Amazon price scanner apps let Amazon sellers scan products into their smartphone to research competition pricing and profit outlook as they shop for products to resell on Amazon. We looked at the most popular options and rising stars and decided to review Profit Bandit, Scoutify and the Amazon Seller App. These apps covered the range of options for small businesses in terms of price, product research features, and mobile convenience.
Best Amazon Price Scanner App for Small & Growing Amazon Sellers: Profit Bandit
We recommend Profit Bandit as the best price scanner app for small and growing Amazon sellers because it’s the lowest-priced app that lets you pull price and competition data from both Amazon and outside sources to determine an item’s full profit potential. Others either cost more (Scoutify) or don’t connect to outside data sources within the app (Amazon Seller App).
Profit Bandit vs Scoutify vs Amazon Seller App Summary Table
Who it’s Best For | |||
Pricing | |||
Ease of Setup/Use | |||
iPhone & Android | |||
Built-in scanner / Bluetooth option | |||
Amazon & FBA product profit calculator | |||
Pulls pricing data from other sites | |||
Creates a Buy List | |||
Integrations | |||
Customer Support | |||
Best Amazon Price Scanner App for Small & Growing Amazon Sellers: Profit Bandit
We recommend Profit Bandit as the best price scanner app for small and growing Amazon sellers because, at just $9.99/month, it’s the lowest-cost app that gives you a complete Amazon profit outlook for any product you scan into your smartphone. Profit Bandit puts more crucial pricing data at your fingertips than the free Amazon Seller App and costs far less per month than the comparable Scoutify.
Apps like Profit Bandit let Amazon sellers conduct in-store profit research as they scout for goods to purchase and resale on Amazon. This selling method is called Retail Arbitrage and is very popular with many Amazon sellers. But success depends on purchasing products at the right price and knowing the competitive landscape both on Amazon and off. For these sellers, a full-featured Amazon price scanner app like Profit Bandit is the secret to success.
All three apps in our list let you quickly scan an item’s barcode or key in its name to instantly receive a wealth of Amazon pricing data and profit estimates. But only Profit Bandit and Scoutify also deliver key historical pricing data via 1-click connections to popular external Amazon price trackers CamelCamelCamel and Keepa. Plus, you can instantly check out the product’s current competition on eBay and Google within both Profit Bandit and Scoutify. You can’t do these things within the Amazon Seller App.
Features-wise, Profit Bandit and Scoutify are neck-and-neck. Each instantly delivers real-time product pricing and profit calculations on items you scan into your phone. Both also connect with a full suite of Amazon inventory tools if you need a total solution. But this is where Profit Bandit pulls ahead price-wise, since its inventory software, SellerEngine Plus, is optional. Profit Bandit works as a standalone app and costs just $9.99/month, whereas Scoutify is only available as part of a full inventory solution. And that comes with a $49/month price tag.
All three apps support an external Bluetooth scanner, which some power sellers like to use to scan items faster. These scanners are a separate purchase and run about $200-$300. But Profit Bandit also charges you a $49 1-time fee to connect a Bluetooth scanner. There’s no added scanner connection fee with the other two.
There are also a few Amazon-specific functions that Profit Bandit can’t deliver. Here, the Amazon Seller App picks up the slack. You can’t add product listings to Amazon from Profit Bandit, or check on sales, FBA shipments, or respond to buyer questions either. Only the Amazon Seller App does all of this. But the Amazon Seller App is free, so most sellers just install both to cover every possible product research and mobile account management need between the two.
Best Amazon Price Scanner App for Volume Amazon Sellers: Scoutify
The Scoutify price scanning app is part of InventoryLab’s highly popular Amazon & FBA inventory management suite. Unlike the standalone Profit Bandit, you can’t get Scoutify by itself, it’s a package deal. The entire suite runs $49/month which is quite a bargain if you need both a terrific price scanning app and powerful inventory solution to manage your entire Amazon business. That’s why we recommend Scoutify as the best price scanning app for growing and volume Amazon sellers.
If you don’t sell enough to warrant an Amazon inventory management system, you can save $40/month by using Profit Bandit as your price scanning app. But, if you sell in volume on Amazon and need a way to tie in-store product research and FBA inventory management into one tidy package, then Scoutify is the app for you.
Features and data-wise, the Scoutify price scanning app is on-par with Profit Bandit and connects with CamelCamelCamel, Keepa, eBay, and Google for complete research. To be really picky, Scoutify wins in the interface department with a clean, modern display. Profit Bandit is less sleek by comparison. Also, Scoutify connects to a Bluetooth barcode scanner for free, which is something that power buyers like to use to speed up in-store scanning. Profit Bandit charges you a 1-time fee of $49 to link to a bluetooth scanner.
