Sourcing inventory with Retail Arbitrage and Online Arbitrage to sell online can be a profitable and beginner-friendly business model. In this guide I’m sharing all of my favorite tools and supplies to help other Amazon and eBay entrepreneurs make more money, sell more products, and get an edge on the competition.
If you’re brand new to selling on Amazon FBA, or are looking for some tips and tricks to grow your current Amazon FBA business, check out 7 Steps to Sell on Amazon FBA. In that tutorial I get specific about how Retail and Online Arbitrage works on Amazon FBA. I also provide tips on how you can start making money with Amazon FBA as quickly as possible.
1. How much does it cost to start selling on Amazon FBA and eBay with Retail Arbitrage and Online Arbitrage?
When you first open your Amazon or eBay store it’s understandable if funds are tight, or if you’re nervous about investing money into your new venture.
The start-up costs to sell products sourced with Retail Arbitrage and Online Arbitrage on Amazon are reasonable.
Most new Amazon and eBay sellers spend anywhere from a few hundred dollars up to about $2,000 to start their business. This investment funds their initial selling supplies, tools, inventory, and marketplace fees.
Personally, when I compared this to the tens of thousands of dollars it would have cost to open a brick-and-mortar store, the initial investment in my online business seemed a lot more manageable.
After a few years as an e-commerce seller on several platforms under my belt, I can honestly say that I’ve earned back every dime I’ve invested in my business several times over. Also, I write off all of my business-related supplies, subscriptions, memberships, product research tools, and educational products as business expenses at tax-time (remember to double-check everything with your accountant.)
2. What supplies do I need to start selling on Amazon FBA and eBay with Retail Arbitrage and Online Arbitrage?
Here’s a detailed shopping list of all of the essential supplies that I personally use and trust in my own Amazon FBA shop. You also need most of these items when selling on Amazon FBM and eBay. I order all of my small business supplies from Amazon, so I’ve included the product links here too. Tip: I’ve created two selling supply lists – one for Canada and one for the USA.
CANADA: Amazon & eBay Seller Supplies (links to Amazon.ca)
- Assorted stationary supplies including markers, highlighters, pens, scissors
- Bubble Wrap (to wrap fragile inventory such as glass bottles and containers)
- Box Resizer (to make shipping boxes smaller)
- Printer, or
- Thermal Printer (this is a big purchase so I only trust Rollo brand)
- Postage Scale (to weigh your shipments to Amazon’s warehouses)
- Poly Bags with suffocation warning and permanent seal in assorted sizes (to package inventory such as clothing, as well as items that are only partially packaged in boxes by the manufacturer and have parts that you can touch)
- Medium Shipping/Moving Boxes (to send your shipments to Amazon’s warehouses. Size 18x18x16 inches)
- Small Shipping/Moving Boxes (Size 16x12x12 inches)
- Shipping Labels – Half Sheet Style (for printers, to send your inventory to Amazon. Remember, you don’t need to buy any type of labels if you have a thermal printer)
- 30-Up Address Labels to use as Amazon FNK SKU labels (apply to individual products when requested by Amazon)
- Scotty Peelers (to easily remove price tags from inventory)
- Shipping tape (I’ve tried many brands and find Gorilla is the best)
- Stretch Wrap (to wrap bulky or oversized inventory)
- Tape Applicator
USA: Amazon & eBay Seller Supplies (links to Amazon.com)
- Assorted stationary supplies including markers, highlighters, pens, scissors
- Bubble Wrap (to wrap fragile inventory such as glass bottles and containers)
- Box Resizer (to make shipping boxes smaller)
- Printer, or
- Thermal Printer (this is a big purchase so I only trust Rollo brand)
- Postage Scale (to weigh your shipments to Amazon’s warehouses)
- Poly Bags with suffocation warning and permanent seal in assorted sizes (to package inventory such as clothing, as well as items that are only partially packaged in boxes by the manufacturer and have parts that you can touch)
- Medium Shipping/Moving Boxes (to send your shipments to Amazon’s warehouses. Size 18x18x16 inches)
- Small Shipping/Moving Boxes (Size 16x12x12 inches)
- Shipping Labels – Half Sheet Style (for printers, to send your inventory to Amazon. Remember, you don’t need to buy any type of labels if you have a thermal printer)
- 30-Up Address Labels to use as Amazon FNK SKU labels (apply to individual products when requested by Amazon)
- Scotty Peelers (to easily remove price tags from inventory)
- Shipping tape (I’ve tried many brands and find Gorilla is the best)
- Stretch Wrap (to wrap bulky or oversized inventory)
