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I Made $60,000 In 90 Days at 20 Years Old
You wouldn't believe what I was flipping.
Issue #84
What’s up guys, Mat here. A bit of a different one for you this week. Whilst Flip Weekly is a newsletter and podcast about making money flipping items from op shops, garage sales and Facebook Marketplace, I have at times talked a bit about what I did prior to this. I usually do this when it’s a slow thrifting week or I have something important on in my personal life that pulls me away from op shops.
For example, #62: I Went Viral & Made $125,000 In A Weekend At 23 Years Old or #67: Apple vs. 16-Year-Old Me: The $100,000 Shutdown Story.
This week whilst I do have a few finds and sales below, I talk on Flip Weekly’s podcast about a website I built that was making me $20,000 per month at just 20 years old. I talk about exactly what a 20 year old does with that sort of money, the highs and lows of having your business put in front of millions of daily readers in the press, plus the end result with a family redrawing on their mortgage to buy the website.
If you’re interested in hearing a bit more about my life pre-flipping, make sure you listen to this weeks Flip Weekly podcast.
In This Issue
What I Bought
It’s been a slow week when it comes to buying items to resell. The past 8 days have been incredibly busy and to be honest, I just haven’t had the time. Nevertheless, I made it a priority to go out at least once and what I walked out with was a whole bunch of clothes.
When I say a whole bunch… I mean like 3 things, but that’s a lot of clothes for someone like me.
I spent a total of $22.49 and the total listed value is $224.85. 2 of the items were sports jerseys and I did find a cool piece that appeared to be hand painted and worth a bit of money.
That’s a $7.49 price tag at Savers.
Take note: buy any legit NRL jersey if it’s priced at $7.50. Trust me, you’re going to make money, they always sell. I see this Sydney Roosters 2024 Indigenous Jersey at Savers and I immediately know it’s going to be a good buy.
First of all, it’s not a common year long design, it’s the Indigenous Jersey that appears for just 1 week of the football season. That sort of scarcity should drive the price up. Second, even if it was a common design, you would still be able to sell it for a profit online.
KA-CHING.
The jerseys above are brand new but I’m aiming for a quick sale with $7.49 into $50 via Facebook Marketplace. I love selling jerseys because they’re easy to photograph, there’s a huge collectors market and the turnaround can be very quick.
$5 for this sick Waratahs jersey.
Oh look, another jersey. This isn’t the same sport as the one above, this is Rugby Union and a 2012 Waratahs jersey. It was priced at just $5 and I should be able to get the same as the above. $50 on Marketplace, a bit more on eBay.
If you see these sort of jerseys out and about but are too scared to pick them up because of fears they’re fakes… my recommendation is to not stress to much about it. NRL, AFL and Rugby Union are in no ways as popular as American sports like the NBA (basketball), NFL (American Football) or MLB (baseball). Because of that, counterfeiters don’t spend as much time producing the fakes so the odds of finding one in a random op shop are quite low.
That said, there are signs you can look out for.
Weight. Most authentic jerseys are quite heavy. If the jersey doesn’t pass my weight test I usually immediately put it back.
Quality. The number 1 rule for me when identifying real or fake items is the quality of the item. If it’s a real jersey, you’re not going to see logos that are a bit skewed or off-center. 99% of all major brands (including sports teams) have very strict brand guidelines and that covers logo placement, size, etc.
This t-shirt stood out to me.
This t-shirt was interesting. I’m in a Vinnies and I see what appears to be a hand painted t-shirt on the rack for $10. The design isn’t anything special, just a slot machine on fire… cool. What I do notice is that on the bottom of the slot machine is a marking that reads Sabbi. I’m thinking, well somebody has put their name to this artwork, maybe it’s someone with a following? Someone famous? The next Banksy?
I then notice the tag isn’t a generic Gildan, it’s branded as Sabbi. This must be a brand.
That’s exactly what it is. A TikTok hyped clothing brand that “drops“ new items at random times on their website. The exclusivity and designs go off on social media and the brand erupts. The popularity ensures they can charge upwards of $100 for t-shirts.
What I Sold
It’s been a big week in Polly Pocket sales.
