Second-hand tools & DIY in Rochester typically sells for $20 to $675. Brand and whether it is corded or battery decide most of it. Battery tools are worth far more when the batteries are healthy and worth surprisingly little when they are not.
Buying tools & DIY in Rochester
Rochester built its wealth on photography, optics and photocopying, and the companies that did it left the city an unusual concentration of precision engineering skill and a major museum of photography. Lake-effect snow here is heavy and reliable.
Trade tools change hands within a district more than through any listing, and the good ones rarely travel far before somebody local takes them. Being nearby is most of what gets you to a well-kept set before anyone else does. Locally, tool sets are one of the few things that move reliably enough to be worth listing on their own.
What to check in person
Run anything with a motor for a few seconds and listen for bearing noise or a burning smell. Check the cable along its whole length for nicks and repairs, look at the chuck or blade mount for play, and ask whether the battery still holds charge.
Collecting it in Rochester
It needs a car boot rather than a bag, so agree somewhere you can actually stop for a few minutes. That is easier away from the centre than in it.
The road network was built for a considerably larger population than the city now holds, so crossing town is quick and a kerbside load is rarely contested. Lake-effect snow can arrive fast and heavy between November and March, so agree a fallback rather than assuming the day will hold.
Selling your tools & DIY in Rochester free
The optics and imaging industry left genuinely good camera equipment in private hands here in a way that is unusual anywhere else. The universities clear student housing each May.
Say the age, whether it has been used domestically or on site, and how many batteries and chargers are included. Have it plugged in and ready to run when the buyer arrives, because that one gesture removes most of the haggling. Busiest through spring and summer, when outdoor and building work picks up.
Peer-to-peer payment apps dominate private sales, and buyers will usually offer one before they offer cash. Sales tax does not apply to a private sale between individuals.
Tools & DIY worth listing in Rochester
Same region (New York)
If nothing in Rochester suits, New York, Buffalo and Yonkers each have their own tools & DIY page, and a seller will often meet part of the way for something worth the trip.
More in Rochester: everything second hand in Rochester, or Tools & DIY across the United States.
Prices converted from sterling at the 2 August 2026 rate; sellers set their own price.