Blog › Retail arbitrage basics

A Reseller's Glossary: 30 Terms Explained

1 min read · Retail arbitrage basics

Short definitions of the terms resellers use, from ASIN and Buy Box to gating, ROI and sell-through.

Sourcing

Retail arbitrage (RA): buying in stores to resell
Online arbitrage (OA): buying from websites to resell
Clearance: stock a store is marking down to remove
BOLO: "be on the lookout", a product worth buying when seen

Listing

ASIN: Amazon's product identifier
UPC: the barcode number
Buy Box: the offer a shopper buys from by default
Gated: needing approval to sell

Money

ROI: profit divided by cost
Margin: profit divided by selling price
Referral fee: the marketplace's commission
Sell-through: how quickly stock sells

Fulfilment

FBA: the marketplace stores and ships for you
FBM: you ship orders yourself
Prep: labelling and packing to the warehouse's rules

General information for resellers, not financial, tax or legal advice. Marketplace fees and policies change; check the current rules before you buy.

Find clearance deals without checking every store yourself

Retail Arbitrage Canada scans Canadian store clearance pages, flyers and deal forums and shows the brand-name items that clear your profit and ROI rules.

Start a free trial

Keep reading

Retail arbitrage basicsWhat Is Retail Arbitrage? A Plain Guide for Canadians

Retail arbitrage means buying discounted products from stores and reselling them online for more. Here is how it works in Canada.

Retail arbitrage basicsIs Retail Arbitrage Legal in Canada?

Reselling products you bought legitimately is generally legal in Canada, but marketplaces and brands add their own rules.

Retail arbitrage basicsRetail Arbitrage vs Online Arbitrage: Which Suits You?

Retail arbitrage means sourcing in stores; online arbitrage means sourcing from websites. Each has different costs and limits.