The short version
- Typical range: £3 – £40 — see the full vinyl records 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.
- Take the record out and inspect the vinyl under a bright angled light for scuffs, scratches and marks.
- Read the matrix or runout number etched between the last track and the label, and note the catalogue number from the sleeve.
- Clean the surface with a proper record brush, and check whether any inserts, inner sleeves or posters are present.
The photographs that sell vinyl records
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 front sleeve, straight on, filling the frame
- The back sleeve, showing the catalogue number and track listing
- The vinyl itself out of the sleeve, angled to show surface condition under light
- The label and the runout matrix etching, plus any inserts
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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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
Artist, title, and pressing detail: “Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon, 1973 UK 1st Press, Harvest SHVL 804”. Collectors search by catalogue number and pressing, not just album title. Grade the record and the sleeve separately using standard grading, and put the grades in the description.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- Artist, title, catalogue number and matrix or runout number
- Pressing country and year, and whether it is a first pressing or a reissue
- Media grade and sleeve grade, stated separately
- Whether inner sleeves, inserts or posters are present
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about vinyl records. 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 matrix number and the catalogue number and give both. This is what separates a common reissue worth a few pounds from an original worth a great deal.
Play it if you can and say whether there are audible clicks or jumps. Visual grading is a starting point; a play-tested grade is worth far more to a buyer.
Check inside the sleeve. Original inners, posters and lyric sheets add real value on collectable pressings and their absence should be stated.
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 vinyl records 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 £21 sale — roughly the middle of the range for vinyl records — 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 | £21 |
| Poshmark | −£4 | £17 |
| eBay | −£3 | £18 |
| Mercari | −£2 | £19 |
| Etsy | −£1 | £20 |
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 collectors active constantly. Common pressings sell slowly and cheaply; scarce originals in good grade sell almost immediately.
Post in a proper record mailer, never a padded envelope, with the vinyl outside the sleeve to prevent seam splits. Poor packaging is the main cause of record disputes and it is entirely avoidable.
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
How do I grade a vinyl record?
Use the standard scale — Mint, Near Mint, Very Good Plus, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor — and grade the record and the sleeve separately. Inspect the vinyl under strong angled light, and play-test if you can. Grade conservatively; collectors trade repeatedly with sellers who under-promise.
What makes a record valuable?
The pressing, not the album. A first pressing with the right matrix number can be worth many times a later reissue of the same record. Condition, completeness of inserts and scarcity do the rest.
What are used vinyl records worth?
Anywhere from £3 to £40 for common pressings, with rare originals reaching far higher. See the vinyl records value guide and the separate guide to rare vinyl.
See also: what a used vinyl records is worth · browse live vinyl & cds listings · condition grades explained.