You've just popped in to Bed Bath & Beyond to pick up your new bed set that you had on order. You tell yourself that you're not there to buy anything else, you're just picking up your bed set.
But as you enter the store, all you see is those big beautiful bargain signs.
You just know in your gut that there's gotta be an easy source here, but you gotta be quick.
This is where a reliable barcode scanner app comes in handy. Just whip out your phone, scan that barcode and give yourself a little pat on the back for finding an epic deal.
Now you run and grab yourself a shopping cart and load up before another savvy Amazon FBA seller beats you to it!
But with all the options out there, and the importance of speed and accuracy, how do you know which app is the best amazon seller scanner?
Well in this review I'm going cover the most popular Amazon seller scanner apps so you can make an informed decision for your retail arbitrage business.
What is an Amazon Seller Scanner App?
A seller scanner app is a tool that all retail arbitrage professionals should have on their phone. Let's say you're at the mall looking for products to sell and you head straight for the clearance racks, how will you know if you've found a potentially profitable item or not?
Sure, you could start browsing the Amazon app and to see what the product is selling for, but what you really need is more detailed metrics in order to make an informed sourcing decision.
That's where a proper Amazon seller scanner app comes in handy. And before you ask, yes, you certainly can use the Amazon seller app. It's actually really great and we'll cover it more in detail shortly, but there's also a bunch of others that are worth considering too.
So without any further delay, let's dive in and take a look at the most recommended Amazon seller scanner apps for retail arbitrage sellers.
Top 7 Amazon Seller Scanning Apps to Consider
Yes you read that right, we're reviewing 7 of them! Now it's not always easy to tell you which one is going to be the best amazon seller scanner app, but as always I will do my best to give you enough info to make your own decision.
1. Amazon Seller App
Ultimately, this is where we all start because the majority of sellers will already have this app already and it's completely free. If you don't have it, just download it and sign in with your seller central details.
Once you've installed the Amazon seller app you can check the following data for products you've scanned:
- Product category
- FBA Fees
- Approximate profit
- Best sellers rank (BSR)
- Number of competing sellers
There's a couple of downsides to this app however. The Amazon seller scanner app won't show you the taxes and duties and you can't see which offer has the buy box.
Cost
Free
Compatible Devices
iPhone/iOS
Android
Download the Amazon Seller App Here
2. ScanPower Mobile
This scanner app is one of the more expensive scanning apps but it does have a heap of features that you'll love. If you are a serious FBA seller these ScanPower features are going to impress you:
- See if Amazon is selling the product
- Create listings and print barcodes automatically
- Advanced inventory management features
- Web app with intricate details like competition, sales history and an awesome unified sales rank and price history graph.
Cost
Starts at $49 per month for Basic, $99 per month for pro and $199 per month for Enterprise plan.
Compatible Devices
iPhone/iOS
Android
Take a look at Scanpower in more detail
3. Profit Bandit
Created by SellerEngine, who also own repricer tool Sellery, Profit Bandit has some great stand out features like the ability to tell you who has the buy box for the product you're scanning. The breakdown that Profit Bandit gives you is also quite detail which I really like.
- Connect to your seller central account and create listings from the app
- Connect the app with Keepa and CamelCamelCamel
- See which offer has the buy box
Cost
Unlimited scanning for $9.99 per month.
Compatible Devices
iPhone/iOS
Android
4. Scoutify 2
You'll need to pay for InventoryLab in order to use this app, because they created it, but it really is a fantastic app to try out. It makes sense if you use Inventory Lab but even if you don't I recommend you take it for a spin - they have a free 30-day trial.
In my opinion the best feature of Scoutify is how you can set your own criteria for what you might consider a 'good' product and it will give a green thumbs up or a red thumbs down when you scan a product, depending on whether it meets your pre-determined criteria or not.
Cost
To use Scoutify 2 you need an Inventory Lab subscription which costs $69 per month.
Compatible Devices
iPhone/iOS
Android
Explore InventoryLab in more detail here
5. Scoutly
Scoutly, formerly known as FBA Scan, has the added benefit of being able to scan products offline. It downloads the database to your phone for the US, Canada and UK Amazon marketplaces in the event that you don't have an internet connection during your scanning adventures.
Similar to Scoutify, Scoutly also has customizable profit based triggers that can set so you don't need to do a heap of mental arithmetic on-the-go.
Cost
The Lite plan starts at $9.95 per month which does not include database scanning. The professional plan has database scanning and additional features for $35 per month.
Compatible Devices
iPhone/iOS
Android
6. ScoutIQ
Selling books on Amazon isn't really my bag, but ScoutIQ was initially built for this purpose. Offering a database download, for times when you're without an internet connection, and a pre-defined trigger function, this app has some great advanced features for Amazon sellers.
For book sellers specifically, ScoutIQ integrates with book buyback company Sell Back Your Book.
Cost
Starts at $14 per month for live searching and $44 per month for live + database searches.
