Issue #79

What’s up guys, Mat here with an insane newsletter.

Once you read this weeks Issue of Flip Weekly I guarantee you’ll start to pay more attention to the mug section of thrift stores. I absolutely guarantee it, and if it ever pays off for you you owe me a drink. I’m not even kidding, I should be keeping this to myself so I can clean up, but no, I’m sharing it with you so that we can make money together.

Let’s get straight into it.

In This Issue

• What I Bought

• What I Sold

• Secondhand Opinions

• Win a Free $200 Mystery Box

• Podcast

• Social Media

• 100% Free Resources to Help You

What I Bought

Mee-mee noo-loo Furbies kah to-loo dah-may-may wah ee-tay.

Oh sorry, I’ve been so used to speaking Furbish over the past week I forgot to switch back to English. Furbish is the official language of the electronic Furby toys that were released back in 1998. I came across a Facebook Marketplace listing selling a Furby Baby (1999) and I thought buying it might fill the giant void in my heart, or at least make me some money.

If you grew up with Furby’s you’ll remember that it was one of the first toys you could fully interact with. You could pet its tummy, rub its back, give it some food, introduce it to other Furby’s and the coolest thing… talk to it in English or Furbish and it will respond. For example the sentence above that I like to tell my new baby:

Mee-mee noo-loo Furbies kah to-loo dah-may-may wah ee-tay.

Roughly translates to “I love you because you bring me big shiny thing” - they don’t understand the word money.

My adoption fee of $30 should be money well spent, it’s boxed and in great condition for something over 25 years old.

When it comes to what they’re worth, it’s a bit chaotic as all Furby’s vary slightly both in color and in price. Whether or not the Furby works is something you also need to consider. I wouldn’t worry if it doesn’t though, much like human babies these things are cuter when they don’t make a sound.

I’ve put this up for $199.95 and I’ve already declined offers in the $150 range.

Have you ever found something in a thrift store that’s too good to be true? It’s priced way below Active and Sold Listings and you just have a feeling it’s done on purpose? That was me this week at Savers.

This is a Sony Walkman. I swear I’ve said this before but before iPhones, before iPod’s, before portable CD players, we had cassette tape walkmans. The only way to listen to music on the go was chucking a cassette tape in one of these things and hoping the player doesn’t chew it up. I found it in the 3 story tall Savers at Camperdown for $12.99 and it felt too good to be true.

Something about this isn’t going to work because the comps are crazy and Savers staff are too good at their job. There are no exact model listings Sold in the past 90 days but this is the only one listed within Australia and it has multiple watchers.

If you look within this category it’s filled with 2 types of listings. The first are tested and working which obviously command the most money, and the second is units that aren’t working. When it comes to the latter, it seems like the main problem stems from the cassette player not working (radio working). Once I got my unit home I noticed the same thing. Radio worked fine, cassette didn’t. I thought screw it, I paid $13 for this thing, let’s take it apart and try and fix it.

Here’s the thing, if it requires soldering or anything that requires actual skill or specialized equipment, I’m out. But this thing is from the 80’s and made entirely out of plastic, surely someone like me, a lazy dude from 2025 can fix it. I pop on a YouTube video and the first step is to basically open the thing up. It doesn’t have screws so it’s all about opening without breaking plastic clamps.

I got off to a good start… I legit couldn’t open this thing for like 15 minutes and was close to curb stomping the player until I calmed down and gave it another shot.

I eventually worked it out and you can see that the belt is completely worn out. The “belt“ is what I would see mentioned in most eBay listings. If I see a listing for a working walkman, chances are it says “new belt“ and that’s a good place to start. The “belt“ is basically a little rubber band that transmits power from the motor to the tape mechanism, enabling the playback of audio. If you look closely at the band it’s basically me: loose and worn out.

I don’t know a single thing about the other parts of this cassette player so I Google replacement belt for this specific model and I can see it’ll cost $21.92. That puts our total cost of goods at $34.91. If we can fix it and eventually sell for $199.95 that’s still a $165 profit. The only thing is that getting the custom belts takes a while so I’ll have to keep you updated with progress. If I do fix it, that really opens up the category. Not just for me, but for you too.

$1,000 Marketplace pickups, $1 into $200 thrift store finds, it’s important not to let it all go to our head. That’s why we need to talk about gambles that didn’t pay off for us. For every reseller that finds a grail item at a garage sale, there’s one hundred more striking out just like me on a weekend. Here’s what I saw…

Others will see old phones and dismiss the listing, but I see big, big money. $20 for all of that? That has the potential to have insane ROI. When the price is this good, we don’t ask for model numbers, we don’t ask if everything works, we say SOLD and we can come out right now. Here’s a list of everything that was eventually sold to me and what they’re worth if they’re working:

That’s all well and good but unfortunately… none of it works, except for the iPad. The pessimist in me would chalk this up to somebody offloading their broken phones, but this felt different. I was legit at this guys home for 20 minutes giving him Facebook Marketplace tech support and hearing about how his daughter always needed or wanted a new phone (I think the daughter just went through a tonne of phones being reckless).

