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 to make a bit of extra cash, clear some space or perhaps, refresh your wardrobe or home.

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

Best places to buy second hand online

Table notes: The results are based on an online survey of 1,582 UK adults who told us about 2,474 purchasing experiences of second-hand items on online marketplaces in the last two years (i.e. since December 2023). The survey was conducted in December 2025-January 2026. The customer score is based on a statistical analysis applied to the custoemrs' satisfaction with the brand and likelihood to recommend. Sample size of each brand is in brackets. 

Where star ratings are missing (-) it is because the sample size was not big enough to report on that rating.

Best places to sell second hand online

Table notes: The results are based on an online survey of 1,030 UK adults who told us about 1,526 experiences with selling second-hand items on online marketplaces in the last two years (i.e. since December 2023). The survey was conducted in December 2025- January 2026. The customer score is based on a statistical analysis applied to the customers' satisfaction with the brand and likelihood to recommend. Sample size of each brand is in brackets.

 Sample sizes in our selling survey were too low for Depop, Nextdoor, Preloved and Shpock.

Amazon

Amazon received a higher customer score 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. In our buying survey it achieved three stars for most star ratings and a mix of two and three stars for selling. 

The most popular category of item last bought from Amazon marketplace in our survey were books (24%) followed by games and toys (14%).

The most popular category of item last sold were also books (24%) and furniture and homewares (20%).

90% of buyers and 85% of sellers who had used Amazon Marketplace in the last two years would recommend it.

19% of the buyers asked in our survey had raised a complaint  with Amazon's customer service about an issue with a seller (based on their purchasing in the last two years) and 25% of sellers had raised issues about their sales.

Amazon’s set up leans more towards business sellers than private sellers. It’s A-to-z Guarantee protects buyers from issues with third party sellers that also handle their own packing and postage. If you use FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon) to sell your products, you send your items to an Amazon warehouse and it will do the storing, packing and shipping of your products, as well as handling customer support and returns. FBA carries extra fees.

More than one seller praised Amazon for its huge customer base which makes your goods available to 'millions of shoppers'

What can you buy/sell? Second hand sales are limited to books, music, video and DVDs, video games, automotive parts, software, toys (as long as passing safety regulations), sports products,. 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,  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 became a subsidiary of Etsy in 2021 but in February 2026, Etsy sold it to eBay. It is still based in London. 

It scored mainly two stars ratings along with a few three stars in our buying survey placing it joint 6th in our table.  Not enough people asked in our survey had used Depop for selling for us to be able to report on their experiences.

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 Charlie XCX, Lily Allen, Olivia Rodrigo and Megan Thee Stallion among those appearing in recent years.

85% of buyers who had used Depop would recommend it to others.

31% of the buyers asked in our survey had raised a complaint with Depop's customer service about an issue they had with a seller (based on their purchasing in the last two years).

What can you buy/sell? Branded fashion – men women children, some home decor and small kitchen items, books and DVDs.

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 the ease of searching for items (e.g. using filters, reviewing availability) and making a purchase. It received three stars for everything else. Sellers gave it three stars for most star ratings though it received two stars for its delivery/postage options and the way it handled any issues such as disputes.

Clothes, accessories and shoes were the most popular category of last item bought (29%) followed by books (14%) and technology and electronics (12%).

For sellers, the most popular last item sold was clothes, accessories and shoes (35%), technology and electronics (13%) and games or toys (11%).

91% of buyers and 83% of sellers would recommend eBay for selling second-hand items to others.

15% of buyers had raised complaints with eBay customer service over an issue with a seller and 13% of sellers had raised issues with customer service over their sales. This relatively low percentage was reflected in the comments with a number of users commenting on the ease of use and great customer service. A few sellers commented that eBay 'sides with buyers'.

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: Private sellers get 300 free listings each month (400 with an eBay shop subscription). Selling fees only apply if you sell more than this. You can also pay for additional upgrades such as setting a reserve price, larger pictures or promoted listings. You also have to pay a fee for international buyers but you can exclude these from being able to buy your items. 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.

Facebook Marketplace was bottom of the table in our selling survey. 

23% of people's last purchase and 15% 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. But it offers a huge breadth of items - the most popular category sold most recently was clothes, accessories and shoes (19%).

87% of buyers and 86% of sellers would recommend Facebook Marketplace to others for selling second-hand items.

Only 9% of buyers and 7% of sellers had raised a complaint with Facebook Marketplace customer service which was relatively low but likely reflects the hands-off approach that Facebook has to marketplace transactions.

There were a number of comments from people surveyed warning others to exercise caution because of scammers and complaining of timewasters.

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 did less well in our buying survey than our selling but achieved mainly two and three star ratings in both. 

Sellers praised the ease of listing and using. Several buyers commented on the number of what they perceived to be scam listings.

Clothing, accessories or shoes (16%) and furniture or homewares (14%) were the top product categories that buyers had most recently bought on Gumtree. In our selling survey, 19% of people had sold clothes, accessories and shoes and 16% had sold sporting and leisure equipment most recently.

85% of buyers and 87% of sellers would recommend Gumtree for selling second-hand items.

12% of Gumtree buyers had raised a complaint about issues with a seller and 10% of sellers had raised a complaint with customer service regarding issues when selling.

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. 

Not enough people asked in our survey had used Nextdoor for selling for us to be able to report on their experiences.

22% of people's last purchase on Nextdoor had been clothes, accessories or shoes.

85% of buyers would recommend Nextdoor for buying second-hand items.

21% of buyers had raised a complaint with Nextdoor's customer service even though Nextdoor don't really get involved in disputes.

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 the top scorer in our buying survey (though its worth noting that only 36 people had used it for buying in our survey). 

Not enough people asked in our survey had used Preloved for selling for us to be able to report on their experiences. 

The top most recent products bought on Preloved according to those surveyed were clothing, accessories and shoes (40%) followed by games or toys (16%).

96% of those asked would recommend Preloved for buying second-hand items.

25% of (a small sample of) buyers had raised complaints with Preloved customer service about an issue they had with a seller.

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 two and three stars for all of our ratings in our buying survey and was the bottom scorer in our buying survey. We didn't have enough responses in our selling survey to be able to report on people's selling experiences. It's also worth noting that we only had 30 responses in our buying survey which is the minimum number required for us to be able to report the results

18% of Shpock buyers had raised a complaint with Shpock in the last two years about issues they had with a seller.

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 of £0.75 plus up to 6% of the item price, excluding delivery cost.

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 our selling survey and second highest in our buying. Its star ratings were nearly all three or four stars.

The majority of people using Vinted are buying and selling clothes, accessories and shoes (75% and 74%). 

17% of buyers and the same percentage of sellers had raised a complaint with Vinted customer service.

Several people surveyed said that they had received fake items that were sold as genuine.

Some sellers complained of buyers saying an item hadn't arrived when the full tracking information showed that it had.

What can you buy/sell? Fashion (men, women and children), some home decor, books, DVDs and music, sports and leisure items and baby equipment.

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.