Shopping online has become an everyday activity for many of us. But did you know that there’s a way to make money while shopping online? It’s called online arbitrage, and it’s becoming increasingly popular among people who want to earn extra income. Let’s take a look at what online arbitrage is and the best places to shop online for items to resell.
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What is Online Arbitrage?
Online arbitrage (also known as “OA”) involves purchasing products online at discounted prices and then reselling them for a profit. The process requires quite a bit of research, as you have to compare prices from various retailers in order to find the best deals. For example, if you find an item on sale at one retailer for $20 but it retails for $40 elsewhere, you can purchase the item from the first retailer and then resell it on your own website or through a third-party marketplace such as eBay or Amazon Marketplace for $40 – thus making a profit of $20 minus marketplace and/or credit card processing fees.
Basically, you buy low and sell high. Some people do online arbitrage as a side hustle, while others make a full-time living reselling items.
How is online arbitrage different from retail arbitrage?
Retail arbitrage involves buying items in-store and then reselling them. With online arbitrage, you are only looking for online deals to resell.
Costs To Start Online Arbitrage
The cost to start online arbitrage will depend on your needs and goals. The biggest cost will be your time learning the ropes and sourcing products. If you are a beginner just getting your feet, you may want to start small. For instance, when I first started, I wouldn’t pay more than $5.00 per item.
I then suggest reinvesting profits into buying more inventory if you can afford to do so. Some call this strategy “bootstrapping”. If you prefer to “go big or go home” and start off with a good supply of inventory to resell, there are various financing options available for resellers. Click here to see the various options.
Once your reselling business has turned a profit, may want to invest in online advertising, online arbitrage software, and/or OA tools which we will discuss further on.
Top 101 Stores For Online Arbitrage
The stores listed below are in alphabetical order and not in the order of our favorite but we recommend all of them for sourcing profitable products to resell.
- Academy Sports + Outdoors
- Ace Hardware
- Adidas
- Albertsons
- Aosom
- Backcountry
- Barnes & Noble
- Bass Pro Shops
- Bealls Florida
- Beauty Brands
- Beauty Encounter
- Bed Bath & Beyond – Click here for BBB secret shopping hacks. Plus check out BBB liquidation stores for deeply discounted items to resell.
- Belk
- Best Buy
- BJ’s – Not a member? Get a membership for only $25 through our link (regularly $55)
- Bob’s Stores
- Boscov’s
- BrandsMart USA
- Burkes Outlet
- BuyDig
- Cabela’s
- Carol Wright
- Chewy
- Christian Book
- Claire’s
- Costco – Click here for Costco shopping tips & tricks. Plus check out Costco liquidation stores for discounted items to resell.
- Costway
- Crayola
- Crocs – Warning that Crocs legal may send letter if you sell via Amazon FBA, but they don’t ding Amazon account.
- CVS– Check out CVS liquidation stores, too.
- Daily Sale
- Dick’s Sporting Goods
- Dillard’s
- Dollar General – Check out Dollar General liquidation stores, too.
- Dollar Tree
- DSW
- Eloquii
- Entertainment Earth
- Estee Lauder
- Famous Footwear
- Finish Line
- Five Below
- Footlocker
- GameStop
- GNC
- Harbor Freight
- Hayneedle
- Home Depot
- HSN (Home Shopping Network)
- iHerb
- JCPenney
- JDSports
- Joann
- Journeys
- Katom
- Kohl’s – Check out Kohl’s liquidation stores, too.
- Kroger
- Lakeside Collection
- Lego
- LTD Commodities
- Lowe’s – Lowe’s salvage stores are good to source at.
- Lucky Vitamin
- Macy’s – Macy’s liquidation stores are good to source at, too.
- Marshalls
- Melissa & Doug
- Menards – Click here for Menards shopping tips & tricks.
- Michaels
- Newegg
- Nordstrom Rack – Check out Nordstrom Rack liquidation stores, too.
- Office Depot / OfficeMax
- Online Shoes
- Overstock
- Petsmart
- Plow & Hearth
- Proozy
- Puritan’s Pride
- Quill
- QVC
- REI
- Rite Aid
- Sally Beauty
- Shop Disney– Click here to buy discounted Disney gift cards.
- Sam’s Club – Check out Sam’s Club liquidation stores, too.
- Scheels
- Sears
- Sephora
- Sierra Trading Post
- Sportsman’s Guide
- Super Shop
- Target – Save an extra 5% with the Target RedCard. Plus, check out Target salvage stores, too.
- T.J.Maxx
- Tractor Supply
- Ulta
- The Vitamin Shoppe
- VidaXL
- Vitacost
- Walgreens
- Walmart – You can even find Walmart clearance items online. Plus, check out Walmart liquidation stores.
