Is Retail Arbitrage on Amazon FBA Dead?

October 3, 2023
4 mins

Guest blog post by Kev from Life Success Engineer

Somebody asked me the other day, “Should I go for retail arbitrage or online arbitrage? Is retail arbitrage dead?” To help answer them, I put out a poll on Facebook to ask some of the guys who have been doing retail arbitrage over the years.

What did they say to the statement — is retail arbitrage dead? The majority said no, retail arbitrage on Amazon FBA is alive and well.

But, that got me thinking… Have things changed? What is it like now compared to what it was once like? This could be a great conversation to discuss especially if somebody like myself is absolutely 100% online arbitrage from wholesale based than actually retail arbitrage.

But I started with retail arbitrage and that’s how I got in the game. My first sale was a little porcelain bird which I sold for about £9 on eBay. And then, when I got into Amazon, I used to go around the stores and pick up items from there.

Watch the video below:

Retail Arbitrage is Not Dead

You can absolutely still do retail arbitrage. There’s nothing stopping you. Get in your phone out and go into a store and scan everything. Scan everything you can sell and ship it to Amazon.

But, some questions that you need to ponder upon. What’s the competition like nowadays? Is it getting more difficult? What does Amazon think about retail arbitrage?

I guess the answer to the question, “Is there more competition?”, well of course.

The fact is whenever there is a good opportunity, you’ve got people that are going to get involved. The information is everywhere, so it’s really getting more competitive.

Long-Term Goals

But, it’s all about the long-term and the stamina, and how long can you work for if you have to scan all day every day. Are you willing to stay in the game for a year, two years, three years, four years, ten years?

I know retail arbitrage is not for me. I don’t like to scan things. I’d rather have a systemized business when it comes to online arbitrage that allows me to use virtual systems. But perhaps soon I’ll hire a man with a van to go around and scan stuff because retail arbitrage is always going to be there.

Arbitrage will always be there regardless of what happens to Amazon’s marketplace. There will always be different stores selling the same product with different prices until something comes out that equalizes everything that says every product must be at a certain price.

Going into Amazon is getting a bit more difficult but when it comes to retail arbitrage, getting to know the store manager or the people working in the store is going to be a huge factor in your success because I believe that if you can build a rapport with these people, communication gets better. For example, if their items have arrived or deals are coming in, they can contact you and inform you.

What Other Sellers Said

Let’s see some answers from the Facebook poll that I’ve created.

98% of the respondents said that retail arbitrage is not dead and it’s alive an well.

Daryl said “depends on the competition in the area.”
Geoffrey said “arbitrage will always exist because it’s on the bigger range and there’s going to be more and more opportunity.”
Will said “it’s dead unless you innovate.”Colin said “I find it more profitable than OA. It takes a bit longer to find the deals, though.”
Sean said “I go to six stores in my local town weekly and then to supermarkets for cheaper items for sale that make a profit. If I hadn’t broadened my horizons, I wouldn’t be doing many sales.”
Michelle said “I make roughly £650 profit in 4 hours.”

Final Thoughts

Retail arbitrage is absolutely not dead. Get yourself started. Get in your car. Go into physical stores. Scan everything down the aisle. Go to the clearance sections. Fill your car up. Get back in your car. Get those items shipped to Amazon.

About the Author:

My name is Kev. In 2015, I took massive action and started a business on Amazon. Within 6 months, I quit my full time Electrical Engineer job and we have now gone on to sell over £1,000,000 worth of physical products. We created a team of virtual assistants and physical employees, which gave my family the freedom to build the lives we wanted. On my Life Success Engineer blog, I share my journey and everything I have learned along the way. Read my story or check out my YouTube channel.

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Seamus Breslin

Designer, marketer and all things ecommerce related.