Sell Your Used Wheelbarrow — 0% Fees

A used wheelbarrow typically sells for £15 to £80, and on WishThrift it costs you nothing to list — no fee, no commission, so you keep the whole amount you agree. A wheelbarrow is judged on the tray and the wheel, and the fault that ends most of them is rust through the bottom of the tray where water has sat.

The short version

Typical range: £15 – £80 — see the full wheelbarrow value guide
What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
Category: Home & Garden

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.

Turn it over and check the tray underside for rust through, particularly at the lowest point.
Check the tyre holds air, and note whether it is pneumatic or solid.
Check the handles, legs and stays for bends and rot, and tighten any loose fixings.

The photographs that sell a wheelbarrow

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 wheelbarrow whole, from the side
The tray from inside, showing the base
The tray underside, showing any rust
The wheel and tyre, plus the handles and any bend or rot

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 It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover.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, tray material and wheel: “90L Galvanised Wheelbarrow, Pneumatic Tyre”. Capacity in litres is the search and galvanised versus painted steel is the durability question. Pneumatic versus solid tyre is a genuine preference.

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

Tray capacity in litres and tray material
Wheel type, and whether the tyre holds air
Frame material and handle condition
Any rust through the tray, and any bend in the frame

What buyers will actually ask

You will receive the same three messages about a wheelbarrow. 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 the tray rusted through?”

Turn it over and photograph the underside. A holed tray leaks whatever you put in it and is the fault buyers most want to see.

“Does the tyre hold air?”

Pump it and leave it overnight. Pneumatic tyres perish and a flat that will not hold is a small but real cost.

“Is it galvanised?”

Say which. Galvanised trays last far longer outdoors than painted steel and buyers who have replaced a rusted barrow know the difference.

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 wheelbarrow 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 £47 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a wheelbarrow — 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	£47
Poshmark	−£9	£38
eBay	−£6	£41
Mercari	−£5	£42
Etsy	−£3	£44

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 March to August with garden and building work. Sturdy builder’s barrows sell year round to trade buyers.

Bulky but light and it will not post economically, so collection only in practice. Most fit in an estate car with the wheel removed.

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 wheelbarrow worth?

Typically £15 to £80, with galvanised builder’s barrows above. See the wheelbarrow value guide for the condition bands.

Can a rusted tray be repaired?

Small holes can be patched but rust spreads from the inside and the repair rarely lasts. Replacement trays are available for common models, which is worth mentioning if yours is a standard size.

Are solid tyres better than pneumatic?

Solid tyres never puncture but ride harder and are worse over rough ground. Say which yours has, since buyers have a firm preference either way.