Issue #12.

Oh boy do I have a massive issue of Flip Weekly for you. I’ll tell you you what you want what you really really want (unofficially!) and move onto my biggest ever sales month on eBay with items selling faster than I can pack. From there I give you step by step instructions on how to find a category that has made me thousands. From there, a YouTube channel featuring a successful reseller who chugs a beer before hitting the thrift followed by a collection I bought on Marketplace that could pay off a house one day. But first!

Table of Contents

• What I’ve Bought

• What I Sold

• Resources & Friends

• User Submissions & My Challenge

• This Facebook Marketplace Deal Could One Day Pay O …

• What’s To Come

What I’ve Bought

This week turned out to be more of a selling week than buying. I visited an estate sale on Saturday morning, freezed my socks off waiting in line only to walk out empty handed. For an estate sale, the prices were really bad. I asked about some Funko pops (which I’m not even a fan of selling) and they were after $15 each… even the thrift stores don’t go that high for pops.

Regardless, I was able to pick up a few cool items from the thrift. The first is something I’ve never seen before, picked up from a Vinnies:

Laying right on top of a bunch of board games and children’s toys is a 1997 Spice Girls action figure. I found this figure to be interesting for two reasons. First, it was created by Topps which is a legit, massive American based company that’s mostly known for their trading cards. Second, the figure is both unofficial and unlicensed. If you notice on the packaging they never mention the word Spice Girls, they refer to Mel C as just Mel and they have the “unofficial“ stamp clear on the front.

It’s unclear why such a big company not only produced these figures without getting permission but then went on the sell them at the risk of getting sued by a band that would have surely been at their peak. Either way, this $2 purchase is really cool and should turn into around $40.

The next score was in 1 trip where I spent $25.00 and walked out with 7 items.

It looks like someone offloaded their manga and pop culture merch. Before I tell you how to easily spot manga, the items I bought were a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles graphic novel, 5 manga books and 1 League of Legends plush toy brand new with tag.

Now in terms of how I spot Manga books, it’s pretty straight forward. Take a close look at the following.

First off, most of these types of books are either in the kids section or the adult sci-fi section. The front and back covers are usually illustrated so it sort of lends itself to the volunteers to put them in those categories. When you’re browsing the shelf, look out for big, bold numbers. On the 3 manga books above you can clearly see the number 1 which tells us it’s volume #1 in the series. In my experience the later it is in the series the more it sells for. Also you’re after the English versions as they also sell for more money.

Next if we take a closer look we can see that the top of the bookblock looks almost dirty - we don’t have an all clean white top like the others. This tells us that the book has illustrations inside that reach the top of pages. Those 2 things are key indicators for me to pull them out and have a peep. In this situation, somebody has donated a bunch of their old manga, which is why I looked carefully to see if there was anything else that was similar and came across the TMNT graphic novel. Manga and graphic novels aren’t the same thing, but their readers can definitely overlap.

In terms of pricing, this is how it looks:

All of the listings are based on active and sold comps on eBay and in most cases are on the low end.

The next item I want to show you is strictly because of what happened at the check out. This is what I picked up from an independent op shop:

The reason I picked it up is that it’s a vintage game that’s still sealed, I thought it was marked as $6 and the sold comps on eBay were really solid. Also, of the few active listings for the game, none were brand new and sealed.

I picked it up and thought it would make a good ROI, $6.00 into a potential $60.00 however when I got to the counter the worker said that the sticker price was wrong, that it couldn’t actually be $6.00 because the game was brand new and sealed. Then, for the first time in my life, she pulled out her phone, stood the game up and scanned the game right in front of me with the eBay app. Don’t get me wrong, thrift stores are allowed to price their items at whatever they want, I just found it a bit cheeky to do it right in front of me as I’m checking out. What do you guys think? I was told that the board game was worth $42.00 but she said she would take $10.00, presumably because upon reaching the counter I already had my $10.00 note out ready to pay thinking it was $6.00.

Sidenote: she 100% used the eBay app because when I got home I wanted to see the comps she was referencing. The $42 comp was an active listing, so she wasn’t basing it off of sold comps.

What I Sold

April is over and it’s turned into my biggest sales month on eBay. For the month my eBay sales were $2,489.42 with an average sales price of $77.79. I’m happy with total revenue as this is mostly a fun side hustle so bringing in an extra $2,500 a month helps out with the insane cost of living. In terms of the average sales price this is okay however I’m wanting to increase it moving forward. I think the reason it’s dipped below $80.00 is because I’ve reduced the price of some of my bigger, bulkier items just to get rid of them as I’m needing to move house soon and the less to transport the better.

When you think about the many trips to the post office you need to do when your handling time is set at 1 day, you don’t want to be dealing with an average sales price that isn’t worth your time. When I hear the eBay ka-ching sound, I’m aiming for it to be worth around $100 every single time and that will not only motivate me to get up and go do the post, but it also means I’m not wasting my own time, interrupting my day to post an item that only gives me a few dollars profit.

