Chapter 18: The SellerAmp and ArbiSource workflow
What you'll learn: how ArbiSource and SellerAmp SAS fit together, how to connect them, and a simple routine for online and in-store sourcing.
Many sellers use both tools, and each does a different job well:
- ArbiSource finds leads. It compares retailers' products with Amazon.com at scale and shows you the profitable matches.
- SellerAmp SAS analyzes one product in depth. It's a popular tool for checking a single listing before you buy, online or in a store.
You don't need SellerAmp to use ArbiSource, and you can follow this handbook without it. If you use both, connecting them saves a lot of clicks.
From ArbiSource to SellerAmp: the SAS button
Each ArbiSource result panel has a SAS button. With a SellerAmp subscription and its Chrome extension, it opens the product in SellerAmp so you can check it there without searching again. You saw this in Jasmine's video in Chapter 9.
In Price Drops → Unmatched, SellerAmp's smart search can also help you find the Amazon listing for a product ArbiSource couldn't match (Chapter 11).
From SellerAmp to ArbiSource: reverse search inside SAS
It works the other way too. When you look up a product in SellerAmp, it can show ArbiSource's reverse-search results: the US retailers where ArbiSource knows the product can be bought. To set it up:
- In ArbiSource, go to Account → API Keys and copy the SAS Key from the SellerAmp card.
- In SellerAmp, go to Settings, scroll to ArbiSource Reverse Search and click Configure.
- Paste the key, check Display ArbiSource Reverse Search on SAS Search Results and save.
It works in the SellerAmp Chrome extension, the web app and the mobile app.
SellerAmp SAS showing a product with the ArbiSource Reverse Search section visible, alongside ArbiSource's Account → API Keys tab with the SAS Key (key value blurred).
Checking restrictions in bulk
Before you spend time on any lead, remove the ones you can't sell. ArbiSource's Check Restrictions button checks all your current results at once, then lets you hide the restricted ones. Bulk restriction checks are included from the Pro plan; on Essentials you can check products one at a time.
A simple online routine
- Find: start in ArbiSource with the Vault, Price Drops or a scan.
- Clean up: run Check Restrictions and hide what you can't sell.
- Shortlist: add anything promising to your Sourcing List.
- Check in depth: open each shortlisted lead with the SAS button and work through the Lead Check: Match, Money, Momentum and Safety (Part 5).
- Decide: all green, Buy. One amber, Test-buy. Two or more ambers, Watch (set an alert). Any red, Pass.
In-store sourcing (retail arbitrage)
Retail arbitrage is a great way to start in the US, where big-box, drugstore, department and discount stores all run regular clearance, and the two tools work well together in the aisles.
- Scan a barcode with the SellerAmp mobile app to see the Amazon numbers instantly.
- Check the ArbiSource reverse-search results in the app. If another retailer sells the same product, you'll see where, which helps you judge whether the shelf price is a genuine deal or there's a cheaper source.
- Use what you learn online. Brands and products that keep appearing in your ArbiSource results are worth looking out for in stores, where in-store clearance can go deeper than online prices.
- Keep your receipts. They're your proof of purchase and your record for your taxes. If an application to sell asks for invoices, see Chapter 22.
A more advanced idea
Warner's brand-list technique from Chapter 14 uses both tools too: export a brand's ASINs from SellerAmp, then reverse-search the list in ArbiSource.
Checklist
- I know which job each tool does best
- I've connected the SAS Key, if I use SellerAmp
- I run Check Restrictions before reviewing leads
- I follow the find, clean up, shortlist, check, decide routine