I was a full-time Amazon reseller from 2015 to 2019, and a big component of my retail arbitrage approach was selling goods online. With a few notable exceptions (such as Beats by Dre), the electronics category on Amazon is unregulated, which implies that there are no restrictions on who may sell electronics there. You may start selling devices on Amazon right now, whether they are new or old on Retail Arbitrage.
Because there are so many fascinating gadgets available on the market nowadays, I believe the electronics area is enjoyable to search. There is always a need for electronics, from commonplace things like computers and phones to specialized ones like projectors and video game consoles.
I’ll provide my advice and recommendations for selling gadgets online as Retail Arbitrage in this post, along with places to buy and sell them.
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Online Sales of New Electronics
Many of the uncertainties in the process are eliminated when selling new devices online. You don’t have to worry about whether a product will operate, whether any parts are missing, or how its condition will effect its selling price when it’s brand new and still in its original packing. Most of the devices I resold were ones I bought brand-new.
What Kind of New Devices to Search for Retail Arbitrage
The fact that you don’t have to narrow down your search or be an electronics specialist is one of the advantages of finding new devices for retail arbitrage. Any electronic goods with a UPC barcode can be scanned using a scanner software like ScoutIQ to find out how much it’s selling for on Amazon and how much money you might make from it right now.
I scanned all of the new devices I saw that were being offered at a discount since it simply takes a few seconds to scan the barcode and get this information. Every now and then I would see a brand-new gadget that I had no idea about, like a computer component, that ended up with a huge profit margin.
When looking for new devices to sell online for Retail Arbitrage, just be sure to keep an eye on the Amazon best seller rank (BSR). Even yet, I would be open to purchasing items with high profit margins and poor seller rankings, such as accessories for outdated mobile phone models, as long as I knew that it could take some time for these gadgets to sell. Even when the profit margin isn’t very large, electronics with high BSRs are still wise investments since they’ll be much simpler to flip for a rapid profit.
Where to Look for Brand-New Devices to Sell Online
Nearly all large box retailers carry new gadgets. The most crucial thing to search for while looking for things to sell on Amazon is cheap goods. These are available in special electronics areas of cheap department stores like ROSS or Marshall’s, or in the clearance portions of well-known retailers like Walmart or Target.
Clearance Sales at Big Box Stores
Finding new devices to sell online for Retail Arbitrage at Target and ROSS took a lot of my time. Discounted electronics are often included in the aisles or sections of the store that are devoted to clearance products across all categories at Walmarts. (If you know what to look for, you may also locate high-profit products at Walmart on secret discount.) You may often discover reduced gadgets on an endcap in the store’s electronics area since Target has clearance sections that are dedicated to particular categories.
Remember that clearance products at Target begin at 30% off, are re-priced to 50% off after a week or two, and ultimately drop to 70% off. It can be wise to hold off on buying a certain device till it is reduced to 50% or 70% off if your neighborhood Target has a lot of it in store.
Cheap Department Stores
A significant portion of the gadgets available at ROSS or Marshall’s are off-brand items that receive little attention on Amazon. Occasionally, these businesses may sell popular brands or provide devices with famous brands like Disney characters, therefore there are exceptions to this rule. During the holidays, kids’ headphones with superhero or Disney characters often retail for $20 to $30 on Amazon, but I could purchase them at these outlets for under $10.
Internet-Based Retail Arbitrage
Online retail arbitrage is a terrific instrument to employ if you want to increase the size of your retail arbitrage endeavors around electronics. For instance, Tactical Arbitrage allows you to search hundreds of websites for brand-new devices that you can purchase at a discount and resale online. It has access to over 1,000 retail websites globally.
Where to List New Devices for Online Sale Retail Arbitrage
In my opinion, Amazon is by far the greatest choice for online new electronics sales for Retail arbitrage. The Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA) program streamlines the process of selling electronics by requiring you to just ship your sourced items to Amazon’s warehouse, set a price, and let FBA handle the rest.
The traffic and prospective consumer base on Amazon are unmatched, and compared to eBay, the majority of the gadgets I sold on Amazon had larger profit margins for me. To make sure you are getting the most out of your purchase, it may be worthwhile to investigate alternatives like eBay and Walmart; but, in general, I find that Amazon is an excellent site to turn new gadgets.
