- Flip Weekly
- Posts
- I Found the Most Valuable Thing in Vinnies for $5
I Found the Most Valuable Thing in Vinnies for $5
To no-one's surprise, hiding in the back.
Issue #105
Hey, Mat here! Something irregular happened this week. Never happened before.
For the first time in Flip Weekly’s history we haven’t made a single eBay sale. A few sales on Facebook Marketplace, but we’ve been robbed of eBay’s dopamine hits.
Love this for me.
So we’re packing it in, right? That’s it? Our eBay experiment has reached its natural conclusion and we’re calling it quits.
Definitely not.
So we’re going to change up the way we list, the items we buy and the prices we aim for?
Of course not.
There’s constant chatter about feeding eBay’s algorithm, keeping the beast fed and happy so it delivers you sales. I honestly don’t believe that stuff. Why? It’s mostly based on anecdotes. Unless someone can show me a concrete study or even a controlled experiment?
Here’s the thing. If we’re trying to sell $1,000 newspapers or a $2,000 Hanna Montana television, what would listing daily really do to help that sale? eBay isn’t going to magically grant a user $2,000 to spend on a TV. I’d even argue there’s no proof they’d put the listing in front of more people. Either way, it doesn’t matter. We’re waiting for the right buyer and that can’t be controlled.
I truly believe this unprecedented week has come from our goal in 2026 to reach an even higher average sale price. People part with $20 on stuff they want every single day. How often are they spending upwards of $150? I’d much rather make a single $500 sale than have a week of not having to visit Australia Post with a bunch of $25 plush toys with a net profit of $6.
So if you’re following my lead, increasing your average sale price and experience a week without an eBay KA-CHING, take it as a blessing.
Anyway, let’s get into some of the items that are gonna skyrocket my ASP.
Mat.
In This Issue
What I Bought
I legitimately think I found the most expensive item in Vinnies and it was at the back of the store, on the ground, for $5.
I don’t understand the way Vinnies prices their items. I genuinely don’t. I also don’t understand the criteria for bringing an item to the front of the store to display behind the counter or in the glass cabinets. Take a look at this.
This is an animated GIF, it might take a minute to load.
This is a boxed WWE playset. That’s a $5 sticker. Inside the box is supposed to be 2 action figures, a ring, plus a “steel“ cage.
Ever been to a Vinnies before and found a loose WWE action figure? Best believe it’s priced at a minimum $5. Yet an entire playset in its box goes for $5? Explain.
When I first caught a glimpse, it was actually hidden below another really cool item, a boxed 1999 Action Man playset. Both $5, hidden in the corner at the back.
This is an animated GIF, it might take a minute to load.
The boxes had eBay tape around them, something I’ve seen once or twice in this Vinnies before. We can speculate that they’re eBay returns, but truth is I have no idea. Either way, this eBay tape is very satisfying to remove. No sticker residue, no print removal. Resellers deal with stickers more than the average person so I think we can all appreciate a mess free removal.
The eBay tape did throw me off, I figured if this has gone through the eBay rounds, there musn’’t be any profit left in it, right? I was confused, the sets had been taped up so I said screw it, it’s a total of $10, let’s just buy it.
Once I get it home I’m starting to remove the tape from the 1999 Action Man Mission HQ and I’m noticing a bit of a difference in some of the tape. It might sound weird, but I’ve done this enough that any small anomaly sticks out.
I’m legitimately thinking… is this the original tape I’m removing? Am I opening up a sealed product?
There was some tape that was stronger than others, the placement of some strips was suspect but the thought still sat with me.
Of course, this is a huge dilemma. There’s a massive difference between a vintage item that’s brand new and sealed and one that’s been opened. In some cases it can cost thousands of dollars, if not more. I contemplate my choices, but decide no, it must be opened. I don’t know the chain of custody, I need to see what’s inside.
Inside… all brand new. Parts of the Mission HQ cable tied to the cardboard. Pieces all wrapped in plastic. This thing had never seen the light of day.
With no Active or Sold Listings on eBay, I head to the free alternative to Worthpoint: Avaluer.net.
I can see a boxed version Sold for 26.99 GBP (~$50AUD) back in 2021.
With Action Man not exactly being a killer brand in 2026 I decide to list it up for $149.95 + postage. If somebody wants this for their collection, the only Active Listing is me.
Next up, the WWE Wrestling Cage playset. I do the exact same thing with it, I decide to open it up. The tapes loose. Inside I find all brand new parts. Sealed figures, ring ropes, stickers. Insane.
WWE is a much bigger brand than Action Man, so we’re able to see some similar sort of comps. Let me tell you this right now, WWE fans consider this a Holy Grail item. I posted this find on the subreddit /r/wrestling_figures and it blew up. Second most upvoted post of the month with 20,000 views.
Reddit was going off.
Let’s take a look at comps.
Whoa.
These are Sold Listings from the USA, pre-owned, no box, heck the bottom listing isn’t even complete. For the life of me I can’t find a listing that exactly matches my own, but the ones that are similar are very promising.
Hoo Boy!
I’m feeling really good about this FIVE DOLLAR PURCHASE. I’m thinking we could turn $5 into $500. That’s exactly what I list it up for. I’m guessing it’ll take a bit to sell, because after all… it’s $500 on some plastic and people are just getting over Christmas, but we’re definitely making our moneys worth this week.
Moving on, I went down a rabbit hole this week. I wanted to find out more about the board game Monopoly.
