The ArbiSource FBA Handbook (US)
Welcome. This handbook is for anyone who wants to buy products from US retailers and resell them on Amazon.com using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), and who wants to use ArbiSource to find those products faster.
You don't need any experience. We start at the very beginning (what FBA is, what a seller account is, how the money flows) and build up, one step at a time, to finding, checking and buying your first products.
Who this handbook is for
- Complete beginners who are curious about online arbitrage and want an honest, practical picture before spending money.
- New ArbiSource users who have just started their 7-day free trial and want to set things up properly and find real deals while the trial runs.
- Existing Amazon sellers who are new to sourcing tools and want a clear method for checking deals.
This is the US edition. Everything in it (prices, taxes, fees, box rules and retailer examples) is written for selling on Amazon.com. If you sell on Amazon.co.uk, use the UK edition instead. The two marketplaces work quite differently.
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New to selling on Amazon? Start with Part 1: Getting Set Up and work through it in order. It covers your business setup and opening your Amazon seller account before you touch ArbiSource.
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Already have an Amazon.com seller account? Skip the Amazon setup (Chapters 1–3) and go straight to the ArbiSource chapters:
- 4.1 Choosing your ArbiSource plan
- 4.2 Signing up and connecting Amazon
- 4.3 Settings that make the numbers right
- 4.4 Your first look at the Vault
Just check you're on Amazon's Professional plan first (why).
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Want to get going today? Follow the one-page Quick Start.
Many people follow the Quick Start on day one and then dip into the chapters as questions come up. Each chapter explains the why as well as the how, with videos, screenshots and checklists.
The in-app welcome guide
When you join ArbiSource, you're taken to its in-app welcome guide: a tour of every feature with short video guides. You can go back to it any time at app.arbisource.com/welcome. This handbook sits alongside it, adding the Amazon know-how and a step-by-step method for deciding what to buy.
The nine Parts at a glance
| Section | What you'll learn |
|---|---|
| Start Here | How the handbook works, what you need before you begin, and the one-day Quick Start |
| Part 1: Getting Set Up | Whether FBA arbitrage suits you, sole proprietor or LLC, US taxes and records, opening your Amazon seller account and setting up ArbiSource |
| Part 2: Understanding the Numbers | Amazon's US fees (including price bands, inbound placement and low-inventory fees), sales tax on purchases, and profit, ROI and cash flow |
| Part 3: Reading the Market | BSR, sales and demand, reading a Keepa chart, competition and the Buy Box |
| Part 4: Finding Deals with ArbiSource | The Vault, Price Drops, Store and Category Scans, filters, Reverse Search, Custom Scans, Amazon-to-Amazon flips, Wholesale Scans and the SellerAmp workflow |
| Part 5: The Lead Check | ArbiSource's four-question method for deciding whether to buy |
| Part 6: Restrictions, Account Health and Safety | Gating and ungating, purchase records, brand choice and product compliance |
| Part 7: Buying, Prepping and Shipping | Placing orders, cashback and stacking, prep and labeling, and Send to Amazon |
| Part 8: Selling, Getting Paid and Growing | Pricing, payouts, bookkeeping, scaling, working with a VA and the Q4 season |
| Part 9: Account and Billing Help | Plans, trials, extra seats, logins, payments and canceling |
| Resources | Glossary, downloads and your first 90 days |
Ready? Start with How this handbook works, or jump to the Quick Start.