Amazon arbitrage is when a seller buys a product at a lower than usual price or wholesale from a store or online marketplace and sells it for a profit on Amazon. Alternatively, other options exist like Amazon to eBay arbitrage, where a seller buys an item at a low price and sells that item on eBay (or another online marketplace).
Sellers engaging in retail arbitrage for Amazon know there are certain qualities to look for in a listing to make it a profitable opportunity. Amazon FBA arbitrage indicates that a seller has found an item in an outside marketplace and is seeking
Seller Tips:
Clearance Items: Look for items on clearance in stores like Walmart or Tuesday Morning. Some stores have clearance aisles, and others keep the clearance items on regular aisles with unique tags. Ask the store employees where the clearance items are, so you make sure to check all clearance items.
Look everywhere: Look from top to bottom, it may take time, but with practice, you will learn how to spot the right opportunities.
Item Condition: Make sure to check the item condition! You don’t want to risk selling a faulty item on Amazon and negative feedback from customers which could hurt your feedback score. Also, Amazon won’t let items that have scratches be sold as “new” in the marketplace.
Check Item Stock in Other Stores: Check other branches of stores you are shopping at to see if they have more of the same item that you are buying.
Monitor the Prices: At checkout, make sure you are being charged the correct price sometimes become the scanner, or the price tag will not reflect the actual cost.
Sell in the Toys Category: There are not as many requirements on Amazon for this category so you can start selling right away. To the extent there is a new children’s movie coming out soon, buy up discounted items related to the movie theme at discount stores like Walmart. Sell items that are larger because it will take Amazon more time to approve small or sharp items as they could be hazardous to children.