Zen Arbitrage – like most Amazon FBA programs – wants you to believe you can build and run a successful e-commerce business that’s automated, profitable, and generates cash around the clock in less than 90 days…
With just a couple hundred dollars in inventory…
Sounds a little too good to be true, huh?
Look, as far as most online businesses go, you could do a lot worse than Amazon FBA.
But does that mean it’s the best solution for you?
That’s what we’ll find out in this Zen Arbitrage review.
The biggest things you have to consider here are:
- Inventory Management
- Product Selection
- Time to Profit
While you can make good money with Amazon FBA, it’s not as easy or simple as most course creators make it sound. Let’s break these 3 down real fast:
1) Inventory Management: If you’re doing an FBA business, the promise is that you don’t need to worry at all about inventory, because Amazon takes care of packing, shipping, customer service, etc.
However, you still need to get products to Amazon. And Amazon has very strict rules all sellers have to follow when preparing products for their warehouses.
This includes packaging, labeling, and registering products in their system. If you’re preparing all products yourself, you’ll spend a TON of time on this step (potentially 4-5 hours a day). So if you’re looking for a passive, automated business that runs itself, this might not be the best fit.
Now, yes, you can hire an Amazon prep center to do all this for you, but that eats into your margins. And remember that Amazon takes around 30-40% in fees for using the FBA program, so your profits are pretty tight to begin with.
2) Product Selection: E-commerce is a cyclical business. “Hot” products are always going in and out of fashion, which means, as an Amazon seller, you constantly need to be on the lookout for the next big thing.
That means monitoring trends, searching for products that might be popular down the line, and constantly in a rat race to – essentially – predict the future.
Sure, you can play in the evergreen market (things people always need and buy), but how much profit margin are you really going to get on meal prep containers, rubber spatulas, and golf umbrellas? Especially when there are hundreds of thousands of other sellers all swimming in that same ocean.
And because you’re constantly hunting for new hot products to sell, that takes up all the valuable time you could be using to travel, explore, read, surf, hike, or whatever else.
3) Time To Profit: Now, this isn’t the slowest turnaround time, but if you think you can put a dollar into inventory today and come out with two tomorrow, you’re sadly mistaken. From the time you first buy products to sell, you could be looking at anywhere from 4-12 weeks before you see a dollar come back.
And it could take twice as long before you break even.
Now, that’s not terrible, but what if you could start building a different (non-Amazon) income stream today, and see your first profits tomorrow?
What if you could build a passive income stream that’s actually passive?
An income stream that doesn’t require:
- Inventory
- Low margins
- Constantly looking for the next hot product
An income stream that brings in consistent revenues every single month (from a couple thousand dollars to well over $10,000)?
An income stream you could actually build in your spare time, and grow as large or as small as you want to, without having to spend hours a day packing, prepping, and researching?
If that sounds like something you’d be interested in, check out Digital Landlord.
However, if you’d still like to know more about Zen Arbitrage, keep reading.
Zen Arbitrage Review: Buy Cheap Books & Resell FBA
This approach allows you to buy books from Amazon and resell them through Amazon FBA. Unfortunately selling books won’t really get you that far because of the very low profit margin in this line of business.
But Why Does The Profit Have To Be Low With Books?
With Zen Arbitrage, some people have sold a $5-book for $70.
The idea of this system had me scratching my head, curious to know why one would buy on Amazon and again, sell on Amazon FBA.
What’s the need for such a system when you can just go to regular Amazon and purchase a book at a cheaper price?
The answer is quite simple and obvious – not every order you find in Amazon is “fulfilled” by them. We all know that there are loads of resellers in the site which mostly are not very trustworthy.
So when an order is “fulfilled by Amazon,” people tend to trust more.
Amazon ensures secure delivery and follows strict precautions that other third-party sellers do not do.
Additionally, someone with Prime may prioritize Amazon Fulfilled products since they may be eligible for a two-day delivery, plus many other reasons why which I covered in-depth in my Zen Arbitrage Software review.
