This method is a little difficult now because of the commission rates that Amazon has.

I'm not sure what the commission rates looked like back when the OP made this thread but you can see the commission rates if you Google "amazon sellers commission rates", the first link.

On average, if you were to find a product that was even $100 less than retail price, and you list it on Amazon ~$20 less/more than the lowest price on Amazon, you're still going to be in the negative because of the commission rates.

But of course, like the OP said, plenty of consumers end up purchasing items above retail and lowest Amazon seller prices anyway--it's just a quantity game at that point, have a ton of products loaded up (that are expensive), and then pray you get orders.

Hi mike

Great post. Ive listed ip cameras on eBay but as yet got no sales. It's quite competitive market. Do you ave any tips that would help to rank my listing higher.

Originally Posted by JoeDownLow

this caught my interest until I noticed it was posted January 2010. has anyone been doing this recently and does it still work for you?

no people dont buy stuff anymore. this will never work, this method is dead.

Hi Can you PM some info on your dropshipping program? Thanks.

Originally Posted by garyhaze

This method is a little difficult now because of the commission rates that Amazon has.

I'm not sure what the commission rates looked like back when the OP made this thread but you can see the commission rates if you Google "amazon sellers commission rates", the first link.

On average, if you were to find a product that was even $100 less than retail price, and you list it on Amazon ~$20 less/more than the lowest price on Amazon, you're still going to be in the negative because of the commission rates.

But of course, like the OP said, plenty of consumers end up purchasing items above retail and lowest Amazon seller prices anyway--it's just a quantity game at that point, have a ton of products loaded up (that are expensive), and then pray you get orders.

The commission rate refers to affiliates who give reviews or have blogs or whatever and then link to a specific product page on Amazon. You put those reviews out into the world and when a customer clicks on your affiliate link to Amazon you get paid per the Amazon commission chart. You make a commission based on that sale, and whatever else the customer buys while using your cookie.

The OP is saying that you set yourself up as a seller on Amazon, and to Amazon and the rest of the world you appear to have all this stuff you are selling stacked in your garage or a warehouse or something. However, you are using a spin on the arbitrage method where you sell for whatever price you deem, then you find another seller on Amazon selling for less than you, and you buy from that seller and have them ship to your buyer. The difference between what you charged and what you paid is yours to keep.

**ALTERNATIVE** -- You could look at setting yourself up as the OP suggests, but then instead of buying directly from the seller you make (and click) on an Amazon affiliate link to buy your product. Then, you would make the original difference in price and also make a commission. You would have to have a couple of Amazon accounts with different payment methods for this to work. Amazon obviously wouldn't like giving you commission on your own orders/sales.

Originally Posted by BBBBBinion

So what i do is find cheapest deal and treat it like dropsale? so go ahead and list product on ebay?

You could buy from Amazon and sell on eBay if you wanted to, but the OP's original idea was to sell on Amazon because there are no fees (and eBay has a ton of fees). Upload your items or UPC codes on Amazon, then when someone makes a purchase from you, you find someone else on Amazon who is selling the same item cheaper than you. You buy from them, give them your customer's address, and then have them ship to your customer. (In essence, they unknowingly become your Drop Shipper). You also tell them not to show the price or to include a receipt, "because it is a gift". You don't want your customer to see they could have done the same thing and paid less . It would make them mad.

Also, while a bit saturated, this method is far from dead. Amazon has stayed consistently in the top 5 websites in the world for several years. They can't do that if no one is buying from them. There is more competition, but you just have to be smarter with the products you sell. Look through the most popular items and other items that sell well, then find that price difference.

Isn't it better to just find distributors who drop ship?

If you were to buy cheap items on amazon and have them shipped to various addresses (your customers) then Amazon would get suspicious and ban you. It's too much hassle making multiple accounts for this.

Could this work if you are an affiliate with a webstore ? Could you just send them to the site ? I'm an affiliate with an American store with great prizes , would be great if this could work with Amazon or/and Ebay ?

Amazon fees is more than ebay now if anyone was wondering. Thank you though for this info

I'm involved in this in a small way. Here's a few nuggets. The products I sell I list primarily on Ebay, but one of my buyer resells on Amazon.

Buy from Ebay through your affiliate links.** That's 3 to 4% of the purchase price right there. Instead of paypal use credit card with rebates. That might be another 2 to 3%.

I know someone who tells me they get a 7% discount on Ebay sales and this is probably the way they are doing it.

I don't do it this way because the product I trade in has only a $8-30 profit for me. The person I wholesale to is probably making in the $3-$10 range profit on the same item, but is making a whole LOT of volume.

There are ppl making bank using these tactics to shave small percentages of the prices and laughing all the way to bank.

**PM me, if you want to use my account, I'll set you up. If not, use fatwallet, or others such as Bing.

Thanks!

Interesting topic. Selling over retail and making money. Tough idea to wrap your head around but if it works then great.

dang, this thread is kinda old but the content is pretty much new too
well done op

Have you done any specific niche work? Not asking which ones...just if you have done it. Or do you sell according to what you think may be popular or the best prices? Thanks for posting a great, simple, fast way to pick up some xtra cash.

I'll Definetly try this.

Originally Posted by weschaawa

Have you done any specific niche work? Not asking which ones...just if you have done it. Or do you sell according to what you think may be popular or the best prices? Thanks for posting a great, simple, fast way to pick up some xtra cash.

In the last few weeks, I see more and more people selling what I sell. The competition is getting fierce, and that's cutting into my profit margin. I paid $30 for the item and am selling it at $55 instead of $65-$70.

I've been focusing on one item, but many different brands. Some more popular than others. Everything I sell, I have on hand, but am looking to start selling w/o items on hand as per thread.

HTH.

great thread how do you go about finding sources?

You must supply a tracking number within 2 days of buyer purchasing amazon item.

Does the retail or dropshipping company always live up to those standards?