Compatible Devices
iPhone/iOS
Android
7. Selleramp
SellerAmp is a 3 in 1 tool that includes a chrome extension, web based app and a mobile app. This is a really great suite of tools if you're a serious Amazon seller. Some of the best features include:
- Interactive Keepa data charts
- Quick price comparison for FBM, FBA, Amazon and buy box prices.
- Alerts panel to show IP issues, Amazon's buy box percentage and more.
Cost
Starts at $19.95 per month for the SellerAmp 'Getting Started' plan and goes up to $27.95 for the 'Getting Serious' plan with more features. Discounts are available for annual payments.
We wrote an entire SellerAmp Review here if you'd like to learn more.
Compatible Devices
iPhone/iOS
Android
Learn more about SellerAmp here
What Amazon Seller Scanner App Features Are Important?
Ultimately this question can only be answered by the business owner, but most seasoned retail arbitrage sellers are going to have very similar requirements once their business gets to a certain level.
Here's a handful of features that are important when choosing your Amazon seller scanner app:
Offline Database Searching
The ability to to use database scanning might be important to some, but not a requirement for others. It's not uncommon for some shopping malls or big box stores to have really poor cell phone reception, which means no internet connection, so this feature might be an absolute must-have.
Triggers
The ability to set criteria that will give you a 'thumbs up' or 'thumbs down' trigger, like Scoutify, is so good. It means you can source on the go without having to compute certain things in your head before purchasing.
You've already told the app what you look for when you source products so you can be confident in buying based solely of the triggers that you've previously set-up.
Keepa Integration
Honestly this software has got to be one of the best Amazon selling tools. The ability to integrate with Keepa is a must-have for me, and I know many established retail arbitrage sellers would agree.
Buy Box & Sold by Amazon Info
When scanning a product it is very helpful to see which offer has the buy box and to see if the product is being sold by Amazon. Having this info at your finger-tips is super handy.
Which is the Best Amazon Seller Scanner App?
I personally tend to focus more on online arbitrage these days, but I will scan products at any chance I get if I see a potential bargain out in the wild!
I currently use Scanpower and Scoutify and if I had to choose between them, I would choose Scoutify as my main Amazon seller scanner app.
Here's why:
- It integrates with, and is created by, InventoryLab which is a great piece of software that I use.
- The pre-determined "ideal buy" criteria feature is so handy. I don't have to think much when I scan something because I've already told the app what parameters make up a 'good' product that I would buy.
- It integrates with my seller central account so I can see if the product is something I'm even allowed to sell.
- Keepa and CamelCamelCamel integration
Now I will admit that if I didnt already use Inventory Lab, I would probably be just as happy using ScanPower as my seller scanner app. One really great ScanPower feature is the variations viewer, similar to the variant feature in Revseller, but that is only available on the $99 per month plan.
Amazon Seller Scanner App FAQs
Most sellers opt for one of the above-mentioned seller scanner apps. InventoryLab users may opt for Scoutify because it's all part of the same subscription, but other retail arbitrage sellers may use an advanced solution like Scanpower. From what I can gather, Scoutify is the most popular.
It sure does! And for a free app, it works well. It doesn't quite give you all the info at your fingertips as some of the other apps in this article but it's great if you're just starting out in retail arbitrage.
Most of the seller scanner apps are super easy. Just open the app in one hand, hold the product in the other and scan the barcode. Easy as that! You will need to do a little setup before you start scanning if you're going to use an app with triggers, which I highly recommend.
If you just want to use the free Amazon seller app then no, you don't need a professional seller account. Apps like Scoutify and Scanpower do required a professional seller account however.
Summary: Choosing The Best Amazon Seller Scanner App
There's enough choice in the market to test out a few and find one that you like so when it comes to choosing a scanning app, don't let the number of options overwhelm you!
Scoutify 2 by InventoryLab offers a free 30-day trial which is more than enough time to get used to how it works. And worst case scenario, you decide it's not for you and you go test out another one!
If you're still in the early stages as an Amazon seller and you don't want to fork out yet another monthly subscription, I know they can add up, then just stick with the barcode scanner built in to the Amazon seller app. Sure, it may be lacking a few features, but you can still run a successful business with it! You may just need to do a little more research up-front before you head out to retail stores.
Before we wrap this up I need to address an important point, and perhaps something that's a conversation for another day, but I feel like retail arbitrage is going to become less popular over time.
Nothing beats being able to source from the comfort of my own home and make great money as an Amazon seller purely with online arbitrage.
I've written in detail about online arbitrage previously and my business partner and I even have a program called The OA Challenge.
So far we've had 1,000's of students enjoy the challenge so if this is something that interests you, read more about the OA challenge here.
Thank again for reading and don't hesitate to drop a comment on this article if you have a question, join the conversation further in our FBA Today group on Facebook, and be sure to join my free VIP email list below to get weekly tips on how to succeed as an Amazon FBA seller!
