One company's bust could mean pay dirt for online resellers.
Walmart announced last month that it planned on shuttering about 150 stores across the U.S.
And while the store closings could hit their communities hard, leaving shoppers without the discount chain, it was welcome news for the people who buy items with the intent to resell on sites like Amazon, The Wall Street Journal reported.
It's called retail arbitrage, as the online merchants buy tens of thousands worth of merchandise at a deep discount from the closing Walmarts, just to process it to sell through Amazon at a profit.
One of the resellers, Sam Cohen, assigned three employees to pick up items like Legos and Star Wars pajamas at a cost of $35,000 and six hours of scanning and paying, The Wall Street Journal reported.
He hopes to sell it all for $100,000.
Sam Yaple brought his mother, brother and friend to clear shelves of tablet computers, security cameras and even pregnancy tests.
"It didn't matter to me what the products were, as long as they sell," Yaple told The Wall Street Journal.
His main business is retail arbitrage, but before selling on Amazon, he was an engineer.
Amazon has no rule on the practice, as long as the items are usually allowed to be sold on the site.
About the Author
