Amazon’s retail arbitrage strategy is one that you may not want to try. With over one billion products available on eBay, it’s possible to make a real income from Amazon. However, retail arbitrage is not as simple as buying low and selling high. There are several hidden fees that can greatly reduce your profit margin.
Retail arbitrage takes place when you buy an item at a lower price than you typically find it advertised and then re-list it for hire. Most of the time, you do not find the item at a minimum bid. You might get lucky and find it at the highest price available. This is called “off line retail” and you pay the difference between the highest bid price and the lowest listed price for the item. You must know the rules and regulations of most online retail sites before you attempt this technique.
Many auction sites have rules regarding retail purchases. For example, auction sites such as Yahoo! and eBay prohibit the use of escrow accounts to make retail purchases on their sites. The reason for this is that they want sellers to use credit cards and to settle their accounts with them.
Other retail sites have restrictions about the actual retail price, you can sell an item for. Amazon is one example of a retail site that has these. Amazon uses its “Buy It Now” policy to prevent your buyer from purchasing an item more than you plan to sell it for and then holding on to it until you make money or sell it at a higher price. In this case, you would make money on the item but you lose out on the opportunity to sell it at a retail price. If you want to make money on Amazon, avoid using these Buy It Now policies.
One of the most successful ways to make money on Amazon is to open an account with Amazon Digital Text Platform – ADT. This is a program offered by the digital text platform that allows you to create listings in three formats – electronic, hard copy, and fulfillment. Once you have your account set up, sign up for an available “Amazons Prime” account and then choose the “Books” and” Movies” sections. From here, you will be able to list any Amazon eBooks, audio books, video games, software, and more. You will also have access to a full inventory of products, an “About Me” section, and the ability to schedule your own shipments.
Another way to make money on eBay is to list the product on auction sites. eBay has several auction sites, including its own, and several others where you can list your product. Some of the auction sites include Yahoo!, Google X, and Store Finder. These sites have millions of customers and are generally free to use.
If you are just starting out and learning the ropes, it would be wise to start off by selling digital products, as this is what you will be most familiar with. It will give you experience and help you decide if you want to move on to other areas, such as electronics or apparel. Once you have your account set up, sign up for an account at Amazon, and write down the ISBN numbers of any of your books. When you have a book published at Amazon, you can list it for sale at eBay.
In this day and age when everyone is selling products on the Internet, it makes sense to sell digital goods. You do not need to have your own inventory; you can sell it for whatever price you wish, depending on the demand for the book. You can sell an unlimited number of books, so if you are only planning to sell one or two at a time, you will still make money. The best part about selling ebooks at Amazon is that you can list them for as low as zero dollars and make money the minute someone clicks on your listing.