A Lightning Deal drops a branded speaker on Amazon.co.uk from £79.99 to £54.99. You know it usually sells at £79.99, so you buy a few units and resell them once the deal ends. That is Amazon to Amazon arbitrage, or A2A for short. It sounds like easy money, but after VAT, Amazon fees and competition, a £25 price gap often shrinks to a few pounds. This guide shows how Amazon arbitrage works for UK sellers in 2026, how to calculate real net profit, which Amazon and HMRC rules apply and which tools help you find price gaps before everyone else does.
Key takeaways
With A2A you buy products on Amazon at a low price and sell them on Amazon at a higher price, either later on the same marketplace or on a different one. Price gaps come from Lightning Deals, stock shortages, exchange rates and different VAT rates. What counts is not the gap you see but the profit left after VAT, referral fees, FBA fees and shipping. For UK sellers, flips within Amazon.co.uk are the easiest starting point, because every flip between the UK and the EU is an import with customs paperwork.
What is Amazon arbitrage (A2A)?
Arbitrage means buying something where it is cheap and selling it where it is worth more. With Amazon to Amazon arbitrage, Amazon is both your supplier and your sales channel. You buy branded products from Amazon, send them to an Amazon fulfilment centre and sell them through your own seller account on existing listings. It is one of the oldest ways to start in e-commerce with little capital, because you do not need your own product or a supplier account.
A2A is a type of online arbitrage. With classic online arbitrage you buy from online shops such as Argos, Currys or Boots, with retail arbitrage you buy in physical stores. With A2A everything stays inside Amazon, so you see price history, sales rank and competition on both sides with the same data. For a full introduction, read our Amazon online arbitrage guide.
| Online arbitrage | Retail arbitrage | A2A arbitrage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where you buy | Online shops like Argos, Currys, Boots | High street stores, outlets, clearance | Amazon.co.uk, .de, .fr, .it, .es, .nl |
| Data when buying | Shop price plus Amazon data | Scanner app in store | Keepa data on both sides |
| Speed | Medium | Slow, in person | Very fast, deals often vanish within hours |
| Typical margin | 10 to 30% ROI | 15 to 40% ROI | 5 to 20% ROI |
| Main risk | Invoices, delivery times | Time spent | Competition, VAT |
Why do prices differ on Amazon?
Lightning Deals and events. Prime Day, Black Friday and daily deals cut prices for hours or days. Once the deal ends, the price usually returns to its normal level.
Stock and demand. When Amazon itself runs out of stock on a listing, third-party prices often jump. Buying while Amazon still sells cheaply and selling while it is out of stock is a classic A2A pattern.
VAT and exchange rates. The UK charges 20% VAT, Germany 19%, France 20%, Spain 21% and Italy 22%. On top of that, the pound to euro rate moves every day while Amazon prices adjust with a delay.
Business prices and coupons. With an Amazon Business account you often see quantity discounts and coupons that consumers do not get. These hidden discounts turn many small gaps into real deals.
Three A2A arbitrage strategies for UK sellers
Price recovery on Amazon.co.uk
You buy during a deal and sell on Amazon.co.uk once the price recovers. No customs, no foreign VAT, no currency risk. Keepa shows you whether the price really comes back. A product that has sat at £80 for months and drops to £55 for one day is a good candidate. A product whose price jumps up and down every week is not.
Buying in the EU, selling in the UK
Since Brexit, goods from Amazon.de or Amazon.it arrive in the UK as imports. You need a customs declaration, you pay 20% import VAT and possibly customs duty. EU-origin goods can usually enter duty free if the paperwork proves their origin. If you are VAT registered, postponed VAT accounting lets you reclaim the import VAT on the same return. The UK still recognises goods first sold in the European Economic Area as exhausted, so reselling EU stock here is generally fine from a trade mark point of view.
Buying in the UK, selling in the EU
The other direction is harder. The EU does not treat goods placed only on the UK market as exhausted, so selling UK stock on Amazon.de can infringe a brand owner's trade mark. You also need EU VAT registration for stock stored in an EU fulfilment centre. For beginners this route is best avoided.
Amazon arbitrage in 6 steps
1. Pick a marketplace pair
Decide where you buy and where you sell. Start with Amazon.co.uk on both sides. Once you understand fees and price patterns, you can add EU marketplaces.
