Sell in the United Kingdom — Which Marketplaces You Can Actually Reach
The UK marketplaces open to you, what each one charges, and the tax rules as HMRC actually writes them — including the reporting threshold that is not a tax, and two platforms most guides still get wrong.
- A platform reporting you to HMRC does not mean you owe tax. HMRC says so in those words. Platforms report sellers above 30 sales or about £1,700 a year — a reporting rule, not a new tax.
- £1,000 gross a year from trading before you need to tell HMRC — one allowance across all your side hustles, measured before expenses.
- Selling your own used possessions is not trading. Clearing the loft is not taxable; buying or making things to sell at a profit is.
- eBay charges UK private sellers nothing in every category except vehicles, with the buyer paying a protection fee instead. Business sellers still pay the full schedule.
- Vinted has overtaken eBay in UK second-hand clothing — the CMA puts it at 50–60% of UK consumer-to-consumer apparel sales in 2025, up from 5–10% in 2021.
- Two things most guides get wrong: Poshmark closed its UK marketplace in 2023, and Facebook Marketplace here has no checkout, delivery or payouts — local collection only.
- Selling to the EU changed on 1 July 2026: the €150 customs-duty exemption was abolished, replaced by an interim flat €3 per item.
- Cost: FLUF Connect crosslists to 51 marketplaces from one dashboard. 7 days for £1, then from £9/month. There is no free plan.
On this page
- The UK market
- The tax rules, correctly
- Where you can sell
- The UK-only and UK-strong platforms
- Two that are not what people think
- Shipping from the UK
- Selling to EU buyers after 1 July 2026
- When you get paid
- Running several of these at once
- Sources and verification
- Related guides
The UK market
Online sales were 27.4% of all UK retail in July 2026, against 19.2% before the pandemic. Second-hand is the fast-moving part: the Competition and Markets Authority, using the merging parties’ own data in its July 2026 eBay and Depop decision, found UK consumer-to-consumer apparel grew 50 to 60% between 2021 and 2025.
Ofcom’s Online Nation research shows where UK buyers are: eBay reaches 30.7 million UK online adults, or 63%, and Vinted 14.3 million, or 29% — up 53% in two years, and the highest dwell time in retail’s top ten.
The competitive story is a handover. In the same CMA decision, Vinted’s share of UK consumer-to-consumer apparel sales moved from a 5–10% band in 2021 to 50–60% in 2025, while eBay’s fell from 30–40% to 10–20% and Depop‘s from 10–20% to 0–5%. The CMA publishes bands rather than point estimates, and they are the most authoritative UK figures that exist.
The tax rules, correctly
This is where UK sellers are most badly served by what is written online, so here is the verified version, all from GOV.UK.
The trading allowance is £1,000. You can earn up to £1,000 a year gross from trading without telling HMRC. Three details matter: it is measured on income before expenses, it is one allowance across all your side hustles rather than one per platform, and above £1,000 you deduct either the allowance or your actual expenses, not both. It has been £1,000 since April 2017 and is unchanged for 2026/27.
Platform reporting is not a tax. Since 1 January 2024, digital platforms report seller details to HMRC. You are excluded if you make fewer than 30 sales of goods in a calendar year, or receive less than €2,000, about £1,700. HMRC’s own sentence on that page is the one to hold on to: a platform reporting your details does not automatically mean you owe tax. It repeated the point in a December 2024 release headed No tax changes for online sellers, adding that if you are not trading and just occasionally sell unwanted items, there is no tax due. Platforms must also give you a copy of what they reported.
Selling your own possessions is not trading. GOV.UK puts it plainly: you are unlikely to pay tax selling personal items from your home, such as the contents of a loft or garage. If you buy or make goods to sell at a profit, you are likely to be trading. Where HMRC has to decide, it applies the nine badges of trade.
Capital gains on possessions start at £6,000. You may owe Capital Gains Tax selling a personal possession for £6,000 or more; your car and wasting assets are exempt, and the threshold covers a set of matching items and your share of anything owned jointly. VAT registration is £90,000, deregistration £88,000, both unchanged since April 2024.
One change is coming but is not yet in force. In March 2025 the government announced that the Self Assessment reporting threshold for trading income will rise from £1,000 to £3,000 gross within this parliament. No start date has been set, and note what it does not do: it changes who must file a return, not how much you can earn tax free.