- Tape Applicator
3. What are the best tools for selling on Amazon FBA and eBay with Retail Arbitrage and Online Arbitrage?
There are several tools that I personally recommend as a fellow Amazon FBA and eBay seller. I’ve created a detailed list of these tools below, along with some special discounts, cash bonuses, and referral links available to Simply Smart Finance readers:
Amazon Seller App
Amazon Seller App is a free must-have selling tool for Amazon FBA and Amazon FBM sellers. You can use it in-store and when shopping online to scan UPC barcodes and look up items manually. It provides you with essential information including a product’s current selling price and sales rank on Amazon. It also tells you how many third-party sellers are selling on a listing, if Amazon itself is selling on a listing, and more. You can list products for sale on Amazon directly from the app, which is convenient. You can download this app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
eBay Seller App
eBay Seller App is a free must-have selling tool for eBay sellers. You can use it while sourcing eBay inventory to help find profitable products. One of the best features is your ability to view comparable active listings by other sellers to get a realistic idea of price and competition. You can look up past sold prices and number of previous listings to help estimate the sell-through rate of different products. This app lets you list products for sale on eBay and also make eBay purchases. You can download this app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
Keepa
Keepa is a free Google Chrome browser extension and app that helps you source profitable inventory in real-time. You can scan Retail Arbitrage products in-store and get detailed sales history information. This can help you make informed buying decisions. There is a free version of Keepa which provides a lot of information including tracking Amazon prices. The paid version has even more features. One of the big advantages of the paid version of Keepa is that it tells you the Amazon sales rank of a particular item. This can be a real time saver when you’re out sourcing. You can download the free Keepa Google Chrome extension and download the Keepa app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
Seller Assistant App
Seller Assistant App is a super helpful tool for finding profitable Amazon inventory to buy. It’s particularly great for sourcing Online Arbitrage. The Seller Assistant App integrates directly with retail store websites. This means that you can see all of the product and selling information you need while you’re sourcing. Seller Assistant App has offered Simply Smart Finance readers a 14 Day Free Trial offer and $20 OFF your annual subscription if you sign up with the link below.
You can learn more and sign up for the Seller Assistant App 14 Day Free Trial and $20 OFF offer here
BuyBotPro Scanning App & Extension
BuyBotPro is like having an Amazon expert sourcing Online Arbitrage products with you. It analyzes thousands of Amazon FBA data points to help determine if a particular product you’re interested in purchasing online is a good buy or not. BuyBotPro helps you to analyze products before you make any purchases. This can definitely save you a lot of wasted money and time by helping to reduce or eliminate bad inventory buying decisions.
You can learn more and sign up for BuyBotPro here
Honey
Honey is a free internet browser extension that finds you the lowest prices available online. No more time-consuming and frustrating searches for coupon codes! Honey automatically retrieves all of the newest and most valuable online coupon codes and promo codes for you. Honey integrates with the retailer’s website automatically. You can apply the discount codes Honey finds to your online purchases at checkout with the click of a button. It’s perfect for Online Arbitrage sellers to help you maximize your profits by ensuring that you pay the lowest price possible for your inventory. Honey Gold is a bonus program rolled into Honey that lets you earn points on your everyday purchases that you can redeem for free gift cards.
You can learn more and sign up to Honey for free to start paying less and earning rewards here
SourceMogul
SourceMogul is a fantastic automated online product sourcing software. It has tons of functionality for Online Arbitrage sellers. You can stop manually searching store websites for profitable products. SourceMogul does all that for you, which saves a lot of time and frustration. SourceMogul compares entire store catalogues from hundreds of retail websites to the product databases on Amazon. You can search for specific Amazon categories, products, and brands to purchase. I think it’s a great tool for anyone who wants to be successful with Online Arbitrage. SourceMogul has offered Simply Smart Finance readers an extended 10 Day Free Trial offer when you use the link below.
You can learn more and sign up for the Extended 10 Day Free Trial of SourceMogul here
Rakuten Cash Back
Rakuten is a free cash back website and internet browser extension. It’s a must-have for purchasing Amazon and eBay inventory with Online Arbitrage. When I shop online for business and personal items I always use Rakuten. There are no membership fees and no subscriptions fees. Using the Rakuten website or internet browser extension earns you cash back at hundreds of online stores. Earn rates range anywhere from 1% cash back up to 60% cash back or more. (I personally signed up for a popular VPN internet security service using Rakuten and received 60% cash back on my VPN subscription.)
