Online arbitrage may seem like an easy shortcut to money and success from the outside, but it’s a lot of work. Amazon sellers know this too well. They have to search through many options, compare prices, make sure they can make money, handle complex logistics, and deal with a marketplace that constantly changes, affecting their profits. It’s like juggling with high stakes, requiring good instincts, careful research, and constant dedication. Unless, of course, they use online arbitrage automation tools.
Imagine you could simplify the work, automate the processes, and quickly identify profitable opportunities. Imagine a world where you have more time to focus on growing your business instead of getting caught up in the small operational details. All of this can be achieved by using OA automation tools.
This article will introduce some of the best tools for various aspects of online arbitrage automation – including product sourcing, repricing, inventory management, etc. Keep reading if you want a 100% automated business!
The Journey to Online Arbitrage Automation: An Overview
Automation in an online arbitrage business primarily means employing various automation tools and software or outsourcing some of the processes to virtual assistants to streamline and automate repetitive tasks and improve productivity. Here’s an overview of what online arbitrage automation consists of:
- Automating Product Sourcing: Product sourcing software tools, sourcing lists, or virtual assistants help automate finding profitable products to resell on Amazon.
- Automating Repricing: As you already know, Amazon is an ever-changing marketplace, so prices constantly fluctuate. Dynamic repricer tools automatically adjust your prices and help you stay competitive.
Automating Inventory Management: Inventory management tools help you track your stock levels in real-time.
- Automating Fulfillment: Simply using Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) or outsourcing prep to a 3PL company can automate much of the fulfillment process, but you can also use automated shipping and fulfillment tools.
- Automating Customer Service and Accounting: Amazon FBA also covers customer service, but if you decide to go with FBM, you can use various tools to automate customer service. You can also outsource accounting to VAs or use accounting tools to save time and prevent errors.
- Other Tasks: You can also automate other parts of your OA business – such as reviewing the sourced products, purchasing, etc. – to trusted VAs or use online arbitrage automation tools.
Automating Product Sourcing: Leveraging Digital Tools
The product sourcing process is the cornerstone of any successful online arbitrage business. It involves scanning across online marketplaces to identify profitable products according to the seller’s goals and metrics. This process can be time-consuming and fraught with errors when done manually. However, it’s always good to familiarize yourself with this process and its knacks to understand what must be done. After a few months, when you’re ready to automate the sourcing process, you can use the tools below:
- Tactical Arbitrage: A powerful online arbitrage automation tool that allows you to scan over 1,000 online retailers globally.
- SourceMogul: Automates product sourcing by scanning multiple online retailers and providing comprehensive product data.
- Helium 10: A suite of tools that offers features to help with product sourcing, competitive analysis, etc.
- Informed (formerly AppEagle): Helps sellers in product sourcing by providing data-driven insights.
- AMZ Scout & Amazon Product Finder Extension: These tools provide comprehensive data on sales trends, prices, and competition for Amazon products.
- Online Seller Addon & DS Amazon Quick View: These Chrome extensions offer quick insights into product rankings, sales trends, and competitor data.
- OA Buddy Extension & AZ Gadget: Handy tools for quick checks on product data and profitability calculation.
- Buy Bot Pro: Analyzes data points to calculate a product’s potential profitability and risk level.
- AZ Insight: Provides in-depth product insights, including profit calculations, sales velocity, and historical trends.
- Keepa: Tracks price history charts, price drops, and availability alerts, making it easier to identify the best time to purchase a product. Ensure you know how to use Keepa for smart OA purchases before using this tool.
Streamlining Repricing through Automation
The repricing process in online arbitrage automation involves adjusting the selling prices of your products and listings on Amazon to stay competitive while keeping profits at a reasonable level. Given the dynamic nature of marketplaces like Amazon, prices fluctuate rapidly due to supply and demand, consumer behavior, and other factors. However, you don’t have to sit behind the computer constantly to watch out for your prices. You can use the repricing tools below:
- RepricerExpress: Offers fast and flexible repricing strategies to help increase sales and profits.
- BQool: Provides an automated repricing solution to help Amazon sellers save time and stay competitive.
- Sellery by SellerEngine: Offers real-time repricing and allows you to customize your pricing strategies.
- Profit Protector Pro: Uses artificial intelligence to change prices and win the Buy Box at the highest possible price.
- Seller Snap: Offers a game theory repricer, which adapts to competitor strategies to win the Buy Box at the highest price.
- BeCool:
- SellerApp: Provides an automated repricing tool to stay competitive and improve the chances of winning the Buy Box.
- GoAura: A repricing tool that uses machine learning to automate pricing strategies and maximize profits.
Efficient Inventory Management: The Role of Automation
Without a reliable inventory management system for online arbitrage automation, sellers may face issues such as overselling, stockouts, unnecessary storage costs, and tied-up capital – all of which can significantly impact profitability and the success of their business. Inventory management tools can help sellers prevent stockouts and overselling, optimize reordering, and reduce storage costs. Here are some of the best inventory management tools for automating online arbitrage:
- Cash Cow Pro: Besides other features, this tool offers inventory management features to help keep track of stock levels.
- Helium 10 Inventory Management: Helps you predict the best times to restock your items and avoid Amazon storage fees.
- SoStocked: A specialized inventory management software for Amazon sellers that offers demand forecasting, inventory analytics, and shipment tracking.
