We've seen clients ebb and flow from focusing on one vs. the other. Obviously the idea of wholesale is nice — placing large orders and letting that inventory sell through vs. the messier world of OA and generally smaller orders you have to place more frequently. The thing is, with OA you've got flexibility to test your way into buys starting small, preserving capital, and doubling-down on winners. That does take a fair amount of work and monitoring to do successfully. With wholesale, suppliers will require higher MOQs, requiring bigger bets from you. And all the same dynamics can play out as with OA listings. You may have longer lead times, more capital risk if you get re-gated, more capital tied up if sell-through doesn't go as planned or others source your deal and undercut or put downward pressure on prices. OA is a game of 
1,000 risk:reward on SKUs. Wholesale you're swimming with the sharks and can be 
10,000 risk:reward on SKUs. I think both are worthwhile, but OA is a good place to build your chops, experience, and then layer in some wholesale for brands you understand really well. With either strategy, the question to ask yourself is: What's your competitive advantage? For some with OA, they're great at getting coupons, discounts, cashback etc. and getting inventory checked in quickly (or doing FBM to "win" that race to list while a lead is profitable). As long as you can get sell-through across your inventory, manage your credit card payments, this can work well. For wholesale, are you able to find a source that can give you a break on pricing, or find a source that others can't replicate as easily? You're usually paying with ACH or wire, or eating the exchange fee on top of your buy cost to use credit. Someone can be successful with either. They just have different levels of risk:reward, and how you approach either is likely where your edge lies. Answer from sentrigroup on reddit.com
1,000 risk:reward on SKUs. Wholesale you're swimming with the sharks and can be 10,000 risk:reward on SKUs. I think both are worthwhile, but OA is a good place to build your chops, experience, and then layer in some wholesale for brands you understand really well. With either strategy, the question to ask yourself is: What's your competitive advantage? For some with OA, they're great at getting coupons, discounts, cashback etc. and getting inventory checked in quickly (or doing FBM to "win" that race to list while a lead is profitable). As long as you can get sell-through across your inventory, manage your credit card payments, this can work well. For wholesale, are you able to find a source that can give you a break on pricing, or find a source that others can't replicate as easily? You're usually paying with ACH or wire, or eating the exchange fee on top of your buy cost to use credit. Someone can be successful with either. They just have different levels of risk:reward, and how you approach either is likely where your edge lies. Answer from sentrigroup on reddit.comSeller Assistant
sellerassistant.app › blog › online-arbitrage-vs-wholesale-on-amazon-what-is-the-difference
Online Arbitrage vs Wholesale on Amazon. What is the difference? - Seller Assistant Blog
February 12, 2025 - Online arbitrage is reselling lower-priced products for profit on Amazon. Wholesale is reselling bulk lower-priced products from a brand or supplier on Amazon. This post helps better understand the difference.
8fig
8fig.co › home › 8fig blog › online arbitrage vs. wholesale on amazon
Online arbitrage vs. wholesale on Amazon - 8fig
November 10, 2023 - Unlike with wholesale, online arbitrage sellers can operate based solely on the funds they have available, their sales plan, and their product profit margin. An arbitrage seller acquires their products by searching online stores and aggregators ...
Videos
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OABeans
oabeans.com › home › online arbitrage vs. wholesale on amazon
Online Arbitrage vs. Wholesale on Amazon
June 25, 2025 - In this article, we’ll go over ... Keep reading to find out more! Online Arbitrage (OA) involves buying products from online retailers at lower prices and selling them on Amazon for a profit....
Reddit
reddit.com › r/amazonfba › online arbitrage vs wholesale?
r/AmazonFBA on Reddit: Online Arbitrage vs Wholesale?
April 3, 2025 -
I have some previous experience doing private labelling with Amazon and am familiar with the general process of how FBA works. However, I also want to venture and expand my experience into other business models like OA and Wholesale. Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of either of these models, the scalability, competition, profit, finding suppliers/distributors, etc.? Honestly any advice would be appreciated regardless of how successful you were at these respective models, I just want answers from someone with experience/knowledge, thanks!
