Glossary

Amazon arbitrage terms, explained plainly

26 terms every seller meets in the first months - each answered in plain words, with where to go next.

ASIN

Amazon's own ID for every product in its catalog.

BSR (Best Sellers Rank)

Amazon's demand signal: how recently and often a product sells in its category.

Buy Box

The Add to Cart box - the seller who holds it gets the sale.

FBA

Fulfilment by Amazon: you send stock in, Amazon stores, ships and handles support.

FBA fulfilment fee

The per-unit charge for Amazon picking, packing and shipping your order.

FBM

You store and ship orders yourself instead of using Amazon's warehouses.

Gated category

Categories and brands you need Amazon's approval to sell in.

Hazmat

Products classed as hazardous materials, with extra FBA rules and delays.

IP complaint

A brand's intellectual-property claim against your listing - serious, avoidable.

Meltable

Heat-sensitive products FBA only accepts part of the year.

MOQ

The smallest order a wholesale supplier will accept.

Multipack

An Amazon listing that sells several units as one - mind the arithmetic.

Online arbitrage

Buying discounted products from retail websites to resell on Amazon.

Prep centre

A service that receives, labels and forwards your inventory to Amazon.

Referral fee

Amazon's commission on every sale, charged as a percentage of the price.

Replenishable

A product you can restock and resell repeatedly, not a one-off clearance find.

Retail arbitrage

The in-store version: sourcing clearance products from physical shops.

Reverse sourcing

Working backwards: start from a proven Amazon product, find who sells it cheaper.

ROI

Profit as a percentage of what you spent - the arbitrage decision number.

Sales velocity

How many units a listing actually sells per week or month.

Seller Central

The dashboard where Amazon sellers run their account, listings and shipments.

Storage fee

Monthly charges for the warehouse space your FBA stock occupies.

Storefront

A seller's public page listing everything they offer - and a sourcing goldmine.

Ungating

Getting Amazon's approval to sell in a restricted category or brand.

UPC / EAN

The retail barcodes used to match store products to Amazon listings.

Wholesale

Buying in bulk from brands and distributors at trade prices to resell on Amazon.