tools · Nova Scotia

Where to sell tools in Halifax

3 businesses in and around Halifax that buy used tools from the public — what each takes, and whether you are offered a purchase, a consignment or a loan.

Verified 2026-09-24 from each organization's own website. We are not affiliated with anyone listed here, nobody pays to be included, and we receive nothing if you sell to them.

Tools are usually the most valuable thing left in a garage and the most casually thrown out: the drawer of chisels and the dusty hand plane under the bench are routinely worth more than the big machine standing in the middle of the floor, so do not let anyone clear the garage as a favour until someone has turned the hand tools over and read the names stamped on them.

How to tell what you have got

Before you call anyone, two minutes with the object settles most of it. None of this needs an expert — it needs a flashlight and a look at the back.

Pre-war Stanley bench planes, Nos. 3 to 8The size number is cast into the toe, in front of the front knob - but only on planes from roughly the turn of the twentieth century onward. The earliest and most desirable examples often carry no cast number at all, so do not conclude that an unnumbered plane is not a Stanley; judge those by the lever cap, the frog and the iron instead. The logo stamped on the cutting iron dates it: a cursive heart-shaped "SW" (sweetheart) logo means roughly 1920-1935 and is the one buyers ask for. Rosewood knob and tote, not stained hardwood or plastic.
Stanley Bedrock planes, numbered in the 600s"BED ROCK" is cast into the bed casting. The sides of the bed are flat-topped where a Bailey's are rounded over. The number is three digits beginning with 6, not a single digit.
Stanley No. 1 and No. 2 planesA No. 1 is only about 140 mm long and has no rear handle at all - just a front knob and a small hump to hold. If someone offers you pocket change for "the little one", stop the sale.
Bare cordless tools on a battery platform still being soldLook at the battery foot, not the tool. If the pack slides on and latches, and that platform is still on the shelf at a Canadian retailer, the bare tool sells. If the pack is a stubby stick that drops into a hole in the handle, it does not.
Mechanic's hand tools by Snap-on, Mac, Matco or Proto, and the roll cabinets they came inThe brand is forged or stamped into the tool itself, not applied as a sticker. Roll cabinets carry a model number on the back panel or inside a drawer.
Machinist's measuring toolsA fitted wooden or plastic case with a shaped bed, a maker's name engraved rather than printed, and a graduated thimble or dial. Keep the case - a micrometer without its case is worth a fraction of one with it.
Cast-iron stationary machineryTap the table. Cast iron rings and is cold to the hand; aluminum or pressed steel does neither. A cast metal badge rather than a printed sticker is the other sign.
Complete sets, in their trays and casesCount against the tray's moulded recesses before concluding the set is incomplete. Missing sizes are usually loose in the bottom of the toolbox.
Hand saws, chisels and braces by named makersAn etch on the saw plate, visible if you hold it to the light at a low angle through the rust. A medallion on the handle carrying a maker's name. A plate that tapers - thicker at the teeth than at the back.

Rarely worth anything

Not a rule, and not a reason to bin something without asking. These are the things people most often expect to be worth money and find are not.

Cordless tools on a dead battery platform
Gas-powered equipment that will not start
Half-used chemicals from the shelf above the bench
Rusted-solid hand tools
Corded power tools with no certification mark on the rating plate
Dull and damaged consumables
Jars and coffee cans of mixed fasteners
Bulk wooden moulding planes

An electrical product cannot be sold, displayed or advertised for sale unless it is approved and bears a recognized certification mark - used tools included Ontario

O. Reg. 438/07 (Product Safety) under the Electricity Act, 1998, s. 5(1): "No person shall use, advertise, display, sell, offer for sale or other disposal any electrical product or device unless it has been approved in accordance with this Regulation." Under s. 2(1) a product is deemed approved only if it bears the mark of a certification body accredited under the Standards Council of Canada Act and recognized by the Electrical Safety Authority, a recognized field-evaluation agency's label, or an ESA label. Section 5(2) additionally prohibits using a product other than for its intended purpose or in its intended manner. The regulation contains no exemption for used goods, estate sales or private sales; its only exemption (s. 5(4)) is for trade-show display or demonstration with the Authority's permission. Practical effect: a power tool with no legible certification mark, or one that has been rewired or had its switch bypassed, is a disposal item, not stock. We found no record of enforcement against charity shops or private sellers of second-hand tools as opposed to importers and retailers, but the prohibition is plainly worded and carries no used-goods exemption.

Read the rule →

The same certification requirement applies in British Columbia British Columbia

Electrical Safety Regulation s. 21(1) requires electrical equipment to bear evidence of either the mark or label of a certification agency accredited by the Standards Council of Canada, a label of an agency acceptable to the provincial safety manager, or an approval mark issued under the Safety Standards Act. A person must not use electrical equipment in British Columbia, or offer for sale, sell, display or otherwise dispose of electrical equipment for use in British Columbia, without it.

Read the rule →

Gasoline is accepted for disposal only in an approved can, and the can is not given back British Columbia

Product Care Recycling's BC household hazardous waste program accepts "Gasoline, including stale or old gasoline contaminated with oil or water", but only in a ULC-approved gas can or jerry can, with a maximum container size of 25 litres, and states that "for safety reasons, the gasoline container cannot be returned to you at drop off". Other flammable liquids: maximum container size 10 litres, with a maximum aerosol container size of 680 g. Diesel, butane and refillable propane cylinders are not accepted. Oil and antifreeze are handled by a separate program.

