Founder, Aftermarket Arbitrage · 18 August 2026
Clearance sourcing is buying stock UK retailers have marked down to clear, then selling it on Amazon at the normal price. It is the bread and butter of online arbitrage, and the first method I hand to beginners because it repeats every day.
The method, step by step
- Go straight to the clearance section. Nearly every big UK retailer hides one at /clearance, /sale, /offers or /outlet. Health and beauty turns over fastest, so I start with Boots, Superdrug and Notino.
- Chase the rate of discount. The was price is not your profit maths, it is your filter. We tackle products at 50% off or more first, because that is where the margin usually lives. A code that cuts the buy price again is voucher stacking.
- Scan it with SellerAmp. SellerAmp does the product matching from the barcode and puts every number you need on one screen: sales rate, fees, profit and ROI. It is the tool I use on every buy. Titles lie on clearance pages, the barcode does not.
- Check the Amazon price is stable. A fresh drop can mean selling into a low that keeps falling. Price history answers that in seconds, and chasing those moves is its own method in my price drop sourcing guide.
- Size the buy by velocity. A national clearance is public, so every seller with the same bookmarks found the same line this morning. If monthly sales cannot carry all the new stock arriving, buy less than you could.
- Scan the winner’s neighbours. A profitable line rarely stands alone. If a Logan Paul WWE figure pays, scan the John Cena one on the same shelf, because there is a good chance it pays too.
Before you buy
- Monthly sales on the exact variation, not the parent listing.
- Seller count, whether it is climbing, and whether Amazon sits on the listing.
- ROI after every fee is 20% or better, or it stays on the page.
- Match and numbers confirmed in SellerAmp before a penny leaves your pocket.
- Judge the data, not the product, because seventy percent off means nothing on its own.
Depth is the appeal of clearance and also the trap. If 150 units arrive chasing 100 monthly sales, somebody cuts the price before they all sell through. No method is a promise of income, and some weeks the sections give you nothing.
Pick two or three retailers from the live websites board and learn their clearance sections properly before adding more. If you would rather talk it through first, book a free call with us.
About the author
Jack Bayliss is the founder of Aftermarket Arbitrage, where a team and a purpose-built sourcing engine find and verify Amazon UK deals for members every day. Meet the community on the community page or book a free call.
