Is online or retail arbitrage legal on Amazon in the US and the UK?
Max VershininFounder of Arbitrage Heroonline arbitrageretail arbitragefirst sale doctrineip complaintamazon policy
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Yes, in most cases. Under US and UK trademark law, reselling genuine branded goods that you bought lawfully is protected, with exceptions. In the US, the Ninth Circuit's 1995 Sebastian v. Longs ruling protects resale of the original article under its trademark. In the UK, section 12 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 covers goods put on the UK or EEA market by the owner or with consent, unless the owner has a legitimate reason to object. Amazon's US reselling guide describes retail arbitrage as usable within its guidelines.
Sellers who ask "is retail arbitrage legal" usually ask two things: does it break trademark law, and will Amazon allow it. This guide covers those two, not tax or other laws. Arbitrage Hero finds the price gaps in 430 US and UK stores and shows the profit, fees and ROI of each match. Whether you may sell the brand, and whether your purchase records satisfy Amazon, is a check you make before you buy.
This guide compares the US ruling with the UK statute and gives a checklist for your purchase records against Amazon's US invoice requirements.
Is retail arbitrage legal in the US?
In the US, trademark law generally protects the resale of genuine branded goods lawfully bought on the open market, through the "first sale" rule. The protection has exceptions, including missing safety instructions or warnings and conduct that makes buyers believe the reseller belongs to the brand's authorized sales network. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit stated the rule in Sebastian International v. Longs Drug Stores, decided on 8 May 1995: "Resale by the first purchaser of the original article under the producer's trademark is neither trademark infringement nor unfair competition."
The facts of that case are close to arbitrage. Longs, a drugstore chain, bought Sebastian hair care products "on the open market" and resold them. Sebastian wanted to stop this "diversion" to retailers it had not authorized. The court rejected it, because Longs did nothing "more than stock and resell genuine Sebastian products lawfully acquired on the open market under the true Sebastian trademark".
The court also cites an earlier Ninth Circuit case: the sale of a genuine trademarked product by a seller that is not authorized to sell it is not a violation of the Lanham Act, the US federal trademark law. So a brand's list of authorized sellers does not, on its own, make your resale a trademark infringement.
Is online arbitrage legal in the UK?
Yes. The UK rule is section 12(1) of the Trade Marks Act 1994. It says a registered trade mark "is not infringed" by its use for goods "put on the market in the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area under that trade mark by the proprietor or with his consent". For example, a genuine product that the brand put on the UK market through a UK shop generally meets the market requirement of section 12(1). Section 12(2) still lets the owner oppose further dealings for legitimate reasons, in particular a changed or impaired condition.
The words "the United Kingdom or" have been in force since 31 December 2020, after Brexit. Section 12(2) has had its current form since 31 December 2023. It refers to legitimate reasons to oppose further dealings "for the purpose of protecting the proprietor's property", in particular where the condition of the goods "has been changed or impaired after they have been put on the market".
A sale outside the UK or the EEA, for example in the US, does not by itself bring the goods under section 12(1). Check whether the trade mark owner, or someone with its consent, put the goods on the UK or EEA market.
Five situations need a closer trademark-law check
The Sebastian ruling and section 12 set different limits on the trademark protection for resale. The Sebastian ruling says the protection has "certain well-defined exceptions", and the UK statute names its own. The five checks below separate the US examples from the UK conditions. They are not a complete list of possible legal issues.
- The goods are not genuine. Both rules cover only goods that the brand or someone with its consent put on the market. A counterfeit is never protected.
- The condition has changed. Section 12(2) names goods whose condition "has been changed or impaired". The Sebastian ruling cites a treatise that limits the rule to "the genuine plaintiff's article in its original form".
- Instructions or warnings are missing. The Sebastian court describes an earlier case, Clairol, which "turned on the fact that the defendant sold Clairol's products without the instructions and warnings distributed with genuine Clairol products".
- You present yourself as part of the brand. The court says conduct beyond stocking and reselling can be infringement, as in cases where the reseller made the public believe it "was part of the producer's authorized sales" network.
- In the UK only, the owner or someone with its consent has not put the goods on the UK or EEA market. Section 12(1) then does not apply.
| Case | US source | UK source |
|---|---|---|
| Counterfeit product | Not covered: the rule protects "genuine" products (Sebastian) | Not covered: goods must be put on the market by the owner or with consent (s.12(1)) |
| Changed or damaged product | Rule covers the article "in its original form" (Sebastian, citing a treatise) | Owner may oppose when the condition is "changed or impaired" (s.12(2)) |
| Instructions or warnings removed | Clairol case, as Sebastian describes it | Not named in s.12; see the condition exception |
| Seller poses as an authorized dealer | Conduct beyond stocking and reselling (Sebastian) | Not named in s.12 |
| Goods not put on the UK or EEA market by the owner or with consent | Not covered in this guide | Outside s.12(1) |
Is retail arbitrage allowed on Amazon?
