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Tired of spending hours manually comparing prices across different platforms, only to miss out on the best deals? Tactical Arbitrage is here to streamline your online arbitrage game. We’ll turn a time-consuming process into a quick and efficient task.
In this guide, we'll walk you through each step to finding profitable products with ease, so you can focus on what really matters—growing your business. Ready to make product sourcing easier? Let's dive in!
With your account prepped, it's time to dive into the heart of Tactical Arbitrage—setting up your search filters. This step is crucial, as the right filters can help you identify profitable products more efficiently.
Start by logging in to Tactical Arbitrage.
Then, head to the Product Search section. There, you’ll see two modes: Basic and Advanced.
Your first task is to select a domain to search within. You'll find a dropdown menu where you can choose from the following countries: USA, UK, Canada, Germany, India, Australia, Spain, France, Italy, Japan, and Mexico. After selecting your preferred country, you can then search for a specific site you want to explore. Or, choose from the available logo icons for quick access.
On the right side of the screen, you’ll see the Basic Filters block—this is where the magic happens. There, you can choose the specific categories you want to check and add values for discounts and prep costs. It’s a great starting point and offers enough flexibility to find potential products without overwhelming you with options.
For those looking to dive deeper, Advanced Mode is where the real power of Tactical Arbitrage shines. Everything is laid out, and you’re offered a more granular approach to setting up your search. Here’s what you can do:
Once your filters are set, hit the SEARCH button.
You can run up to four searches simultaneously on most TA plans, except for Pro where you can run up to 10. You can also queue up to 3 searches in the first five plans and up to 20 scans if you’re a Pro user. This means you can explore multiple categories or sites. Tactical Arbitrage does the heavy lifting in the background.
Once your filters are set up, consider fine-tuning your search to target specific sales or events. TA's powerful customization makes it easier to find profitable products during promotion dates.
The Set Cache setting determines how Tactical Arbitrage handles data previously searched by other users. If you leave this set to “LIVE ONLY,” then Tactical Arbitrage will only search sites live and will not check older data from other users. This is the best way to get current information, but it takes longer to perform the search.
There are situations where you may want to check cached data to speed up your product search. For instance, if you’re eyeing a sale that has been ongoing for 3 days, you could select 3 Day in Set Cache. You could be sure the sale prices would be reflected, so the cached data would be nearly as accurate as live data.
(Note: Set Cache is only available once you’ve entered valid seller ID keys.)
If speed is of the essence, you might consider trying out Quick Search instead. This feature is designed to provide quicker results by serving only cached retailer data previously fetched by other users. No live data is pulled, so you won’t see the most up-to-date prices and may only get a limited selection of items. Still, it can offer an overview of which sites you should take a closer look at.
Now that your filters are customized, it’s time to start running scans. Tactical Arbitrage offers several options for running multiple scans, so you can cover more ground and find the best deals.
When focusing on a website with a large scale, it’s often more efficient to segment your scans by specific categories. For example, say you’re targeting a major retailer with an extensive inventory. You can run separate scans for electronics, home goods, apparel, and so on. This way, you'll manage the data more effectively and ensure you don’t miss out on any profitable products.
For broader sites, the Easy Bulk feature is incredibly useful. After toggling it ON, you’ll see a block appear on the right side of your screen. There, you’ll see your selected website’s categories organized into hierarchies. You can easily tick the boxes to include categories in your scan, and even choose which subcategories to exclude. This simplifies the process of creating a bulk list for scanning, and you can save your selected categories for future use.
Note: The categories are provided by Tactical Bucket for free, and you don’t need an account to use this feature. However, if you’re looking to expand your sourcing options, check out their subscription-based add-on sites you can import to TA.
If your target categories aren’t covered by Easy Bulk or you just want more control, you can manually enter the URLs for specific categories. On the left-hand side, there’s a box for category URLs. Once you’ve selected a website, you’ll see a Category Example box appear on the right side. It’ll show an example of how the URL should be formatted, ensuring you paste the correct URLs.
To find the category URLs, simply visit the site either manually or by clicking the blue icon beside the website field. Navigate to the category pages and copy each URL from the address bar. You can add up to 25 category URLs. Just press enter after each one to separate them.
