The 31-year-old appeared in court on Monday charged with seven offences, five of obtaining financial advantage by deception, and two of attempting to commit and indictable offence.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Michelle Wentworth told the court the offences occurred between March 29 and June 6, 2019.

She said in each case, the accused offered goods such as phones and smart watches over online marketplaces such as Facebook and Gumtree, and did not send the goods after people had paid him the money.

Senior Constable Wentworth told Magistrate Simon Zebrowski that the man was arrested and interviewed on June 23, where he fully admitted to the scams.

Magistrate Zebrowski said the total amount the man gained from the scams was $1156. He asked the man why he started doing it.

The man said he had had some problems with gambling on horses, though said this was "no excuse" for what he had done.

Magistrate Zebrowski asked the man what he was doing to address his problem. The man said he was speaking to a counsellor, and that he was not gambling any more.

Asked by the magistrate if he was working, the man said he was a client of Ararat-based disability support provider Pinnacle, and received $1200 a fortnight through the federal JobKeeper program.

"How soon do you think you will be able to pay back these people?" asked Magistrate Zebrowski.

"In a couple of months," said the man.

Magistrate Zebrowski said he would consider not convicting the man if he fully compensated the people affected by his alleged offences, and showed evidence of his reliance on the National Disability Insurance Scheme, by December 21.