If you're looking for the juggernaut of online arbitrage tools, you've found it. Tactical Arbitrage is one of the most powerful pieces of software you can employ in your Amazon business, and they've been at it for 8 years now so the track record has clearly been carved out.
Now I know there's an absolute abundance of software vying for attention, and dollars, from Amazon sellers, but if you're going to get one tool Tactical Arbitrage should probably close to the top of the list.
But before you take my word for it, let's cover what Tactical Arbitrage is, how you can use it to find profitable products, and how it stacks up against the alternatives.
What is Tactical Arbitrage
Tactical Arbitrage is a web-based software tool built with online arbitrage and wholesale Amazon sellers in mind. Tactical Arbitrage empowers sellers by helping them "source on steroids".
Amazon sellers can use the software to quickly scan from a massive database of 900+ retail websites, finding profitable arbitrage deals at just a few clicks of a button.
Not only is it great for online arbitrage sellers and wholesalers, but Tactical Arbitrage also has Amazon-to-Amazon flip features and a nifty book sourcing tool.
Originally created by Australian based entrepreneur Alex Moss in 2015, Tactical Arbitrage was acquired by Amazon software developer Three Colts in 2021.
Standout Features of Tactical Arbitrage
Over the past 6 years I've personally filmed many tutorials on how to use Tactical Arbitrage, and even still I may not have covered each and every feature available. So for the sake of keeping things simple, let's explore what I think are a handful of the best features of this powerful sourcing tool.
Product Search
The retailer database currently sits at a count of 990 retailers, so it's safe to say when you do a product search, you'll be scouring almost every corner of the internet in your effort to find profitable products.
You can do a product search in both basic and advanced modes, which we will cover soon when we do a search demo.
Product Search Filters
One thing that I absolutely love about the functionality of Tactical Arbitrage is its ability to laser target products based on the search filters.
The filters show in the above screenshot are only some of the criteria that you can use to filter your search. This allows seasoned Amazon FBA sellers to really hone in on profitable products that they know are proven to sell.
As I mentioned previously, those with less experience selling with Amazon FBA can ignore a lot of the filters or just switch to Basic mode.
Reverse Search
Upload a .csv file of ASIN's or simply choose an Amazon product category and let the software work its magic.
Tactical Arbitrage's reverse search tool is one of the best features of this online arbitrage software.
I use it to Amazon storefront stalk on steroids. Grabbing ASINs from dozens or even hundreds of Amazon storefronts at a time and allowing Tactical Arbitrage to pick through all the items and find me the profitable ASINs.
Live Search
Tactical Arbitrage offers both live and cached searching. The live search is up-to-date data so you know it's going to be accurate. The only downside of the live search is that it takes a lot longer, but you can always set it and forget it which is handy.
If you decide to use cache in your search (which I do) you will notice the speed picks up greatly. While some of the data may be a day or two old you can easily refresh the information on the products to see the live data.
Always be Scanning
The always be scanning feature is a game changer. It's like a reverse search that is always running for you. Tactical Arbitrage picks a corner of Amazon for you, looks for anything that's profitable and matches and then delivers it to you every time you log into your Tactical Arbitrage account.
It's like an automated leads list.
The other great thing about Always Be Scanning is that every seller who uses Tactical Arbitrage is seeing different results to reduce over-supplying the marketplace.
Amazon Flips
The idea of buying on Amazon, to re-sell on Amazon is pretty cool. In a nutshell, the Amazon Flips tool in Tactical Arbitrage scans historical price data to find products that are currently being sold on Amazon for well under what they could possibly be advertised for.
Maybe theres a flash sale, or perhaps Amazon is liquidating their stock. There's a lot of reasons why these Amazon flip opportunities present themselves, but the point here is that the process of finding these deals is completely automated and almost effortless with Tactical Arbitrage.
A word of caution on Amazon Flips. Make sure that you are purchasing the inventory from Amazon themselves. You don't want to buy an item from another third party seller on Amazon and flip it back on the platform. You run the risk of buying an inauthentic product and not having the proper receipts or invoices to prove the items are, in fact, legit.
Library Search (For Book Sellers)
The library search tool in Tactical Arbitrage is such a great addition to this software. Specifically designed for those selling new and used books on Amazon, you can quickly and easily scan a bunch of retail book sites to find profitable book re-selling opportunities.
You can also scan third party merchant fulfilled sellers on Amazon for underpriced books to sell using the Fulfillment by Amazon Program. It almost seems to good to be true but customers will often pay a higher price for the speed, convenience, and protection they get from buying using Amazon Prime.
Flipping books from third party book sellers sounds counterintuitive as I did just warn against buying from third party sellers. In this case it's OK. The number of authenticity claims on books is usually much lower than other items on Amazon.
You will want to be sure that you thoroughly inspect every book you flip for authenticity and condition though.