What Is Zen Arbitrage? Best FBA Book Arbitrage Software
Zen Arbitrage Review: Zen Arbitrage is a custom-made online book arbitrage.
The whole idea of Zen Arbitrage is built on custom-built software developed by Peter Valley himself.
Essentially, the software is used to search for books that you can buy and resell with a mark-up on Amazon FBA.
The software scans for prices of Amazon new and/or used books then compares them with the current prices of books on FBA that have the same or similar condition.
For example, I found one for $51.73 from the cheapest source, including sales tax and shipping, which I can resell for $119.99 and get a good profit of $33.86.
The program allows you to see whether there are other book sellers who offer the same book at a lower price.
It also uses a calculator option where you can enter the amount you might pay for the book and the current price on Amazon FBA less the Amazon fees which are automatically deducted by the calculator, giving you an approximation of your profit margin on that specific book.
Unfortunately, the calculator does not account for sales tax, so if you live in a state that charges tax on online orders, you must compute the cost with the sales tax manually, and input it into the profit calculator.
How It Works?
- Search Amazon for books using the book arbitrage tool.
- Calculate the book’s FBA price. including the taxes and fees.
- Calculate to find out whether the listing price of the book is competitive.
- Purchase the books online and have them delivered to your office, home, prep &pack firm, or FBA warehouse.
- Post it for sale and begin receiving orders.
Peter Valley, an Amazon veteran since 2007, is the guy behind Zen Arbitrage.
Among the Amazon Sellers online courses he designed and created are Feedback Autopilot, FBA Mastery, Book Sourcing Science, Textbook Annihilation or Trade in Arbitrage.
Pricing
Zen Arbitrage charges $79 monthly inclusive of all functions and features.
Trial Period
Zen Arbitrage has a free trial period of five days and does not require a credit card.
Peter Valley Story Of Zen Arbitrage Software
Peter is a serial author who has been selling on Amazon since 2007. Before anybody had known the term, “online shopping,” Peter has mastered it via the Amazon platform.
He has also authored several books on the ‘Art of Selling Books on Amazon,’ with not one, but a total of 14 books about the subject.
He is also in the business of training and teaching people and is an authority figure in this area. Many have had successful results who were mentored and trained under him using the program.
Besides this, he also runs a YouTube channel where he shares valuable information about buying and reselling books on Amazon.
He developed this program to make the process of identifying and screening books for future sale easier.
Features Of Zen Arbitrage
1. Huge Database
The program has a large database of books. When a person considers purchasing fewer books, the huge selection of books available will drive them insane.
Unlike other sites which contain roughly 3 million books, the Zen Arbitrage platform boasts of approximately 21 million.
They also have ten times higher return rate than any other method. If a person is still unable to locate a book, they can browse from more than 40 websites offered just by the program.
To compare, eFlip and Zen Arbitrage are both great for book arbitrage, but eFlip has some advantages over Zen Arbitrage because the tool can be used for flipping different products such as Vinyl, CD’s, DVD’s, and so on. Generally, it relies on the requirements of the user.
2. Laser-Precise Search Options
Many options are available for searching, including the sales rank, number of offers, book category, new or used price, title, and Amazon’s pricing.
The search choices are quite straightforward and can assist them in getting to where they want to go. This saves you the trouble of browsing through pages and remembering every single one.
3. FBA Automator Present
Zen arbitrage can automatically:
- Scan for books across 40+ sites.
- Obtain real-time FBA pricing.
- Obtain real-time 3PL pricing data.
- Obtain real-time shipping costs.
- Track your profitability and sales.
- (On Legal Permissions): Check if the book can be sold before buying.
- Forecast wasted investments: Do not hoard books which you cannot sell.
- Provide Real-time price history charts: With the use of the Keepa API
- Provide Real-time sales history charts
- Trends and profits: Identify the books the books that are trending in real time plus their profits
4. Biggest Book Arbitrage Video Library
The program contains the largest arbitrage library in the world.
There are books for every skill level available on the site which is very helpful for someone looking to make money online.
This video library helps people make the best judgment possible based on projected investments, future profitability, and long-term sales.