- Wayfair
- WSS
- Yankee Candle
For even more store ideas for arbitrage, The Selling Family has compiled a list of over 1001 online sourcing stores. Check it out.
You may also want to consider buying a Target liquidation pallet online to resell those products for a profit.
Online Shopping Tips To Save Even More
Now that you have an understanding of online arbitrage and where to shop for items to resell, here are a few online shopping tips to help you save even more money.
Cashback
Various online websites, apps, and browser extensions offer cashback on your purchases from different stores. Our top pick is Rakuten. Cashback and loyalty websites are more likely to have authentic coupon codes since they earn commission from the merchants by promoting them. Then, these websites split the commission with you–the user–which creates the “cash back” or rewards points.
Rewards credit cards offer cashback or other bonuses for every purchase you make. You can get even more money back by double-dipping cashback offers!
Coupons
You can find many websites’ current coupon codes displayed right on their homepage. They’re typically located at the top or bottom of your screen. Other websites may have a link to an page called “Coupons” or “Offers”. If there are no coupons available on the website, but there is a form field for a coupon code at checkout, try searching Google for available coupons or visit your favorite cashback or loyalty site.
Discounted Gift Cards
If you have a specific store in mind, such as Disney, purchase gift cards for less than their original value at any of the following websites:
If you do buy a discounted gift card from a third-party seller, be sure to check the gift card balance when you receive. Click here to check the gift card balance from any store.
Email Offers
Sign up for online retailer newsletters to receive special discounts and notification of online sales.
Where To Resell OA Products For Profit
The online arbitrage process doesn’t end with finding the discounted product. You also need to be able to resell it for a profit. The largest online marketplaces are Amazon, eBay, and Etsy. But there are literally hundreds of other options, especially if you sell niche items such as books, fashion, electronics, or handbags.
Click here for our directory of all marketplaces and online selling sites as it’s the internet’s most comprehensive list.
Online Arbitrage Tools
If you want to shop online for products, you’ll need to do a bit more research than if you were shopping in person. You can’t just scan the UPC barcode as you would be able to do in a brick-and-mortar setting. However, thankfully, there are various tools out there that ease this process.
Best Software For Online Arbitrage
- AMZ Scout – If you’re looking for a reliable Amazon product research and analysis tool, AMZ Scout is definitely worth checking out. It provides users with data-driven insights and recommendations based on various factors, including Amazon search volume, product sales price, competition level, etc. Plus, it allows you to track product prices, sales rank, and reviews over time. And if that wasn’t enough already – through our link you can get a FREE trial!
- RevSeller is a Chrome extension that makes it easy to see the sales rank, category and profitability of any Amazon product.
- Tactical Arbitrage is a godsend for online sellers by providing them with profitable inventory. With a database of over 100 million products, users can keyword search, category search, or price search to find what they’re looking for. Furthermore, the website offers additional tools like a profit calculator and product recommendations to help users maximize their earnings potential.
Online Arbitrage Leads
Arbitrage deal lists contain an array of products that can be bought cheaply and sold at a higher price on Amazon and other selling platforms. These types of lists have been created by people who have sought out and found profitable items to sell in the market. They typically limit how many individuals can access the list so there isn’t a lot of other buyers for those same items. If you join one of these lists, I suggest not buying the exact product listed, but use it as inspiration to find similar versions to buy and then resell. Here are some online arbitrage deals list options:
Online Arbitrage FAQs
Online arbitrage is a great way to make money online, but there are also questions that come up as you get started. In this section, we’ll answer some of the most common online arbitrage questions.
Is online arbitrage legal?
Yes, online arbitrage is completely legal. As long as you are not selling counterfeit goods or infringing on any copyright laws, you should be in the clear.
What other expenses should I consider?
When reselling items, you may also incur shipping costs and marketplace fees. Make sure to factor those into your calculations when determining whether or not an item is worth purchasing.
How do I know if an online arbitrage deal is worth it?
The key to online arbitrage is knowing your costs, fees, and potential profits. Make sure to research the item thoroughly to determine its market value and calculate the fees associated with listing and selling it online. Once you have those figures, you can determine if the item is worth purchasing and reselling online.
Does Amazon allow online arbitrage?
Yes, Amazon does allow online arbitrage. However, there are some rules and restrictions that sellers must abide by in order to remain in good standing with the online marketplace. Be sure to familiarize yourself with Amazon’s policies before getting started.
Conclusion
As you can see, online arbitrage is an interesting way of earning money by buying products at discounted prices and then reselling them for a profit. With enough research and dedication, anyone can make money doing this – all it takes is some patience! Plus, with so many retailers offering discounts on their merchandise every day, there are plenty of opportunities waiting out there! So why not give online arbitrage a try? Who knows – it might just be your ticket into financial freedom!
