{"id":18192,"date":"2024-02-09T15:53:01","date_gmt":"2024-02-09T15:53:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/young-money-interview-9-a-million-dollar-retail-arbitrage-business\/"},"modified":"2024-05-24T19:40:39","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T19:40:39","slug":"retail-arbitrage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/retail-arbitrage\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Money Interview #9 – A Million-Dollar Retail Arbitrage Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to finding ways to make money online<\/a> or increase your overall income, it's often best to turn to tried and true methods.<\/p>\n

I've tried a variety of money making experiments over the years, and honestly, most of them weren't a success. From starting a dropshipping store<\/a> to selling POD items on Etsy<\/a>, I've had my share of botched entrepreneurial attempts.<\/p>\n

In contrast, my two most successful ventures have been starting this blog<\/a> and getting into freelance writing. These side hustles aren't anything special, and I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel or hop on to the latest fad: I just write content and monetize it accordingly.<\/p>\n

What I love about this particular Young Money interview and Nate and Alysha, our awesome entrepreneurs, is that they are also leveraging one of the oldest economic principles to make a killing: arbitrage<\/em>.<\/p>\n

They made a business plan, tested proof of concept, worked on scaling, and have even crossed the million dollar mark with their Amazon FBA business and taken the business full-time.<\/p>\n

If you've ever wanted to make money with retail arbitrage or to learn more about how this business model works, you're going to want to read this one through the end.<\/p>\n

If you've missed the previous interviews in this series, I highly recommend giving them a read<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you're caught up, get ready to learn about the incredible world of Amazon retail arbitrage!<\/p>\n

About Nate & Alysha<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"hustlebuddies\"<\/p>\n

We are former public school teachers, turned entrepreneurs. <\/span><\/p>\n

We have also turned $100 into over $1 million in sales by using retail arbitrage. <\/span><\/p>\n

Nate is known around Orlando as \u201cthe bra guy,\u201d and has spent an incredible amount of money on bras to resell. <\/span><\/p>\n

In our free time, we take our children to Disney, go hiking, and run a free Facebook group for Amazon sellers called Hustle Buddies<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

We also run a YouTube channel<\/a> that shares useful tips and tricks for Amazon FBA and making money with retail arbitrage.<\/p>\n

What Is Retail Arbitrage?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Arbitrage involves buying and selling assets in order to turn a profit by taking advantage of price discrepancies on different marketplaces.<\/p>\n

Retail arbitrage relies on the same idea.<\/p>\n

By sourcing products from major retailers like Walmart and other big box stores, you can turn a profit by selling those same items on online marketplaces like Amazon where there might be a price discrepancy that works in your favor.<\/p>\n

What Side Hustle Did You Start?<\/b><\/h2>\n

As teachers, we tried a lot of different side hustles to bring in extra income.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, one day I (Nate), stumbled upon the concept of Amazon FBA and we\u2019ve never looked back. <\/span><\/p>\n

When we started Amazon FBA as a side hustle, we quickly realized the potential for it to become our full-time income source if we put in the hard work and stayed focused on our goals. <\/span><\/p>\n

We do what\u2019s called \u201cretail arbitrage\u201d through Amazon\u2019s FBA program, which is where we purchase merchandise from local retail stores and resell those items on Amazon for a profit.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, we will go to Kohl\u2019s and purchase bras that have been marked on clearance, stack discounts, and then sell them on Amazon for a profit.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"amazon-retail-arbitrage\"
Here's a snapshot of our amazon FBA revenue for the last 30 days.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Extra Reading – The Best Items To Flip<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

How Did You Discover Retail Arbitrage?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Retail arbitrage was on a long list of potential side-hustles, but when we looked into it, we realized how scalable it was, and how we could grow it into a viable business. <\/span><\/p>\n

We knew a lot of people that had sold on other platforms like eBay<\/a>, but at the time we lived in a small apartment, and we simply didn\u2019t have the time or space to store and ship all of our products to customers.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the fact that you don't have to deal with storing your inventory or constant shipping hassles is what makes the FBA program so scalable and so appealing. <\/span><\/p>\n

With Amazon FBA, you are stocking Amazon warehouses with your products, so they store all of the items before they sell, and then they ship them to customers when an order is placed. <\/span><\/p>\n

FBA stands for \u201cFulfilled by Amazon\u201d, because Amazon fulfills customer orders. This means that we can purchase $9,000 worth of bras, and then ship them out to Amazon warehouses the following day, where they will stay until a customer places an order.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"amazon-fba-retail-arbitrage\"
Packing up our merchandise to ship off to Amazon warehouses!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now, there are multiple methods for selling on Amazon and utilizing their FBA program. <\/span><\/p>\n

The most common methods are: <\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • RA (retail arbitrage-what we do).<\/span><\/li>\n
  • PL (private label, which is when products are made by one company but sold under a separate company's brand).<\/span><\/li>\n
  • WS (wholesale, which involves buying large quantities of goods straight from manufacturers at reduced prices).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    While the other methods aren\u2019t bad, they do take a substantial amount of starting capital, and the risk is much higher that your products could fail, especially for Amazon FBA beginners. <\/span><\/p>\n

    With retail arbitrage, we aren\u2019t creating our own brand. We\u2019re simply supplying customers with the items they are already trying to order at prices they are willing to pay. The Amazon listing already exists, so we're just stocking their shelves. <\/span><\/p>\n

    You also don\u2019t need a ton of money to do retail arbitrage. <\/span><\/p>\n

    When I (Nate) first wanted to try retail arbitrage, Alysha (my wife) was pretty skeptical that it would work. <\/span><\/p>\n

    I tend to be the dreamer, and she tends to be the realist. It\u2019s why we make such a great team. <\/span><\/p>\n

    I had to prove to her that retail arbitrage was a viable business, so she told me that I could use $100 to try out Amazon retail arbitrage, and now that initial $100 has turned into full time incomes for both of us. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Results<\/b><\/h2>\n

    As I mentioned, we initially started out this business with just $100. <\/span><\/p>\n

    We also committed to not taking any income for ourselves so that we could keep rolling all profits back into our business. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Soon, that $100 turned into $300, then $1000, and it just kept growing. <\/span><\/p>\n

    We\u2019ve now done over $1 million in sales, and in June of 2018, we quit our teaching jobs and started working from home, doing retail arbitrage full-time. <\/span><\/p>\n