Reverse Sourcing for Amazon Sellers: an in-depth essay + step-by-step playbook

Reverse sourcing flips the usual product-sourcing flow on its head. Instead of hunting for suppliers first and hoping their catalog contains winners, you start where demand is already proven—on Amazon listings—and then work backwards to the brand, distributor, or manufacturer who can supply that exact product (or a close substitute) at a price that leaves healthy margin. It’s a demand-first, probability-weighted approach that reduces wasted outreach and speeds up time to revenue.

The video you shared (“How to find suppliers for Amazon wholesale”) teaches outreach to new suppliers and distributors specifically for growing an Amazon business—i.e., practical, supplier-first tactics that pair naturally with reverse sourcing.

Plenty of seasoned sellers use this method because it compresses the “unknowns.” You already know the item sells, the price holds (or not), the Buy Box rotates (or not), and who else is on the listing. Only then do you invest time finding and pitching the supplier. That’s the core of reverse sourcing as covered across playbooks from wholesale educators and tools.

Why reverse sourcing works

  1. Demand-led filtering. You pick SKUs with visible sales indicators (rank/velocity, price stability, reviews, consistent Buy Box), so you’re not “guessing” demand from a catalog PDF.

  2. Targeted outreach. You only contact brands/distributors that already have at least one product matching your margin, sales rank, and competition criteria—wasting fewer calls/emails.

  3. Relationship compounding. One good SKU often leads to an entire brand line, a deeper distributor catalog, or exclusivity discussions if you bring value (content clean-up, MAP compliance, rogue-seller control).

The reverse-sourcing workflow (high level)

  1. Pick a profitable slice of the catalog (category + price band + size/weight constraints).

  2. Find promising ASINs on Amazon (and via competitors’ storefronts).

  3. Validate economics (landed cost targets, fees, prep, VAT/sales tax, freight).

  4. Map the route to supply (brand → distributor → authorized wholesaler).

  5. Outreach with a value pitch (not just “Can I buy?”).

  6. Evaluate price lists quickly at scale; shortlist SKUs.

  7. Test buy, list, and measure velocity/rotation; reorder and expand breadth with that supplier.

  8. Rinse and stack—repeat across brands and adjacent categories.

Below is a very practical, step-by-step guide you can run this week.

The step-by-step playbook

Prereqs (fast checklist)

  • Active Amazon Seller account (FBA enabled), ability to generate FNSKU labels, and basic prep/3PL plan.

  • Keepa (for price/BSR history) and one live calculator (e.g., SAS, basic spreadsheet, or Amazon FBA calculator).

  • A simple supplier CRM (Sheet is fine) tracking: brand / website / contact / status / terms / price list received / MOQ / lead time / notes.

  • UK sellers: have VAT number and EORI handy; US sellers: state resale certificate(s) for tax-exempt purchasing.

Phase 1 — Build tight “buy box” rules (60–90 min)

Define filters so you only reverse source SKUs you’d actually carry.

  • Target sell price: £15–£60 (US: $20–$80) sweet spot while you’re new.

  • BSR band: typically top 1–3% of category, avoiding super-fast movers if competition is cut-throat.

  • Competition: ≤4–6 FBA sellers is a nice starting line; avoid Amazon Retail on listing (unless you see real gaps).

  • Weight/dims: keep under 1 kg and shoebox-ish to contain fees (until you’re confident).

  • Listing health: stable 90-day price (no death spirals), clean variation structure, no recurring IP drama.

These are heuristics; tune them as your capital and risk tolerance grow. (The reverse-sourcing literature emphasizes defining parameters up front to speed scanning.)

Phase 2 — Find ASINs to reverse source (2–3 hours)

  1. Catalog scanning on Amazon. Start with category best sellers, “customers also bought,” and sponsored carousels. Save promising ASINs to a sheet.

  2. Storefront mining (a.k.a. “storefront stalking”).

    • Click into a competitor seller on a promising listing.

    • Open their Storefront → Products and look for repeated brands in your price/size band.

    • Each repeating brand is likely sourced via wholesale or an authorized distributor—note the brand names. This “start with the seller and move backward” is a hallmark of reverse sourcing.

  3. Tool-assisted browser scan. Tools like Analyzer.Tools show how to reverse source across Amazon’s catalogue directly in the browser, speeding up SKU → brand discovery.

Phase 3 — Validate the ASINs (1–2 hours)

For each candidate:

  • Keepa sanity check:

    • Price line relatively flat (no recent cliff dives).

    • BSR cycles consistent (weekly/seasonal waves okay).

  • Competition check:

    • Are FBA sellers rotating the Buy Box? If one FBA seller dominates 95% of the time, you’ll need brand-direct pricing or a unique edge.

  • Unit economics:

    • Target landed cost ≤ (Expected Sell Price – FBA fees – your required margin – prep).

    • Add VAT/sales tax realities per region.

  • IP risk: prefer listings where multiple authorized sellers coexist (a weak signal, but pragmatic for beginners).

  • Hazmat / gating: confirm you can list or be ungated quickly.

If a SKU passes, move to sourcing.

Phase 4 — Work backwards to supply (same day)

Your ladder (try in order):

  1. Brand direct — Google “brand + wholesale” / “brand + authorized reseller” / “brand + trade account”. If you see “we don’t allow Amazon”, keep the name anyway; many such pages are out-of-date, and policy exceptions exist if you present value.