I see it all the time, I never buy it because in most cases it’s opened and God knows what pieces are missing, but curiosity got the best of me. So here’s what I learnt and what I picked up.
First of all, I have to reiterate that I’m mainly looking for items that I can sell for over $100. You might be okay with a $50 listing so if I say it’s not worth it, it might be worth it to you. Either way, I’ve found that there are some versions of Monopoly that are worth picking up. That’s right, Monopoly can sell for over $100 if you find the right one.
What we’re looking for is either brand new and sealed old versions of Monopoly or newer editions that are popular enough to warrant a copy but niche enough that supply isn’t unlimited. It’s a bit of a tricky equation, yeah?
Here are two examples from this week.
$20 for sealed 1999 Australian Monopoly.
$15 for Treehouse of Horror monopoly.
Just so you know I’m not spouting nonsense, and the importance of using your eBay filters.
Monopoly Australian Edition 1999 has comps as low as $30 with free shipping. Sell Through Rate is around 20%. That’s within Australia.
Change the filters to Brand New within Australia and the Sell Through Rate jumps up to 250% and the two most recent sales being $129.95 and $152.50.
Definitely one to pick up.
The next Monopoly, from a Vinnies was The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror. $15, opened it up and it seemed like it was complete.
Looks complete enough for me.
I didn’t really know what I was looking for so when I got home I hit up the local Monopoly expert on Instagram, Soph from Soph’s Flippin Mad. When it comes to inspecting these sets, here’s the most important things to notice:
What are we looking at in terms of comps? And again, it’s all within Australia.
2 Active Listings, 1 Sold.
Cheapest available is $165.98.
With little data to go on we inspect international sales.
All pre-owned.
It’s not unusual for this Monopoly set to sell for over $100. Chuck on our Australia tax and I think we can get $149.95, especially considering I checked it over and it’s 100% complete.
By the way, if we remove Australia from the filters and look at the overall sell through rate for this game, it’s currently sitting at 80% which is very, very good for a board game.
With all that said, what else did we learn from our Monopoly rabbit hole?
Well, if you can find Monopoly Bunnings you’re in for a pay day.
Released as a Christmas gift for employees, this version of Monopoly has sold as high as $215.98 and the Sell Through Rate is crazy high at 120.90% meaning it’s definitely going to sell if you list it up on eBay.
There’s a joke here about finding a cheaper price and having them beat it by 10%.
So what other Monopoly games should we be buying?
The big one is that Franklin Mint version and that’s because it’s lined with literal gold. What are our chances of finding that? Pretty low, but to be honest you don’t need me to tell you to pick up LITERAL GOLD if you ever see it.
Special shout out to:
The Smurfs
200% sell through rate.
Average sale price close to $300.
Can you believe it?
I’m still new to this Monopoly game so if you have any tips, hit me up.
Final find and it shouldn’t come as a surprise.
This is an animated GIF, it might take a minute to load.
For $10.49, I picked up this 2018 Sydney Roosters Premiers Jersey complete with disgusting stain on the bottom left of the front. Looks like someone got too excited about the Roosters winning the 2018 premiership. Op shops are still going strong giving us very cool jerseys, this one has no Active or Sold Listings on eBay but I could find one on Marketplace with an asking price of $250.
I think that’s a bit too extreme, especially if I can’t get this stain out. I had a look on eBay Sold for similar types of jerseys around that time. I can see a 2017 Melbourne Storm Premiers for $160 which seems about right.
Seems a bit more reasonable than $250.
The bonus is that there wasn’t just the 1 jersey at Savers, there was another. And guess what? It had a similar sort of stain, a bit bigger and different shape, but in the same position. Very weird. Very gross. Very demure. Very mindful.
Maybe we’ll start the Large at $179.95 and the Small at $149.95. I’m talking about the size of the jersey, not the stain.
So that would be $20.98 into $329.90.
What I Sold
In 2026, Hello Kitty is still a ballin’ brand.
$3 into $100
I found this Hello Kitty projector in a Salvos for $3 and took a gamble on it. With no Active or Sold Listings, and a box written entirely in Japanese, I trusted my gut and listed it up for $150 on eBay and $100 on Marketplace.
If you ever come across something in a foreign language, use the Google app on your phone to have it translated for you. It works pretty much exactly like Google Lens. Point the camera at the text, it’ll be translated to English. It’s how I was able to get basic information about it.
This projector was released only in Japan.
This thing went crazy on Marketplace with over 1,000 views and 100 saves. On eBay? Not so much. Weird. Anyway, somebody came round and was very excited to pay me a full $100 for this Hello Kitty nightlight.
Moving on, this is why we buy items with good sell through rates.
$45 into $175.
They go on to sell in just over a week for good money. Listed on eBay for $250 and Marketplace for $200, I accepted an offer on Facebook for $175.
That’s all I’ve got for you this week, it’s a short one but still we had some killer finds. If you’re craving more thrifting content, now’s a good chance to listen to this weeks podcast episode, I’ve got close to an hour of content for you. Thanks again for reading, I’ll see you next week.
Mat.
Flip Weekly Podcast
The Flip Weekly podcast is for people who want even more reseller content. You can find the podcast on all major podcast streaming platforms or you can listen directly on the Flip Weekly website here.
Win a Free $200 Mystery Box
What’s this? Click here for more information on how you can score a whole bunch of free prizes including a $200 Mystery Box!
If you want more Flip Weekly content, don’t forget to follow us on social media.
100% Free Resources to Help You
Flip Weekly have created the following resources to help you become a better reseller.
Reply