Glossary
What is a sold comp?
A sold comp (short for sold comparable) is a record of a similar item that has actually sold, used as a reference point for pricing your own. Unlike an asking price, a sold comp shows what a buyer genuinely paid — which makes it the most reliable signal a reseller has for setting a price.
28 June 2026 · 4 min read
Key takeaways
- —A sold comp is a completed sale of a similar item, not a current listing.
- —Sold prices beat asking prices — they show what buyers actually pay.
- —eBay's sold listings are the most accessible source of sold comps.
- —Comparing several recent comps gives a realistic price range for your item.
Definition
A sold comp is a comparable item that has already sold, used to estimate what your similar item is worth. 'Comp' is borrowed from property valuation, where agents price a house by looking at what nearby comparable homes sold for. Resellers do the same with clothing, sneakers, trading cards and collectables.
The crucial word is sold. A sold comp is a completed transaction, not an active listing. That distinction is the whole point.
Why sold comps beat asking prices
Anyone can list an item for any price. A rail of active listings tells you what sellers hope to get — which is often optimistic and sometimes wildly so. Items can sit unsold at inflated asking prices for months, giving a false impression of value.
Sold comps cut through that. They show the prices at which items genuinely changed hands, which is the only number that matters when you're deciding what to charge or whether something is worth sourcing. Pricing off asking prices leads to stock that doesn't sell; pricing off sold comps leads to stock that does.
How to use sold comps
Find several recent sales of the same or a very similar item, in similar condition. Look at the spread, not just one figure — one sale could be a fluke. A cluster of recent comps gives you a realistic range, and you can position your price within it based on your item's condition, completeness and how quickly you want to sell.
eBay is the most useful free source because its sold-listings filter shows completed sales with real prices. Even resellers who mainly sell on Vinted or Depop often check eBay sold comps to price accurately, since those platforms don't surface completed-sale data as clearly.
Sold comps in ResellIQ
ResellIQ builds sold-comp logic into the workflow. When you scan or log an item, the AI returns a market-based price range drawn from live eBay data, so you're pricing against what the market actually pays rather than guessing or trusting hopeful asking prices. It's the difference between confident pricing and crossed fingers.