How much do bike selling platforms charge?
Direct answer · Cyclesite
UK bike selling platforms split into three fee shapes. Free general sites (Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree) charge nothing but offer no stolen-frame screening, no valuation reference, and no buyer protection. Percentage-fee auction sites (eBay) historically charged around 12.8% plus a 30p order fee, though private-seller listings have been free in most categories since late 2024 with the percentage retained for business sellers. Flat-fee specialist marketplaces (Cyclesite) are free to list during launch (normally a fixed fee from £10.99) with no commission on private classified sales.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-17
How the three fee models compare on a £1,500 bike
On a free general site, the listing is free but you take on all the safety and pricing work yourself. On a percentage-fee site, even a free private listing exposes the bike to a general audience with no cycling-specific filters. On a flat-fee specialist marketplace, listing on Cyclesite is free during our launch (the normal flat fee, shown up front before publication and capped, runs the same £10.99-£24.99 range whether the bike is £200 or £5,000). From around £300 upwards the flat-fee model is cheaper than any percentage that survives on a similar tier elsewhere, and the embedded safety and pricing tools repay themselves on a single avoided issue.
What you pay for beyond the headline number
Headline fees are only one part of the cost of selling. On free sites you pay in time spent screening time-wasters, validating frame numbers, and arguing about price. On commission sites you pay in lost margin as your sale price goes up. On flat-fee specialist platforms you trade a known up-front fee for the embedded value: automatic stolen-bike screening before publication, a live valuation reference on every advert, frame-size and groupset filters that surface serious buyers, and optional Buyer Protection on shipped sales (coming soon on Cyclesite). Decide which fee shape matches what your bike is worth and how much of the safety work you want to do yourself.
| Feature | Cyclesite | eBay (private) | Facebook Marketplace | Gumtree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Listing fee | Free during launch | Free | Free | Free |
| Commission on sale | None on classified sales | None (private, most categories) | None | None |
| Stolen-bike screening | Automatic | None | None | None |
| Bike-specific filters | Yes | No | No | No |
| Shipped-sale escrow | Buyer Protection coming soon | Money Back Guarantee | None | None |
Average used bike prices by category (UK)
| Category | Average price | Sample size |
|---|---|---|
| road | £1,477 | 13 |
| ebike | , | 6 |
| mtb | , | 3 |
| gravel | , | 2 |
| bmx | , | 1 |
Last updated: 2026-07-17
Related Questions
What is the cheapest way to sell a bike in the UK?
On pure headline fee, free general sites (Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree) are cheapest. They cost nothing to list but offer no stolen-bike screening, no escrow, and no valuation baseline. For anything above commuter-bike money the embedded safety and pricing tools on a specialist marketplace usually save more than the listing fee.
Does Cyclesite charge commission on bike sales?
No commission on private classified sales. Listing is free during our launch, so there is nothing to pay to advertise. Optional Buyer Protection on shipped sales is coming soon; it will charge a separate, capped transaction fee shown at checkout, which will fund the dispute resolution and card-processing margin on the escrow.
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Browse 67 verified bikes with automatic stolen-bike checks on every listing. Transparent flat listing fees, no commission on classified sales.