Best and worst places to shop second hand online

Buying and selling second hand has surged in popularity in recent years, and there's certainly plenty of choice when it comes to online second hand marketplaces and platforms you can use. 

Below are the results of our customer research to find out how people who buy and sell online rate nine of the biggest online marketplaces.. 

Find out more about each brand and what you need to know before you start clearing your wardrobe, getting rid of your clutter, adding to your book collection, or searching for the perfect piece of furniture to fit your home.

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Best places to buy second hand online

Table notes: The results are based on an online survey of 1,318 adults - members of the public - who told us about 2,027 purchasing experiences on online marketplaces. The survey was conducted in January 2024. The customer score is based on satisfaction with the brand and likelihood to recommend. Sample size of each brand/product is in brackets. 

Best places to sell second hand online

Table notes: The results are based on an online survey of 1,402 adults - members of the public - who told us about 2,171 experiences with selling on online marketplaces. The survey was conducted in January 2024. The customer score is based on satisfaction with the brand and likelihood to recommend. Sample size of each brand/product is in brackets.

Amazon

Amazon didn't fall down particularly in any area for buying or selling but placed higher in our buyers survey than it did in our survey of online sellers. We only asked survey respondents about buying and selling second hand items on Amazon Marketplace rather than other Amazon purchases.

The top products bought from Amazon marketplace in our survey were books (26%) followed by technology and electronic products (18%).

The top products sold were also books (25%) and technology and electronic products (16%).

20% of the buyers asked in our survey had raised a complaint in with Amazon's customer service (based on their purchasing in the last two years) and of these 79% were happy with the outcome.

Several buyers praised Amazon's customer service with one saying that it was 'great at helping if there's an issue' and other saying 'problems were resolved promptly'.

11% of the Amazon sellers surveyed had raised a complaint with Amazon in the last two years and an impressive 84% of those were satisfied with the dispute raising process - the highest percentage in our survey.

One seller said 'if you place a reasonable price on the item it sells' and others called it 'reliable' and 'trustworthy'.

Amazon’s set up leans more towards business sellers than private sellers. It’s A-to-z Guarantee protects buyers from third party seller issues that also handle their own packing and postage. If you use FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) to sell your products (this means you send your items to an Amazon warehouse and they will do the picking, packing and posting of your items) you are required to have returns policies that are at least as good as those offered for goods sold on amazon.co.uk directly. FBA carries extra fees.

What can you buy/sell? Private sellers are limited to second hand books, music, video and DVDs, video games, automotive parts, software, toys (as long as passing safety regulations). Tech and home and small appliances may be sold second hand but only certified refurbished by the manufacturer and with a one year warranty which limits their sale to business sellers. Clothes, shoes and accessories, baby products, pet products, sports products, grocery, consumables and topical products are not allowed to be sold used.

Need to know for buyers: Unlike a lot of second-hand marketplaces, Amazon purchases can generally be returned. You may have to cover the cost of postage though depending on your reason for return.

Need to know for sellers: Business (Professional) accounts are £25 per month plus VAT and then there is no extra fee for each item sold. Individual accounts carry a £0.75 per item fee and a referral fee (starting at £0.25 with a maximum fee depending on the category), be aware that buyers can return items.

Depop

Depop has been a subsidiary of Etsy since 2021 but focuses on second hand fashion.

It scored mainly three stars ratings along with a few two stars in our survey. It was in the lower half of the table in our buying survey and bottom in our selling survey.

Despite this, several users praised the app and the user experience. 

Depop allows business sellers and some brands like Lucy and Yak, sell samples and seconds directly through Depop.  You may also find celebrity accounts on the app with curated collections from Lily Allen, Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo and Megan Thee Stallion among those appearing in recent years.

33% of the buyers asked in our survey had raised a complaint in with Depop's customer service (based on their purchasing in the last two years) but the majority were happy with the dispute raising process (86%).

16% of the Depop sellers surveyed had raised a complaint in the last two years and 79% of those were happy with the outcome.

What can you buy/sell? Branded fashion – men women children, some home decor.

