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Chapter 14: Reverse Search and Storefront scans

What you'll learn: how to start from Amazon products and find where to buy them, how to search another seller's storefront, how to reuse your own listings with SellerToolKit, and how to choose a list that will actually produce leads.

Every method so far starts at a retailer and looks for Amazon matches. Reverse searching turns that around: you start with Amazon products (ASINs) and ArbiSource shows you the retailers where they can be bought profitably.

Go to Scans → Reverse.

  • A few ASINs: switch to Single Search and enter them one at a time, set your match confidence and press search. Results appear almost instantly.
  • A longer list: in Bulk Search, paste comma-separated ASINs into Enter ASIN List or drag in a CSV file, optionally name the scan, set your Amazon freshness and filters, and start the scan. Reverse scans are quick, and the results can be exported.

Each result shows where the product can be bought and the profit at that price, in the result panels you already know. Reverse Search is especially useful for products you've sold before, products you're watching, and products you spot on Amazon while browsing.

Reverse Searching (ArbiSource). Recorded on an earlier version of the interface.

Storefront scans​

Sellers' storefronts are public on Amazon. A storefront scan reverse-searches every product a seller lists, so you can see which of them ArbiSource can source profitably.

  1. Find a suitable seller. Look for a reseller with a wide mix of brands and categories and a good amount of feedback. That mix is a sign they source from retailers, as you do.
  2. Copy their seller ID. Open their storefront and look at the address bar. The seller ID is the code after seller= or me=. Don't use the code after marketplaceID, or the seller's store name.
  3. Search it. In Scans → Reverse (Bulk Search), paste the ID into the Search a Storefront panel (Enter a seller ID), set your freshness and filters, and start the scan. The panel shows how many storefront searches you have left today, and How do I find a seller's ID? shows an example address.
An Amazon UK storefront address bar with the seller ID after me= (or seller=) highlighted, stacked above the Search a Storefront panel on ArbiSource’s Reverse Search page

You'll often find products on several storefronts that you'd never have found by scanning retailers. Think of it as learning from other sellers' research. Every lead still goes through the Lead Check: a product that suited them may not suit your account, your budget or the current price.

Daily limit. You can run a set number of storefront searches each day, depending on your plan. The count resets at midnight UK time. If yours hasn't reset, refresh the page.

Warner (Fields of Profit) runs storefront reverse searches and checks the leads (from about 1:02 to 4:30), then shows how to use a pasted ASIN list once the day's storefront searches are used up (4:26 to about 5:50). This is the US version, in dollars; the steps are the same in the UK.

Storefront Scans (ArbiSource). Recorded on an earlier version of the interface.

Building ASIN lists with other tools​

Warner's second video shows a more advanced method: he takes a brand he can sell, uses SellerAmp to export a list of that brand's ASINs, and pastes the list into Reverse Search. You can do the same with lists from other research tools you already use.

Warner (Fields of Profit) exports a brand's ASINs from SellerAmp and reverse-searches them in ArbiSource (from about 8:40 to 10:40). This is the US version, in dollars. An advanced technique; come back to it once you're comfortable with the basics.

Choosing a list that will find leads​

A reverse search can only find products that retailers actually stock. The most common reason a big list returns nothing is the list itself.

  • Ungated isn't the same as sourceable. A list of brands you're allowed to sell tells you nothing about whether shops sell them. Many are private-label brands sold only on Amazon.
  • Avoid listings with 0 to 2 sellers. These are mostly private label or Amazon-only products. If you build a list in Keepa or another tool, filter for products with 3 or more sellers.
  • Favour well-known brands stocked by high-street and online retailers.
  • Start small. Test a few hundred ASINs before uploading thousands. If a short list of familiar brands finds leads and your big list doesn't, the list is the problem.
  • Use the right marketplace. UK ASINs need a UK ArbiSource account (Chapter 13, troubleshooter step 9).
Video coming soon

short "Choosing an ASIN list" explainer.

SellerToolKit reports​

If you also subscribe to SellerToolKit (STK), you can reverse-search your own listings in a couple of clicks.

  1. In SellerToolKit, go to Account → Settings and copy your ArbiSource link token.
  2. In ArbiSource, go to Account → API Keys, paste it into STK Token on the SellerToolkit card and click SAVE SETTINGS.
  3. In Scans → Reverse (Bulk Search), the SellerToolkit Reports panel appears once your token is saved. Click In Stock Listings, Out Of Stock Listings or Deleted Listings.

ArbiSource fetches the report's ASINs and reverse-searches them. It's a quick way to find a cheaper source for products you already sell, restock items that have run out, or see whether old listings have become profitable again.

Reverse search your SellerToolKit reports (ArbiSource). Recorded on an earlier version of the interface.

Checklist​

  • I've reverse-searched a few ASINs by hand
  • I can find a seller ID after "seller=" or "me=" and run a storefront scan
  • I know storefront searches reset at midnight UK time
  • I check that an ASIN list holds well-known brands with 3+ sellers before uploading it