and photograph honestly. Light surface rust cleans off and buyers accept it when shown.

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 tool set 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 £85 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a tool set — 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	£85
Poshmark	−£17	£68
eBay	−£12	£73
Mercari	−£8	£77
Etsy	−£6	£79

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 all year with a spring lift. Trade brands hold value well; unbranded sets sell cheaply but reliably.

Heavy — a full tool case can weigh a great deal, so weigh it before quoting postage. Collection is common for larger sets.

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 tool set worth?

Typically £20 to £150 depending on brand, piece count and completeness. See the tool set value guide for the condition breakdown.

Does a missing piece ruin the value?

It reduces it, but far less than hiding it would cost you. List exactly which pieces are missing — buyers can often source individual sockets cheaply and will still buy.

Do tools hold their value?

Hand tools hold value unusually well because they barely wear out. A trade-brand set from decades ago is often still entirely usable, which is why the second-hand market for them is steady.