Top answer 1 of 4
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We've seen clients ebb and flow from focusing on one vs. the other. Obviously the idea of wholesale is nice — placing large orders and letting that inventory sell through vs. the messier world of OA and generally smaller orders you have to place more frequently. The thing is, with OA you've got flexibility to test your way into buys starting small, preserving capital, and doubling-down on winners. That does take a fair amount of work and monitoring to do successfully. With wholesale, suppliers will require higher MOQs, requiring bigger bets from you. And all the same dynamics can play out as with OA listings. You may have longer lead times, more capital risk if you get re-gated, more capital tied up if sell-through doesn't go as planned or others source your deal and undercut or put downward pressure on prices. OA is a game of $100 and $1,000 risk:reward on SKUs. Wholesale you're swimming with the sharks and can be $1,000 or $10,000 risk:reward on SKUs. I think both are worthwhile, but OA is a good place to build your chops, experience, and then layer in some wholesale for brands you understand really well. With either strategy, the question to ask yourself is: What's your competitive advantage? For some with OA, they're great at getting coupons, discounts, cashback etc. and getting inventory checked in quickly (or doing FBM to "win" that race to list while a lead is profitable). As long as you can get sell-through across your inventory, manage your credit card payments, this can work well. For wholesale, are you able to find a source that can give you a break on pricing, or find a source that others can't replicate as easily? You're usually paying with ACH or wire, or eating the exchange fee on top of your buy cost to use credit. Someone can be successful with either. They just have different levels of risk:reward, and how you approach either is likely where your edge lies.
2 of 4
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The problem with OA is that (1) you are buying retail and selling retail, (2) it's not scalable, and (3) sooner or later, you will likely run afoul with Amazon rules and get your account suspended.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/amazonfbatips › to those who sell on amazon fba via online/retail arbitrage or wholesale please answer the below questions.
r/AmazonFBATips on Reddit: To those who sell on Amazon FBA via online/retail arbitrage or wholesale please answer the below questions.
September 24, 2023 -
What was your start up capital?
How long have you been selling on Amazon?
What is your monthly net profit?
How long did it take for you to start seeing profit?
How did you scale your business?
Do you still have a full time job? Is it hard to juggle the both?
If selling via OA and wholesale do you regularly just send items straight to the prep centre instead of your own venue? Please explain your reasoning. I’m asking because whilst it’s “fulfilled by amazon” for a reason I’ve noticed a lot of people on YouTube still store items in their own property or warehouses. Why’s this the case?
What do you like an dislike about having sell via online/retail arbitrage and wholesale?
Is there something you wish someone would’ve told you before selling on Amazon?
Many thanks!
Top answer 1 of 3
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Around $25k Almost 5 years Monthly net profit is between $40k-60k (~20% of monthly sales) The first few months or so, however we made huge mistakes by overpurchasing on slower skus early on which tied our capital. About a third of our warehouse space is storing these items still today unfortunately... No, this is my full-time job as well as my employees. I never worked a full-time job and did Amazon simultaneously, so I couldn't tell you. Everything we purchase we first send to our warehouse as we purchase 300+ skus on a weekly basis, ranging from asins that have a couple sales a month to thousands of sales a month. Our operations, 3000+ sku catalog, and extremely lean operations would not be sustainable for someone else to do. I also strongly believe in keeping absoultey eveyrthing in-house in regards to inventory management, fba prep, etc. Additionally, keeping prep in-house for items which are $15 or less is they only way to be competitive on pricing. (this is a long discussion, but you can find my details answer in other threads). Since we send out over 8000 units a week, we would be spending $50k+ on prep every month. First of all, OA/RA will not be relevant in the next year or so. Amazon wants legitamate businesses who work with authorized distributors and manufacturers, not some guy flipping a pair of shoes he found at Marshalls. That is for eBay, etsy, etc. There are thousands of things, however, these tips would have been useless most likely as I was not experienced in the industry long enough to deeply understand their practicality. You need "time in the trenches" to deeply understand most wise tips. However, a couple tips like not going too deep in inventory in the beginning would have probably helped.
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Start up capital dependents upon which module you are interested in as a beginner I must say kick start with the O.A module first to know some basics of Amazon ecosystem. I am doing this for more than 2 years. I measure on the basis of ROI. Which is usually 20% in case of O.A and 15% minimum incase of wholesale. For O.A after few weeks and for wholesale after few months. You should work on hybrid module to excel your Amazon business. You may hire a Virtual Assistant if you are doing full time job and want to grow Amazon business as a side hustle.
