Q4 is the last 3 months of the year – October, November and December – and it’s THE most important time of year for Retail, Online and Wholesale arbitrage. With key shopping events like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the lead-up to Christmas, there is no shortage of opportunity to source, sell and make incredible profits.
So how can you make the most of Q4 to boost your earnings? Our arbitrage experts have put together the top 16 tips that will help you dominate the busiest selling season of the year. Ready to make this your most profitable quarter yet? Let’s dive in!
1. Save on Orders with Discounted Gift Cards
Maximize your margins by purchasing discounted gift cards from platforms like CardBear and TopCashBack. You can save anywhere from 4% to 10% on average (or even more!) on your OA orders, a quick and easy way for an immediate profit increase.
2. Mark Your Calendar for These Important Q4 Dates
Make a note of these key events to ensure you’re sourcing and selling at the right time:
– Halloween Sales: Source next years stock at the start of November when items are sold with heavy discounts post Halloween.
– Early Black Friday Sales: Start sourcing in the first weeks of November for Black Friday (The 29th November in 2024). This period is too often missed as a prime moment to get great deals.
– November 15th: Consider a switch to FBM for faster fulfillment. Remember, FBA takes more time to sell, as it has to get into Amazon and the last part of Q4 moves fast!
– Sunday Before Thanksgiving: Many Black Friday sales begin on the 24th of November.
– Peak Season: December 5th to the 20th is when sales really skyrocket. Be prepared so you don’t miss out!
3. Optimize Your Shipping
Fine-tune your shipping templates to maximize your profits and encourage buyers. Implement zero day handling if you can and consider adjusting your shipping. We’d recommend the following as a guide – For free and economy shipping, charge $0.00. For next-day, 2-day, and expedited shipping, charge $30 plus $1/lb to cover your costs.
4. Master the SellerAmp FBM (Fulfilled By Merchant) Calculator
When fulfilling orders yourself, make sure you’re accurately calculating costs. Use SellerAmp’s FBM calculator by toggling to FBM and adding in the correct shipping cost. Check out this video for more info on FBM and how to make the most of it!
5. Leverage Free Cashback and Coupons
Use browser extensions and sign-ups like Rakuten, TopCashBack, CouponBirds, and Capital One Shopping to get bonus cashback and coupons. It may not seem like a huge amount individually, but every bit adds up and increases your margins. If you’re unsure of how to do this, take a look at our video here.
6. Get a Reseller Certificate to Avoid Sales Tax
Research your state’s requirements for obtaining a reseller certificate. This helps you avoid paying sales tax on purchases, which can significantly reduce costs. Many online arbitrage websites accept these, so take advantage of it.
7. Tune in to SellerAmp Seller Hour
Broadcasted live on Youtube, join the SellerAmp community every Tuesday at 4 pm ET for Seller Hour. Advice, discussions and insider tips from some of the top arbitrage experts, it’s a great way to connect with other Amazon sellers and learn how to make the most of your reselling journey. Plus, you can also join our Facebook group for even more community support around the clock!
8. Don’t Just Focus on Toys
We all know that toys are hot sellers, but don’t forget that almost everything sees increased demand during Q4. Categories like sporting goods, shoes, seasonal grocery items, home decoration and clothing shouldn’t be disregarded. Particularly when it comes to Christmas gifts, there really are no restrictions to what people will buy!
9. Take Advantage of Bundle Listings
This advice works year round, but can be a profit goldmine particularly during Q4. Tons of products have multiple listings – both as single packs and as bundles or multi-packs. Be sure to list on both to maximize your chances of making sales (just make sure they’re the exact same product).
10. Always Search for Hidden Coupon Codes
As well as adding browser extensions and using obvious coupons, never leave a website without searching for hidden codes! A quick Google search or a chat with customer service could score you an extra discount, helping your bottom line and raising your profits.
11. Set Up SellerAmp Correctly
The SellerAmp app has a lot of great features and it can be tricky to know exactly how to set each one up to benefit you the most. One example is to double-check that you’re not counting sales tax twice in your cost calculations – this simple mistake can throw off your profit margins! Fortunately, we have lots of resources to ensure your SellerAmp settings are dialed in properly and you’re making use of all the fantastic elements it has to offer. Our YouTube channel has a multitude of How To videos or if you prefer reading, click here to see our Features Guide.
12. Focus on Quick Flips
Avoid speculating on items you’re not sure will sell and focus on products you know will flip quickly. The last thing you want is to hold onto inventory hoping for prices to rise after Q4 and miss the window of opportunity.
13. Create a Burner Email for Deal Alerts
A “burner” email (also known as a disposable or temporary) is an email address that is created separately from your main one. An often under used arbitrage tip is to sign up for newsletters, product updates and introductory offers with a burner email. This way, you’ll have constant access to deals without cluttering your main inbox and you can easily keep track of targeted offers or discounts.
14. Use Repricing Software
When you’re juggling more than 10 ASIN’s, it’s time to automate. Repricing software such as Bqool can help you stay competitive without manually updating prices, saving you time and boosting sales. Fortunately, SellerAmps latest update features a powerful integration with BQool! Bringing together sourcing and repricing, you can now reprice in more ways than ever, including on-the-go with the new app and mobile support.
15. Stock Up on Packaging Supplies
Prepare for a surge in orders by stocking up on packaging materials. Grab some polymailers (9×12, 12×15, and 19×24 are common versatile sizes) and take advantage of free shipping labels from UPS. Bonus tip – Walmart has great options for 12x10x8 boxes, which are perfect for a broad range of items!
16. Organize Your Leads
Keep your arbitrage leads organized with a well-structured Google Sheet. These can be smoothly integrated with SellerAmp through the Google Sheets panel on the app and by exporting your analysis as you go to one of more Google Sheet spreadsheets, you can:
- Export the key fields in the order you want
- Create multiple sheets for different use cases
- Create and export your own Google Sheet formulas
Streamlining your inventory tracking and sourcing this way is a breeze, and ensures you’re staying on top of every lead.
—
That’s it for now! Use these 16 tips to help you dominate Q4 and maximize your profits on Amazon. For even more powerful features and an enhanced arbitrage toolkit which includes 3 Phone app installs, 5 Chrome extension installs and unlimited lookups per month: upgrade to our Getting Serious package if you haven’t. Remember: all annual plans get you 12 months for the price of 10, so you save with annual!
Happy selling,
The SellerAmp Team