Saleable vs. Sellable – Which Spelling Is Correct?

When you want to get rid of things you don’t need or don’t use anymore, you may want to sell these items and make some extra money. In those situations, do you describe your items as “Saleable” or “Sellable”?

Let’s find out which form of the word is correct.

Saleable vs. Sellable – Which Spelling Is Correct?

Both “Saleable” and “Sellable” are acceptable and considered to be correct, to indicate items that are good enough to be sold to a potential buyer. You can use any of the two, and you’d still be understood and orthographically proper. Feel free to choose and use your favorite.

Take a look at the examples below:

• Is every item in this driveway saleable?
• Is every item in this driveway sellable?

• If Jonas thinks his old sneaker is saleable, he should list it online.
• If Jonas thinks his old sneaker is sellable, he should list it online.

The words “Saleable” and “Sellable” have very different spellings. However, they are synonyms and can be interchanged without affecting the meaning of what you’re writing.

That is made clear by the examples, where the words “Saleable” and “Sellable” interchange, and the sentences remain perfectly understandable.

Saleable

“Saleable” can indicate a product is easy to sell because it has some appeal. But it can also indicate that an item is suitable for selling or, in other words, good enough to be sold for some value. “Saleable” is the quality of being able to be sold.

In The Cambridge Dictionary, we find an expanded definition, that says “a saleable product is one that people will want to buy”. We think this definition makes a lot of sense.

Let’s take a look at some examples:

1. Are these seasonal decorations saleable?
2. The saleable goods are packaged and priced.
3. I didn’t enjoy the garage sale, because there was nothing saleable there.
4. The products are saleable, but not well marketed.
5. Hank thinks that his old car is in saleable condition, but I honestly disagree.
6. There’s a lot of junk in Carla’s garage, not everything is saleable.

“Saleable” is a very good word to indicate the potential an item has of being sold. “Sellable” is a synonym for “Saleable”, and can be used to convey the same exact meaning.

Sellable

“Sellable” is a synonym for the word “Saleable”. Both words have the same meaning and can interchange. “Sellable” relates to items that, new or used, are good enough to be sold.

Let’s go over some examples:

1. The house is in sellable condition but can have more value if we make some renovations.
2. I think the bike is too cheap. Are you sure it’s in sellable condition?
3. Some products are highly sellable, while others seem to get stuck on the shelves.
4. John says that adding a logo can make a product more sellable.
5. The problem with Anna’s stolen items is that they’re very sellable.
6. I think Gabe’s old bike is sellable, as long as it’s priced correctly.

“Sellable” and “Saleable” work the same way and convey the same meaning. As synonyms that can interchange, you are welcome to choose your preferred form and use that in your daily communications.

Which Is Used the Most?

It’s quite interesting to find out which word is more common when we’re dealing with synonyms. When comparing “Saleable” and “Sellable”, for example, which one of the words do you think is used more often?

We’ll find out by looking at the graph from Google Ngram Viewer below.

“Saleable” is used more frequently than “Sellable”. However, it’s interesting to point out that “Saleable” is continually dropping in use, while “Sellable” is continuously increasing.

Would it mean that in the future the words will exchange places in terms of preference, and “Sellable” will become more common? It’s very hard to tell, but it doesn’t seem to be off the table. We’ll have to wait and see what the future holds.

Final Thoughts

“Saleable” and “Sellable” are synonyms and can be used interchangeably. You can choose and use your favorite, because “Saleable” and “Sellable” have the same meaning. Both indicate the quality some items have of being able to be sold, because they’re sought out or because they have value.