SmartScout
smartscout.com › blog › wholesale-vs-online-arbitrage
Wholesale vs. Online Arbitrage: Which is the Better Choice for Selling on Amazon?
October 27, 2023 - · Relationship Building: ... and challenging. · Online Arbitrage involves purchasing products from online retailers at a lower price and reselling them on Amazon for a profit....
Jungle Scout
junglescout.com › resources › articles › amazon-retail-arbitrage
Amazon Retail Arbitrage: How to Resell Products on Amazon in 2024
November 6, 2024 - Wholesale is a more sustainable business model as you can replace orders every month and you are an authorized reseller, meaning you don’t have to worry so much about inauthentic claims.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/fulfillmentbyamazon › is online arbitrage still viable on amazon given buy box removal for high pricing?
r/FulfillmentByAmazon on Reddit: Is Online Arbitrage Still Viable on Amazon Given Buy Box Removal for High Pricing?
January 3, 2024 -
As someone who’s been selling through online arbitrage on Amazon for about 2 years now, I’m facing a dilemma and would appreciate your insights. Lately, Amazon seems to be actively removing the buy box for sellers if the item’s price is significantly higher than on other websites. This strategy of Amazon complicates our ability to forecast profitability.
The main issue here is the lack of clarity from Amazon regarding the maximum price threshold before they decide to remove the buy box. This uncertainty makes each purchase a risk, potentially leading to razor-thin margins, breaking even, or even losses. I’ve purchased products before that seemed promising only to have Amazon remove the buy box until I brought it down to a price that led to a loss.
Given these circumstances, I’m questioning the feasibility of continuing with OA on Amazon. How are you all managing this situation? Do you still find OA on Amazon to be a viable strategy?
Eager to hear your thoughts and experiences.
Top answer 1 of 11
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I'm going to differ from others. Online arbitrage is still possible on Amazon and elsewhere, if the cost of inventory is low enough. I do 100% online arbitrage (no dropshipping of any kind). My sales are 55/25/15/5 FBA/Walmart/FBM/eBay. I mostly source from Amazon, sometimes Walmart or other retailers, and rarely from the manufacturer itself (but some of my best-selling products come from the manufacturer). I mostly sell my products at $50-200. My rule of thumb is to buy inventory for 50% or less of what I expect to sell it for, so that means paying $25-$100. Obviously the lower the better. If I have confidence in selling an item for more than $200 I'll go above 50%. I did $300K (+25% yoy) in revenue in 2023, and ~$85K (+39% yoy) pretax profit. I prefer to focus on return on investment. That $85K came from $149K in inventory; that is, I spent $149K for the inventory that I sold in 2023, I got that $149K back, and earned $85K in addition, so a ROI of >55%. I agree with u/CoyotePuncher about this strategy not being viable for "upper level" annual sales (let's say seven figures). I'd love to prove him (and me) wrong, though! CC: u/catjuggler , u/mttl
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A big part of OA is finding stuff that’s discontinued, rare, or hard to find. For example, a limited run flavor of Coke. In those cases, buy box isn’t necessary, people will buy it anyway. If you aren’t able to sell something unless you have buy box, it just wasn’t a good product with enough demand or constricted enough supply. Dropshippers are the biggest threat. They can instantly list on Amazon the entire catalog of Walmart.com at razor thin margins, leaving zero opportunity for regular old OA. Is OA viable? Only if you’re creative. Create multipacks and bundles, create your own Amazon listings, run ads, predict supply shortages and demand increases. Competitors and dropshippers aren’t doing any of that. They’re doing things in a “lazy” way and refusing to do anything outside the box.
AmzScout
amzscout.net › blog › how to start an online arbitrage
Amazon Online Arbitrage Business: A 5-Step Guide to Start in 2025
September 8, 2025 - This doesn’t mean you can’t still make a profit, but you’ll make a lot less than you would if you bought from a wholesaler or manufacturer. It Can Be Hard to Find Deals: Amazon already has very low prices, so it can be difficult to find products that are selling for less elsewhere. This means you could spend a lot of time searching and only end up with a few items worth selling. Hard to Scale: Since profit margins are smaller and it’s harder to build up your inventory, scaling this into a full-time business can be difficult. While online arbitrage is a great way to make some side money if you want to make selling on Amazon the sole income you might need to explore other strategies.
