What is a used pushchair worth?

What decides the price, in order: completeness, the condition of the fabric, and the generation of the model.

Completeness above all

A pushchair sells as a system, not as parts. If the carrycot, the car seat adapter or the rain cover is missing, the buyer has to buy it separately — often at a price that bears no relation to the residual value of the whole.

Set out what you have in the listing, part by part:

• the chassis and its wheels;
• the carrycot, if there is one;
• the seat unit;
• the car seat adapters, stating which brand they fit;
• the rain cover, the parasol, the basket, the hand muffs;
• the original cover and the manual.

A precise list is worth more than a flattering photo: it is what decides whether your listing can be compared with another.

The fabric

It is what people see first and what is hardest to repair. Stains on the seat unit, frayed straps and flattened foam in the headrest pull the price down further than scratches on the chassis.

Most fabric parts can be removed and washed. An hour of work before taking the photos changes what the buyer thinks they see.

The generation of the model

Manufacturers renew their ranges regularly, and a model's value drops sharply when the next one comes out — even when the technical difference is slight. Check whether your model is still in the manufacturer's catalogue: if it no longer is, the buyer often knows.

The safety points that make buyers walk away

• The harness. Five points, straps not frayed, a buckle that clicks shut firmly. A buckle that opens by itself rules the pushchair out.
• The brake. It must hold both rear wheels still, on a slope.
• The folding lock. If it doesn't click, it doesn't hold.
• Recalls. A pushchair may have been the subject of a manufacturer's recall. Look up the model and year before buying — and before selling, because reselling a recalled model without saying so makes you liable.

Setting your price

Find the new price of the complete system as you are selling it, not that of the bare chassis. Deduct the first year's depreciation, which is steeper than in the years that follow. Then look at what is online in the category today: it is the only market that counts.

If your pushchair is complete, clean and recall-free, say so in so many words. Those three words account for most of the price difference between two listings for the same model.