Where you can sell
| Marketplace | Seller fee from the UK | Who pays for buyer protection |
|---|---|---|
| eBay — private | None, in every category except vehicles; 300 free listings a month then 35p | Buyer: £0.10 plus 7% to £20, 4% to £300, 2% to £4,000 |
| eBay — business | 9.9%–12.9% by category, plus £0.30 or £0.40 per order and 0.35% | Included at no charge; buyers pay nothing |
| Vinted | None | Buyer: Vinted publishes a range of 3%–8% plus £0.30–£0.80 |
| Depop | None since March 2024 — the UK got this before the US | Buyer: up to 5% plus up to £1 |
| Etsy | $0.20 to list, 6.5% transaction fee, 4% + £0.20 processing, 0.48% regulatory fee | No separate buyer fee |
| Whatnot | 6.67% plus VAT commission; 2.42% plus £0.25 plus VAT processing | No separate buyer fee; no listing fees |
| TikTok Shop | 9% commission on GMV, including customer-paid shipping | No separate buyer fee |
| Vestiaire Collective | 12% on items £83–£16,667; flat £10 below £83; plus 3% processing, minimum £3 | Buyer service fee, published as a 5%–28% range |
| Gumtree | None — classifieds, with optional paid promotion | None; buyer and seller settle directly |
| Facebook Marketplace | None — but see below, there is no checkout in the UK | Not applicable |
Two things follow from that table. The UK has moved decisively to buyer-funded protection on the consumer-to-consumer platforms — eBay private, Vinted and Depop all charge the seller nothing and put the fee on the buyer. And eBay’s free selling is gated on being a UK-resident private seller: a UK business pays the full schedule, and a non-UK private seller on ebay.co.uk pays 12.8% plus 30p plus 0.42%. If you sell as a business on Vinted, Vinted Pro is the required route — it carries no commission or subscription, and the UK is one of only eight countries where it exists.
The UK-only and UK-strong platforms
Gumtree is UK-only, and that matters: the similarly named sites in other countries are separate businesses with no shared login or seller base.
Vinted is now the largest UK second-hand clothing platform by some distance, on the CMA’s bands above. Depop is London-founded and was the first market anywhere to get zero selling fees; its ownership changed this year, with Etsy completing the sale of Depop to eBay on 30 July 2026 for around $1.4 billion — which is why the CMA was looking at UK consumer-to-consumer apparel at all.
TikTok Shop runs a live UK market, open to individuals with a UK passport or driving licence and proof of address, and to UK-registered companies.
Causee is a new UK entrant worth watching rather than betting on. Sellers list free and keep 100% of the sale price, with revenue from a buyer-paid protection fee and profits pledged to charity. Two caveats: the “not-for-profit” description is a stated commitment rather than a legal structure — Causee Limited is a private company limited by shares, not a community interest company or a charity — and the company is a 2019 registration renamed in March 2026 rather than a new incorporation.
Two that are not what people think
Poshmark has no UK marketplace. It opened one in January 2023 and closed it that November, along with Australia and India; poshmark.co.uk now says plainly that the UK marketplace has closed. Poshmark today is the United States and Canada, so any guide still listing it as a UK option is three years out of date.
Facebook Marketplace in the UK has no checkout. Meta’s own UK help pages state that selling with delivery, and checkout with delivery, are not available in this location. UK Marketplace is therefore local collection or a private arrangement: no Meta payments, no prepaid labels, no payouts, and no seller commission because there is no transaction to take a cut of. The 5% selling fee people quote is a United States construct. It is still a large audience — just not a checkout channel.
Shipping from the UK
A tracked small parcel under 2 kg costs roughly £2 to £5. InPost locker-to-locker starts at £1.99; Royal Mail Tracked 48 is £3.65 online.
That last figure contains a useful oddity. Since Royal Mail’s April 2026 price change, Tracked 48 at £3.65 is cheaper than a 2nd Class small parcel at £4.25 — the opposite of what most sellers assume, and on marketplaces where untracked postage delays your payout, cheaper twice over.