The arbitrage library carries more than 50 videos.
5. Textbook Database
No other sites have ever supplied textbook databases on book sales and purchases.
Furthermore, there’s nothing formal about the database, yet it has a selected compilation of more than 300,000 textbooks as well as a library of more than 20 million web-based materials.
You’ll find a lot to discover in this platform and your options are almost entirely limitless.
6. Historic Rank And Sales Data
There are data available online on previous sales and rankings.
This enables you to make the best selection of books and identify which of them has seen a lower profit in the market. In this way, it will help you avoid making lesser profits and makes zero-loss percentage.
Also, it helps you make the best selection of books and identify which of them has seen a lower profit in the market. In this way, it helps you avoid making lesser profits and reduces the loss percentage, even down to zero.
You can also find sales history charts in real time and also projected wasted investment.
7. Arbitrage Marketplace
The program not only guides and provides purchase alternatives for books, but it also offers a platform for selling.
Aside from selling on Amazon FBA, the Arbitrage Marketplace allows you to acquire and sell leads to increase your income.
This is yet another unique Zen Arbitrage feature which nobody else has offered.
9. 10 Ways To Arbitrage
Zen Arbitrage provides ten different ways to earn from your arbitrage:
- Searching
- Selling leads
- And buying leads
- and seven other ways!
If you want to purchase or sell leads, they also provide a lead liquidation service that’s exclusive to the software to help you with selling your books.
Zen Arbitrage users get access to a special arbitrage books marketplace.
10. Price Drop Alert Feature
Every time the price of a book drops, an automated message is sent to notify you.
11. And More Features
- Full training inclusive of 50 videos
- Live monthly webinars
- Peter Valley’s cell number!
- Email and chat support
- No commitments or contracts
- 100% web-based
- Prep service partner
- Private Facebook group for Zen Arbitrage members
- And a lot more!
Can You Really Make Money With Zen Arbitrage?
Yes, You Can!!!
But there’s a lot that comes along with FBA that many people struggle with.
In fact, check out our Top 5 Reason Why Dropshippers Fail.
Now, don’t get me wrong…
You can certainly make money with Amazon FBA, but if you’re gonna put in the amount of grueling work to do this type of business (which, trust me, isn’t easy), you might as well bring in some REAL money while you’re learning the ropes.
Final Verdict: Is Zen Arbitrage A Scam? Is It Worth The Money?
So, is Zen Arbitrage a scam? Not technically. You can make money with this program, but it’s definitely not as easy as it makes it sound.
There’s a ton of work to be done upfront, no real guarantee of success, and – most importantly – you need to do a ton of volume to make any real money.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with front-loading the work and making the money later.
But if you’re grinding it out for 3 months and then your reward is 15% profit on a $12 product (which comes out to $1.80), it’s not really worth it.
What if, instead, you could do that same 3 months of work (in your spare time), and your reward was a $500 to $2,000 payment that came in every single month (recurring revenue)?
And what if you actually didn’t need to wait 3 months? What if you could get started today and have your first payment in a week?
And what if you could double it next week?
Well, that’s the power of Digital Landlord.
And, unlike with Amazon FBA, you can legitimately do this from anywhere. It’s a true lifestyle business.
Your laptop and an internet connection is all you need.
Some of the most successful students in this program run their entire 6-figure businesses from:
- A camper in the middle of the woods
- A beach chair on the water in Mexico
- A small villa in Greece
They’re able to travel around, living their lives first, and focusing on their income second.
Because even if they stop working for an extended period of time, the money keeps coming in.
So adventure, memories, and experience are the top priority.
And they never have to worry about how to pay for the next trip, or consider asking for time off.
If this sounds more like the type of life you want to lead, just click here to find out more about Digital Landlord.
Are There Any Alternatives To Zen Arbitrage?
Yes, there are plenty of other business models to choose from if you want to pursue this making money online. Here are just a few:
- Local Lead Generation
- Digital Landlord
- SEO
- Real Estate
- Website Building
What Is Our Top Recommendation For Making Money Online In 2024?
