The core concern for most Toronto downsizers:
Downsizing from a long-time family home is as much an emotional hurdle as it is a logistical one. Sellers often ask how to sort through a lifetime of accumulated possessions without feeling completely overwhelmed.
In the Greater Toronto Area, this has led to a massive demand for specialized local resources. Families frequently ask how to vet professional senior move managers, how local online estate auctions (such as those servicing Ontario via platforms like MaxSold or Transition Squad) handle a large volume of items items, and what local charities or consignment options will accept remaining items.
My personal experience as a Seniors Real Estate Specialist:
My clients are often overwhelmed with the task of sorting through a lifetime of accumulated possessions (and collections) without feeling completely overwhelmed. Here are some tips I have learned helping many of my sellers through this exact process:
- Start as early as possible - if you’re planning a move start a year before. Sort into piles of ‘junk’, ‘sell’ & keep.
- Tackle one room at a time starting with an unused guest room. Use the cleared room to stage the items from other rooms so your house stays organized.
- Use the "pomodoro' method - remember the little tomato kitchen timers? Set a timer to 20 minutes - work through as much as possible - then take a break. Admire your progress. Repeat for another 20 minutes. Breaking up the tasks makes things easier.
- Selling things? Do your resarch beforehand The value of your items & the modern methods of selling may be vastly different than you imagine. A little research ahead of time will help you understand what works best for you.
- Bring in professionals to consult - a decluttering expert or realtors like me (who work hands on) will help you and your family break down the process, work with you to come up with a plan so you don’t have a nervous breakdown!
The main ways to sell a lot of belongings in Toronto if you're downsizing
Personal on-line sales like Kijiji & Facebook marketplace:
Garage sales:
On-line platforms like Carrot, E-bay etc.
On line auction houses/estate auctions like Transition Squad or MaxSold
Consignment Stores:
Auction houses like Sotheby's
On-site estate sales
Pros and cons of each method of selling:
Personal on-line sales like Kijiji & Facebook marketplace:
- Pros: you can set your own prices, take your own pictures & write your own descriptions - you have full control, you keep 100% of your sales
- Cons: strangers show up to your door; they may haggle or "ghost' you - ask a lot of questions then become unresponsive, it may take a long time to sell things
Garage sales:
- Pros: you can sell a bunch of things at once, it all happens in one day and people will leave with their purchases, often there are neighbourhood sales organized that will draw bigger crowds, you keep 100% of your sales
- Cons: if you don't like haggling, this is not for you, advertising is usually limited to your neighbourhood, weather may not co-operate
On-line platforms like Carrot, E-bay etc.
- Pros: you can set your own prices, take your own pictures & write your own descriptions - you have full control
- Cons: strangers show up to your door; they may haggle or "ghost' you - ask a lot of questions then become unresponsive, it may take a long time to sell things, both are not as popular as Facebook marketplace, there is a fee for selling items, you have to arrange pack & to ship items by mail to buyers that are not local - so not good for larger, heavy items
On line auction houses/estate auctions like Transition Squad or MaxSold
- Pros: people bid on your items & pay on line. No haggling. Pick up is generally a specific and limited window. A great way to sell a lot of items at once. You can manage your own auction (pictures, descriptions & posting) or pay a service to have someone else manage it for you.
- Cons: The auctions charge a percentage which is non-negotiable. Managing an auction is labour intensive, so expect to pay by the hour for someone to do it for you. MaxSold starts all auctions at a dollar, with no reserve - but has a large database of potential buyers. Transition Squad has reserve bidding, but a much smaller database of potential buyers
Consignment Stores:
- Pros: good for higher end items that may sell for more but not in the fine art/antique category. Buyers will pick them up from the store so you don't have to deliver.
- Cons: they are picky and will only accept items that they know they can sell (apply with pictures to the consignment store to find out if an item is acceptable), generally the longer it take to sell the less you will make, the consignment store will have a fee, you have to arrange to get your items to the store & pick them up if they don't sell. There are not as many consignment stores as there used to be.
Auction houses like Sotheby's
- Pros: they sell books, furniture & decorative Art, Jewelry, Paintings & Sculpture, Sports Collectibles, the sell on line or also at auctions, either live or on-line
- Cons: generally for high end items or fine jewellery, there is a process similar to consigning to see if they will sell your item; they judge condtion and provenance, too. Fees are about 20% of finaly price, They take about 3 weeks for consideration of an item to sell
On-site estate sales - honestly I am not sure if anyone does these in Toronto anymore!
Buying household contents in Toronto or the GTA is an urban myth
I see people asking this question all the time on-line. There is no service in Toronto that will pay you in bulk for a household of items
Any way you would like to sell your items, understand that there is a glut of 'baby boomer' stuff out there. Younger generations simply don't live the lifestyle of their parents or grandparents - so they don't have space for, or appreciation of things like: Dining room sets, heavy carved furniture, matching bedroom suites, 'good' china, silver or crystal. With a glut of these items on the market, set your expectations accordingly!
For more hints and tips, please check out:
How to sort through a lifetime of pictures & slides
