For kids — and kids at heart — Susan Cohen’s basement is heaven on earth.
If you take a look around, there are toys everywhere, but they aren’t for her.
“I buy and sell gently used toys,” she said. “I help people declutter their house of toys.”
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The West Island mom gets her toys through donations or by buying them.
She then takes a photo of the item and posts it for sale on her Facebook page.
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When someone’s interested in buying, she’ll take the toy and drive it right to their door.
“It’s not just families — it’s daycares, therapists, teachers,” she said.
Cohen started buying and selling used toys about nine months ago.
She discovered her love for it after decluttering the toys in her own home.
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It was then that she came up with Once Loved Toys — a business she now runs seven days a week with her partner Ann Way.
“The families are really happy when they get the toys and when we give it to kids — the smile on their faces, it just gives me an internal joy,” said Cohen.
Two-year-old Leo Elfman is one of the children who benefit from Cohen’s company.
His mom found Cohen on Facebook last summer and has been buying toys from her ever since.
“I’m on a budget. I’m not working, I’m a stay-at-home mom — so every penny counts,” said Côte Saint-Luc resident Laura Elfman. “The thing with Susan is she doesn’t rip a hole through your pocket … She’s not charging you to make a profit, she’s charging a little amount — she just wants to make you happy.”
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