YouTube
youtube.com › watch
I've tried Amazon Private Label vs. Wholesale vs. Arbitrage and THIS ONE really works - YouTube
🔥 TRY AMZScout's Complete Toolset to help you find high-demand and low-competition products, FOR FREE:https://amzscout.net/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=vi...
Published August 13, 2024
Payability
payability.com › home › amazon stores: retail arbitrage vs. wholesale
Amazon Stores: Retail Arbitrage vs. Wholesale - Payability
January 28, 2022 - Although there are thousands of arbitrage retailers online, adopting the wholesale model is more likely to bring you bigger profit margins. However, it depends on your products, the size of your business, your marketing strategies, and more.
Medium
medium.com › @manisoft360 › understanding-the-differences-between-amazon-fba-wholesale-and-online-arbitrage-4d656e4285c9
Understanding the Differences between Amazon FBA Wholesale and Online Arbitrage | by Manisofts | Medium
February 9, 2023 - With Amazon FBA Wholesale, you ... customers. ... Online Arbitrage is a business model where you purchase products at a discount from an online retailer, then sell the products for a profit on Amazon....
Amazon
sellercentral.amazon.com › seller-forums › discussions › t › 6c182af3-ead5-43d8-b267-76af04f9922d
Retail Arbitrage or Online Arbitrage
If so let say i have 10 items to ... not buy from retailers or online to be sold on Amazon as new. Only buy from reputable wholesalers who allow to sell on Amazon and can provide an invoice if required by Amazon....
LinkedIn
linkedin.com › pulse › most-profitable-way-sell-amazon-wholesale-vs-arbitrage-bryan-guerra
Most Profitable Way to Sell on Amazon (Wholesale vs. Arbitrage vs. Private Label) 6 YEAR CASE STUDY
The key advantage of online arbitrage ... research to identify profitable opportunities, this model offers greater flexibility and room for errors compared to wholesale....
Run Viably
runviably.com › home › blog › scaling success: 7 steps to make the move from amazon arbitrage to wholesale
Scaling Success: 7 Steps to Make the Move from Amazon Arbitrage to Wholesale
December 23, 2024 - Amazon wholesalers purchase name brand products in bulk directly from the manufacturer or supplier at a discounted wholesale price. Then wholesalers resell their inventory for a slightly higher price to make a profit.
ZonGuru
zonguru.com › blog › amazon-private-label-vs-arbitrage
Amazon Private Label vs Arbitrage – Make the Right Choice
November 21, 2022 - Let’s say you purchased a $5 product from Walmart, listed it on Amazon, and managed to resell it for $15—that’s arbitrage. Minus the fees and whatever remains is your profit. In retail arbitrage, you purchase products from brick-and-mortar stores and sell them online i.e.
Actorio
actorio.com › home › mastering online arbitrage on amazon: a beginner’s guide
Mastering Online Arbitrage on Amazon: A Beginner’s Guide - Actorio
January 9, 2025 - It often requires more investment upfront but can offer better margins on bulk purchases. Online Arbitrage: This model focuses on sourcing discounted products from online retailers and reselling them on Amazon.
Riverbend Consulting
riverbendconsulting.com › home › amazon › is amazon online arbitrage worth your time?
Is Amazon Online Arbitrage Worth Your Time?
June 10, 2025 - Finding the best sources to procure ... of your Amazon resale business. Here are some key avenues to consider when sourcing OA products. Online retailers: Explore popular online retailers such as Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Home Depot. These platforms often offer sales, clearance items, and special promotions that can present lucrative arbitrage opportunities. Wholesale marketplaces: ...
DICloak
dicloak.com › home › e-commerce › explaining the difference between retail arbitrage, online arbitrage & wholesale on amazon
Explaining The Difference Between Retail Arbitrage, Online Arbitrage & Wholesale on Amazon
March 28, 2025 - Beginners are advised to gain experience through Retail and Online Arbitrage before transitioning to wholesale. Private Label selling involves creating and branding your own products, which can be the most challenging and risky model. This approach requires substantial investment, extensive market research, and a deep understanding of Amazon's ecosystem.