Need to know for buyers:. Depop Payments (Apple Pay, Google Pay, credit and debit card and Klarna) gives you Depop Protection which means the platform will help to organise a refund or resolution. From April 2024, buyers will pay up to 5% of the item purchase price plus a fixed amount of up to £1 excluding taxes and postage cost.

Need to know for sellers: Depop Payments also covers you for seller protection (a payment processing fee of 2.9% + £0.30).

eBay

eBay has been operating in the UK since 1999. Some items are sold through auction, others are ‘buy it now’ and much of what's sold on eBay is new and/or sold by business sellers. We asked only about second hand buying and selling.

Buyers rated it four stars for ratings such as setting up an account, searching for items and paying for items. Sellers generally gave it three stars for most star rartings though it received four for ease of receiving payment.

Several sellers surveyed mentioned the selling fees being too high which will mean the abolition of selling fees on second hand clothing that eBay introduced in April 2024 will be very welcome. Final value fees still apply to other categories though and trainers, watches, handbags and jewellery are also still subject to final value fees.

Clothes, accessories and shoes were the top products bought from eBay in our survey (25%) followed by books (20%) and it was the same for product sold with clothing forming 27% of sales and books, 15%.

21% of eBay buyers had raised a complaint in the last two years but over three quarters (78%) were satisfied with the outcome. Only 10% of eBay sellers had done the same but only just over half (54%) of those were satisfied with the dispute raising process.

What can you buy/sell? Everything except prohibited items such as firearms, pets and alcohol.

Need to know for buyers: eBay’s Moneyback Guarantee covers you as long as you have paid using credit or debit card, PayPal or Apple or Google Pay.

Need to know for sellers: Listings are usually free unless over 1,000 listings a month. You pay a final value fee which is 12.8% of the total sale (includes item’s postage and taxes) plus a fixed charge of 30p per order. Second hand clothing is free to sell. If you are found responsible for a dispute you’ll be charged £16.80 per dispute.

Facebook Marketplace

Launched in 2016, Marketplace operates within Facebook’s website or app. 

Facebook Marketplace doesn't offer buyer protection. You'll need to arrange payment and collection directly with the seller - usually using Messenger.

While Facebook Markeplace was middling in our selling survey, it was bottom of the table in our buying survey. 

25% of people's last purchase and 23% of people’s last sale with Facebook Marketplace in our survey was an item of furniture or homeware reflecting that Facebook Marketplace is largely based around local trading where you go and see and then collect an item, making bulky items like furniture particularly well suited to its platform.

Some sellers complained of scammers sending fake invoices and and trying to get hold of bank details. 

10% of Facebook buyers had raised a complaint in the last two years but only 53% of those were satisfied with the outcome - the lowest satisfaction among buyers asked about the nine marketplaces. Only 9% of Facebook sellers had raised a complaint with the marketplace and of those 63% were satisfied with the dispute raising process. 

What can you buy/sell? Everything except services, animals, healthcare such as thermometers and illegal items.

Need to know for buyers: You have no financial protection through Facebook Marketplace. You can still use a secure method of payment such as Paypal (goods and services option) to buy your item if the seller agrees.

Need to know for sellers: There are no fees for using Facebook Marketplace to sell items.

Gumtree

Online classified ad site, Gumtree was started by two UK friends in 2000.

It put in a solid middle of the pack performance for both buying and selling in our buying and selling survey tables scoring three stars for all ratings.

Buyers and sellers were generally positive in their comments with one buyer saying 'I'm either very lucky or everyone who sells what I want on Gumtree is really honest and helpful'.

Furniture or homewares were the top product category bought and sold (29% and 23%).

15% of Gumtree buyers had raised a complaint and 77% pf those were satisfied with the outcome. Similarly, 16% of Gumtree sellers had raised a complaint and again 77% were satisfied.

What can you buy/sell? Everything as long as it’s legal and doesn’t cause harm. Popular for second hand cars.

Need to know for buyers: Try to arrange to see the item first and pay for the item using a trusted online method.

Need to know for sellers: Standard ads are free to place for private sellers but add-ons such as website links or ‘featured’ ads have fees attached.

Nextdoor

Nextdoor, launched in the UK in 2016, does more than just buy or sell: it connects users with their neighbourhood through news updates and local tips, as well as allowing people to trade locally. 

