Tactical Arbitrage – A Wicked Awesome How To Guide
You either already use Tactical Arbitrage or you are chomping at the bit to start using it.
Whatever camp you fall into, this Tactical Arbitrage user guide is going to be an all-encompassing resource to teach you how to use the software and harness it’s power. I’m including text, photos, and videos. This way we should cover just about any way someone likes to learn.
Before we get started, I’m no genius. So, if I forget something or do not make it clear enough, please tell me. I will not take it personally and I will improve the material. Now, let’s get going!
MWS Settings
Note: If you have your MWS keys set up, just move to the next part of the blog where we get into the meat of the information.
When you sign up to become a Tactical Arbitrage user (you get a 7-day free trial), the first thing you will want to do is set up your MWS settings. Check out the PDF that Alex Moss put together.
I will walk you through it as well. First, go to the Amazon Marketplace Web Service and click on the Get MWS button. Here is a screenshot.
Once you have clicked on Sign Up For MWS you will log into Seller Central with your Amazon credentials. This will be the same email and password you would use to log into your regular Amazon account.
Once you are logged in you will want to choose the second radio button. It will say “I want to use an application to access my Amazon seller account with MWS”. Below that it will ask for the application name. Here you will type in “Tactical Arbitrage” without the quotes. The next box will ask for the Application’s Developer Account Number. Type in ‘9127-9646-7393″. No quotes here either. Once you are finished it should like the screenshot below.
Click the Next button on the bottom right of the screen. This will take you to a page that will ask you to authorize Tactical Arbitrage to access your account. Do not be afraid of this. They will not have access to any of your data. It will only allow the software to make calls to Amazon to pull pricing and best seller ranking data. You will need to click the radio button that says you understand and then click next. Check out the screenshot below for what it should look like.
Once that is finished and you have clicked next you will be taken to a screen that show you your Seller ID as well as your Marketplace ID and your MWS Authorization Token. You will need to save these in your settings inside of Tactical Arbitrage. The screen you need will look like the one below (I have blurred mine out).
In another tab open up your Tactical Arbitrage account. Click on the Settings button in the menu at the top of the screen. You will need to copy and paste your Seller ID as well as your MWS Authorization token. It is clearly marked on the settings page where these go. Check out the screenshot below.
This seems like an easy task but it can be a confusing step for many people new to the software. Don’t feel like if this has confused you that you will not be able to use Tactical Arbitrage. You will and you will do well. Below is a video of me walking through these steps just in case that is easier for you.
Product Search
Next, let’s dig into the product search feature inside of Tactical Arbitrage. As of today, September 11, 2016, there are 281 US websites from which you can scan products for resale. This number continually goes up. I honestly don’t know when Alex plans to stop.page
Inside of the Product search page there are several things you will want to make yourself familiar with. I am going to list this below as well as a short description of what they are for.
Websites to Explore
This is where the drop down list of websites you scan are all located. There are US sites, UK sites, and Australian sites. Next to each site is also some information about how the site is searched. If the site supports UPC search, the most accurate, there is a notation. If a search supports Title of the product it will also be noted. Do not steer away from title search sites. They may not always give accurate results but there is still gold to be found here.
Use Bulk Feature
This feature allows you to upload a bulk list of categories from a single store or even multiple stores to scan en masse. You can set up as many lines of categories in the CSV file you will upload, set your filters, and then the software will run through the store(s) for a maximum of sixteen hours. I will show you exactly how to do this in a video below.
Wholesale List Feature
Tactical Arbitrage introduced this feature just after ASD in Las Vegas. This is another bulk upload feature that will allow you to take the UPC and cost information from a wholesale spreadsheet then upload it and find out what products are profitable. This is not the first software to be able to do this but it does add another element to the program that makes Tactical Arbitrage a one stop shop. I will show you how to use this feature in the video below as well.
Category, Start Page, End Page
These three sections you will want to pay particular attention to. The category is the box where you place the URL or category ID that you would like to scan. This is different for each website. For example, Target.com uses a category ID but Basspro.com uses a URL. Over to the right, there will be information that is helpful so you are sure that you are filling everything out correctly.
The Start Page is also important. This will determine how many pages of a category you will run. Most stores start with page number 1 but a few will start with page 0. Be sure to check the information to the right to see what page you should start a scan with.
The End Page is how deep into a category you will go. For example, if there are 30 pages in a category but you only want to run 5 to see if that category is worth pursuing you would input 5 in the end page box. I don’t suggest running that few pages but everyone has a different process. Do what seems right for you.
Filters
There are currently 21 filters that can be used. More if you count the sub-filters. These are extremely noteworthy as they will automagically filter out items you do not want to see. Since there are so many filters we will not delve into them all here but I will expound on them in my next video. We will also discuss what I think are filters you leave blank. Personally, I prefer more items to dig through manually. No one wants to let profit accidentally slip by.
