Amazon Flips is a feature specifically made for sourcing on Amazon and Selling on Amazon. So if your niche is flipping products from and to Amazon, Amazon Flips is the feature for you.
Customizing search settings
The first step is to customize search settings at the top of the Amazon Flips page. There are four settings there:
- Set Cache
- Cache Only Search
- Disable Duplicate Checker
- Country
Set Cache
Before making a selection here, you need to understand the difference between a live search and a cache search.
- A live search scans company websites looking for current product information. That's a good thing. The downside is that it takes more time than a cache search.
- A cache search checks data in the Tactical Arbitrage cache memory. Every search run by our users is temporarily stored in cache memory.
Searching the Cache has both advantages and disadvantages, with the primary benefit being that it produces results faster than a live search.
A Cache search has three drawbacks:
- Product data (e.g. prices, availability, etc.) in the cache might be out of date, depending on how long you set the cache to, and how recently live results were extracted from there.
- The list of products that meet your search filter thresholds might be incomplete.
- Product promotions are generally captured during a live search. Relying on cache only searches could result in missing out on special deals.
Cache Only Search
- Toggle ON this switch and your search will look only at data in the cache memory. Be sure to select a time period on the Set Cache drop-down menu.
- Toggle OFF this switch and you'll run a live search. That means Tactical Arbitrage checks current data on company websites.
Disable Duplicate Checker
Use this to ignore duplicates check, which is used by default to skip the products you already have in your View Flips page.
Delete Older Version if Duplicate Exists
This option will only appear when Disable Duplicate Checker is enabled.
Use this to remove duplicates, which are already in your View Flips page, before adding the fresh version.
Country
Click here to decide which Amazon country you'll source and sell products:
Please note that Amazon Flips ONLY supports sourcing and selling in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, and Australia.
Generally, you'd select your home base country, but that's not required.
Entering Search Data
Within this dropdown menu here, you’ll find the various options that you can run Flips with. Those are:
- Import Bulk Category List.
- Import Bulk Product Codes.
- Quick Search.
- Quick Keyword Search.
- Category.
- And Scan Bestsellers.
Because the options belong to one of either two types of function, we’ll split them into two; Product Search functions and Reverse Search Functions.
To elaborate, Product Search functions are those where you’ll need the URL for a website category as input for the scan.
And Reverse Search functions are those where you can enter product identifiers such as ASINs or UPCs, Product Brands, Keywords, and Amazon Categories as input for the scan.
Product Search Functions
Let us begin with the Product Search functions, which include the Category and Import bulk category List.
Category
If you want to scan a category on Amazon directly, start by selecting the Category option from the dropdown menu.
Then, simply copy and paste the Amazon category URL into the designated field.
Once that is set, you’re ready to begin the scan.
Import bulk category List
Import Bulk Category List allows you to import a spreadsheet containing a list of Amazon category URLs that you would like to scan.
File Structure
The structure of the upload file is simple. At a minimum, you need one column with Source Category URLs. The file format can be csv, xls, or xlsx.
Uploading a File
- Select Import Bulk Category List from the dropdown menu.
- Click Upload New File.
- Click Choose File. Locate the file on your computer.
- Click Upload. A new panel will display.
Checking Column Names
Before uploading, Tactical Arbitrage will ask you to verify the names of the data columns. The system will try to auto-detect the column names.
- Click the box below Source Category url / code. A drop-down menu will display.
- Select the name of the Source Category URL column.
- Repeat for Source Domain, First Scanning Page, and or Last Scanning Page if needed.
- Click Upload.
Selecting a Row Number
After uploading a file, Tactical Arbitrage will then return to the Search Page. The name of the file now displays like so.
You can then customize the search by entering the start row number. Leave the box blank unless you want the search to start at a special row number.
Reverse Search Functions
Next up we have the Reverse Search functions, those are:
- Import Bulk Product codes.
- Quick Search.
- Quick Keyword Search.
- And, Scan Bestsellers.
Quick Search
Let’s begin with Quick Search. This function allows you to input a single or up to 100 ASINs or UPCs to scan.
To set up:
- Select Quick Search under the dropdown menu.
- Enter an ASIN, or UPC in the search field.
- For multiple entries, insert a comma between numbers.
Import Bulk Product Codes
Enter a product list by uploading a file with UPCs or ASINs. This is a good option if you want to run a search with more than 100 items.
To upload a file, click on the drop-down menu and then select the Import Bulk Product Codes option.
Once selected, you can upload the file by clicking on Upload New File.
Click Choose File. Locate and select the file on your computer.
If needed, you can download an example spreadsheet as shown in the image below.
Once selected, click on Upload to proceed.
Then, you will be prompted to verify the names of the data columns. Tactical Arbitrage might auto-detect the column names. If not, you can go ahead and manually change the defaults.
Once the columns are selected accordingly, Click on Upload to finalize the upload.
After uploading a file, you’ll return to the Amazon Flips page. The name of the file now displays.
You can customize the search by entering the start row number. Leave the box blank unless you want the search to start at a specific row number.
Quick Keyword Search
If you want to quickly search by any keyword or product name, Quick Keyword Search is your choice. Tactical Arbitrage will get the matching ASINs from Amazon and get the deals from supported stores for you.
To initiate the search:
- Select Quick Keyword Search on the drop-down menu
- Enter a product keyword.
- Select the Amazon Category the product belongs in.
Scan Bestsellers
This option will search a list of the most popular Amazon products based on sales.
This search option has several levels. If you select a product category on Level 1, the scan searches 100's of thousands of items.
If you want to narrow the search, select sub-categories in other levels. Once you go to Level 2 or beyond, the number of products searched will be lower. Up to 9600 items in most cases.
To search Amazon's Best Sellers list:
- Select Scan Bestsellers on the drop-down menu.
- Click the box beside Level 1. A drop-down menu will display.
- Select a general category.
- To narrow the search, go to the next level down.
- Click the box and then select a sub-category on the menu.
- Continue down the list to narrow the search, if desired.
Running a Search
The final step is to start a search. There are two search buttons on the page:
- There's a SEARCH button at the bottom of the page.
- There's a SEARCH button near the Use Saved Filters box.
Once you kick off your search, the real fun begins! Keep an eye on the progress in your Search History page, and when you’re ready, dive into your treasure trove of results on the View Flips page. Happy sourcing!
What’s Next?
Check out the Filters section of Amazon flips here to learn more.