Yes, within Amazon's rules. Amazon's US reselling guide describes retail arbitrage as usable if sellers follow Amazon's selling guidelines; it does not give every seller permission to list every product. Amazon's "Guide to reselling in Amazon stores", published on 17 September 2025, defines retail arbitrage as "purchasing products from retail stores at lower prices and reselling them for a profit". It says: "It's possible to effectively use this tactic if you follow Amazon selling guidelines." It adds that a reseller "might need additional documents, such as invoices, to sell the products". The Amazon policy pages cited in this guide are for the US marketplace. UK sellers should check the requirements shown in their own Seller Central account.
Amazon's rules add limits that the law does not set. The same guide says that some categories "require approval before you can list products"; our guide explains how to get ungated on Amazon. Its note on sourcing says: "Drop-shipping retail-to-retail is prohibited." Our guide explains why Amazon does not allow retail-to-retail dropshipping.
Can a brand stop me from reselling its products on Amazon?
A brand's lack of authorization does not by itself make the resale of genuine goods a trademark infringement under the US Sebastian v. Longs ruling. Missing instructions or warnings, or presenting yourself as an authorized dealer, can change the result. In the UK, section 12 covers goods put on the UK or EEA market by the owner or with consent, and allows legitimate objections, such as a changed or impaired condition. A brand can still report your offer to Amazon even when your resale is lawful under trademark law. Amazon's US Intellectual Property Policy runs its own complaint and appeal process, and resale rights do not guarantee permission to list a product.
Amazon handles a brand's complaint under its US Intellectual Property Policy. The policy says: "Even if a seller is infringing IP without knowledge, we will still take action and the seller's account might receive a warning or be suspended." The glossary explains what an IP complaint on Amazon is. For a trademark or counterfeit notice about the product or its packaging, the same policy tells the seller to submit, through the Account Health Dashboard, "an invoice or Order ID that demonstrates the authenticity of the product".
For an appeal after multiple IP warnings, Amazon's US Intellectual Property Policy asks the seller to list the affected ASINs. The seller then gives at least one of these: invoices or Amazon order IDs that show authenticity, or an authorization letter from the rights owner, not a forwarded email. A court order also counts if it finds that the product does not infringe the asserted IP, or that the asserted IP is invalid or unenforceable. Follow the requirements in the specific notice.
Is a store receipt enough proof for Amazon?
Not always. Amazon's 2025 reselling guide says that "purchase orders, invoices, and receipts can serve as proof of authenticity". But Amazon's US help page Invoice requirements for appealing a policy violation, read on 3 November 2026, names neither store receipts nor online order confirmations. It defines an invoice as a document "issued directly by a supplier" and lists what the document must show.
The invoice page asks for five things. The first is the supplier's name, phone number, address and website. The second is an invoice issue date within the 365 days before you received the performance notification. The third is a quantity that covers your sales and in-stock inventory of each cited ASIN over the past 365 days. The fourth is clear product names, model numbers or a UPC, EAN or ISBN. The fifth is a completed, fulfilled transaction. Compare your store order confirmation or receipt with that list before you buy in quantity.
| What Amazon's invoice page asks for | What to check on your store document |
|---|---|
| The supplier's name, phone number, address and website | The store's name, phone number, address and website are printed on it |
| An invoice issue date within the 365 days before you received the performance notification | The document's issue date, not only the order date, falls in that period |
| A quantity that covers your sales and stock of the ASIN over the past 365 days | One document, or several, cover every unit you sold and hold |
| Product names, model numbers, or a UPC, EAN or ISBN | The product line names the exact item, ideally with its barcode number |
| A completed and fulfilled transaction | An order confirmation of a cancelled or unshipped order does not count |
The same page lists what Amazon does not accept: sales quotes and pro forma invoices, self-issued invoices, and invoices that are edited or in an editable format such as .xlsx or .docx. You may remove the prices, but every other detail must stay visible. The file must be a PDF or an image of at most 10MB, and Amazon may contact the supplier to verify it.
A store receipt that lacks the supplier details or the product identifiers may not meet the list on the invoice page. For example, suppose a store order confirmation shows the store's name, an order date and a product title, but no phone number, address or website of the store. That confirmation does not show all the supplier details that Amazon's US invoice page lists. The example does not show whether Amazon would accept a particular receipt.
What to do next
Check the brand, the product and your documents before you buy.
- Buy only from stores whose goods you are sure are genuine, and resell them sealed and unchanged, with their instructions and warnings.
- In the UK, check that the brand, or someone with its consent, put the goods on the UK or EEA market before you resell them on Amazon UK. A sale in the US alone does not bring them under section 12(1).
- Check that your account can list the product's category and brand. If Amazon asks for approval, read our ungating guide first.
- Save the invoice or order confirmation of every completed purchase. Before you buy, check that the store's documents show supplier contact details, an issue date, quantities and clear product identifiers. If a performance notification arrives, check the dates and quantities against the period and ASINs in Amazon's request. Saving a document does not mean that Amazon will accept it.
- Never write that you are an authorized seller of a brand unless the brand has said so in writing.
- If a brand complaint arrives, answer it through Account Health with the documents Amazon asks for. Read the policy page for your marketplace, because the US and UK pages can differ.
New to the model? Read how online arbitrage works, and for UK stores, VAT and fees, online arbitrage in the UK.
This guide explains a US court ruling, a UK statute and Amazon's published policies as read on 3 November 2026. It is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute with a brand, ask a lawyer in your country.