The short version
- Typical range: £200 – £1,500 — see the full trailer 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.
- Find the plate giving the unladen and gross weights, and note the bed dimensions.
- Check the lights work on a test, the tyres including the spare, and the wheel bearings for play.
- Gather any registration, receipt or identification marking, since trailer theft makes buyers cautious.
The photographs that sell a trailer
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 trailer whole, from a three-quarter angle
- The bed from above, showing dimensions and floor condition
- The hitch, jockey wheel and lighting board
- The plate showing weights, plus the tyres and any rust or damage
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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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
Bed size and weight rating: “Box Trailer, 8x4ft Bed, 750kg Gross, Braked”. Bed dimensions and gross weight are the searches. Say braked or unbraked, which determines what can legally tow it and with what licence.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- Bed length, width and internal height, and gross and unladen weights
- Braked or unbraked, and axle configuration
- Whether lights, spare wheel, cover and jockey wheel are included
- Ownership documentation and any identification marking
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about a trailer. 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.
Read the plate. It determines what vehicle and licence category can legally tow it, which is a hard constraint rather than a preference.
Test them on a vehicle and confirm. Lighting faults are the most common reason a trailer is not road legal and they are easily checked.
Provide a receipt or registration if you have one. Trailer theft is common enough that careful buyers ask, and having an answer sets you apart.
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 trailer 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 £850 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a trailer — 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 | £850 |
| Poshmark | −£170 | £680 |
| eBay | −£116 | £734 |
| Mercari | −£85 | £765 |
| Etsy | −£55 | £795 |
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 in spring and summer with building and garden work. Braked trailers and larger beds sell steadily to trade buyers.
Cleared funds before it leaves, and write a dated receipt naming both parties, the trailer identification and the price. Check the buyer’s vehicle is rated to tow it before they hitch up.
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 trailer worth?
Typically £200 to £1,500, with braked and larger trailers above. See the trailer value guide for the condition bands.
Do trailers need to be registered?
Requirements vary by country and by weight, and larger trailers often must be. Say what documentation you have and let the buyer check their own local rules.
Braked or unbraked — does it matter?
Considerably. It affects the maximum weight, what can tow it and the licence needed. State which yours is in the title.
See also: what a used trailer is worth · browse live vehicles listings · condition grades explained.