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Retail Arbitrage during the holidays

December 22nd, 2013 at 05:23 am

I've been making a bit of money during the holidays from retail arbitrage for the past few years. This year, I realized that it has gotten really crowded out there and isn't worth the effort anymore. I noticed that prices adjust on Ebay much more quickly after retailers post deals. Total profit this holiday season has been $100 only. Below is a list of things I've bought for reselling.

1. Cameras from Bestbuy. Purchased 2 @ $799 each. Ebay sold prices before were $1500. As soon as I received the items, prices dropped to $900. I returned the items to Bestbuy.

2. Diesel watches. 20 @ 125 each. Ebay sales indicated that they would sell for around $265 each. Prices dropped to $150 by the time I was ready to ship.

3. Also tried my luck with 3 PS4s @ 399 each. Sold 1 for a profit of $100 and the rest were returned.

Lucky for me, all purchases came with either free return shipping or free store returns. However, after accounting for the time spent researching all of this, I don't think I came out ahead. I won't be trying this out again unless I can find deals on products that are highly liquid with stable prices. This space has gotten way too crowded.

Posted in Saving Money | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Retail Arbitrage during the holidays”

  1. jeffrey Says:
    December 22nd, 2013 at 08:24 am 1387700649
    1387700649

    Do you think if you had waited a bit after the holidays that the prices (especially for the cameras) would have increased? With such a big difference in before and after price, my guess is that as long as a new model wasn't coming out, they would slowly slide back up toward the original $1500. A bit of a risk I suppose, but I doubt you would have lost any money...

  2. cardtrick Says:
    December 22nd, 2013 at 07:05 pm 1387739157
    1387739157

    jeffrey - Maybe. Although since demand drops after the holidays, prices might drop further. I don't like hanging on to things. It's just risky. I put everything on credit cards and those bills would come due. I'd rather not use up my cash paying those off. Maybe I'll check to see if prices go back up after the holidays. And if they do, i might try this again next season.

  3. jeffrey Says:
    December 23rd, 2013 at 04:29 am 1387772945
    1387772945

    My guess, and I could be wrong, is that they would likely rebound in March. Keep an eye on the prices and see if it happens.

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