You're right about eBay being a VERY time-consuming task--let's not forget the shipping nightmare also. Only thing I'd do that with is if you have vintage collectible items, which it sounds like you don't.
Your first decision is going to be whether or not you want to temporarily get into the tool business. If you want the best price for your goods, that's what you'll have to do. You can advertise for very little or nothing on yard sale / estate sale sites plus craigslist--start about a month in advance. Post lots of photos, but not everything in detail--you want to make it look like there's a lot to sift through to find a treasure. Be sure to state that folks have to bring their own help to move whatever they buy, and all sales are final. Tell the story you told us about how you accumulated them. Limit the duration to a three-day sale, Fri-Sun. It's good that you have a standalone building because you'll have the hoary hoards of haggarth everywhere. Do your research and tag everything with personalized tags also having description of the item (I'd even get them printed up cheap), cause they'll be thieves who will switch the price tags on things. You're looking for the end user, preferably a professional or power DIYer. Anything that is in perfect condition, price 70%-50% of list, depending on the quality and the original sticker price--a piece of expensive equipment from a high-end mfr will sell for the most. No haggling the first day--Fridays are a seller's market! Anything left on Sunday you can haggle more on. Whatever's left over, find a liquidator and sell it cheap. For this option, you should have some business savvy--wouldn't recommend to a greenhorn having no sales/business experience. Plus, you'll have all kinds of people hounding you to sell them early, or show up on your door at 5:00AM--it is a brutal scavenger mentality.
Next would be an estate sales company. At my age and patience level, this is what I'd do. Tools are HUGE estate sales items, and there's buyers that won't even go to an estate sale unless tools are listed. I would search estate sales sites and find a company that dominates a market in an expensive, rich neighborhood. They're the ones that will be big enough to do all the research on your items, and know how to get the best prices for them. The top companies may have a higher commission, but they get the bigger dollars too, and it helps keep away the riffraff. These companies also have a following. They'll do all the footwork, all the research, and all the advertising. Be sure to work on a percentage basis with them, not a flat fee. Once the sale's over, they have established relations with all kinds of 'killers' who will come in and bid on what's left--they'll get a percentage of that too. Neat, clean, easy.