Read the rule →

Toronto excludes gasoline from its free Toxic Taxi and caps volumes at 50 litres Toronto, Ontario

Gasoline "must be brought to a Drop-Off Depot or Community Environment Day in any container that can be left behind" and is excluded from Toxic Taxi collection. Toxic Taxi collection requires a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 50 litres/kilograms per pickup, and depots accept a maximum of 50 litres/kilograms per drop-off. "Gas tanks/cylinders (e.g. propane/BBQ, helium, oxygen, etc.)" are listed as household hazardous waste.

Read the rule →

Refillable propane cylinders expire after ten years and cannot lawfully be filled after that Canada

Per the Canadian Propane Association, refillable propane cylinders must be replaced, or inspected and requalified by a Transport Canada approved requalifier, every ten years, and "It's against the law to fill an expired or damaged cylinder". Retailer take-back of expired cylinders happens at the retailer's discretion and is not mandated. Cylinders retain residual propane even when they appear empty, and must never be placed in household garbage or roadside recycling.

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Cordless tool battery packs are recycled free, up to 5 kg each Canada, with two provincial exceptions

Recycle Your Batteries, Canada! (operated by Call2Recycle) collects single-use and rechargeable batteries weighing up to 5 kg each at no cost, including the lithium-ion, nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal-hydride and small sealed lead acid packs used in cordless power tools. Small sealed lead acid batteries are not accepted in Alberta or Saskatchewan. Home Depot Canada stores are drop-off sites, along with many municipal and retail locations.

Read the rule →

3 places in Halifax that take tools

Halifax Buy and Sell (Hydrostone)

Buys or lends Not stated — ask

Buysgold, silver, jewellery, laptops, high-end gaming computers, home electronics, televisions, musical instruments, power tools, video game consoles and games

The dealThis is the only shop in this list whose own site confirms it does both. It describes itself as "Specializing in small collateral loans (pawns) and buying and selling new and gently used merchandise." Those are two different transactions. Selling outright ends your claim on the item: the money is yours and the item is theirs. A pawn is a loan secured on the item: you get cash now, the shop holds the item as collateral, and you repay to get it back. If the loan is not redeemed within the agreed period the item is forfeited and sold. The site publishes no loan period, no fee and no rate, so the cost of borrowing is not knowable from the website.

Where3081 Gottingen St, Halifax, NS B3K 3E4

Confirm at the counter which of the two transactions you are being offered. No loan period, fee or rate is published anywhere on the site, so ask for the full terms in writing before pledging anything.

Visit their site →(902) 701-4449

John Ross & Sons Ltd.

Paid by weight Not stated — ask

Buyscopper (valves, connections, wire, plumbing and tubing), brass (ornaments, handles, railings, lamps, radiators), aluminum (siding, wheels, window frames, wire, furniture, cans), stainless steel and nickel alloys (sinks, cookware, BBQ grills, tool steel), auto batteries, catalytic converters, propane tanks, circuit boards, laptops and cell phones, fridges, stoves, washers and dryers, water heaters, air conditioning units, steel beams, cars

The dealA weigh-in yard: you bring the metal to the scale and are paid on weight and grade. Their buying page states "Regardless of the quantity, we'll buy your metal!" so small household loads are in scope, and the published list is not exhaustive — they invite a call if you are unsure. They publish no per-pound rates anywhere on the site. Scrap prices track commodity markets and move week to week, so the only reliable price is the one the yard quotes on the day.

WhereHalifax head yard: 171 Chain Lake Drive, B3S 1B3, 902-450-5633, Mon-Fri 7am-5pm, Sat 7am-12pm. Goodwood steel yard: 21 Mills Dr, B3T 1P3, 902-479-0344, same hours. Harbour Metals, also on their locations page, is at 29 Pettipas Dr, Dartmouth, B3B 1K1, 902-468-6787, Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat 8am-12pm.

Phone for the day's price before loading up, since nothing is published. Fridges, freezers and air conditioners contain refrigerant and yards normally require it removed first — ask what they need before you haul one across town.

Visit their site →902-450-5633

Most Wanted (Dartmouth)

Buys outright Not stated — ask

Buysgold, silver, coins, jewellery, tools, phones, musical instruments, electronics, video games

The dealTrades under a pawn name but the site describes outright purchase only: "We buy gold, silver, coins and jewellery, tested and weighed in front of you" and "We buy tools, phones, instruments and more, cash on the spot." Their About page mentions pawn only in the past tense, describing the first store opening on 12 May 2009 in Charlottetown "as a small but full-featured pawnshop." Checked across the site, no pawn loan, collateral loan, lending or redemption terms are published anywhere. So what is advertised here is a sale: final, and the money is yours.

Where1245 Cole Harbour Road, Dartmouth, NS B2V 1N1

Trades as a pawn shop, but what it advertises is an outright purchase. Ask which one you are being offered.

The name says pawn; the advertised transaction is purchase. Ask which one you are being offered before handing anything over, because a sale cannot be undone and a pawn loan has to be repaid to get the item back.

Visit their site →(902) 446-7296

We could not verify this city’s municipal rules for second-hand dealers and pawnbrokers from an official source, so we state none. Check with the City or the province before relying on anything you read about them elsewhere.

Not sure what you have got?

Photograph it and we will tell you what it is and what it is worth — including when the honest answer is that it is worth nothing.

See what it's worth Everything in Halifax →

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