There are so many stores to find profitable items to resell on Amazon but I always like to with Walmart for anyone who is new to the process. Everyone has a Walmart near them and will have a wide variety of products to scan to get an idea of the process.
Most people think that the clearance aisles are a good place to start but in most cases this is where all the trash goes to be thrown out. I like to walk down the regular aisles and find the clearance section of a specific department. These price downs are usually more frequent and there are usually a larger quantity of items.
Be sure your search settings are set correctly in the app and start scanning away!
Products to look for
Especially when starting out you will want to look for items that are small and light. Afterall, you are going to be packing up these items and shipping them to Amazon for sale. Until you are familiar with the process let’s keep it small and pass on oversized and heavy items. Look for items that are less than one foot in length (on any side) and weigh less than a pound.
Profitable Products
Here are the basic guidelines for finding items that are profitable and sell quickly. I have listed these in order of importance:
- Amazon is not selling the product
- Gross Proceeds are at least two times your cost of the item
- Sales rank less than 200,000
- Product has at least a 4 star rating
For the example below we can see Amazon is not selling the product, the item has a sales rank of 10,022 with a product rating of over 4 stars and with my cost being $1 each I am looking to make at least $2 profit on each one. For this example I would purchase all of this product.
Brita On Tap Faucet
Clearance Price: $4
Amazon Selling: No
Sales Rank: 10,539
Rating: 4+
Profit Per Item: $11
Action: Buy all!
Hartz Ultra Guard Spray
Clearance Price: $8
Amazon Selling: No
Sales Rank: 625,895 – Red Flag
Rating: None – Red Flag
Profit Per Item: $14
Action: I don’t like the sales rank on this one but it’s a 175% profit and there are only two other sellers so I’ll take a chance on a few of these knowing they might take a month to sell. To play it safe pass on this item and stick to the rules!
PUR MineralClear Refill
Clearance Price: $4
Amazon Selling: Yes – Red Flag
Sales Rank: 1,498
Rating: 4+
Profit Per Item: $9
Action: Amazon is very hard to beat for a buy box but I have found if the sales rank is high enough (usually less than 5,000) you can still sell yours pretty quick just by matching their price. If you try to beat them you will just drive the price down. I bought all 6 of these and they sold within 2 days!
Honeywell Filter
Clearance Price: $2
Amazon Selling: Yes – Red Flag
Sales Rank: 10,952
Rating: 3
Profit Per Item: $5
Action: There are several scary things about this item. Amazon is selling for one but it is a seasonal item so there will likely be less sales in the coming months (this scan was done in March). Also, you can’t tell from the image here but it is a slightly larger item which will make shipping more difficult. This would be a bit of a risk you just have to ask yourself if it is worth it to you.
Coleman Flashlight
Clearance Price: $15
Amazon Selling: No
Sales Rank: 783,088 – Red Flag
Rating: None – Red Flag
Profit Per Item: $5
Action: This is an easy pass. The profit margin isn’t there, there are no ratings, and the sales rank is way up there. Even at a $15-$20 profit I would still pass. There are a lot of sellers in the market and with a slow mover the price is going to drop while sellers fight for the buy box.
VTech MobiGo
Clearance Price: $2
Amazon Selling: No
Sales Rank: 47,661
Rating: 5
Profit Per Item: <$1
Action: The item looks good. Great ratings and a nice sales rank. Unfortunately, the profit margin just isn’t there since the market is saturated with 42 sellers. Move on!
Intech Golf Balls
Clearance Price: $2
Amazon Selling: Yes – Red Flag
Sales Rank: 566,780 – Red Flag
Rating: 3.5 – Red Flag
Profit Per Item: $6
Action: Since this was scanned in March the sales rank isn’t a huge scare. Golf ball sales will be picking up in the coming months. The bigger concern is the low rating and the fact that Amazon is in the market. These would be a bit of a risk but don’t count on making $6 profit. They might take a long time to sell and you’ll probably have to find Amazon’s bottom dollar to get the buy box.
Playtex Starter Kit
Clearance Price: $2
Amazon Selling: No
Sales Rank: 67,575
Rating: None – Red Flag
Profit Per Item: $8
Action: The product rating is not nearly as important as the volume sold. I like this sales rank so I will be buying all of these!
I did not include the cost to ship to Amazon in my calculations but you will find this cost is minimal. Usually around $5 to send a 20 pound box to your local Fulfillment center. If you want to get fancy you can figure in about .50 per item to ship to be on the safe side.
If you have any questions please leave a comment below!