That all said, I wouldn’t pass up on huge bundles of iPhones or name brand smartphones in the future. Just like any other category, you can prepare by having all-in-one chargers and you really only need 1 to work for you to break even. Heck, the iPad from this lot works so technically I’d still make a profit. Even for parts this would make money. Can I be bothered? Eh. Just remember though: old phones can make you money.

I guarantee you are going to be shocked at this next item.

This is easily the best find of the month and if you’re an avid reader of Flip Weekly you should have picked it up if you saw it. 3 weeks ago I wrote a piece titled “Why I’m Now Hunting Pottery at Every Thrift Store”. In the article I shared reader Dean’s Bundaberg Rum pottery collection and after doing a deep dive I could see there was insane value to be found in this category.

In a Savers this week I found this masterpiece (debatable) for $7.49. It’s a mug of a character called Bosun Bill who is related to a brand called Beenleigh Rum. I saw it and thought… well it’s not quite Bundaberg Rum but it might have some value.

When I looked it up on Google Lens I got excited. I didn’t see eBay listings, instead I saw mentions of similar items being auctioned off at different auction houses. Albion Antique Auction Centre, Antiques Reporter, Invaluable.com, ABCR Auctions, the list goes on. Majority of these websites require a registration in order to view Sold Prices so I decided to check out eBay. We had 1 Active Listing.

$850?! For a make believe character that wears more bronzer than American politicians?! Doing some more research we can see that Beenleigh Rum is one of the oldest Rum companies in Australia and the Beenleigh Rum Distillery is the oldest registered distillery in Australia. That bit of history has made its 1950’s pottery quite collectible and much like Dean with his Bundaberg Rum, there’s a whole host of collectors wanting to buy these items when they seldom pop-up.

After seeing 14 people watching the $850 listing, I decide to try for a quick sale and still in disbelief I list it up for $500 + postage (the nerve to ask for $500 for a $7.49 mug and still not offer free post) and see how we go. Keep reading because you’re not going to believe what happens next and no, it’s not me dropping the mug.

A few other things I bought this week:

When it comes to old Warhammer sets on Facebook Marketplace, I’m only going to pick them up if they’re unused and complete. For the uninitiated, they’re mini metal or plastic figurines that hobbyists glue together and paint and then use them for table top role playing games. They’re extremely expensive, I mean… this small box of like 5 figures is worth about $200.

It’s generally worth picking up most things Warhammer, they hold their value and in some cases appreciate, whether it’s figurines, books, accessories. Look for them in thrift stores and on Marketplace and remember like most things, they’re not all created equal.

Before I briefly talk about this shirt, let me ask you: who is the author of the famous children’s book The Grinch? You know him, he goes by Dr S _ _ _ _. Can you guess how you spell his last name? Turns out I couldn’t because I misspelled his last name and it messed up my sell through rates. I originally searched Active and Sold Listings but got the spelling wrong, so I saw an insane 9,000% STR instead of the real 46% STR.

Do you think it’s spelled Dr Seuss or Dr Suess?

What’s the bet you know the answer and I look a fool. Yes, it’s Dr Seuss. A reminder here that eBay will not always correct your spelling mistakes so be sure you’re typing correctly. My fat fingers thought we had a 9,000% sell through rate item. C’mon man, how dumb can I be.

Anyway, this shirt still had its original tag with a $90 RRP so I think it will sell, maybe around Christmas time.

What I Sold

Insanity!

The Beenleigh Rum pottery mug has sold for full asking price in just 47 minutes! $7.49 into $500. I think this is the most expensive item I’ve ever sold in less than an hour. I would not have been even interested in the pottery / mug section if not for Dean reaching out so thank you! If you read Issue #76 and you’re reading this now, surely you wont be skipping the mug section in the future?

When it comes to an item like this I’m not going to try and make it fit within one of Australia Post’s small boxes in order to get cheaper shipping. Instead I’ve gotten a bigger box and I’m doing my absolute best at making sure this is protected. You should have seen me carrying this mug around, I was so hesitant and wary of breaking, scratching and even dropping this bloody thing. I first carefully wrapped it in bubble wrap (even 2 or 3 times what I’d use for most items) and lined the bottom of a large-ish box with shredded kraft paper. From there I placed it in the box, the fit was ultra satisfying and I surrounded the bubble wrap with more shredded kraft paper and again on top of it. Once the box was sealed, absolutely nothing inside was moving around.

As this item is worth a bit of money, for the first time in a while I’m going to opt into Australia Post’s insurance system. It’s pretty simple, insurance up to $100 is free, and every $100 afterwards is $2.50 so getting this thing fully insured will cost just an extra $10. I can’t wait to see the shock in the eyes of the post office employee when I finally press the green tick button on the machine when asked if I want insurance; it’s like seeing a shooting star, these things don’t come around often.