- Inventory Lab: Offers streamlined inventory management, allowing you to track product costs, sales velocity, and profitability.
- Analyzer Tools: An all-in-one solution for Amazon OA sellers, with inventory management as one of its many features.
Automating Accounting: Simplifying Your Financials
Accounting and financial management form the backbone of any successful business, and online arbitrage is no exception. However, since these tasks can be extremely time-consuming and complex, automating them is necessary for every online arbitrage seller. Automating accounting has many potential benefits, including improved accuracy, efficiency, and compliance, and it also helps with decision-making. If you are at the stage where managing your finances is becoming too much of a headache, you can use the online arbitrage automation tools below:
- QuickBooks Online: A comprehensive accounting solution that can track sales, expenses, and profits, plus generate detailed financial reports.
- Xero: A robust accounting software that offers features like invoicing, inventory tracking, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting.
- A2X for Amazon: Automatically fetches and categorizes your Amazon sales, fees, and other transactions and sends them to your accounting software (integrates with QuickBooks and Xero).
Customer Service Automation: Enhancing Your Customer Interaction
Providing good customer service is a critical component of any online business. In an online arbitrage business, customer service involves regular customer interaction to answer queries, solve issues, and manage feedback. Since responding to each customer inquiry manually can be extremely time-consuming, you can use online arbitrage automation tools to free up time, ensure every query gets a professional response, and manage negative feedback promptly. Here are some of the best customer service automation tools for OA sellers:
- Feedback Genius: Helps manage customer communications and send automated emails to buyers, asking for feedback and reviews.
- FeedbackWhiz: Offers order management, product reviews, and feedback and email automation to help improve online reputation.
- Help Scout: More than just a shared inbox for customer service, this tool offers features like automatic workflows, reporting, and customer profiles.
- Seller Assistant App: Provides features like automated feedback requests and dispute management to handle customer service efficiently.
Automation in Fulfillment and Shipping: Streamlining Your Operations
Fulfillment and shipping are among the most crucial aspects of an online arbitrage business, significantly impacting account health and your standing with Amazon. Efficiently managing fulfillment and shipping using online arbitrage automation tools can positively impact customer experience and your reputation. If you don’t use Amazon FBA (which covers the fulfillment process for a fee), you can use these automation tools:
- ShipStation: Provides a comprehensive shipping solution for importing, managing, and shipping orders.
- ShippingEasy: An easy-to-use shipping platform that offers features like discounted shipping rates, multi-carrier shipping, etc.
- InventoryLab: Offers order management and shipment tracking features and inventory management features.
Overcoming Barriers in Business Automation
While online arbitrage automation brings many advantages, it has some common barriers and challenges for sellers. Here are some of the most prevalent ones, along with strategies to overcome them:
- Technical Complexity: Most automation tools have a learning curve, which may seem intimidating at first glance. You must take advantage of the training resources offered by these tools and watch other sellers’ tutorials to understand how to use them.
- Cost: High-quality automation tools are not free, but you can consider their costs an investment that offers the reward of saving time and increasing profits in the long run. Most tools offer various plans with tiered pricing, so you can choose one that suits your budget and needs.
- Data Security Concerns: Automation tools usually require sensitive business data, which may raise concerns about data security. Ensure your tools have robust security measures and transparent policies and comply with data protection regulations.
- Integration Issues: Not all tools integrate seamlessly with each other. It would help to look for tools that integrate with your other tools and the Amazon platform.
- Resistance to Change: Some experienced sellers may need to change and automate their existing workflows. To overcome this, sellers must focus on the long-term benefits of online arbitrage automation, such as increased efficiency, reduced errors, and saving time.
Conclusion: Embracing the Future of OA
The future of online arbitrage is undeniably leaning toward automation. As the e-commerce industry continues to grow rapidly, it’s crucial to have streamlined and efficient operations. Automating mundane tasks allows sellers to focus on essential activities like planning and expanding their businesses.
Thanks to advancements in technology and software, OA sellers now have incredible opportunities to automate various aspects of their business, such as finding products, adjusting prices, managing inventory, handling customer service, and fulfilling orders. Sellers who adopt and effectively use automation tools will stay ahead and be better prepared for the ever-changing e-commerce landscape.
The data-driven insights provided by Amazon help you identify profitable products, optimize pricing strategies, and capitalize on market trends.
Selling as a reseller on Amazon allows you to turn your passion for finding great deals into a profitable business venture.
The FBA program provides sellers with access to Amazon’s advanced fulfillment technology, ensuring accurate and timely order processing.
The FBA program enables sellers to tap into Amazon Prime’s loyal customer base, increasing their chances of winning the Buy Box and driving more sales.
Reselling on Amazon allows you to build your own brand and establish a loyal customer base, providing opportunities for repeat business and long-term success.
The FBA program streamlines inventory management, ensuring you have the right products in stock at the right time to meet customer demand.
Selling through Amazon’s platform provides online arbitrage sellers with a secure and trusted payment system, ensuring smooth transactions.
With Amazon FBA, I have access to valuable analytics and data insights. It helps me understand customer behavior, optimize my listings, and make informed business decisions.
Amazon online arbitrage is a smart and profitable way to source products at a lower price and resell them for a higher value.
Amazon reselling is a fantastic opportunity to turn unused items into profit. It’s a win-win situation for both sellers and buyers.
The reselling model on Amazon offers a level playing field for both small and large sellers, allowing you to compete based on product quality and customer service.