Most shelves hold games that don't come out any more. Selling one in the UK is now free on most of the places people use, so the choice is less about fees and more about who's looking, how much hassle you'll put up with, and whether the box has to go in the post.
Fees checked September 2026. They change; the links go to the source.
Before you list anything
- Count the components. “Complete” is the word buyers search for, and a missing piece found later becomes a bad review.
- Be plain about condition. A dinged corner said up front costs less than one discovered on arrival.
- Photograph the actual copy, box and contents, in daylight.
- Say what you added. Sleeves and inserts are worth mentioning; buyers search for them.
- Weigh and measure the packed box if you'll post it. It decides the postage, and the postage decides whether anyone buys.
Where to sell
Friends first
No fees, no postage, no stranger. If someone you play with has the game on their wishlist, ask them before it goes public.
eBay UK
The biggest audience. Private sellers pay no selling fee in most categories, board games included; the buyer pays a protection fee at checkout instead (eBay's fees for private sellers). Good for popular games and anything that posts easily. Titles are short (80 characters), so they need to carry the name, the edition and “complete”.
BGG's GeekMarket
Buyers who know exactly which edition they want. BoardGameGeek takes 3% of the listing price, not of the postage (BGG's seller guide). Best for hobby games, older printings and anything a general buyer wouldn't recognise.
Facebook groups
UK board game buy-and-sell groups are free and busy, and many hobbyists list there first. Posts are skimmed, so keep them short: the name, the price, the condition, and whether you'll post. The usual advice in those groups: agree payment before anything is sent, and be wary of anyone who wants to move the conversation or the money somewhere odd.
Vinted
Sellers pay nothing; buyers pay a protection fee (how Vinted works). Postage is built in. Buyers there are browsing rather than hunting a particular edition, so it suits well-known family games more than niche ones.
Maths trades on BGG
No money at all: you list games you'd trade away, then say which of the other listed games you'd take for each. A program finds chains of trades, and you only ever receive something you asked for (BGG's maths trade wiki). UK trades run a few times a year; look for them in BGG's UK forums.
Bulk buyers
Some shops buy whole collections. It's the fastest way to clear a shelf and the lowest price per game; worth it for a big clear-out, not for one good game.
Pricing a copy
Look at what the same game is listed for right now, on eBay and on GeekMarket, and place your copy among them by condition and completeness. Those are asking prices, not what things sold for: eBay doesn't make sold prices available to apps, and anyone quoting one exact “value” for a game is guessing. A copy that sits for weeks is priced high; that's information too.
Posting it
Royal Mail prices by size and weight, packed. Most games are a Small or Medium Parcel; a slim card game can go as a Large Letter. Big, heavy boxes are often better as collection only, and saying so up front saves a lot of messages.
How GameChest helps
Each game on your shelf has a listing page that does the paperwork:
- photos first, with the condition suggested from them and confirmed with a tap, and the edition read off the box back;
- the eBay title and description, written from your copy's facts, and publishing to eBay from your own account;
- GeekMarket's own sell form, one tap away, with the text to paste;
- a short Facebook group post, and a Vinted title and description;
- what the same game is listed for on GeekMarket and eBay right now;
- the Royal Mail format for your packed box;
- which friends have it on their wishlist, named before anything goes public;
- and, once it's gone, Had: how each game left and when, and for a sale, where and for how much.
It never takes a cut and never handles the money: selling happens where you already sell. It's free, with no ads.