  2. Regional distributors — search “brand + distributor + UK/Europe/USA”.

  3. Master wholesalers — look for multi-brand wholesalers in your niche.

Reverse sourcing is explicitly about starting from the product, then identifying the wholesale path; that’s the central idea emphasized in multiple guides. Phase 5 — Outreach that gets replies (scripts + assets)

Your goal isn’t a price list; it’s trust. Here’s a short, no-fluff email:

Subject: Trade account for {{brand_name}} — we already sell {{asin_or_line}}

Hi {{first_name}},
We’re a specialist Amazon retailer in {{category/niche}}. We identified {{product_name}} (ASIN {{asin}}) as a good fit for our catalog and would like to open a trade account.

How we add value:
• MAP compliance & price stability reporting
• Listing hygiene (image/keyword fixes, variation clean-up)
• Low-defect FBA ops + UK/EU compliant prep & VAT

Could you share your new-account form and current price list/MOQs?

Company: {{legal_name}} | VAT/EORI: {{ids}} | Website: {{url}} | Amazon: {{store_link}}
Happy to jump on a quick call.

Best,
{{you}} | {{role}} | {{phone}}

Phone opener (30 seconds):
“Hi {{name}}, this is {{you}} from {{company}}. We specialize in {{niche}} on Amazon and want to carry {{brand}}—specifically {{product_name}} ASIN {{asin}} which we’ve vetted for price stability and velocity. Can you point me to your trade signup or the right distributor?”

The video you shared focuses on reaching out to suppliers/distributors to grow an Amazon business—your email/call flow is where that advice meets reverse sourcing.

Be ready to send: VAT/EORI (UK) or resale certificates (US), company details, trade references (if you have them), and a concise one-pager of how you protect the brand (MAP, listing clean-up, policy compliance).

Phase 6 — Price list triage (same day you receive it)

Drop the CSV into your sheet and compute fast:

  • net_cost after any tiered discounts

  • landed_cost = net_cost + inbound freight (pro-rata) + prep + import/VAT impacts

  • est_fee from FBA calc

  • gross_profit = sell_price – est_fee – landed_cost

  • margin% = gross_profit / sell_price

  • ROI% = gross_profit / landed_cost

Shortlist by margin ≥ 20–30% and ROI ≥ 40–60% to start (tighter if price volatile). Order small test buys across multiple SKUs rather than one big bet.

Phase 7 — Test, measure, expand

  • List cleanly (images, bullets, variation linking if brand permits).

  • Track: 7-, 14-, and 30-day sales per SKU, Buy Box share, price stability, inbound defect rate.

  • Reorder cadence based on lead times and a buffer (don’t stock out if BB rotates).

  • Expand: ask for the full brand catalog; pitch to fix problem listings; request better tiers after performance.

7-Day sprint plan (you can copy this)

Day 1: Finalize filters, set up sheets, install/prepare tools.
Day 2–3: Find 50–100 candidate ASINs via category browse + storefront mining.
Day 4: Validate with Keepa + unit economics; shortlist 20.
Day 5: Map supply paths (brand/distributor) and send 20 targeted emails; make 10 calls.
Day 6: Process replies; analyze 2–3 price lists; place first test orders.
Day 7: Ship to FBA (or prep), launch, and schedule follow-ups with non-responders.

UK/EU vs US nuances (quick hits)

  • UK/EU: VAT on imports and domestic purchases affects margin math; EPR/packaging rules may apply in some categories. Keep EORI/VAT numbers ready to speed account opening.

  • US: multi-state resale certificates if suppliers require them; MAP policies are more common—lean into your compliance pitch.

Common pitfalls (and fixes)

  • Chasing “Amazon on listing.” If Amazon Retail is there and never loses BB, skip unless you have uniquely low costs (e.g., direct brand terms).

  • Ignoring IP risk. If a brand is litigious toward marketplace sellers, talk to them before buying—or choose a different brand.

  • Over-ordering on a first PO. Spread risk across 3–5 SKUs; let data guide bigger reorders.

  • No value story. A “send me price list” email gets ghosted. Show how you protect their price and improve their presence.

Variations you can layer in

  • Storefront → brand tree: export a competitor’s entire storefront, group by brand, then prioritize top recurring brands in your target price band. This is called “storefront stalking” vs pure reverse sourcing, and both can be combined.

  • Tool-first scanning: some suites implement “browser scan” of the Amazon catalog to accelerate reverse sourcing at scale.

  • Private-label intel: reverse source a winning format (e.g., 500ml cleaning concentrate with certain claims), then develop a differentiated PL variant once you know demand patterns (longer play, different ops).

Simple trackers & templates (copy blocks)

Supplier CRM columns: supplier_name · contact_name · email · phone · brand(s) · region · account_status · price_list_received (Y/N) · MOQ · lead_time_days · payment_terms · freight_method · notes

ASIN sheet columns: asin · brand · title · price_now · 90d_avg_price · 90d_rank_band · fba_sellers · amazon_on_listing (Y/N) · est_fees · target_cost · notes

Follow-up cadence: Day 2 reply → Day 5 call → Day 9 final nudge → Archive 30 days.

Sources & further learning

  • The YouTube video you shared focuses on reaching out to suppliers and distributors to grow your Amazon business, which plugs directly into the outreach phases of this playbook.

  • Reverse sourcing concept and benefits explained for wholesale sellers.

  • Why reverse sourcing works + step filters (rank, sellers, size/weight) and process rationale.

  • “Start with the seller, move backward” storefront method for finding brands.

  • Tool-assisted “browser scan” approach to reverse sourcing.

Final word

Reverse sourcing isn’t complicated; it’s disciplined. Define the buy box you’ll play in, let the market tell you which SKUs already win, and work backward only on those. Keep your outreach value-led, test broadly in small bites, and compound relationships that convert. Do that for a few weeks, and you’ll have a reliable pipeline of replenishable winners—and a supplier list that gets warmer with every reorder.

Amazon Seller, SourcingFrancesca Tabor