Is a job that pays me to buy and resell items on Amazon a scam?
Resale and arbitrage job offers that ask you to use your own money and accounts are usually fronts for money laundering or advance-fee schemes.
Last reviewed: 1 August 2026
Explanation
Genuine retail arbitrage is a legal solo business model, but 'jobs' where an employer pays you to buy items online using your own accounts and money are a different matter. In many cases your purchasing account is being used to launder stolen payment details — you buy real goods, which are shipped and then charged back, leaving you with neither goods nor payment. Some schemes keep your initial deposit and vanish. Others use your Amazon seller account to process fraudulent transactions. Legitimate employment does not require you to spend personal money to carry out work, and no employer needs to use your personal marketplace account.
The structure launders stolen cards through your identity: purchases made at your address, with your accounts, convert compromised payment details into goods that ship onward to the operators. When the card owners dispute the charges, the trail ends at you — account suspensions, clawed-back payments, and questions from platforms and banks arrive at your door while the 'employer' dissolves and reopens under a new name.
The reimbursement treadmill is the operational tell: floats and repayments arrive just often enough to keep you buying, then stall as amounts grow. Any role built on your money moving first — your card, your credit, your marketplace standing — has the risk exactly backwards from real employment, where the company funds its own operations.
Common red flags
- You must use your personal Amazon account or bank card to purchase
- Reimbursement is promised after purchases but delayed repeatedly
- You are asked to ship items to addresses you have not verified
- Contact was via WhatsApp or Telegram with little company background
What to do now
- Do not use personal funds or accounts for an employer's transactions
- Report the job offer to the relevant employment authority
- If items were purchased, stop and contact your bank about any charges
- Report to Amazon Trust and Safety if your account was involved
Frequently asked questions
What is real retail arbitrage?
Legitimate retail arbitrage is when a self-employed individual buys underpriced products and resells them for profit using their own business. It does not involve an employer asking you to buy on their behalf.
They reimbursed my first purchases promptly. Doesn't that show they're legitimate?
Early reimbursement is working capital for the scheme — it builds the trust that keeps you purchasing as amounts increase. The pattern typically ends with large unreimbursed purchases and chargebacks landing on your accounts.