Tactical Arbitrage Cost
Tactical Arbitrage offers 5 subscription plans with either monthly or annual payment terms, so there's an offering for all levels of sellers. Those that pay for an annual plan will get the benefit of up to 26% off the prices shown in the pricing table below.
Flip Pack - $59/mo ($50/mo annual)
The flip pack is best suited for those doing Amazon flips and selling books. The flip plan allows users to scan book selling sites such as AbeBooks.com, Alibris.com, Barnesandnoble.com, betterworldbooks.com, booksamillion.com, valorebooks.com, and more.
The flip pack is fantastic for those looking for an alternative to Zen Arbitrage or E-Flip.
Wholesale - $69/mo ($55/mo annual)
The wholesale plan is geared towards, you guessed it, wholesalers! The wholesale search tools are available on this plan, which allows users to upload large lists of product data or price manifests to scan Amazon and evaluate profitability.
Online Arbitrage - $89/mo ($70/mo annual)
The online arbitrage plan includes the product search and reverse search features of the software. These are the features you need to find those highly profitable online arbitrage opportunities from almost 900+ retailers.
Online Arbitrage + Wholesale - $109/mo ($85/mo annual)
A combo of the two aforementioned subscription plans, at a great discount, this plan is great value for those doing both OA and wholesaling.
Full Suite - $129/mo ($95/mo annual)
By far the most popular option, the full suite includes every possible tool you could ever hope for. At $95 per month, paid annually, or even the $129 per month, you will make your money back with relative ease if you are using Tactical Arbitrage to it's full potential. Fair warning: there is a learning curve to Tactical Arbitrage but once you get over that hump it should easily pay for itself.
How to Use Tactical Arbitrage
We've got a full blown Tactical Arbitrage tutorial already, but let's go through a quick use case for the software so you can see how it works.
Connecting Amazon and Setting up MWS Keys
When you first start your Tactical Arbitrage account, you need to connect TA to your Amazon seller account. This is done inside of the settings section which is found on the left hand side menu.
You will also need to connect your MWS keys from your Amazon seller account. You do need a professional selling account to do this as it is part of the developer features.
These keys are to be entered into the Settings > Keys section inside your Tactical Arbitrage account.
If you have not connected your Amazon account and MWS keys, you won't get the most up-to-date search data.
Performing a Product Search with Tactical Arbitrage
Now there is A LOT of different searches you can do in this amazing software, but for the sake of this example we are just going to do a quick and easy product search.
When you go into the Product Search section, you'll be presented with a slightly overwhelming amount of options. For now, we are just going to choose Target.com as the website.
Next, you'll see the Easy Bulk section on the right hand side with a list of categories. This shows up because we have "Use Easy Bulk" toggled on.
In this search we are going to select the Baby category and then hit the blue "Add To Bulk" button.
Then, we hit the orange "Search" button.
On the right hand side, a search status box appears and it shows what is happening with the current search. You will see an estimate of the amount of products it has found so far, and the expected number of products it is going to find.
If we click the blue "View Data" button, we get taken to a screen where all the product information is populating.
For this example, I have sorted by the Gross Profit column. You can see this product here shows a nice looking gross profit, but of course you need to do further due diligence to ensure it is going to be suitable to source.
You can see that below the Amazon Title (which is a link to the Amazon product listing) it has a heap of different icons and buttons.
If you were to click the orange "Restricted" button, you'll be taken to Amazon seller central where it will show details of this restricted product.
Here you can then go through the approval request process if you wish.
Now this product search we have just done is at quite a basic level, but you can even tweak the dashboard further by toggling on the Basic mode.
This simplifies the product search dashboard, as you can see. Sometimes this is the best way to start for those that are new to Tactical Arbitrage.
Tactical Arbitrage Discount Code
If you're looking for a Tactical Arbitrage discount code, you've come to the right place. I've been using the software since 2016 and have been fortunate enough to offer a discount code PLUS an extended 10 day free-trial for valued readers of Clear The Shelf.
Just head over to the Tactical Arbitrage website and use the code CLEARTHESHELF at checkout to claim your extended trial and hefty discount!
Tactical Arbitrage Alternatives
Like any software on the market, there's always going to be alternative. And while I believe TA is the best choice, let's cover some of the more well-known competitors.
Tactical Arbitrage vs Source Mogul
Source Mogul is probably the closest competitor to Tactical Arbitrage in my opinion. But there are certain features where it still falls (way) short.
How they compare on features & Usability:
It's often reported that Source Mogul is easier to use than Tactical Arbitrage, but I strongly disagree. On the one hand yes, Tactical Arbitrage can have a steep learning curve because they have so many features. But they also have the Advanced/Basic toggle to limit the array of features for more entry-level users.
Tactical Arbitrage has more than double the amount of sites it scans, and also supports 7 different marketplaces whereas Source Mogul only supports 2 Amazon marketplaces.
Source Mogul has a nice interface and they take a minimalist approach however, they lack many features Tactical Arbitrage has.