A high percentage of its buyers (42% and the highest in the survey) had raised a complaint with Nextdoor in the last two years, but 81% of those were happy with the dispute raising process. Nextdoor sellers had a similar percentage of issues raised (38%) but of those there were less satisfied customers - 67%.

What can you buy/sell? Everything except live animals, illegal and age-inappropriate items.

Need to know for buyers: Nextdoor don’t get involved in disputes – the most they will do is disable a user’s account but caution they are likely to require multiple complaints about a user before doing so. View items before committing to buy and use a secure method of payment such as PayPal.

Need to know for sellers: Nextdoor is only for private sellers. Businesses can promote their business but not sell products through the platform.

Preloved

A classified ads veteran begun in 1998, Preloved has over 1.7 million active members. Being a Preloved member is free and you can place unlimited adverts but paying to be a member has certain benefits such as being able to respond to adverts straight away (or buyers) or post multiple photos (for sellers).

Preloved either trades without buyer protection or you can use a transaction platform called Trustap. Both buyer and seller must agree to use it. With delivered items it only applies to some categories such as clothing and gives the buyer 24 hours after delivery to confirm they are happy.

Preloved was in the lower half of our table for buyers but followed Vinted for sellers. It received mainly three star ratings.

The top products bought according to those surveyed were clothing, accessories and shoes (30%) followed by furniture and homewares (14%).

The top products sold were clothing, accessories and shoes (22%) and games and toys (17%)

Over a third of buyers (36%) and nearly a third of sellers (31%) had raised a complaint. 88% of buyers and 75% of sellers were satisfied with the dispute raising process.

What can you buy/sell? Everything except illegal and age-inappropriate items.

Need to know for buyers: You’ll probably need to pay some form of membership to get access to the best items for sale (£5-£15 a year for buyers and sellers).

Need to know for sellers: Being a member could be worthwhile particularly if you have lots to sell.

Shpock

A portmanteau of ‘shop in your pocket’, the Shpock app launched in the UK in 2015.

There are membership options for sellers (through the Google Play or the Apple App store). You can either pay £0.99 a month for standard which removes ads, or £4.99 a month for premium which gives other perks such as priority support from Shpock and free promotions.

Shpock scored three stars for all of our ratings.

Clothing, accessories and shoes was the most popular category for bought and sold items (27% and 34%). Technology and electronics was the 2nd most popular item bought (15%). For sellers it was games and toys (18%).

30% of Shpock buyers had raised a complaint with Shpock in the last two years and 80% of these were satisfied with the dispute raising process. 24% of Shpock sellers had raised a complaint and 73% were satisfied.

What can you buy/sell? Everything except illegal and age inappropriate items.

Need to know for buyers: For buyers, it’s free unless you buy an item with ‘buy now’ which means you add Shpock’s buyer protection, but also means you pay a fee (between £0.30 and £3.75 plus 0-15% of the item price).

Need to know for sellers:  It’s free to sell if you place a basic ad.

Vinted

Started in 2008 in Vilnius, Lithuania by two friends - one who wanted to sell her clothes and the other with some tech know how, Vinted now operates in 15 countries. It was the highest scorer in both our buying and selling survey and nearly all its star ratings were four or five stars.

The marjority of people using Vinted are buying and selling clothes, accessorie and shoes (85% and 84%).

It had fairly low overall complaint figures - only 12% of sellers but the lowest number of sellers in our survey who raised a dispute satisfied with the process - 46%. The marketplace's buyer percentages were better but satisfaction with the outcome was still fairly low - 20% of them had raised an issue but only 62% were satisfied with the process.

What can you buy/sell? Fashion (men, women and childrens), some home decor.

Need to know for buyers: Fees are paid by the buyer and give buyer protection (unless you pay outside of the app). Fees encompass a fixed amount between 30-80p and an additional 3-8% of the purchase price.

Need to know for sellers: You will only receive payment for your item from Vinted once your item has arrived with the buyer and they have either confirmed by clicking a button to say ‘everything is ok’ or two days elapse after delivery and no dispute has been raised.