2. Find the price gap
Look for ASINs that are well below their usual price or cheaper on another marketplace. Manual sourcing works for ten products, not for ten thousand. That is where arbitrage software comes in.
3. Work out net profit
Take the selling price, remove VAT, then subtract the net buy price, referral fee, FBA fee, inbound shipping and prep. What is left is your profit. Many sellers set a floor of 15 to 20% ROI and at least £3 profit per unit. Check the Best Sellers Rank too: the lower it is, the faster the product sells.
4. Check you can sell it
In Seller Central, check whether the brand or category needs approval. Count the sellers on the listing and see whether Amazon sells it too. Hazmat, oversize items and products with country-specific packaging or plugs rarely work for A2A.
5. Buy and send it to Amazon FBA
Buy household quantities, because Amazon's conditions of sale allow it to limit or cancel larger orders. Use an Amazon Business account with your VAT number so you receive proper VAT invoices. You must own the stock before you list it. Listing items you do not hold and ordering them from Amazon for your customer after the sale is dropshipping from another retailer, which Amazon's policy prohibits. Have the goods delivered to you or to a prep centre, check their condition and send them in.
6. Sell and monitor
Once your stock is live, price decides your share of the Buy Box. Watch the price and the number of sellers. If the price falls, decide early whether to sell at a small profit or at cost. Stock that sits for months costs storage fees and ties up your cash.
Worked example: what is left of a £25 price gap
You buy during a Lightning Deal on Amazon.co.uk for £54.99 including 20% VAT and sell on Amazon.co.uk for £79.99. You are VAT registered and buy through Amazon Business.
Of the £79.99 selling price, £13.33 is VAT, leaving £66.66. Subtract the net buy price of £45.83, a 15% referral fee of £12.00, an FBA fee of £3.90 and £1.20 for inbound shipping and prep. You keep £3.73 per unit, an ROI of 8.1%. Now imagine ten new sellers join the listing and the price drops to £69.99. The same unit then loses £3.10. Fees in this example are illustrative and depend on category, size and fulfilment route.
On top comes your selling plan: the Professional plan costs £25 a month excluding VAT, the Individual plan £0.75 per item sold. From about 35 sales a month, Professional is cheaper, and only Professional sellers can win the Buy Box. For a full breakdown, see our guide to Amazon FBA costs.
VAT, HMRC and tax for UK arbitrage sellers
Registering the business. Buying and reselling for profit on a regular basis is trading. Register as self-employed with HMRC or set up a limited company. The £1,000 trading allowance only covers very small side income.
VAT threshold. UK-established sellers must register for VAT once their taxable turnover passes £90,000 in 12 months. Sellers established outside the UK must register from their first UK sale. Below the threshold you charge no VAT but cannot reclaim VAT on purchases either, which changes the maths of every flip.
Stock in the EU. If you also sell on Amazon.de or Amazon.fr, stock stored in an EU fulfilment centre usually requires VAT registration in that country. How Pan-EU and the European Fulfilment Network differ is explained in our comparison of Amazon Pan-EU vs EFN. Speak to an accountant before you scale.
Is Amazon arbitrage legal in the UK?
Yes. Genuine goods that the brand owner has put on the UK or EEA market can generally be resold. Grey market suppliers with unclear sources carry legal risk, whereas buying from Amazon gives you a traceable source. You still have to follow these rules:
Condition. Only unopened items in original packaging can be listed as New. Damaged packaging means listing as Used.
Approvals and invoices. Many brands and categories need approval. Amazon usually asks for invoices from manufacturers or authorised distributors dated within the last 365 days. A consumer receipt from Amazon rarely qualifies.
Product compliance. Products sold in Great Britain need the right safety marking and English instructions. EU-only packaging may lack the UKCA or UK importer details for some categories.
IP complaints. Some brands actively target resellers. An IP complaint can put your account at risk even when you are in the right, so avoid brands known for them.
Risks: why good A2A deals go bad
The biggest risk is other sellers. Many arbitrage sellers use the same tools and deal groups. When a flip gets shared, ten, twenty or more sellers pile onto the listing and undercut each other for the Buy Box. Industry estimates put the share of sales that go through the Buy Box at over 80%, so a shared Buy Box means you sell only a fraction. A deal from a public Discord group is often burnt by the time you see it. Prices on Amazon change fast, so A2A takes time and active monitoring. Test several products at once and buy three units rather than thirty at the start.