Having the live search on Tactical Arbitrage is a game changer and while it takes a little longer, the search results are going to be the most accurate results possible. This is something that Source Mogul is not yet equipped to handle.
If you've got your own secret sauce websites that you want to scan, Tactical Arbitrage allows you to add them to your account. If you've got a list of ASIN's you want to upload to use in a reverse search, TA can do it. These are just some of the features that Source Mogul don't offer.
How they compare on price:
Source Mogul is $97 per month or $880 for their annual plan. They do offer a 7-day free trial and they have a $30 per month discount for the first 3 months on the monthly plan.
Tactical Arbitrage has monthly plans ranging from $59/mo up to $129/mo, depending on your requirements. They also offer a juicy discount for annual plans.
When you take into account the huge amount of features and the varying pricing plans, Tactical Arbitrage comes out on top easily.
Tactical Arbitrage vs OAXray
I've written in more detail about Tactical Arbitrage vs OAXray if you want to read my entire review. If not, let's cover the main comparison points.
How they compare on features & Usability:
OAXray only offers around 400 sites (at the time of writing) for scanning while TA has a whopping 990 sites that it scans.
If you're a more advanced user then the plethora of search filters available in Tactical Arbitrage really blows OAXray out of the water.
How they compare on price:
OAXray starts at $99 per month but they also offer discounts for longer plans, with the annual plan being priced at $975.
For the lack of features of available when comparing OAXray, the pricing also doesn't appear to be overly competitive. They do have a one month free trial so you're welcome to see for yourself, but the features available a minuscule in comparison to Tactical Arbitrage.
Tactical Arbitrage vs Jungle Scout
Jungle Scout is a bit of a household name when it comes to Amazon software tools. And it really is a great tool, but in the case of finding product research for arbitrage, it just doesn't come close to Tactical Arbitrage. Let's explore why, and how you can actually use both tools.
How they compare on features & Usability:
If we're talking about choosing an online arbitrage tool purely for sourcing profitable products, Jungle Scout doesn't come close to TA. Where Jungle Scout does perform, however, is as a product research tool.
Jungle Scout Product Features
Jungle Scout can help you find relevant keywords that your competitors are using, which helps you optimize your listings. You can also do Amazon paid advertising research, track sales rank, manage your inventory and more.
So to summarize, Jungle Scout is a great all-round tool but when it comes to the most powerful arbitrage sourcing tool, Tactical Arbitrage is head and shoulders above.
How they compare on price:
Jungle Scout has plans starting at $49/mo up to $129/mo. For keyword research, inventory management and tracking trends on Amazon, I like Jungle Scout.
Frequently Asked Questions
Usually there's only a few questions about different Amazon arbitrage tools I review, but this one is a big one! Here's the answers to the most common questions I see from prospective Tactical Arbitrage users.
What is Tactical Arbitrage Used For?
Tactical Arbitrage is used to scan 900+ retail websites, according to your own custom filters and criteria, to find matching and profitable products that you can resell on Amazon.
Who Owns Tactical Arbitrage?
Tactical Arbitrage was created by Amazon seller and entrepreneur Alex Moss in 2015. It was acquired in 2021 by software company Three Colts.
How Much Does Tactical Arbitrage Cost?
Plans start at $59/mo and go up to $129/mo. If you pay annually you can expect generous discounts of up to 26% off.
How do I set Up Tactical Arbitrage?
The software is quite easy to setup. First you need a professional Amazon seller account, which you connect with Tactical Arbitrage in just a couple of clicks. Then you will need to get your MWS keys from Amazon to ensure you are getting the best data when scanning. This is covered in more detail in my tutorial guide.
What is Tactical Arbitrage Flip Pack?
The flip pack is the cheapest plan at just $59/mo ($50/mo annual) perfectly suited for those looking for Amazon flips or selling books on Amazon.
How do you use Tactical Arbitrage for Books?
Inside the Tactical Arbitrage dashboard, there is a section called The Library Search which is designed especially for new and used book sellers. This is part of the flip pack subscription (and all other higher plans).
How do you get Tactical Arbitrage for Free?
Clear The Shelf readers are fortunate enough to get a 10-day free trial and a Tactical Arbitrage discount code. There is no ongoing free plan and you should only be using TA if you are making plenty of money in return with your Amazon business!
Can I use Tactical Arbitrage for eBay?
Yes you can use Tactical Arbitrage for eBay. It's not specifically built for selling on eBay. However, you can scan for items that have a negative profit from eBay to Amazon. Those items that show negative profit will be selling for higher on eBay and you may be able to arbitrage from Amazon to eBay.
Conclusion - is Tactical Arbitrage Worth it?
Even if you came out of the box and went for the Full Suite plan, I would definitely say that Tactical Arbitrage is worth it.
You need to be a serious Amazon seller to use it of course, but my opinion is that it is very hard NOT to make money with this tool.
Not only does it work while you are sleeping, but it saves you so much time with online sourcing. I simply couldn't manually do what this tool does, even with a team of virtual assistants.