Most marketplaces now issue the label. eBay’s Simple Delivery is the only delivery method for private sellers on eligible listings up to £750, via Evri, Royal Mail, DHL or InPost — and eBay may issue a carrier other than your preferred one. Vinted offers seven carriers, the buyer chooses and pays, and using your own label cancels the order. Note too that Yodel no longer exists as a brand: InPost acquired it and completed the rebrand in July.
Selling to EU buyers after 1 July 2026
One rule changed this year and most published guidance has not caught up. The EU’s €150 customs-duty exemption on low-value consignments was abolished on 1 July 2026, replaced by an interim flat customs duty of €3 per item on sub-€150 parcels sent directly to EU consumers, running until 1 July 2028 while the EU’s wider customs reform is built. The €3 is charged per tariff heading, so a mixed parcel can attract it more than once, and the Import One-Stop Shop does not exempt you from it. Do not confuse the two €150s: the threshold still exists for IOSS VAT purposes; what went is the duty relief at that value.
The practical upshot is simpler than it sounds. Where a marketplace facilitates the sale it is the deemed supplier and handles VAT under its own IOSS registration, so selling into the EU through eBay, Etsy or Vinted is handled for you. Selling direct from your own site is where you need an EU-established intermediary, or the buyer gets a bill at the door. Either way a CN22 customs declaration goes on every parcel up to £270 in value, a CN23 above that, and “clothing” alone as a description is what gets parcels held.
When you get paid
eBay private sellers get funds two calendar days after delivery is confirmed with tracked postage, but fourteen days from the order date if the parcel is untracked — another reason tracked pays for itself. Vinted completes an order when the buyer confirms or two days after delivery, though a Pro account waits fourteen. Depop pays two to three working days after delivery on its own shipping, fourteen days from the sale otherwise. Etsy pays weekly by default, with no deposit fee for UK sellers. TikTok Shop starts new sellers on a 31-day settlement, moving to eight as standard.
Running several of these at once
UK sellers end up on three or four of these because they barely overlap: eBay has the reach, Vinted the clothing buyers, Etsy a mostly American handmade and vintage audience, Whatnot live selling, and Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace the heavy local items nobody wants to post.
What that costs is time, and the risk of selling the same jumper twice. FLUF Connect exists for that: list once, push to the channels you have connected, and when something sells on one it comes down on the others. Crosslisting and inventory sync are on every paid plan; relisting, offer management and smart pricing are included from Seller upwards. Check the individual guides rather than assuming — and note that at least two platforms routinely recommended to UK sellers cannot actually take them.
Sources and verification
- Market size and share: ONS series J4MC, the CMA’s eBay and Depop merger decision of 17 July 2026, and Ofcom’s Online Nation 2025.
- Tax, all GOV.UK: the trading allowance, selling through digital platforms, “No tax changes for online sellers”, Capital Gains on personal possessions, the badges of trade, VAT registration, and the announced £3,000 reporting threshold.
- eBay: private seller fees, business seller fees, the Buyer Protection fee and Simple Delivery.
- Vinted: selling fees, the Buyer Protection range and Vinted Pro eligibility. Depop: zero selling fees and Etsy’s completed sale to eBay.
- Other fee schedules: Etsy and its UK regulatory operating fee, Whatnot, Vestiaire Collective and TikTok Shop UK.
- The two corrections: Poshmark’s own UK page, and Meta’s UK help pages on selling with delivery and checkout with delivery, both reporting the feature unavailable in this location.
- Shipping and export: InPost UK prices, the European Commission on customs reform, the EU on IOSS and GOV.UK on the £135 rule.
Related guides
- Sell on eBay — the complete seller guide
- Sell on Vinted — the complete seller guide
- Sell on Depop — the complete seller guide
- Sell on Gumtree — the UK classifieds guide
- All marketplace guides
- All crosslisting routes
- Selling online from the United States
- Sell on Gettit — the complete seller guide
- Selling online in Australia
- Sell online in Germany — every marketplace you can reach
Frequently Asked Questions
Not if you are selling your own used possessions. GOV.UK states you are unlikely to pay tax selling personal items from your home, such as the contents of a loft or garage. You are likely to be trading, and taxable, if you buy or make goods to sell at a profit. Separately, the trading allowance lets you earn up to £1,000 gross a year from trading before you need to tell HMRC — one allowance across all your side hustles combined, measured before expenses rather than after.
