Retail Arbitrage

Before we get into the main part of this Hub, I just want to clear up what I mean by the term Retail Arbitrage. Retail Arbitrage is the act of buying at a lower cost and then selling on at a higher cost on the same eCommerce platform or somewhere. Yes it can be simple, but as with anything in life there is a lot more to it, and this will be discussed as we get further into the hub.

Retail Arbitrage

As we looked at earlier Retail Arbitrage is the act of buying at a cheaper cost and then selling items at a higher price. But this has an added twist to it, we are not buying from a wholesaler we are buying from a normal shop. Somewhere where we go every day to buy food, toiletries, toys, car parts, cooking items..............in fact anywhere where there is items for sale there is an opportunity to make a profit.

All over the world the main retailers are discounted items and at times these discounts are massive. And this is where we can make the profit. Buy low and sell high.

An example...........You are out shopping and on a shelf you see some popular hair care products that normally retail for £50.00, but for some reason they are on sale for just £9.99. You take a look and there is nothing wrong with. So you take out your smartphone (Yes to do this you will need a smart phone) and go to the Amazon and eBay apps and type in the name or barcode. (If you are feeling brave you can scan the barcode). And the prices you see are looking good. On both sites both items are selling for around £65.00. The reason being these items are no longer produced, but people still love them. In your mind you do some sums and you work out after fees and shipping there is still a good profit. So into the trolley go 10 lots.

A few days later they are all sold and you have a nice profit in your account. This time you go back and shock there are only 20 lots left, so they all go into your trolley, and you carry on shopping. But today gets better for they are doing a promotion on all hair care items and handing out 50% off vouchers so the items are even cheaper.

Now just think that was one store, and there are many more in your area that carry items that are often discounted or even free with vouchers. It is a fun way to shop knowing the profits at the end.

As you get more into the Retail Arbitragethere are courses, scanners to speed up the scanning to check prices and there are even programs that will tell you the price items are selling on Amazon and Amazon FBA. Yes these cost extra, but once the profits come in they are well worth it.

And in closing imagine this..........you and your smartphone with the special app are out shopping, you see items you like, a quick scan some look very good and they go in trolley others are a no go they go back on shelf. Soon you have a car full. You come home press a few buttons on your phone and computer and print some labels off, stick these to the items, pack them in boxes and arrange for a carrier to take them to Amazon. Then you just rinse and repeat and each day you send boxes into Amazon, Amazon sell for you, deal with all the payments and shipping and returns and send you money on a regular basis. All a dream.... NO this is the power of Retail Arbitrage and Amazon FBA.