A young Australian who earns $132,000 a year flipping through items on eBay has revealed the secrets to his success and the items you should avoid if you want to make good money.
Matt Diedrich, from the Gold Coast, has been selling items online since 2020, a “hobby” that began when he began selling old items from his home.
The 33-year-old, known online as The Australian fin, He now visits thrift stores three times a week, a thrift market every weekend, and regularly peruses the clearance racks at department stores.
On average, Matt sells $360 worth of stocks a day and earns about $11,000 a month. If a product is rare or limited edition, he can resell it in a matter of hours.
Matt told FEMAIL that the key to success is sourcing high-quality products and doing on-the-spot research using the eBay app and eProfit to decide whether to buy or not to resell.
Matt Diedrich is a full-time eBay fanatic and finds items to sell at garage sales, thrift stores, and major department stores.
Matt (pictured with co-worker Courtney) has around 1,500 items for sale on his eBay store and has learned a lot over the last four years.
Over the years, Matt has experimented with a variety of products, but now focuses on video games, game consoles, DVDs, and action figures.
These take up 50 percent of his inventory, but he also sells shoes, hats, sports jerseys and other miscellaneous items.
“I’m really trying to focus on getting a higher average selling price with items that sell for at least $50,” he said.
In 2022, DVDs were its number one selling category, but it has now been surpassed by video games.
When calculating profits, Matt considers the original cost of the products, eBay fees, and shipping costs.
On average, Matt sells $360 worth of stocks a day and about $11,000 a month. If a product is rare or limited edition, it can sell out in a matter of hours.
Sells video games, consoles, DVDs, DVD players, shoes, hats, sports shirts and more.
He once went to Costco and bought the Trials of Apollo book collection for $28.99, which sold for $60 on eBay.
When purchasing flipping products, Matt relies on apps.
‘It’s crucial if you’re not familiar with the numbers as you’ll be spitting them out in the blink of an eye. Otherwise, you’ll accumulate items in your house that won’t sell or will take longer to sell,” Matt said.
At every store he visits, he quickly researches the product on the spot, which only takes a minute or two.
‘I am always strict with quality. Yes, most of the time they are used items, but if they are damaged or have significant wear I will not pick them up. It’s even $1,” Matt said.
“If it’s poor quality, it won’t be as profitable and will stay in your inventory longer.”
The size of a product is also important as it will affect the shipping cost. For example, publishing a DVD or a video game is much cheaper than a piece of furniture. Not to mention the possibility of a fragile item breaking during transportation.
There are currently about 1,500 items in its eBay store, almost half the inventory it had two years ago.
When purchasing flipping products, Matt relies on two free apps needed to calculate whether an item will be profitable: the eBay app and the eProfit app.
Track daily, weekly and monthly sales using a whiteboard (pictured)
Matt stated that full-time workers looking to pursue a side job can earn up to $12,000 a year (or more) if they commit to the game.
For example, with a selling price of $50 on eBay, an average profit of $20 and 50 sales per month will leave you with $1000 – or $12,000 per year.
“Don’t play the small stuff, play the bigger stuff and it will make you some money,” he said.
Today Matt makes about $132,000 per year through resales.
Matt, better known as The Aussie Flipper, runs the business from his garage (pictured).
However, he avoids clothing because it is plentiful and does not sell Lego because it is difficult to obtain.
“I’d rather be a master of a couple of categories than a jack of all trades,” he said.
The Play Station 2 game ‘Michigan: Report from Hell’ was one of the most expensive items he sold, as one customer bought it for $1,000.
‘I had never heard of it before and bought it for $1. I couldn’t believe it,’ she said.
“That’s often how it works: If you don’t know it, it may be a high-value item to find and therefore the value increases.”
In a YouTube video from 2022, he bought $710.50 worth of Big W DVDs for just $150 and won $4,000.
More than anything, Matt said you have to work hard, be consistent and dedicated to yourself to start investing, otherwise you’ll be “hoarding stocks.”
Mistakes to avoid
Looking back, Matt confessed that he used to overspend and “buy blind.”
“I think a lot of people get caught up in the excitement of the hunt and don’t take the time to do their research,” he said.
‘Just because something is cheap doesn’t mean you’re going to make money from it.
‘It is important to understand that you are investing your money in each purchase and until it is sold you do not see the money returning.
‘The last thing you want to do is store things in your house that aren’t going to sell. “You want to be really strategic about it and make sure you only buy the best possible.”