Everything on storefront stalking as an arbitrage seller

Storefront stalking is a technique Amazon sellers use to find profitable products by examining other sellers' storefronts. This method helps identify items that are selling well, which can then be sourced at a profitable cost and resold at a higher price. By analyzing other resellers' listings, sellers can discover new, successful products to add to their own inventory for resale.

What is storefront stalking?

Storefront stalking is the method of checking out other sellers' storefronts, seeing what's selling, and then finding those items yourself online or in-store to resell at a profit. It's a great way to discover items that are already proven flips without having to guess what might work.

Step-by-step guide to storefront stalking

Here's how you can start storefront stalking like a pro:

1. Find popular brands. Start with brands that resellers commonly carry, like Kirkland or Trader Joe's. Many big names (Nike among them) are restricted for most accounts, and grocery needs category approval, so check your eligibility on a brand before you go deep on it.

2. Check out seller storefronts. Once you've got some brands in mind such as those, look at the storefronts of sellers who are already listing those products. This gives you a peek at what's currently moving and at what price.

3. Focus on reseller-friendly products. Not everything is worth reselling. Steer clear of items that are tied up with big retailers or brands that don't like resellers. Instead, look for products that have a decent number of sellers but still leave room for a good profit.

4. Reverse source. After spotting some good items, figure out where you can buy them at a price that lets you make a profit. This is the core of the strategy — finding products that sell well and can be sourced at a low cost.

5. Use product data. Tools like Keepa can help you check out a product's sales rank, how often it sells, and how the price changes over time. This helps you make sure you're picking items that will sell quickly and for a good price. For the full list of tools and what they cost, see our online arbitrage software guide.

6. Find suppliers. Once you've nailed down some profitable products, search on Google for places to buy them. Whether it's online or in local stores, your goal is to find these products at prices that let you make a profit when you resell them.

What makes a good storefront to stalk?

The best storefronts to stalk are the ones with a mix of products and are not all into one specific category. Look for sellers with a good amount of positive reviews and products. No more than 1,000 products typically. Be cautious of sellers with a huge inventory of one brand — these guys are usually doing wholesale, which isn't what you're after.

Here's what to watch for:

• Variety of products. Sellers who offer a mix of different products tend to know what sells.
• Smaller inventories. Sellers who post products irregularly and in smaller amounts are often smaller resellers, which can be good for finding products that they research thoroughly usually.
• No Amazon competition. It's a good sign if Amazon isn't competing directly on their listings.
• Products similar to yours. Stick to sellers who are offering items like the ones you're interested in. If you're into selling Nike, for example, look for other Nike sellers.

Keeping up with new listings

To keep your product hunting fresh, you need to know what's newly listed. A tool like Stealth Seller can help: add the storefronts you want to follow and it re-checks them through the day, putting only what they've added since into one feed, with price, sales rank, monthly sales and offers on each product. Our Storefront Stalker Pro comparison covers how it stacks up against the other storefront tracker, and if you're just starting out, see why small storefronts are the best ones to stalk.