Once your scans are complete, it’s time to dive into the results to see the most promising products. This step is crucial, as it allows you to sift through the data and separate the profitable opportunities from the duds.
To access your results, navigate to the View Data tab under Product Search. Here, you can revisit all the results of your scans. Note: Ensure that Advanced Mode is toggled on to unlock more detailed data.
In the “You are watching” dropdown, select the specific scan results you want to analyze. This is where naming your scans comes in handy, as it helps you quickly choose the relevant results. If you prefer, you can also choose “All Results” to see everything at once.
Within this tab, you have several tools at your disposal to refine your analysis. You can set up filters, exclude certain titles or ASINs, or use pre-saved options to narrow down your focus.
The columns in your results can also be rearranged to prioritize the information you want to see first. A recommended setup is to arrange the columns as follows: data chart, product image, Amazon image, title, Amazon title, gross profit, and price. This layout allows you to quickly assess key details and make informed decisions in one glance.
After narrowing down your options in the View Data tab, it’s important to ensure you have the most current information. For the most accurate analysis, click on Update Data to refresh source and adjusted prices, Amazon data, or all data. Additionally, there’s an orange button in each data row that allows you to update specific items as needed.
A gentle reminder: As you review your results, you’ll likely find a mix of products. Some will be “gemstones” (highly profitable), while others will be “coal” (unprofitable). Be cautious of deals that seem too good to be true, as they might be bundled items or have other hidden issues that skew the data.
If you want to take your search a step further, refine your filters to uncover even more deals. This optional step is particularly useful if you skipped the detailed analysis in Step 5 or if you’re looking to dig deeper into your results.
Here are a few options to explore:
In the Product Search tab, toggle this switch ON if you want the tool to check for image and title matches on Amazon. This is for products where Amazon has a matching image but lacks a matching UPC code. This feature can uncover hard-to-find items, but be aware that enabling it can double your search time. Note: This switch is hidden if you have the UPC Sites and Products Only option toggled ON.
This option is found under Other Filters in the Product Search tab. Toggling it ON will include results for products currently out of stock on Amazon, which can present unique opportunities.
Also located in the Other Filters section, these toggles allow you to include reverse search results. Toggle UPC sites and Title/Image Sites options ON to broaden your search. It’ll also provide a more comprehensive view of available products.
Tactical Edge is where you can get the real scoop on a product’s market potential. It lets you dig into specifics like competitor pricing, estimated sales, and stock levels. You can then use these insights to have a clearer picture of whether a product is worth the investment.
Here’s how to access Tactical Edge:
You can also access Tactical Edge at the bottom of TA’s legacy dashboard.
Note: Make sure you’ve authorized Tactical Arbitrage to connect to Amazon via the Amazon Authorization page before using this feature.
Now that you’ve analyzed your data, it’s time to make your first purchases.
If you’re just starting out, consider buying smaller quantities of several products rather than going all-in on one item. This approach helps you gain experience, test the waters, and build confidence without taking on too much risk.
As you come across products in restricted categories, don’t forget to apply for ungating. Gaining permission to sell in these categories keeps your options open and expands your inventory.
Before diving into the nitty-gritty of product searches, it’s a good idea to set yourself up for success with a few optional steps.
One effective strategy is subscribing to online arbitrage newsletters. They can keep you in the loop about upcoming sales, discounts, an product trends. Services like SalesGazer.com even consolidate deals from various platforms. This lets you stay ahead of the competition without having to scouring the web yourself.
Additionally, you can earn greater profit by taking advantage of available discounts. Cashback sites like Rakuten or TopCashback offer a percentage of your purchase back as cash. This will add a bit more cushion to your margins.
Discount gift card sites like Raise or tools like Christopher Grant's RevROI can also help you save more and further boost your bottom line.
Tactical Arbitrage is more than just a tool—it gives you the edge you need to find those hidden arbitrage deals that others miss.
Start small and experiment with different strategies. Continuously refine your approach. Soon, you'll find yourself navigating the world of online arbitrage with confidence and success. After all, the opportunities are endless. And with Tactical Arbitrage at your fingertips, you’re equipped to make the most of them.
Get started with a free trial of Tactical Arbitrage today.
