Retail Arbitrage: The Blueprint for Buying Retail Products to Resell Online Paperback – September 19, 2011

Yes, this book is effectively an informercial for the products sold by the author. But as the author promises, the book clearly explains what the FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon) is, how it works, and how sellers can profit from it, whether or not we choose to use his products in doing so.In the mid-2000s, I sold many thousands of used books through the Amazon and eBay Marketplaces, and it was difficult work. (I started selling in the eBay and Amazon marketplaces as research for consulting clients, but continued after that work was done.) In the end, I decided to stop because after expenses, I didn't even earn minimum wage for my time! I recognized that to earn a reasonable profit, I'd need to grow this business much larger (dedicating more time and taking on more risk). When FBA came along, I glanced at the fee structure and concluded that it was far too expensive and risky to be workable.After reading this book, I think I understand how I might be able to profit despite the fee structure, with lower risk than I originally expected. But I'm still not willing to invest the time and money required to do so, and assume the risk that's involved.I think this book downplays the risks associated with this business model, and I would have welcomed some honest stories about how money can be lost (and how much, how quickly), and how the risks can end up biting you. But the author doesn't appear to hide any critical information, and I found this to be a very informative and useful book.Choosing a "star rating" for this book is difficult, because I just don't like the idea of giving a 5-star rating to a self-promotional ebook that's priced at $10 (I got it free during a brief Amazon promotion). But I also honestly can't identify any defects in the book that would justify a lower rating.

I came upon this book entirely by chance. I still don't know how I got linked to it on Amazon, but by happenstance, it came to my attention just as I was facing the failure of a career venture and really needed a flexible,low-risk way to bring in extra income. I have bought hundreds of items on Amazon, including FBA (Fulfilled By Amazon) items and merchant-fulfilled items, but never thought about selling myself.This book really makes you feel that you can do it. It explains why many people who buy from Amazon versus their local stores, even sometimes paying more in order to do so (quick shipping with Amazon Prime, free shipping with Super Saver shipping, convenience, availability of items, etc.)He gives testimonials from several sellers ranging from an older lady who shops thrift stores on her lunch hour for items to resell, to power sellers who ship dozens of boxes to Amazon each week to have orders fulfilled by FBA.All the reasons why being an FBA seller beats stocking and shipping every item yourself are convincingly explained. My only caution here is that selling through Amazon's FBA program only makes sense if you sell a fairly high volume, because of monthly fees and other reasons. And for many sellers, getting to that level of sales, especially if you are doing this part-time, could take quite awhile. I wish I had realized that, for awhile at least, I WILL have to store a bunch of merchandise, and I WILL have to make frequent trips to the post office to ship packages. It will take some time before I am selling enough for the FBA program to make sense for me.The author does tout his own barcode scanner. I was not ready to invest in the monthly fee (though you can get a free trial) so I am starting with some free scanning apps for my iPhone. Right away I can see that these free apps do not offer all that FBAScout offers, so again, if you are a newbie like me, you have to make the choice: do I invest in the monthly fee because the information FBAScout gives me will help me buy more profitable items and avoid duds; or do I play it safe and wait to invest in this until I am making a profit? It's a chicken-and-egg question.I wish he gave more space to the other scanning apps that are out there. That is where "Barcode Booty" by Steve Weber comes in. That book reviews a number of apps for iPhone and Android that you can choose from depending on your individual preferences and needs. I feel that these two books combined give the new reseller all they need to know to get started.Do expect that there will be a learning curve in getting to know the ins and outs of this business. Realize that some of the power selling described in these books will either take some time to achieve, or involve more risk and investment than some people might want to get involved in. Here is how I started out: my daughter was gathering used DVDs for her club's bazaar. I snagged a couple of them, did a quick price check on Amazon, signed up as a seller, and was listing items within a few minutes. I listed the two DVDs and a couple of books to start. I sold one DVD in fifteen minutes, another two hours later, and a book the next day. And that was just stuff we scrounged from around the house. I think this is going to be fun!

This is a very informative book but I wish I would've realized that it was an old edition. That being said, that is on me as I didn't read the description closely. Someone recommended the book and I just looked for the title and purchased. But the book is a good read. The author spends a lot of time giving tips and useful information. I haven't finished the entire book yet but know that I will be buying the most recent related book by the same author once I'm done. I would still recommend this as it's inexpensive and informative.

awesome content! I haven't sold anything yet but can't wait to get started! This book seems very thorough with illustrations and weblinks, as well as suggested apps that will greatly streamline the process of sourcing products and one click listing. A great resource for someone who wants to get into online selling via multiple outlets, with not too much up front/out of pocket expenses to start out. I look foreward to putting this info into use! I bought a book by Steve Webber called 'Barcode Booty' that would make a good companion to this book as well. Thanks Chris

Great buy for a great book! I also received the Kindle version for free. Read the book before I got the physical book. I read arbitrage before reading this book. I would encourage readers to save a little bit of money and just buy this book. It has all the same info as "Arbitrage" and loads more. Chris is really down to earth. Fun to read and easy to follow. Great humor and good tips! Looking forward to his new book, "Online Arbitrage". Thanks!