Now, in terms of what I’ve sold:

I picked up this item last week in the thrift for just $0.50 (read about it in Issue #10 here). It’s a small play set from a toy-line called Monster In My Pocket. The original line was released in the year 1990 and it consisted of small plastic monster figurines. I’d never heard of the line but it really surprised me. This little playset received a lot of interest with its view count surpassing some of my other items that were listed at the same time and they were IP’s like Digimon, Small Soldiers and Transformers which we all know have huge fan bases.

This play set didn’t have any figurines included and after testing the battery compartment it didn’t work (it was supposed to light up) and yet it sold quickly to somebody living in the UK where they paid $36.00 for the actual item and $61.50 for shipping and VAT. So basically they were willing to pay double what the item cost just in fees in order to get it. So should you pick up Monster In My Pocket toys if you ever come across them? The answer is yes. Don’t forget to use Google Lens to help identify them. Here’s a quick guide on the app from Issue #7 if you’re not familiar.

I’ve said before that the only hats I buy now are if they’re priced under $5, ideally $1 or $2 from a garage sale and that is exactly what this hat cost. It’s a 2013 Bart Simpson hat from Universal Studios and seemingly quite rare as I couldn’t find any comps on it at the time. I decided to list it up for some outrageous amount at first, I think around $79.95 and despite getting a lot of views, no-one bought it until I lowered it to $39.95 and a best offer came in for $26.00 which I decided to take. This is another case of the buyer paying more for shipping as it’s off to Spain with a $32.25 postage fee and $12.23 in VAT, total of $44.48 just in fees and almost double what they paid for the cap.

Sidenote: when I see that the items are going overseas and the buyers are willing to pay so much in postage, sometimes more than the cost of the item, it’s not discouraging. I find it extremely encouraging because it means I am sourcing and selling quality items that people are willing to pay a premium amount for.

A few other items I sold this week:

As you can see, a few DVD’s which I no longer really buy plus the film camera from the estate sale last week and a pair of board shorts that I picked up in the thrift a few weeks back. Here’s how the profit and loss looks AFTER eBay fees, item fees and postage.

The eBay fees can stack up which is why I’m always listing on multiple websites alongside eBay like Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree where you don’t have to pay anything. For example in Issue #8 which was published earlier this month I picked up this amazing ugly Christmas sweater:

I picked it up for $18 and this is what I said about it:

I listed it for sale on eBay and on Marketplace which is where it sold this weekend for $50. There’s no fees on Marketplace so I was able to keep the entire amount which gave me a $32 profit.

Resources & Friends

Reminder: Flip Weekly has a 100% free Google Sheets Reseller Spreadsheet you can use to track all of your inventory, sales and profits. Get it 100% free here and let us know what you think.

If you’re an avid watcher of eBay resellers and flippers on YouTube, you’re going to love this hidden gem of a channel. The bloke in front of the camera is just that, you’re everyday Aussie bloke that loves to “laugh and muck around“ especially if you check out his Instagram, yet if you watch his videos you leave with amazing insights and tips.

The bloke in front of the camera is named Judda and his channel name is Diary of a Flipper. Judda is the type of guy to smash a can of VB right before hitting up a thrift, start a video drinking a can of Jim Beam whilst wearing a Bert & Ernie singlet and is overall the type of guy who you would love to take thrifting and have a beer with afterwards.

He’s the type of person that consistently puts out amazing YouTube videos where he gives valuable insights into his reselling journey which is now his full-time job. He’s also very introspective and doesn’t mind going over his past videos to tell the audience where he’s made mistakes so that his viewers don’t follow those now outdated tips.

To check out Diary of a Flipper on YouTube click here.

User Submissions & My Challenge

In this weeks issue of Flip Weekly I’ve told you how to spot Manga. It’s an easy, straight-forward process of looking at the spine for a volume number and the top of the bookblock for the dark, dirty like feature. I’ve made some great money selling Manga and it’s a genre that people don’t mind paying a premium. So…

This weeks challenge is to of course find some Manga that you can flip for a profit. Look in your kids section, look in your sci-fi section, your graphic novel section, anything that has those types of vibes. Try and keep your purchases under $3 a book unless of course you find something that sells for a huge premium. Submit your entry to the challenge here and be featured in Flip Weekly.

This Facebook Marketplace Deal Could One Day Pay Off A House

To understand this story we need to go outside of the side hustle portion of my life back to reality. A few years ago I met this guy in the US who wanted to start an online auction company. He had a background in the industry, a massive drive to succeed and his auction house was going to be different, it was going to specialize 100% in vintage toys, collectibles and pop culture items. His name is Mark and he’s partially responsible for my interest in collecting and in a way, investing in unusual and obscure items.

I helped Mark with the tech side of his business from Day 1 and continue to do so to this day. He launched his company in 2021 and experienced immediate success. His company is responsible for world record sales of GI Joe action figures ($35,000USD+), Masters of the Universe action figures ($32,000USD+) as well as the world record for a Luke Skywalker action figure which sold for $100,252USD. His company is regularly featured on TV after an auction concludes and he’s cited online as an expert in his field, even going as far as having Wired sit him down to talk collectibles in one of those 1-on-1 style expert interviews that they do. If people wanted to get the most money for their vintage toys, his company is the one they’d go to.