Rakuten offers a generous sign up bonus of $30 when you sign up with a referral link. If you sign up on Rakuten’s website directly without a referral link, the sign up bonus is reduced to $5. So make sure you sign up with a referral link, like the ones posted below, to grab your $30 cash bonus.
Canadian Readers Tip: If you shop on USA websites for business and/or personal purchases, signing up for both Rakuten.com and Rakuten.ca can maximize your cash back.
Rakuten Online Arbitrage Pro Tip: You can purchase retail gift cards from Rakuten’s online Gift Card Store to pay for your Online Arbitrage purchases to increase your cash back. You’ll earn your first round of cash back from Rakuten by purchasing a gift card. Then you’ll earn your second round of cash back from Rakuten by using Rakuten when you make your online purchase.
Here’s a real-life example of this strategy in action: I purchased a Walmart.com gift card from the Rakuten Gift Card Shop and earned cash back from Rakuten. Then, I used the Rakuten Chrome Extension when making my Online Arbitrage purchase at Walmart.com and earned more cash back from Rakuten. Then I paid for the Walmart.com purchase with the online Walmart gift card. And that’s it. I used Rakuten twice (once to buy the gift card and once to make my online purchase at Walmart) and I earned cash back two separate times for one Online Arbitrage purchase.
Rakuten Online Arbitrage Bonus Pro Tip: You can use a cash back rewards credit card to buy gift cards from the Rakuten Gift Card Shop. This will give you a third opportunity to earn cash back. Using this bonus tip, you can earn cash back three different times on one single Online Arbitrage purchase (earning cash back twice from Rakuten, and earning cash back once from your credit card rewards.)
Amazon FBA BOLO Group Membership by Nikki Kirk, Your Selling Guide
The term BOLO means ‘Be On the Look Out’ for a particular item while you’re sourcing. This Amazon FBA BOLO Group is made up of helpful Amazon FBA sellers who share profitable Retail Arbitrage and Online Arbitrage product leads with each other. You can purchase these lead items in-store or online. Many of the products are Amazon FBA and Amazon FBM beginner-friendly. This means that you don’t have to be unrestricted (known as ‘ungated’ on Amazon) in a particular category or brand to sell that item. The BOLO groups are for Retail Arbitrage and Online Arbitrage sellers who are sourcing and selling products on Amazon.com in the USA.
You can learn more and sign up for the Amazon FBA Retail Arbitrage BOLO Group here
You can learn more and sign up for the Quarterly Elite Bolo Group here
Amazon FBA Ungating Guides by Nikki Kirk, Your Selling Guide
All Amazon Sellers have had that sinking feeling. You’re out sourcing Retail Arbitrage products in store. You scan a particularly profitable item only to see the dreaded ‘restricted’ badge. Darn it! You are restricted from selling that brand. And so you put the item back on the store shelf in disappointment. No more! Retail Arbitrage expert Nikki Kirk has written a number of ungating guides for Amazon sellers in both Canada and the USA. In these ungating guides, Nikki teaches you how to become unrestricted (called ‘ungated’ in Amazon terms) in many profitable brands and categories. You can grab Nikki’s ungating guides and start making real money selling on Amazon here:
- Canada Toys & Name Brands Ungating Guide
- Canada Topical, Grocery, Personal Safety, and Household Ungating Guide
- USA Grocery, Topical, and OTC pharmacy Ungating Guide
- USA Toys and Topical Ungating Guide
- Your Selling Guide by Nikki Kirk Email Sign up
- Amazon Retail Arbitrage Guide to Selling During Q4/Quarter4 (Oct, Nov, Dec)
You can learn more and purchase any of the Amazon USA & Canada Ungating Guides here
RevSeller
RevSeller is a great tool to help you find profitable Arbitrage inventory and manage your Amazon seller account. It is like an enhanced version of the Amazon Seller App but with many bonus features. You are able to see at a glance if you’re unrestricted and able to sell a particular product or brand, which can save time and effort while sourcing. It’s great for not just Arbitrage but also the Wholesale and Private Label business models. If you’re interested in learning more about those different sourcing strategies, I explain the basics of Wholesale and Private Label in this tutorial. RevSeller can help you hit your profitability targets, monitor your competition on sites like eBay and Amazon, and more. RevSeller has offered Simply Smart Finance readers a 30 Day Free Trial offer if you sign up with the link below.
You can learn more and sign up for the RevSeller 30 Day Free Trial here
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