A sealed set of six Harry Potter cards at a flea market cost The Aussie Flipper $120. Complete sets are listed on eBay for $1,100 and $800. The same day, he handed over $1,500 for a bulk lot of sealed DVDs, and now he says he “should have thought about twice.”
The eBay reseller from The Aussie Flipper took a beginner named Jason along for a morning at the flea market to show him how to spot profitable stock. Both men ended up learning something.
A $35 Camera With Tripod Is Priced At $75 On eBay
The first stop was a camera with its tripod. The seller started at $40, then said, “I’ll go 35, man.” Jason said yes right away.
The Aussie Flipper explained that the tripod mostly sweetens the deal. Sold on its own, it would need to go for $30 or $40 to matter. The camera bundle should list around $75 and could stretch to $80 or $85.
“It’s not a crazy profitable purchase, but it’s still a profitable purchase.”
“It’s Like Going To The Gym” And Why Reps Matter
Jason is trying to hit $5,000 in sales and 100 orders to become a top-rated eBay seller in 12 weeks. The Aussie Flipper says it is a hard thing to walk a flea market and know what to buy, let alone what to pay.
His own knowledge comes from doing it every week for six years. “It’s a bit like going to the gym. It’s getting reps, it’s getting experience, and doing it through a ton of research.”
Two Limited Edition Pokemon DVD Sets Brought $170 In Profit
Next they found a Pokemon DVD set. “As soon as I see Pokemon and I see limited edition, this is worth having a look at,” he said. The set had 40 discs and carried a new price tag of $259.
They scanned the barcode and found a sale at $212 plus $18 shipping. A second collection was in the pile, and the seller wanted $300 for both. He plugged numbers into a profit calculator that pulls out eBay fees, postage and cost of goods.
The target was $200 for both. The seller held out at $250, and Jason offered $240 cash. “Done.” The pair estimate about $170 in profit from shipping just two items.
“If you do that before you have your negotiation, you’re never going to walk away with a bad buy because you’re going to know exactly how much money you’re going to make.”
A Sealed Harry Potter Set Cost $120 After A Month Of Waiting
A vendor he knew had a complete set of six sealed Harry Potter cards. The asking price was $150, and the buyer got them down to $120.
The reason he knew to say yes is a conversation from a month ago. That vendor had told him the cards are incredibly rare and that card number five of six had been selling consistently for $300. He passed back then, but he wasn’t going to pass twice.
Complete sets of six are listed on eBay for $1,100 and $800, though those have not gone on to sell. He plans to list his at $600. “I’m not saying it’s going to be, but potentially a $600 find.”
Why He Passed On A Trilogy DVD Box Set
He also taught Jason to check sold listings, not just asking prices. A limited edition trilogy box with a barcode looked like a good $10 buy, until the recently ended sales showed prices falling. “The value went up when they first came out, and then it’s come down a bit.” The verdict: a pass.
A camera without its charging dock was another lesson. It would not power on at home, so it can only be sold untested or for parts, and shipping a bulky item makes that harder.
Then He Handed Over $1,500 In The Middle Of Negotiating
With a quiet market and DVDs making up 50 percent of his eBay sales over six years, he went for a bulk lot of brand new, sealed DVDs. He was in mid-negotiation when his phone warned that storage was full, and he spent the payment scrambling to delete old footage.
The seller had a table of sets, and the camera was part of the deal. The Aussie Flipper paid $1,500.
The Numbers Behind The DVD Lot
Back at home, he laid out what he had. A few of the standouts:
- The Fugitive: two sealed sets that sell for about $50 each.
- The X-Files Uncover the Truth Collection: one sold for $100 plus $20 shipping, and he plans to list at $150.
- Darker Than Black season two: about $75.
- Dragon Ball Z partial seasons: about $80 each, while a full series sells for around $200.
- Pokemon seasons 11 and 14: five discs at about $35 each, around $175 in total.
- Black Lagoon seasons one and two: around $160, and season three has reached $250.
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer complete series: about $75.
The Canon SX60 HS camera in the deal is a $400 camera. Add the X-Files set at $150 and several $50 listings, and he thinks he will get the $1,500 back quickly.
“I Definitely Overpaid For This Deal”
After fees and postage, the profit is only a couple of hundred dollars. “To spend 1,500 to only make a couple of hundred, I definitely overpaid for this deal.”
He says most of his bulk buys are ridiculously good, but this time he got too eager because DVDs are his number one category. “You win some and you lose some, that’s for sure. I’ve learned the lesson there to not be so gung-ho.”
- Run the calculator before you negotiate, not after.
- Check recently ended sales, not asking prices.
- Know your best-selling category, but don’t let confidence set the price.
More Stories You May Like
- Buying In Bulk Backfires When The Warehouse Club Deal Expires Before You Finish It And Clutters Your Pantry
- Reseller Gave A Flea Market Seller Who Got Ripped Off An Extra $1,100 She Never Expected And Now She Is Bringing Him Boxes Of Lego To Sell
- Twenty Free Ways To Declutter Your Entire Home Alone In Seven Days Without Heavy Lifting, Including A City Service Many People Have Never Heard Of
