Retail arbitrage is the business of buying clearance and discounted items at stores, and then reselling those items at substantial markups on Amazon, eBay, or through your own website.

While many YouTube retail arbitrage stars make it seem like an easy business strategy, it can actually be very challenging, and an easy way to lose money, since there are so many variables that need to be considered.

For example, not only do you need to buy the items at below the selling prices on Amazon or eBay, but you need to take into account the various fees that Amazon and eBay charge, as well as ensure that you are ungated (unrestricted in selling) in that retail category.

You will also need to keep your receipts, and often, you can only sell certain items if you have an invoice directly from the brand or manufacturer.

Now that I have probably made you hesitant to try out this sales strategy, let me give you some of the benefits of why you should consider arbitrage.

You can buy the items only once you have verified that you can profitably sell them online. There are apps that will tell you how much you can make on an item, taking into account all the fees that Amazon or eBay charge. By using these apps, you can make sure that you are buying a product that can be profitable.

Check out this article for some of the best apps for retail arbitrage:

https://www.amzfinder.com/blog/best-5-amazon-seller-scanner-apps-never-miss/

You don't need to personally store the merchandise, or ship the orders out yourself (assuming that you use Amazon's FBA program, or an order fulfilment service).

Your profit margins can be very high, especially if you buy clearance items at the end of the season, or at going out of business sales.

If you would like to increase your chances at succeeding, you should be visiting all of your local big box stores on a regular basis, and seeing what items they have on clearance. You should also ask the store manager if he or she can offer you any additional discounts when buying in bulk.

You should also visit wholesale and closeout warehouses, and see what products they have in stock that you can sell at a higher price.

Besides visiting brick and mortar stores, you can also do OA, which stands for online arbitrage. Basically, you can shop online for clearance products which you can turn around and sell through Amazon or eBay.

Before starting, you should become very familiar with the policies and fees that Amazon and eBay have that are applicable to the retail arbitrage business.

Below are some books that can help you master this exciting retail sales strategy!

Arbitrage: The authoritative guide on how it works, why it works, and how it can work for you.

Become an Amazon Selling Legend Using Retail Arbitrage: Make Money and Fulfill Your Dreams with an Online Business (Legendary Seller)

Retail Arbitrage: The Blueprint for Buying Retail Products to Resell Online

Barcode Booty: How I found and sold $2 million of 'junk' on eBay and Amazon, And you can, too, using your phone

Thrift Store Reselling Secrets You Wish You Knew: 50 Different Items You Can Buy At Thrift Stores And Sell On eBay And Amazon For Huge Profit ... Store Items, Selling Online, Thrifting)