Storey’s is a London, Ontario auction house and appraisal firm operating out of 530 First Street, a location the business describes as just five minutes from the downtown core with free customer parking on site. Rather than keeping posted retail hours, Storey’s runs on an appointment basis, so clients calling to consign items, request an appraisal, or view auction lots should expect to schedule a specific time through the office at 519-641-2844 or by email. The business sums up its philosophy in a simple phrase about helping both sides of a transaction come out ahead, positioning itself as an advocate for fair value whether a client is buying at auction or selling through one.
The auction side of the business runs in two distinct formats. Storey’s conducts online auctions for commercial equipment, machinery, and repossessed business assets, a category that has included items like commercial food-prep equipment, stainless steel prep tables and sinks, forklifts, and specialty machinery such as chocolate melters and potato peelers pulled from restaurant and food-service liquidations. Separately, the firm also handles live auctions tied to sheriff land sales, a more specialized real estate auction category that requires familiarity with legal sale processes rather than straightforward consumer goods liquidation. That combination of online commercial-asset auctions and live real estate sales gives Storey’s a broader footprint than a typical antiques or household-goods auction house.
Appraisal work is the other half of the business, and it is where Storey’s leans on what it describes as more than fifty years of combined staff experience. The appraisal team follows the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, the industry benchmark for defensible, professionally accredited valuations, and covers a wide range of appraisal categories: insurance valuations for classic cars, fine art, antiques, and collectibles both before and after a loss; estate and probate appraisals used to divide household goods, vehicles, jewelry, and business equipment fairly among family members or to calculate estate administration tax; vehicle appraisals for divorce proceedings, estate settlement, insurance, and Ministry of Transportation purposes, including MTO valuations that can help clients reduce sales tax owing and OSAP-related appraisals for students; business valuations used for financing, refinancing, sale, purchase, or bankruptcy proceedings; and matrimonial appraisals designed to support equitable asset division during divorce. The firm also offers inventory documentation, market value estimates, liquidation support, and expert witness testimony for legal proceedings.
That range of services means Storey’s serves a mix of clients who might never overlap in a typical antiques-auction business: a family settling an estate, a divorcing couple dividing assets, a restaurant closing its doors and liquidating kitchen equipment, and a student applying for financial aid could all end up working with the same appraisal team in London. The business also maintains a presence on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, where it posts auction previews and results for clients who cannot attend in person. For anyone in the London, Ontario area who needs a professional valuation or wants to buy or sell through auction, whether the asset is a piece of restaurant equipment, a parcel of land, a classic car, or a family estate, Storey’s operates as a single appointment-based firm handling both the auction and the appraisal side of that transaction.
