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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 routine.
This 9-step guide will help you set up Tactical Arbitrage and maximize your profits, fast. Let’s dive in and get you started on the path to better margins and less work.
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, and product trends. Services like SalesGazer.com even consolidate deals from various platforms. This lets you stay ahead of the competition without the need to scour 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.
With your account prepped, you’re now ready to start searching for profitable products. Tactical Arbitrage offers two easy-to-use tools designed for beginners: Quick Picks and Guided Search. These features make the sourcing process straightforward, so you can hit the ground running even when you’re new at arbitrage.
Start by logging in to Tactical Arbitrage.
On the Home screen, you’ll see quick links to Tactical Arbitrage’s core features. For a headstart, we suggest beginning with Quick Picks. This tool delivers instant results without needing to adjust too many settings, making it ideal for first-time users.
Quick Picks is the best starting point for new users who want quick results without the wait or complex setups. This feature pulls cached data from Tactical Arbitrage’s database, allowing you to explore potential deals in just a few clicks. Here's how to use it:
For users ready to customize their search a bit more while still keeping things simple, Guided Search is the next step. It’s still beginner-friendly, but it lets you target specific categories or websites. Here’s how to use it:
Once you’ve explored Quick Picks and Guided Search, it’s time to refine your search even further using Product Search. Setting up the right filters is crucial as the right filters can help you identify profitable products more efficiently. By customizing your search criteria, you can zero in on opportunities that align with your goals and sourcing strategy.
To start, head over to Product Search.
Your first task is to select a domain to search within the Sourcing From dropdown menu. 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 select the Amazon marketplace you’re selling to. TA covers 12 marketplaces across the globe: US, UK, CA, DE, AU, IN, JP, ES, FR, IT, MX, BR.
You can then choose the website you want to source from via the dropdown menu. The available websites will be filtered based on the country you selected. You can filter these sites further by selecting options like All, Popular, Updated, Custom, or Discover.
To segment your searches based on the categories of your chosen website, you can use options like Import Bulk Category List, Easy Bulk, or manage your bulk lists with the Manager button.
You can even control how many pages of the categories will be crawled for products. For example, if you want to scan all 317 products in the category and there are 100 per page, set the start page value as 1 and the last page value as 4. Leave blank to scan all available products in that category.
If you want, you can also export your results to Google Drive, name your search, or stop the search after a set duration (3–60 hours).
Finally, adjust your filters based on specific categories. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find options such as Source Price Adjustments, Remove, Source Titles, Costs/Fees, Profit & ROI, and Other Filters.
Here’s a quick rundown of each filter group:
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.)
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. Below the website dropdown, 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 Results 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 do a deep dive on your results. 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, make your filters even more granular. This 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:
1. Analysis Tab: Head over to the Analysis tab in the left-hand menu. Select Tactical Edge. Paste the ASIN/UPC and the Price to Compare. Then, click Fetch Information.
2. View Data: In the View Data tab, look for the microscope icon in the product row (under the Selling New column). Click it to run the Tactical Edge scan.
3. You can also access Tactical Edge at the bottom of TA’s legacy dashboard. Just toggle the new UI OFF at the bottom of the Home screen.
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.
Tactical Arbitrage is more than just a tool—it gives you the edge you need to find those hidden 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.
Ready to start your journey? The best time to dive in is now.