$10 into $200 via Facebook Marketplace.
$10 into $125 via eBay.
$10 into $100 via eBay.
$10 into $200 via Facebook Marketplace.
$10 into $125 via eBay.
Last week I told you to steal this category because as of right now… I might have the most Polly Pockets in all of Australia.
I spent $250 for a woman’s entire collection and the pay off is just beginning.
We had 1 sale of 2 Polly Pocket’s to an Aussie woman via Facebook Marketplace that totaled $400. The other was 3 Polly Pockets to a woman in Canada that was worth $349.90. The bonus with this order is that she paid $22.30 in postage per item. 3 cheers for making a profit on shipping.
I’m already in the profit on this deal and there’s still $2,690 worth of listings remaining. In fact, I received a message on Facebook Marketplace from a Buyer asking if I wanted to sell them all. I’m uncertain whether she’s a reseller or just a collector, but I said I’d let them go for $2,250 with the idea being I’m happy to accept a counter of $2,000. Will it eventuate? Who knows. Either way I’m not in a rush to sell.
Can’t say I’m unashamed of this sale.
Whether or not you agree with her ideas, you can’t deny that Pauline Hanson has a fan base that many politicians would love to have. In 2006 she was named as one of the 100 most influential Australians of all time - seriously.
This autobiography was released in 2012 and has only a couple of listings on eBay, we’re talking a 100% sell through rate despite the average sale price being around $25. I found a signed copy, only paid $4.50 and it’s sold in under 3 months for $60.
Slightly off-topic… I’ve bought and sold a decent number of signed Australian politician biographies and what I’ve found, weirdly enough, is that anyone on the left goes unsold whereas the right has always sold. John Howard, Malcolm Turnbull, Pauline Hanson all sold. Rudd and Gillard, still sitting on the shelf. Strange.
$35 into $650.
It’s not everyday you walk in an op shop and find a pen that’s valued at over $500. Back in May, in Issue #68 I found this special edition Montblanc pen in a Save The Children op shop for just $35. A crazy price considering the staff knew that this was a valuable pen. It’s sold this week for $650 and is going to London. I think this would have sold much quicker if I hadn’t forgot to turn on international postage.
The buyer sent me a message and was like is there a problem shipping to London? And I’m like no, of course not, you guys don’t have someone implementing stupid tariffs and cutting off imports. Then he’s like well I can’t purchase. I took a look and I forgot to turn on international shipping. Dumb, I know.
If you ever come across fancy looking pens at a garage sale or thrift store it’s worth picking it up. Even pens that are carded with the cardboard backing can go for a decent amount of money. Remember back in Issue #62 I found 3 Platignum pens for $1 each and they sold for $82.49 including shipping.
Really cool book to find, regardless of the low sale price.
Secondhand Opinions
The concept is simple, we’ll throw up a reselling question, I’ll present my poorly thought out opinion and you’ll provide your own.
Last week I didn’t ask you a question as I was too busy but this week I’m hitting you with this: “If you overcharge a Buyer with shipping, do you refund them the difference?“
I’ve watched some resellers do this and it made me stop and think. Are people really doing this? The Buyer is obviously happy, or at least content, with paying the advertised shipping rate, you’ve done your best to provide an accurate shipping cost, it’s not the end of the world if you save a few dollars, right?
I couldn’t tell you the amount of times I’ve over quoted in shipping, especially international postage. I’ve estimated the item needs to go in a medium sized box that would cost $40 only to fit into a small box that ships for $20. It’s a huge difference yet not one of my customers has ever complained and my feedback is still a perfect 5 star rating.
Maybe it’s unethical? Morally wrong? But at the same time we’re making guesstimates for a lot of things. We might charge $10 for postage, it ships for $9.90 and looks like we’re overcharging. But then we don’t take into account the bubble wrap, butchers paper, packing tape, cardboard, boxes… so then we’re undercharging.
For me, it reminds me of the saying “it all evens out in the wash”. You might lose some money on 1 order, make some money on the next. Potentially unfair to customers? Let me know your thoughts below.
If you overcharge a Buyer with shipping, do you refund them the difference? |
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