The best Amazon arbitrage tools
Keepa for price history and alerts
Keepa says it tracks over 6 billion Amazon products and shows price history, sales rank and seller counts on every Amazon marketplace. Learn to read the charts in our guide to Keepa product research and set up Amazon price alerts with Keepa so you hear about drops straight away.
ProfitGo for beginners
ProfitGo is the ProfitPath Chrome extension and app. It compares prices across Amazon marketplaces and more than 1,000 shops in the UK and EU and shows FBA fees, margin, ROI, BSR and 30 to 180 day price history right on the product page, with VAT settings per market. If you want to check deals by hand first, this is the cheapest way in, and you can try it free for 14 days.
ProfitPath A2A Search for automated sourcing
ProfitPath A2A Search compares Amazon UK, DE, FR, IT, ES and NL in real time. Every flip includes VAT for both markets, live GBP and EUR conversion, Pan-EU or EFN fees, business prices and coupons. You set minimum profit, margin, ROI and sales and get a list sorted by net profit per unit, and you can send flips to Price Alerts. A2A Search is included from the Pro plan, and every ProfitPath plan comes with a 14-day free trial.
Repricers and Tactical Arbitrage
A repricer adjusts your price to the competition in real time. Always set a minimum price so your profit does not disappear. Tactical Arbitrage scans hundreds of online stores and matches them against Amazon, but it was built for the US market, so you often have to recalculate UK VAT and EU fees yourself. Compare the main options in our overview of the best online arbitrage tools.
Which products work for A2A?
Small, light branded products with a steady sales rank work best: electronics accessories, toys, tools and small household appliances. Avoid hazmat items such as batteries and aerosols, oversize goods, food with best-before dates and products with EU plugs or foreign-language packaging when selling in the UK.
Pros and cons of Amazon arbitrage
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| No own product and no minimum order quantities | Often thin margins after VAT and fees |
| Demand and price history visible before buying | Heavy competition and price pressure |
| Fast cash turnover with FBA storage and shipping | Time-consuming research without tools |
| Flexible choice of products and marketplaces | Risk from approvals, IP complaints and VAT |
Common Amazon arbitrage mistakes
Comparing gross prices. Ignoring VAT turns losing flips into apparent bargains. Buying too much at once. Test a new flip with a few units first. Skipping the approval check. Stock you cannot sell has to be removed at your cost. Losing invoices. Keep every receipt for Amazon and HMRC. Relying only on deal groups. Your own search rules find flips that a hundred other sellers are not buying at the same time.
A2A, online arbitrage or private label?
A2A suits you if you want to turn cash over quickly and are happy to hunt for deals every day. Online arbitrage offers more sources and often higher margins. Private label means your own brand, more start-up capital and a longer lead time, but no Buy Box fight with other sellers. We compare both models in Amazon arbitrage vs private label.
FAQ: Amazon arbitrage in the UK
Is Amazon arbitrage legal in the UK?
Yes. You can resell genuine goods that were put on the UK or EEA market by the brand owner, as long as you follow Amazon's rules on condition, approvals and quantities and handle VAT correctly.
Can you buy from Amazon and sell on Amazon?
Yes, if the item is new and unopened and you own it before listing. Amazon only sells household quantities, and an Amazon receipt is usually not enough for gated brands.
How much money do I need to start A2A?
£500 to £1,500 is enough to test several flips with a few units each. Budget extra for tools, inbound shipping and the wait until Amazon pays out.
Do I need to be VAT registered?
Only above £90,000 turnover if you are UK established. Non-UK sellers must register from the first sale. Without registration you cannot reclaim VAT on your purchases.
What is the difference between A2A and online arbitrage?
Online arbitrage buys from any online shop, A2A only from Amazon. A2A is faster and has better data, but competition is higher and margins are often smaller.
Which tool is best for A2A?
Keepa is the standard for price history. ProfitGo suits beginners who check deals by hand. ProfitPath A2A Search finds flips between Amazon UK and the EU automatically with VAT and exchange rates included.
Conclusion
Amazon arbitrage still works in 2026, but not by looking at the gross price. Calculate net, keep your VAT position clear, check approvals and move faster than the crowd. UK sellers should start with flips inside Amazon.co.uk and only add EU marketplaces once the numbers are solid. Check deals on the spot with ProfitGo or let ProfitPath A2A Search find them for you. Both come with a 14-day free trial.