Online Sale of Used Electronics for Retail Arbitrage
It’s not as simple to sell secondhand devices online as it is to sell new ones. To ensure that everything is there, you will need to learn more about the items and do more study on how the state of your item will affect its cost. Having said that, since outdated devices are sometimes available for very low rates, there is also the possibility of making enormous gains from reselling them.
Verifying the functionality of old devices is also crucial. Buying a secondhand Nintendo Wii without first testing it and discovering that the bundled cables weren’t the correct ones was one of my most costly Amazon errors. Moreover, the system stopped functioning after I linked it to the correct ones. Try old gadgets before you purchase them whenever you can!
What Kind of Used Devices Should I Search For?
The majority of hardly used gadgets, including those in their original packaging, may be found for comparable prices to those of new electronics, however you need definitely reduce your expectations for pricing since they are no longer brand-new.
I usually found that the following categories of used electronics, while deciding which ones to sell that weren’t like-new or in their original packing, worked well:
Used but Expensive New Electronics
Used devices that can readily be bought brand new for less than $20 are not very popular. However, value buyers will be searching for less costly solutions, including secondhand versions of the necessary components, as gadgets become more pricey.
I was very successful, for instance, at reselling secondhand calculators. Many high school and college students consider the TI-83 Plus graphing calculator to be essential, even though it costs at least $70 when purchased brand-new. For this reason, many purchasers find a used one that is still functional and costs between $30 and $50 to be an appealing alternative.
Antique Electronics
I was able to make a good profit on Retail Arbitrage on two old devices that I spotted while shopping: a Star Wars R2-D2 shaped phone and a Les Paul cordless guitar for Guitar Hero on the PlayStation 3. Even if an electronic device is used, there will probably be buyers out there if it has a unique design or characteristic that makes it uncommon or desirable.
Antiquated Electronics
Surprisingly, technology that have fallen out of favor, including video gaming systems, pagers, and Palm Pilots, sometimes have robust secondary markets. These devices are important to look for as a reseller since they aren’t manufactured in new condition anymore, therefore those who want them will often have to purchase them secondhand.
Where to Look for Used Electronics for Online Sale
Above: If you know what to look for, Craigslist’s “Computer Parts” category might be a gold mine.
The majority of the secondhand devices I sold online were discovered at garage sales, thrift shops, and online classifieds sites like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. My preferred locations to find secondhand gadgets were thrift shops, such as Goodwill and the Salvation Army, as they always offer a wide assortment of goods and are replenished throughout the day. On any given vacation, you never know what type of interesting devices you could stumble upon.
Garage sales are not always successful. They are an excellent place to start on a tight budget, and when you uncover a winner, the profit potential is substantial. However, the finest stuff is often taken up quickly by other resellers, so you will need to be fortunate on your first visits. The same is true of online markets, such as Facebook Marketplace, where you may sometimes find excellent deals on old gadgets but will face intense competition from local suppliers.
Where to Find Online Ads for Used Electronics for Retail Arbitrage
Above: Used TI-83s are still available on Amazon at reasonable costs.
If you want old gadgets, Amazon is still a wonderful option. I just filled out correct product conditions and descriptions on my listings, and I utilized Amazon FBA to sell the majority of my secondhand equipment. I’ve never had any issues using Amazon to sell secondhand gadgets.
However, there were times when I thought eBay was a better choice, such as when I was working with things that weren’t listed on Amazon or collector gadgets, which may be more often sought for on eBay. Making a new listing on eBay is less complicated than on Amazon. Just remember that when it comes to optimizing your product listings on eBay, quality photography is still very crucial.
Facebook Marketplace also does well for really low-cost flips. An electric heating pad I previously paid $1 for at a yard sale, and I made $10 selling it on Facebook Marketplace. In a person-to-person flip, it made sense, but it wouldn’t really make sense to perform this kind of deal on eBay or Amazon where I would earn very little money after fees and shipping charges.
You may also utilize a tool like ExportYourStore to easily connect your product line across many marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Shopify in order to get more exposure for both new and used devices. Just be careful that your product descriptions and condition comments translate correctly across all platforms when working with secondhand electronics.
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And that’s the whole of it! Purchasing new and old gadgets to resell online can be an enjoyable and lucrative side project or pastime. With any luck, these tips will guide you in the right direction. Read more on Retail Arbitrage