The Degree Finders team has spent months researching, reviewing, and vetting dozens of business models and thousands of programs.
While there may be no “perfect business”, the research IS conclusive:
Digital Landlord is the #1 online business model for those just starting out.
Whether you’ve never made a dollar online, or you’ve been in this space for a while but never really “made it,” Digital Landlord is for you.
Why?
1) It’s Flexible: got an hour a day? You can do this. Ready to drop everything else and dive in full time? You can do this. Yes, the more time you put in, the faster you see results. But even with a little time each day, you can move the needle in a Digital Landlord business.
And because this system is so flexible, you don’t have to constantly be working to make more money. It’s called PASSIVE INCOME because if you stop working, the money doesn’t.
Imagine taking 3 months off to just tour around Europe, rent a cabin in the woods to write a book, hike the Appalachian Trail, or live on the beach and surf all day.
This is only possible if you have an income stream that’s not tied to your time.
2) You Own & Control EVERYTHING: With Amazon FBA, you don’t really own anything. Yes, you technically own the products before you send them into an Amazon warehouse, but that’s it.
You don’t own the sales platform, you don’t own a brand, and you don’t own the customers.
Not to mention, Amazon can literally shut you down at any time if they believe you’ve violated their constantly changing terms of service.
So you’re building a business that could be completely taken away from you in the blink of an eye.
With Digital Landlord, you own the assets, which means you have all the power and all the control.
3) Little To No Startup Costs: It’s possible to get into Digital Landlord with zero dollars upfront. Because, using the strategies outlined in this program, you can get a client to pay you BEFORE spending a penny out of your own pocket…even before you do any work.
Even without getting paid in advance, you can have your first Digital Rental Property up, running, and generating profits for less than $100.
4) No Inventory: As mentioned above, spending 4-5 hours a day prepping and packing products to send to Amazon is a huge time commitment.
Plus, you constantly need to be buying new products if you want to maintain your business. You need to spend even more money if you want to scale up.
With physical products, you’ll always have limits on your time and freedom.
With Digital Landlord, a 100% online business, you never have to worry about that.
5) Easy To Duplicate: Ok, here’s the best part: once you have your first Digital Rental Property up and running, you can literally DOUBLE your income with a few clicks, a couple keystrokes, and a single phone call (and you don’t actually need the phone call).
Remember: each Digital Rental Property is worth $500 to $2,000 a month in semi-passive income (over 95% profit). Every time you decide to create another one and increase your income, it gets easier.
Because you have more knowledge, more experience, more results, and more momentum.
If you wanted to double your income with Amazon FBA, you’d have to double your inventory OR your profit margins. And, guaranteed that’s a lot harder than a few clicks and a few minutes of your life.
6) Make Money Helping Real People: This part is what makes it all worth it. Amazon FBA is a decent way to make yourself money, but it doesn’t improve anyone else’s lives.
After all, there’s always someone else selling rubber spatulas and umbrellas. That might be fine in the short term, but in the long run you may feel like you’re missing a purpose.
With Digital Landlord though, you’re actually helping people by solving your clients’ biggest problem…
Small, local businesses need more customers, and with Digital Landlord, you are unleashing a flood of happy, paying customers for these businesses.
You make money by helping them make money.
Not a big, faceless corporation either…a small business owner who’s using that money to put food on the table for their family, start a college fund for their kids, or take care of a sick parent.
Once you see how Digital Landlord makes a real impact in the lives of real people, you’ll sleep like a baby with a big smile on your face.
Now, the choice is yours. You could continue browsing, looking at opportunities like Zen Arbitrage which could one day make you money.
You could continue researching, never making a decision.
OR, you could take a look inside, consider what you really want, and join a program that makes your dreams a reality. At the same time, joining a community of over 2,000 successful students that are living life on their own terms thanks to Digital Landlord.
A consistent, reliable, semi-passive stream of income that doesn’t depend on you or your time to keep producing profits.
All while genuinely helping real people who are grateful and happy to pay for it.
If this sounds more like what you want out of life (or if you just want some nice side income), click here to learn more about Digital Landlord.
