Key Points
- Amazon flipping is when you sell a product on Amazon at a higher price than what you bought it for.
- You can find products to flip in local stores, garage sales, or other online marketplaces. Searching online retailers is often the more convenient option and is generally less time-consuming.
- Items worth flipping tend to involve low investment, low competition, high demand, and good profit potential.
What is Amazon Flipping?
Flipping an item on Amazon is quite a simple concept. It is when you sell a product at a higher price than what you purchased it for. This is an easy way to make a profit. Various marketplaces and stores sell products at different prices, so you can take advantage of the price differences if you are smart. The trick is comprehending how to find the best products to flip and researching items that will be straightforward to sell.
Why Use Amazon to Flip Products?
Amazon is an excellent platform to sell products, firstly because it is the world’s leading online marketplace, exposing your business to many potential buyers. Secondly, Amazon FBA is catered towards helping you easily make money. Amazon FBA is a fulfilment method where Amazon is responsible for delivering and shipping your products once you have your inventory in an Amazon warehouse. Furthermore, Amazon takes control of customer service assistance, leaving you to seek out the next product that you wish to flip.
Of course, Amazon FBA does cost a bit more money. Still, it eradicates complications and makes it a much simpler way for you to scale without the headaches of hiring numerous workers or the stresses of buying a warehouse. One of the most time-consuming and expensive tasks for an Amazon seller is sorting out the shipping of products, but Amazon FBA covers this for you. But, if inventory is not being moved, then the storage space can still cost you as Amazon charges per square foot. This is why it is vital that you carefully choose the products you want to sell.
Where Can I Find Items to Flip on Amazon?
There are several ways you can find items to flip. Let’s consider some of them:
- Buy products at a local store and then resell them on Amazon. This is often seen as a very desirable option and can get you huge profits because sometimes you can find a rare gem that few people know about away from the all-seeing eye of Amazon. The obvious downside to this option is the travelling involved in searching local stores. Plus, it is much more time-consuming than searching websites for products from the comfort of your laptop or computer.
- Find products at garage sales. This is a more complex method of flipping as you will need to find garage sales to attend, plus, it will also involve much travelling and searching. However, the primary advantage of this option is you can potentially find rare items that are not widespread across the Amazon marketplace, helping you snag a tidy profit.
- Buy items on other websites. There is also the option of finding products on other marketplace websites and then reselling them on Amazon for a higher price. Prices can vary substantially between various marketplaces, so profits are more likely to be higher. This is a simple way to flip as you are doing everything online, and there is no need for travelling.
- Buy and flip items on Amazon. While this is the most convenient option because you buy and sell in the same place, it is also a precarious venture. Flipping a product on the same market you bought it from makes it much more difficult for you to make a profit – if a customer sees where you purchased the item from initially, they will go there and get the item at the lower price. While it is viable to flip products on Amazon from Amazon, it can also be challenging to make much profit.
These are all feasible methods of flipping products, and all have the potential to be profitable as long as you do your research correctly. The main thing is to ensure that you legally purchase all items you are planning to flip.
A Note on Retail and Online Arbitrage
Arbitrage is essentially the same as flipping; it is the process of finding an item in one marketplace before selling it in another at a higher price.
Retail arbitrage – Retail arbitrage is when you visit local stores to discover profitable products to flip on Amazon. This can often involve exploring large retail outlets and looking for clearance items, diminished stock, or liquidation so that you can make a nice tidy profit. It essentially involves finding items, comparing the prices in store to the prices on Amazon, and then purchasing those where you can make a profit. The main downside to this option is the time-consuming nature of finding and scanning items looking for one to make you a profit. Furthermore, this option involves travelling and limits how many stores you can visit in a day.
Online arbitrage – As you might have guessed, online arbitrage is when you find deals online and involves looking through various websites and comparing prices. This is a fairly straightforward option and does not involve time-consuming travelling as retail arbitrage does.
How To Find A Product Worth Flipping – Our Top Tips
There are four factors that you should first consider when looking for a product to flip on Amazon:
- Low investment: You want to find a product that will not cost you a considerable amount to purchase (especially if you struggle to resell it at a higher price). Plus, the lower the cost, the more items you can potentially buy to resell.
- High demand: You must find an item to flip that many consumers desire. This way, customers may be more willing to pay slightly more for the item, and it will also bring you more of a customer base to serve.
- Low competition: Ideally, you want to focus on products with little competition, making it easier for you to stand out to potential consumers without having to jostle for attention. While demand is essential, so is low competition. The more competitors you have for your product, the longer it will take to shift your stock and the higher the chance of unsold items. The increased competition also puts pressure on you to lower prices to stay competitive, which can inevitably cut into any profits you may make.
- Good profit potential: This last factor cannot be underestimated. You need to find an item from which you can make a decent profit. This is fundamental to flipping products as the intention is to make money from reselling. Do not put all your attention on products with small profit margins. Furthermore, it is important to know that Amazon takes a cut from every sale you make (especially with Amazon FBA). Therefore you must ensure that you will make enough of a profit to cover fees while still leaving you with a tidy sum afterwards.