Anyway, in the 2022 Fall Auction the company starts including some other items that aren’t vintage toys. What are they? Apple products. Sealed Apple products. A market has now been created for sealed first generation iPhones. These have never been put up for sale before in an auction environment so there’s no idea if it’s going to make money, or even sell. A starting price is listed at $2,500 a 2 weeks later it has sold for $39,340USD. It doesn’t end there, in 2023 another one is put up for sale and successfully sells for $190,000USD (which is nearly 400 times its original sales price).

So these are all crazy amounts of money, we can all agree. If you bought a few of these 17 years ago back in 2007 you’d have made a ton of money. Now, I’m not giving you financial advice nor am I banking my future on the following, however I came across a Facebook Marketplace deal that for me, was too good to refuse.

The deal was from a guy named Wade who went by the The iPod King Down Under. He was, at the time, the #1 Apple collector within Australia and wanted to sell off his collection to help fund his new obsession. If you take a look at his Instagram you will see that he had an insane collection of Apple merchandise that extended beyond the regular Apple products and went to things like autographs of Ronald Wayne (Apple’s 3rd cofounder), a working Apple IIe (from 1983) plus original store posters and a lot more.

When I saw the listing pop-up, my mindset was to buy as many of the sealed iPod’s as I could. They were priced way under market value. I had $1,000 cash on me so it was time to make a deal. Here is where my mindset was:

1. I had $1,000 to sell.

2. These were sealed iPod’s, some first generation and under market rate.

3. I figured I could sell off the less valuable ones to recoup my money and keep the rest for my personal collection.

The other thing that was in the back of my mind was that I’d love to have an item in Mark’s auction. Not so much to make money, but I could use it as credit to buy other items that come up that I collect (like I did when I bought the highest graded copy of Goodfellas on VHS).

So I sold off the least valuable items and ironically both sold this week.

The top photo was a 1st generation iPod Shuffle which I’m sure a lot of you had. It was opened however never used. The bottom photo was a factory sealed Apple iSight webcam that had a slight tear on one of its side. The iSight sold on Marketplace for $200.00 and the Shuffle sold on eBay for exactly $210.60 including post. There’s almost half of my investment back. So here is what is left of my collection:

What are they?

1. 1 new, but unsealed iPod shuffle 1st generation.

2. 1 factory sealed iPod shuffle 1st generation.

3. iPod classic 160 GB from 2009, factory sealed.

4. iPod Nano 1GB 1st generation, black.

5. iPod Nano 1GB 1st generation, white.

6. iPod shuffle 1GB 2nd generation, silver.

7. iPod shuffle 2GB 4th generation, blue with hangtab

8. iPod shuffle 2GB 4th generation, (product) red

Why am I keeping it? A bit of foresight made me think that collectors will eventually move on from sealed iPhone’s and move to whatever is next in the line. What’s next? Maybe sealed iPod’s. And guess what? I didn’t have to wait long. In the 2024 Spring Premier Auction factory sealed iPod’s were put up for auction. The relevant auction for me was the iPod Nano 1st generation 2GB. This is the final sales price in USD:

For reference, $776.40 in USD is around $1,200AUD which is $200 more than what I paid for the entire collection. So what I’m trying to say is that if I lock away these sealed iPod’s for 10, 20 or even 30 years, maybe they’ll be enough to buy a house one day.

And you know what? You’ll be surprised with what people have in their homes, I’ve heard a lot of stories of people finding sealed Apple products in basements and office drawers that then go up for auction and the sellers make thousands. Look around and see what you have and don’t forget, even if it isn’t fully sealed you can still make money from it. Why?

I’ve found most tech goes through 3 stages. To put it in its most basic form: the first is hype, the second is obsolesce and the third is collectability. iPod’s were all the rage and then died off because of the iPhone and now are seemingly coming back due to the simplicity. If you take a look at the iPod subreddit you’ll see people buying iPods every day and customizing the face plates and all that sort of stuff.

Plus, have you seen the price of an old school Sony Walkman these days?

To summarise, people pay big money for nostalgia and for items they deem collectible and worthy of being shown off. If you find anything like this in the wild, PICK IT UP.

What’s To Come

We have so much more to come. We have a few special series coming out including:

1. Thrifting with Mum: Navigating the Thrift Store Together, One Question at a Time

2. Handing out Flyers at Garage Sales, Can You Score A Deal Once The Sale is Over?

3. Flip Weekly’s Referral Program - score some sweet prizes just by telling friends about the newsletter.

4. Gameifying Your Memory - creating a flash card type game to help remember which games are worth picking up in the thrift and at sales.

5. An Interview With The Enemy - 1-on-1 with a Thrift Store Pricer.

As I’ve said a million times 12 times in the past, Flip Weekly is just getting started. I’ll see you next week.

Mat.