All of these Tactical Arbitrage tutorials can be found in the video below.
Amazon Flips
Tactical Arbitrage added an Amazon Flips function a few months ago. It’s a killer feature that will allow you to find products on Amazon that you can purchase and then resell on Amazon at a profit.
This can be done for several reasons. Maybe there is a sale. There may be a pricing mistake. Amazon may be trying to clear out product. There are so many reasons it is pointless to really think about. Rather, it is wise just to act and find profitable Amazon to Amazon flips.
First, this is done by analyzing historical price data on Amazon. This can be done by category or with a bulk list of ASINs. Second, you will want to use the filters to pare down your results and make sure they are pulling items that are possible flips. Third, you will want to have a way to track these items. Keepa does a great job of this and will email you, tweet you, or send you a Facebook notification.
This is probably one of the coolest features inside of Tactical Arbitrage. In the next video, I will walk you through how to use the Amazon Flips feature. This should help you start finding flips on your own.
Reverse Search
The reverse search feature in Tactical Arbitrage is becoming one of my favorite tools. If you use a product like Nate McCallister’s StoreFront Stalker Pro you can really supercharge your sourcing capability. You can learn more about the program in my last blog post.
This feature allows you to upload ASINs directly from Amazon. These ASINs can be hand selected or they can be scraped into a CSV file. Tactical Arbitrage will then find you the best places to purchase these items to make a profit. In my humble opinion, it is one of the best ways to source.
Not only can you stalk other sellers stores, you can stalk your own store and see if any of your products have better margins. You can search categories, heck, you can even search for a keyword and pull all of the ASIN information from that search. Extremely powerful.
Below I will show you how to optimize your searching with the reverse search feature.
View Data
Before we move into the settings and using Tactical Arbitrage to find out what variations sell the best we should dig into how to parse the data you collect. We touched on it a bit earlier in this post but there are some wonderful things you can do with the data inside of the program.
One of the reasons I feel that this is a powerful tool is that you can store finds in here, come back to them later, and see if they are still profitable. If they are not you could save them still, come back and see if they are profitable in the future. All without having to run a scan on that item again. This is a great place to keep replens.
You can also use this information in the reverse search feature to see if you can find your replens at a better cost. No one minds a better ROI, right? Check out the video below as we dissect the view data page.
The Mismatch Room
I almost forgot to add this into the post today. Tactical Arbitrage is always about finding creative ways to use the data we are able to pull to make money. Sometimes the data is not a match. When you use computers they can only work with what is given to them by the sites that are being scanned. So, Alex came up with a great idea.
What you can do in the mismatch room is go and look at items that others have marked as a mismatch in the Tactical Arbitrage community. One might wonder, why would I do that? Because others have not taken the time to find the matching product on Amazon. You may be able to dig out some gold if you put in the time. I know that I do not spend a lot of time doing this, I have shiny object syndrome and I am constantly working on 3 three things at once. However, if you have patience, this could make you a fair amount of money. Plus, Alex gives away a prize just about every month to the person who matches the most items.
I’ll show you how to use the mismatch room below.
Products Variation
Tactical arbitrage has really taken the guesswork out of sourcing for you. Let’s say that you really enjoy sourcing clothing and shoes. I don’t blame you. The average selling price and the return on your investment can be very profitable. There is only one trick. How do you find the variation that sells the most?
Products variation is the answer. Now, it is not a perfect science but it is as close as we can currently get. This feature will allow you to find out what size and color variation sell the most. This will allow you to make a more informed purchasing decision. It should also lead to a faster sell-through rate. This is because you will be able to make a purchase of the item that is most likely to sell based on previous purchases.
Lastly, you actually get two ways to use this feature. You may use the feature within Tactical Arbitrage or you can download the Chrome extension. You download it either as a stand-alone product or it comes with your full membership.
I will show you how to use both items below.
Settings
This section is not a feature but it is important. As we discussed previously, you will want to have everything set up completely so that your scans run smoothly. This area has been a source of frustration for a number of users. Not because it is difficult to use or manage but because if one thing is off it can throw your whole system off kilter. I will show you how I have my settings and then you can toggle yours until you find a balance that works for you.
Below I will walk you through what each section needs. I will also show you the settings I use for cache and explain why.
Features I Left Out
There are a few features that I decided not to write about. Not because I don’t think they are useful but because I either think they are for those with advanced skills or are very self-explanatory.
