COS Gilets Resale Value

COS gilets: price by condition

Seller-declared grades, sterling with an approximate US dollar equivalent at £1 ≈ $1.33 (July 2026). What each grade means.

What holds its value across COS

• Oversized wool and wool-blend coats, which are the label’s signature and the thing buyers search it for by name
• Archive and limited-edition pieces, which are produced in small runs and are the only part of the range with a collectors’ element
• Plain, structured tailoring in neutral colours, which dates far more slowly than anything printed and stays saleable for years
• Heavier knitwear in merino and wool blends, which holds its shape where the cheaper high-street equivalents do not

What pulls COS resale value down

• Pilled knitwear, which is the commonest fault and shows immediately against the plain colours the label favours
• Faded blacks and washed-out greys, which are most of the range and where fading is most obvious
• Anything with a broken or replaced signature button or fastening, since the hardware is deliberately minimal and any substitute shows
• Basic jersey pieces, which are cheap enough new that a used one rarely justifies the postage on its own

Identifying and dating yours

1. The neck label reads COS rather than any sub-line, and the care label carries a product code buyers can search to confirm the season
2. COS sizing runs large and is cut deliberately oversized, so give flat measurements — buyers who have not worn the label before consistently order wrong
3. Photograph the shoulder seams and the inside of the coat, because the construction is most of why somebody chooses this label secondhand

What lifts any gilet, whatever the label

Gilets are judged on fill and zip, exactly like a jacket, but sell for less because they suit a narrower range of weather.

• Down fill with good loft
• Recognised outdoor and heritage brands
• Working full-length zips
• Intact baffles with no leaking fill

And what pulls one down

• Clumped or migrated fill
• Failed zips
• Pinholes leaking down
• Thin unbranded gilets

Working out what yours is worth

1. Shake it out and check the fill lofts evenly
2. Run the zip fully
3. Look for escaping feathers at the seams

What to state in the listing

• Size, with chest measured flat
• Fill type and fill power if stated
• Whether it packs into its own pocket
• Loft condition, and whether any seam is leaking fill

Brand, fill and size: “Rab Down Gilet, 700 Fill, Size M” or “Padded Gilet, Synthetic, Size 14”. Fill type and power are the searches for outdoor buyers. Say if it packs into its own pocket, which is a real feature people look for.

Preparing and photographing it

1. Establish whether it is down or synthetic fill, from the label, and note the fill power if given.
2. Check for down leaking through the seams, which indicates the baffles are failing.
3. Test the zip and check the loft by laying it flat — a gilet that has lost its loft has lost its warmth.

1. The gilet flat or on a hanger, front, whole
2. The side profile, showing loft
3. The label with fill type, size and composition
4. The zip and any leaking seam, stain or flattened panel

When it sells best, and handing it over

Lifts from September to February. Outdoor brands sell year round to walkers; fashion gilets are strongly seasonal.

Light and compressible, so postage is cheap. Do not store or post down heavily compressed for long periods, which damages the loft.

What buyers ask

Does COS clothing hold its value?

Reasonably, and better than most of the high street, because the designs are plain enough not to date. Coats and tailoring do best; plain jersey basics are barely worth listing on their own.

What size should I list a COS coat as?

Give the label size and the flat measurements together. COS is cut oversized and the label size alone misleads more buyers on this brand than on almost any other.

How much is a COS gilet worth?

Roughly £12 to £50 depending on condition, against £12 to £50 for gilets generally. The identification points above are what move a listing to the top of that range.

What the fees would take elsewhere

At the mid-range £31 for a COS gilet, against what the commission marketplaces would deduct:

Seller-side rates verified 26 Jul 2026, percentages only — the per-order and processing charges those platforms add are excluded, so the real gap is wider.

Listing is free and there is no commission — read how to sell a gilet for the title, handover and timing, or the general gilet value guide if yours is not a COS.

See also: all COS value guides · value guides by brand · buying a gilet · Clothing · condition grades.