A nice little DVD collection to pick up if you find it in the thrift. $6 into $64.95 within 2 months. A quick tip with DVD’s… if you can’t find a Region Code on the slip case, DVD case or the DVD itself, chances are it’s a Region Free DVD meaning it can play on any DVD player around the world. Opens the market up a bit more and invites more buyers into your listing. A reminder that Barry Humphries, the comedy legend behind Dame Edna, passed away in 2023 and has multiple biographies that may be signed.

Thrift stores generally have a very poor selection of video game titles. Wii Fit, FIFA, we’re all used to seeing the same old stuff. Assassin’s Creed is a title that gets put on the shelves as most are worth next to nothing, in fact this exact title on this exact console can be bought on eBay right now for just $5 with free shipping. The difference however is that this copy is still sealed and it’s a promotional copy. Promo only copies were generally given to stores, reviewers, etc and isn’t a traditional retail copy. It usually contains the exact same game, just meant for different purposes.

There are collectors out there that want to obtain promo only copies. No idea why, it’s just something different to collect I guess. The promo only plus being sealed means that we’re able to ask for a much higher price than a standard copy and we have an international sale. Look for sealed games and the promo only label in thrift stores - they wont show up often but you’ll be prepared.

This was a bit of a cheeky buy - I had seen Death Note in the glass cabinet of Vinnies in the past so I knew it wasn’t that valuable. Seeing it in Savers on a regular shelf for $6.99 without behind glass, I decided to pull the trigger and then list it as the cheapest one available on eBay. The plan worked as it sold within 24 hours. Not a lot of profit but something to share with you.

Side note on Death Note… this is the All-in-One edition which means every issue of the Manga series is in this one book. The book is insanely thick, I have no idea how people can read this. Maybe it’s just for display?

I chickened out on this - they sell for $150 on eBay yet I took $50 via Marketplace. Why? The mouth was not functioning very well and I felt like my eBay description, despite saying that the fish didn’t open and close its mouth smoothly just wasn’t cutting through. I got asked on Marketplace, where I had it for sale for $100, multiple times for videos. Once I recorded the videos I became less confident in selling it on eBay for $150 and took the first $50 offer.

In the future I’d still pick these Big Mouth Billy Bass up and encourage you as well - you’ll receive a hell of a lot of interest on both eBay and Marketplace and if it’s working perfectly you’ll get even more than my $50.

Secondhand Opinions

The concept is simple, we’ll throw up a controversial, or at least spicy reselling topic, I’ll present my argument whether it’s poorly thought out or not and you’ll provide your own.

Last week I asked you “Do you foresee the physical media category spiking in the upcoming years?” and here are the results:

So a majority think that physical media will spike in the upcoming years because of streaming companies jacking up their prices. You know what’s funny? Less than 48 hours after publishing this poll I received an email from Netflix with the subject line “Price update coming soon“.

This is literally the 6th Netflix price hike in Australia since they launched 10 years ago - getting very, very close to once a year. Can someone please nominate themselves to track DVD and Blu-Ray prices for popular TV series and movies to see if the spike on physical media prices is going to come to fruition? If it is let’s be the first onto it.

This weeks topic is: When selling locally, where do you usually meet the buyer?

I might be too trusting of people because not only do I send Buyers to my home, but if I’m feeling super lazy I might leave the item out and tell them to leave cash or transfer money. This is of course rife for abuse, they can take the item and forego the money, block me on Facebook and really that’s that. I mean if that happens to someone you’re just going to think well of course that would happen, it’s a stranger on the internet taking your stuff.

In more extreme cases, especially on the Flipping subreddit, people advocate to meet Buyers out the front of a police station. I guess the logic is that somebody who plans on leaving without paying wont do so outside a cop shop? Reddit is primarily American so maybe it’s also to prevent being mugged or robbed. Here in Sydney I don’t really have that fear, I’m more than happy, sometimes even prefer it, to have a contactless pickup. It’s a running joke here when I tell Buyers that the item is in a secure, undercover place (on top of my chest freezer in the garage) and to leave the cash in the freezer. That way whenever I get home or go outside my “magical freezer“ spits out cold hard cash.

Yes, it’s not exactly secure but as a gambling man I play the odds. One day somebody might just take the item and run, but I mean… so far it hasn’t happened. I’m also not going to leave out anything over $100, Marketplace deals are usually for lower value items.

That said, I understand everyone’s different. As a dude living in a city by himself, no kids, I’m not concerned about sending people to my home. There’s nothing fearful to having strangers rocking up for some random item I’m selling, really the only fear is that they can find the place. So tell me below your thoughts.

What do you think?

You can vote, you can email in, submit a form on the website or even get in touch via social media with your own thoughts.

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100% Free Resources to Help You

Flip Weekly have created the following resources to help you become a better reseller.

• Ultimate List of YouTube Reseller Channels

• Google Sheets Reseller Spreadsheet

• Memorize Video Game Prices with Flip Vidya

• eBay Sell Through Rate Calculator

• How To Tell If A Book Is 1st Edition

• 100+ Nostalgic 90s Kids Shows Ranked by eBay Value

• Reseller Terms and Acronyms You Should Know