The first is the Advanced User menu. This will allow you to go in and create your own custom sites to scan with Tactical Arbitrage. You either need to know XPath or be willing to hire a developer to code this for you. You will then need to test the site to be sure it works and while I believe it to be awesome that Alex has included the ability to do this it’s much more work than I am willing to do. He adds new sites all the time and he is much better at it than I even want to be.
Second is the Videos/FAQ page of Tactical Arbitrage. In here you can find all kinds of videos, instructions, and how to’s on using the software. It is not complete but this is because functionality and customer service are paramount to Alex and it leaves little time to go film tons of video content. Peruse this section at your leisure. There is definitely a lot of knowledge here.
Third is the updates section. Here is where major updates and announcements will be. If you would like to know about them first though I would suggest you join the Tactical Arbitrage Facebook Group. Not only is Alex extremely active there and always answering questions but I also believe that he has fostered a community of people who actually want to help others. If you pop in I may even be there to answer a question or two.
Finally, the support tab. This button will open a pop-up that will allow you to complete a support ticket. While it is easier to ask about something in the Facebook Group sometimes more information is needed to diagnose an issue. You will be shown exactly what information is necessary so that Alex and his developers can assess the situation and correct it if necessary.
Tools
Tactical Arbitrage has plenty of features as a stand-alone product. I say that with 100% confidence. But, there are some tools that you can use in conjunction with the software to make your sourcing even more powerful.
StoreFront Stalker Pro is quickly becoming my second favorite tool for sourcing. In fact, I wrote an entire post on how to use it. StoreFront Stalker Pro allows me to download ASIN data from all over Amazon and then put that directly into Tactical Arbitrage for quick and easy sourcing. I can look in specific categories, at specific sellers storefronts, keywords, best sellers, and so much more. You can even search your own store or use the data that Amazon gives you in your Seller Central account to find items they think you should sell. Read how to do that in Dan Ashton’s blog post.
revROI is one of the tools that I created and I think that it has quite the symbiotic relationship with Tactical Arbitrage as well. revROI shows you where to get the highest discounted gift cards as well as the most cashback. It does this all with one little click of an extension so you don’t have to remember to check your favorite sites.
Conclusion
I am fortunate enough to call Alex a friend. That aside, Tactical Arbitrage is one of my favorite and probably one of the most powerful online arbitrage tools on the market today. If you truly take the time to learn how to use the system, keep up to date with the changes to the features, and actually spend some time using the product you will make money. That is not hyperbole, it’s just the plain truth.
I hope that this has helped. If it hasn’t or something has you stumped please leave a comment here or on any of the videos in the post. I will be happy to clarify any issues you may have.
Tactical Arbitrage Update 10/2/2016
StoreFront Stalker Pro and Tactical Arbitrage recently came out with a sick integration feature. Instead of having to download the best sellers in any particular category you can now search them from within Tactical Arbitrage. Alex introduced drop down menus that I will show you in the video below.
You must have both StoreFront Stalker Pro as well as Tactical Arbitrage, obviously, but it is well worth it. First, you will need to get your order number from Nate McCallister if you lost your SS Pro purchase email. Then, put those numbers in the settings menu of Tactical Arbitrage. Finally, make magic. Check it out below.
Tactical Arbitrage Update January 9, 2017
It has been just a bit since I have updated you on Tactical Arbitrage. Alex has continued to diversify and create more features for us, the users.
One of my favorite features is the enhanced reverse search. If you run a product search on, say, Walmart.com, you can automagically have Tactical Arbitrage search for matching products on other supported websites to see the best price across multiple stores.
The reason this is especially helpful is that you may want to flip a bag of candy from Walmart but Target may have that same item for 25% less. Tactical Arbitrage will find that for you and help you increase your return on investment without having to manually search for lower priced products. Insane!
The Library Search
If you love to flip books on Amazon from merchant fulfilled sellers you will love this feature.
Tactical Arbitrage will now search merchant fulfilled books and compare those prices as well as corresponding conditions to Amazon itself or third party prime eligible sellers. This can allow you to purchase used or even new books from a merchant fulfilled seller, then send them into Amazon, utilizing fulfillment by Amazon, raise the price, and profit.
you can also use this feature to find underpriced books that you can trade into Amazon for a profit. For example: textbooks can often be traded in for a fair amount of money. Let’s say that you find a college physics book being sold for $1 plus $3.99 shipping. That is a total of $4.99. Amazon may offer you $20 or even $25 to trade that book into them.
You purchase the book, let Amazon know you will be trading it in. Once Amazon receives it you will get an Amazon gift card for what they are willing to pay you. Instant profits without waiting for a sale or worrying about the competition!
I put together a short video on how to use The Library Search feature inside of Tactical Arbitrage. Check it out below.
I know there are more features coming soon. By soon I mean this week. I’ll be back with another update once they are officially announced.
Talk soon!
-Chris
