Arbitrage is the process of purchasing products at two different prices and then selling them back to a buyer at a higher price. If you can find products at two different prices, there is an arbitrage. But how do you know where to find the best deals? That’s where Amazon and eBay come in.
To be successful at retail arbitrage, you should have a good sense of what you are doing and you should practice it often. It’s not easy, though. Many people make mistakes that cost them money. They either misjudge the market situation or they try to target a market they think they cannot fill. For instance, some people will purchase a product in a popular color and then sell it to a product in a popular size. This is retail arbitrage, and it works quite well with popular items.
But it is not a good idea to target all of those items. Some colors are more difficult to resell than others, and some sizes are harder to ship. So before starting, research which items you think will have the highest demand. Amazon and eBay are great sources for this information.
Once you know which items will have buyers, you need to consider how you will go about retail arbitrage. You could buy the item from the manufacturer directly. Sometimes they’ll give you a rebate, and you can sell it on eBay at a markup. Sometimes, you have to contact the manufacturer and try to sell directly.
Amazon and eBay both offer tools that will help you find retail arbitrage offers. Their inventory availability is usually the best. And, especially for those who can’t afford to buy large amounts of merchandise, Amazon’s free trial gives you the opportunity to try out a new product and see if you like it. It also gives you the chance to see how your listing and search function works.
On the other hand, eBay does have an arbitrage category. However, you can’t search for “commerce arbitrage” on eBay. Instead, click on “commerce” under the heading of the “Offers” tab on the left side of the eBay home page. Then scroll down to “uayranger arbitrage” and click on it. It’s a category meant for sellers in that industry, and you’ll see links to categories like “commerce arbitrage”, “commerce”, “bid arbitrage”, “market arbitrage”, “special arbitrage” and “auction arbitrage”.
Another way to sell items that you can’t buy on eBay is to search for books that you can’t get anywhere else. A good example of this is Harry Winston’s famous “How to Get Rich Book.” This book tells you everything you need to know to become rich. However, it’s only available on eBay for a fraction of the price it normally would cost. If you want to know how to sell this item to Amazon, click on “books” next to “Books – Click Here”.
One of the most important aspects of this strategy is the item description. Your eBay to Amazon arbitrage auction should give a clear picture of what it is about. The item description must include a short description, a high quality picture if possible, and a detailed description of the item. If you don’t provide these details, the buyer will have no idea what the item is worth, which makes it easy to sell to Amazon.
If you have many books that are similar in subject, make sure to put all of them in the same category on your eBay listing. This will make it easier to sell them to Amazon. If there are differences in the titles, for example, you can use a book search feature on eBay to find out what the current market prices for the books are. Then you simply add a small cost to make them appear as one in the same category. You can also put an estimate on the price, if you know what the current market price for the book is.
Don’t forget that buyers love to be rewarded. Always offer to refund or send the money back to the buyer if they’re not satisfied. If you are selling books, consider offering a free gift with the purchase. You can make the gift special by adding some related products to the book. For instance, you can send a copy of a How-To book to a person who is looking for a how-to book about growing organic vegetables. Offering this as part of a bundle of books makes the buyer feel special and they will probably want to purchase the other items from you as well.
To make arbitrage selling even more profitable, consider offering to match the competitor’s highest bid on an item. This will drive the prices down and you will earn a profit. When the item reaches the buyer, they will be pleased with your bargain price and will be more likely to make a repeat purchase from you. When you decide to post an item on eBay, you should always plan ahead.
