A beloved piece of Australian pop culture is becoming a hot commodity, with collectors willing to spend up to $1,000 for a complete set.
Seasoned thrifter Mat Carpenter told Yahoo News that anyone hoping to make money from charity shop finds “need to know what they’re looking for,” and there’s a particular aisle that typically delivers a “home run”.
“One of the easiest starting points for Aussies wanting to make money is kids media, particularly DVDs and VHS tapes,” he said. Although “no one under 25 owns a DVD or VHS player,” he added that older buyers are “snapping them up like they’re investment properties.”
A full collection of the first three seasons of the original Wiggles TV show can “easily” fetch $1,000 online. Carpenter, who runs Flip Weekly, a newsletter and podcast teaching Australians how to resell undervalued items, credits the children’s group for much of his success.
“Earlier this month I bought a huge box of old VHS tapes that contained 12 copies of The Wiggles,” he explained. “The resell value of those 12 was over $700 and just 1 tape alone sold for $200.”
He believes demand is driven by “nostalgia,” combined with the fragmentation of streaming services and “older generation relying on technology they’re familiar with.”
For beginners hoping to turn second-hand finds into profit, he recommends searching for shows like The Wiggles. “They’re easy enough to come by in charity shops,” he said. “They’re also rife at garage sales and on Facebook Marketplace.”
Carpenter has also profited from other throwback children’s shows. Seasons 1–3 of The Amanda Show have sold for over $1,000, while complete sets of Barney & Friends have gone for $500, and single seasons of Teletubbies can sell for $50.
“When I posted my Wiggles video we had a lot of comments from people who owned the valuable DVDs but just didn’t know about it. I suspect that’s the case for a lot of these shows too,” he said.
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