Not necessarily, and HMRC says so in those exact terms: a platform reporting your details to HMRC does not automatically mean you owe tax. Since 1 January 2024 platforms report sellers unless you made fewer than 30 sales of goods in the calendar year or received less than €2,000, about £1,700. That is a reporting rule, not a new tax. HMRC published a release in December 2024 headed "No tax changes for online sellers" making the same point, and adding that if you are not trading and just occasionally sell unwanted items, there is no tax due. The platform must also give you a copy of what it reported.
For private sellers, yes, in every category except vehicles — no final value fee and no regulatory operating fee, with 300 free listings a month and 35p after that. The cost moved to the buyer instead, as a Buyer Protection fee of £0.10 plus 7% up to £20, 4% of the portion from £20 to £300 and 2% from £300 to £4,000. Two limits worth knowing: it is gated on being a UK-resident private seller, so a non-UK private seller on ebay.co.uk pays 12.8% plus 30p plus 0.42%, and business sellers pay the full schedule of 9.9% to 12.9% by category plus a per-order charge.
It depends what you are measuring. On overall reach eBay is still far larger: Ofcom's Online Nation research puts eBay at 30.7 million UK online adults, or 63%, against Vinted's 14.3 million, or 29%. But in second-hand clothing specifically Vinted has overtaken it. The Competition and Markets Authority, in its July 2026 decision on eBay's acquisition of Depop, put Vinted at 50 to 60% of UK consumer-to-consumer apparel sales in 2025, up from 5 to 10% in 2021, with eBay falling from 30 to 40% down to 10 to 20%.
No. Poshmark opened a UK marketplace in January 2023 and closed it in November of the same year, along with Australia and India. Its own site at poshmark.co.uk now states plainly that the UK marketplace has closed. Poshmark today operates in the United States and Canada only. Any guide still listing it as an option for UK sellers is roughly three years out of date, and this is one of the two most common errors in UK selling guides.
Because there is no checkout here. Meta's own UK help pages report that selling with delivery on Marketplace, and checkout with delivery, are not available in this location. UK Marketplace is local collection or a private arrangement between you and the buyer: no Meta-processed payments, no prepaid labels and no payouts. It follows that there is no Meta selling fee either, because there is no transaction for Meta to take a cut of — the 5% fee people quote is a United States construct. It remains a large audience, but it is not a checkout channel.
Roughly £2 to £5 for a tracked small parcel under 2 kg. InPost locker-to-locker starts at £1.99 for a small parcel, and Royal Mail's Tracked 48 small parcel is £3.65 at online prices. There is a useful oddity in that: since Royal Mail's April 2026 price change, Tracked 48 at £3.65 is cheaper than a 2nd Class small parcel at £4.25, so the tracked service is now the less expensive one. Given that untracked postage delays your eBay payout to fourteen days, tracked is cheaper twice over.
The EU abolished its €150 customs-duty exemption on low-value consignments on 1 July 2026, replacing it with an interim flat customs duty of €3 per item on sub-€150 parcels sent directly to EU consumers, running to 1 July 2028. The €3 is charged per tariff heading, so a mixed parcel can attract it more than once, and using the Import One-Stop Shop does not exempt you. Do not confuse the two €150 figures: the threshold still exists for IOSS VAT purposes; what went was the duty relief. Where a marketplace facilitates the sale it handles the VAT under its own IOSS registration.
eBay private sellers get funds two calendar days after delivery is confirmed on tracked postage, but fourteen days from the order date if the parcel is untracked. Vinted completes an order when the buyer confirms, or automatically two days after delivery — though a Vinted Pro account waits fourteen days instead. Depop pays two to three working days after delivery if you use its own shipping, and fourteen days from the sale otherwise. Etsy pays weekly by default for new shops, with no deposit fee for UK sellers. TikTok Shop starts new sellers on a 31-day settlement and moves them to eight days as standard.
That is the practical problem, because the platforms barely overlap — eBay has the reach, Vinted the clothing buyers, Etsy a mostly American audience for handmade and vintage, and Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace the local heavy items nobody wants to post. FLUF Connect lets you list once and push to the channels you have connected, and when an item sells on one it comes down on the others so the same jumper is not sold twice. Crosslisting and inventory sync are available on every paid plan; relisting, offer management and smart pricing are included from Seller upwards.