tools · Manitoba

Where to sell tools in Winnipeg

3 businesses in and around Winnipeg 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.

Read the rule →

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 Winnipeg that take tools

Chochy's Pawn & Swap Shop

Buys or lends Not stated — ask

BuysGold, silver and diamond jewellery, Chains, rings, pendants, bracelets, earrings and watches, Firearms (shotguns, rifles), Televisions and stereo equipment, Tools, Camera equipment, Computers

The dealTwo different transactions, and the difference matters. Their site has a 'Buying & Selling' page covering outright purchase and sale, and separately lists 'the pawning process' among their specialties. Selling outright means you hand over the item, take the money, and the item is gone. Pawning is a loan secured on the item: you keep the right to redeem it by repaying the loan plus charges within the agreed period, and if you do not redeem it the item is forfeited to the shop. No loan terms, interest rate, fee schedule or redemption period appears anywhere on the site. Their site also lists 'In-house financing of vehicles' as a specialty, which is a separate credit product again. The site states 'Since 1983 we have been at our same location, and under the same ownership'.

Where409 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R2W 2M3

Be certain which of the two transactions you are signing, because a pawn loan and a sale have opposite consequences. Manitoba's Personal Property Security Act expressly excludes a pledgor-and-pawnbroker transaction from Part 6, the part of the Act that sets out a borrower's rights and remedies when a secured creditor enforces against collateral. This shop publishes no loan terms, no interest rate, no fees and no redemption period, so ask for all of it in writing at the counter before agreeing to anything, and make sure the paperwork says plainly whether you are selling or pawning.

Visit their site →204-589-6361

Industrial Metals

Paid by weight Not stated — ask

BuysWater heaters, Radiators, Furnaces, Appliances, Copper pipe and wiring, End-of-life cars and parts, Old tools and implements

Won't takeE-waste is accepted for safe recycling but is not paid for

The dealDrop off at the yard. Their residential page states 'our courteous staff will analyze your materials, weigh them accurately and pay you cash on site'. This is one of the few scrap operations here that publishes a dedicated residential page, so a householder arriving with a single load is an expected customer rather than a nuisance. No per-pound rates are published. The page is explicit that e-waste is handled through their EPRA partnership and that 'While we don't pay cash for these items, we do ensure they are recycled safely' - that is a disposal service, not a sale.

Where550 Messier Street, Winnipeg, MB R2J 0G5

Only the metal is paid for - do not expect money for the electronics you bring along, which they recycle free but do not buy. Clearing a house, it is worth pricing any working appliance with a used-appliance dealer before it goes on the scale, because a scrap yard pays on weight regardless of condition. Weekday hours only, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Monday to Friday.

Visit their site →204-233-1908

La Shop Lesage

Buys outright May collect — ask

BuysHousehold items assessed individually from photographs - they do not publish a category list

The dealOutright purchase, not consignment, and the process is the useful one for a house clearance. Their stated method: send photographs to lashoplesage@gmail.com or telephone, and in their words, 'If we are interested we will purchase your items and pick them up.' So the valuation happens from photographs before anyone moves furniture, and collection is part of the deal when they want the items. No consignment arrangement is mentioned anywhere on the site. They do not publish a list of what they will and will not consider, so send photographs of anything you are unsure about rather than assuming.

Where129-A Marion St., Winnipeg, MB R2H 0T3

Send clear photographs that include any damage. An offer made on flattering photographs is liable to be revised at the door, and you will have less room to argue once a van is outside. Agree the price for the whole lot before collection is arranged, and establish whether the figure quoted is net of the pickup or whether collection is charged separately - the site does not say.

Visit their site →204-233-1804

CONFIRMED: Manitoba has no province-wide pawnbroker or secondhand-dealer statute. The index of C.C.S.M. Acts contains no Act titled "Pawnbrokers", "Second-hand", "Secondhand" or "Salvage Dealers". The only provincial mention of a pawnbroker is a definition inside The Personal Property Security Act, C.C.S.M. c. P35, which defines "pawnbroker" as "a person who engages in the business of granting credit to individuals for personal, family or household purposes and who (a) takes and perfects security interests in consumer goods by taking possession of them, or (b) purchases consumer goods under agreements or undertakings, express or implied, that the goods may be repurchased by the seller". ONE PROVISION MATTERS TO ANYONE PAWNING AN ITEM. Section 55(1) of that Act states that Part 6 - "Rights and Remedies on Default" - "does not apply to ... (b) a transaction between a pledgor and a pawnbroker." Part 6 is the part of the Act that gives an ordinary borrower protections when a secured creditor seizes and sells collateral. Those protections do not apply to a pawn transaction. A full text search of the Act returns the word "pawnbroker" only three times: the English definition, the French definition, and this exclusion. The Act sets no licensing, seller-ID, record-keeping, police-reporting, holding-period or redemption requirements for pawnbrokers. NOT CONFIRMED, AND THEREFORE NOT STATED AS FACT: Winnipeg regulates used-goods and precious-metals dealers municipally, but I could not retrieve the text of the City's business licensing by-law or its licensing pages - every City URL I tried returned 404 or was blocked. So this guide does not assert how many activities the City licenses, the definitions or exclusions for "Used Goods Dealer", "Precious Metals Dealer" or "Used Material Yard", whether a Certificate of Record Review Board from the Winnipeg Police Service is required, any holding period before resale, or any police-reporting duty. I also could not verify the Winnipeg Police Service "Operation Identification" program or its phone number. Anyone who needs those specifics should confirm them with City of Winnipeg Licensing and Bylaw Enforcement via 311 before relying on them. SELLER ID, CONFIRMED FROM THE BUYERS THEMSELVES RATHER THAN FROM ANY REGULATOR: Canada Gold's Winnipeg page states you must be "18 years of age or older" and provide "A valid government-issued photo ID". Winnipeg Gold Buyer's site states "we require a piece of photo ID (to help the authorities ensure the items are not stolen)". Both are the businesses' own published policies. Take government-issued photo ID to any of these outlets.

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 Winnipeg →

Other things in Winnipeg

appliances3 places electronics4 places clothes6 places cars5 places books3 places scrap metal6 places

Tools in other cities

Calgary3 places Edmonton4 places Halifax3 places Hamilton3 places Toronto3 places