Online retail arbitrage is the bread and butter for some of our client’s Amazon Seller accounts – some even derive their entire income by engaging in online arbitrage. Although these sellers have gotten away with their violation of Amazon’s policy, it seems the platform is slowly starting to phase out the days of buying and reselling products as they continue to increase their scrutiny over online arbitration prevention and suspend sellers engaged in the practice. As such, Amazon Sellers Lawyer recommends that Amazon sellers who are currently engaged in online arbitrage begin to eliminate the practice from their business model and focus on developing their own brands and products.
Amazon seems to be pushing harder than ever before for a platform made up entirely of established major brands selling alongside other third-party sellers who create their own products/brands using the tools Amazon offers to do so (Brand Registry, Private Labeling, etc.). For Amazon Sellers who currently are engaged in online arbitrage and wish to shift away from doing so, we recommend evaluating your current sales and identifying the types of products which sell best and are the most profitable. From there, a seller can use the tools Amazon provides as well as their own resources, to source, manufacture, and brand their own products. Although this process can be difficult, Amazon Sellers should be prepared for the future of the platform and the possibility that online arbitration will be entirely abolished from the platform.