FBA Revenue Calculator. Once you have found a product that you think may be suitable, it is time for you to think about your expenses, such as the price to purchase the item and selling fees. Helpfully, Amazon has an FBA Revenue Calculator that you can use to get a clearer idea of your expenses.
Explore items selling for one-third of what they’re selling for on Amazon. This is a critical top tip because it ensures that you attain a product that will likely present a decent profit margin. If you focus on products with this kind of price difference, you are more likely to be successful at flipping on Amazon.
Amazon Seller App. Another beneficial resource is the Amazon Seller App. This is an app that has been created by Amazon and is free to use. However, you must have an Amazon seller account to use the app. It is a great way to increase your chances of successfully flipping products. The Amazon Seller App can check a product’s price on the website, present you with an estimated profit, check what competition you are faced with, view the Amazon Best Seller Rank (BSR), check the relevant FBA fees, and see what category the individual product falls under. Therefore, it can be invaluable to people who take flipping products seriously and want detailed information on their potential.
Sell products that you are knowledgeable about. This may sound like an obvious point, but it is a valuable one all the same. It is always good to seek out items you know well to flip. Because you have prior experience and knowledge of these products, you will more likely recognise a good deal when you see one. Plus, you will have foreknowledge of what pricing is reasonable for that particular product. You do not always have to target items that you have considerable knowledge about, but you must do your research if it is an item that you are unfamiliar with.
Utilise Amazon FBA. When you use Amazon FBA, all your inventory can be sent to Amazon to be stored in one of their warehouses and shipped to consumers when an order is placed. This removes the stress of fulfilling orders by yourself and allows you to focus on finding more products to flip. Admittedly, there are more fees involved, but the convenience of this option makes the costs more than worthwhile, plus you should still be able to make a good profit.
Examples of Profitable Products to Flip on Amazon
Here we help you get inspired and offer five ideas of the types of products that have the potential to resell for a tidy profit.
- Clearance items: Seeking out the clearance items of a website or retailer is a surefire way to find an item that has been significantly discounted, helping you to sell much higher and make an attractive profit. The key to this option is finding high-demand products worth enough money to make you a profit after your expenses. Items are often put into clearance because of a surplus of stock, or perhaps they have not been selling well at their original price. However, this does not mean that the demand will not be there in a different marketplace or that people will not be willing to pay a reasonable price. It’s all about understanding the Amazon marketplace and consumers looking for it. It is also great to seek out limited edition products, popular brands, or seasonal items when scouring through clearance sections. Consumers will be willing to pay more for brands they like or products with a limited amount of stock.
- Baby and Child Products: Items designed for babies and children is a hugely popular category for Amazon sellers. This is believed to be due to constant demand from parents (and grandparents) buying toys for children who have grown bored or grown out of their current toys. This is a great sector to look for flipping products because of this continual demand, plus flipping children and baby items that are second-hand or ‘pre-loved’ is appealing to parents looking to save money. After all, children’s products are not cheap. Budget-conscious parents will be especially interested in products such as clothes, strollers, toys, swings, and high chairs.
- Limited Edition Trainers: Big shoe brands often release limited edition trainers that cause too much demand and insufficient supply. Because there is a limited amount of stock, consumers and shoe collectors that have not managed to get their hands on some of these trainers are more willing to pay high prices to get them. This is also because limited edition trainers often sell for huge amounts a few years after their release, as they become rarer and trends come back into fashion. Limited edition trainers can often sell for so much more than they were initially worth simply because of the rareness of the product. This is an excellent option if you are interested in shoe trends or fashion. It is an appealing option as you can buy the shoes at the retail price before immediately flipping them on Amazon at a higher price.
- Sports Equipment: This is the second most popular seller category on Amazon. It is also very relevant in modern times where we have become more of a health-conscious society than ever before. With the spread of the Covid pandemic, more people are looking for ways to keep fit and occupied. Cumbersome items such as treadmills and exercise bikes can resell for a good margin. This may be especially true for second-hand sports equipment where consumers are curious to try a new sport but do not want to invest in brand-new equipment if they do not enjoy it, and it proves to be a waste of money.
- Vintage Clothing: Second-hand clothing is currently hugely popular and is not believed to be a passing fad. In a world where we have become more conscious of our carbon footprints, buying vintage clothing has become a common choice for many consumers looking to help out the planet. Flipping vintage clothing should be undertaken by someone with knowledge and a keen interest in fashion. It may be a fantastic idea, for example, to focus on out-of-season couture clothing that can mop up a very nice profit.
Final Thoughts
When deciding to flip products on Amazon, there are several factors you should take into consideration. You should target products that have high demand, low competition, low investment, and good profit potential. It is wise to focus on products you have a decent knowledge of, and it is fundamental that you conduct thorough research if you delve into a product you know little about. You can choose to purchase products to flip either online or in stores, although the former is deemed less time-consuming and easier than the latter. It is also sensible to take advantage of Amazon’s Seller App as well as their FBA services. If you follow our top tips, you are more likely to find yourself sitting on a nice tidy profit. If you would like further assistance regarding flipping items, or just need a general consultation about your Amazon business, we are here to help. Consult one of our experts at NUOPTIMA with a free discovery call today.