Like Profit Bandit, Scoutify also falls short of the free Amazon Seller App with regard to Amazon-specific functions. With Scoutify, you can’t add products directly to Amazon, review orders, or answer buyer questions. To handle these tasks from your phone, you need the Amazon Seller App. Again, most sellers just install both so they can conduct in-depth product research while managing Amazon sales on the fly. Click here to try Scoutify free for 30 days.
Best Amazon Price Scanner App for New Amazon Sellers: Amazon Seller App
The Amazon Seller App is free, but as a product research tool, it only gives you Amazon pricing data. When you scan an item, it doesn’t give you 1-click access to critical pricing data from outside sources CamelCamelCamel, Keepa, eBay, and Google, which both Profit Bandit and Scoutify provide. WIthout this 360-degree window into at a product’s profit potential, you can make bad product buys and wind up losing money on Amazon.
Because of this, using the free Amazon Seller App as your sole product scanning and profit checker generally isn’t recommended for serious Amazon sellers. However, the Amazon Seller App is great for two things:
- Testing-driving Amazon — this app is completely free to use so it’s a no-risk way for new sellers to test out selling on Amazon. The minute you sign up for an Amazon Individual or Pro seller account, you can download the app, start scanning items, and check Amazon’s competitor prices and profit potential right on your smartphone.
- Managing your Amazon seller tasks — this app is basically Amazon Seller Central for your smartphone. With it, you can list products for sale on Amazon, check on orders, check on Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) shipments, update inventory, and even respond to buyer questions, all from your phone.
The big plus to point out is that the Amazon Seller App works with both types of Amazon seller accounts, free and paid. Profit Bandit and Scoutify both require Amazon’s $39.99/month Pro account. This is another reason it’s great for test-driving Amazon. You can use it with your no-monthly-fee Individual seller account to try selling products on Amazon with no upfront account or app costs.
And, since the Amazon Seller App lets you manage your Amazon retail arbitrage business on-the-go, most volume sellers wind up pairing it with either Profit Bandit or Scoutify. This combination fills in the Amazon Seller App’s product research gaps and gives sellers access to Seller Central, all from the palm of their hand.
In-Depth Review: Profit Bandit vs Scoutify vs Amazon Seller App
Pricing
Pricing for Amazon price scanner apps is very straightforward. Two apps, Profit Bandit and Scoutify, have monthly fees and one, the Amazon Seller App, is free. All three can be installed on multiple devices under the same account for no added fees. Here’s a quick comparison of the monthly and added fees for all three.
Amazon Price Scanner App Cost Comparison
Service/Cost | |||
---|---|---|---|
App Monthly fee | |||
Free Trial | |||
Bluetooth scanner connection | |||
Add inventory management software | 1-time fee |
Ease of Setup/Use
All three are mobile apps, so you do need to download them from to your iPhone or Android phone. You can do this right from your app store. Once downloaded, setup includes connecting them to your Amazon Pro Seller account, which is a relatively painless process.
Each lets you set up specific account parameters including the tax rate you pay when purchasing products in retail stores, and your fulfillment methods and costs. All of these settings are applied to your profit analysis to help you make the best on-the-spot purchase decisions.
Features
Each of our three product scanner apps let you scan a barcode or key in a product’s name into your smartphone. From there, you can research competitor pricing and calculate profit potential based on parameters you set, like fulfillment costs, Amazon seller fees, sales taxes paid at the time of purchase, and more. After all costs are calculated, you get a clear picture of the product’s target pricing, demand, and profit potential on Amazon.
But of the three apps, only two give you instant access to additional pricing data beyond Amazon. Profit Bandit and Scoutify both connect to outside price research sites CamelCamelCamel, Keepa, eBay, and Google for 360-degree insight into a product’s full sales and profit potential. The Amazon Seller App doesn’t provide this. It does, however, let you access your Amazon Seller Central dashboard on your smartphone, which the others do not.
Ultimately, most serious sellers pair the free Amazon Seller App together with either Profit Bandit or Scoutify. This combination provides the best possible product research data plus access to Seller Central management features, all on your smartphone. Here’s an in-depth look at how all three Amazon price scanner apps stack up when it comes to these fine details and other important features.
A Comparison of Amazon Price Scanner App Features
Feature | |||
---|---|---|---|
Connect bluetooth scanner | |||
Unlimited users on account | |||
MSRP pricing | |||
Shows current Amazon pricing, High & Low | |||
Shows number of offers (competing listings) | |||
Shows New, Used & Collectible offers & condition | |||
Shows if an item has a Hazmat designation | |||
Shows current Buy Box pricing | |||
Shows product sales rank | |||
Calculates FBA & FBM profit | |||
Creates a buy list | |||
Emails buy list for upload to inventory software | |||
Connects to product data on CamelCamelCamel, Keepa, eBay & Google | |||
Adds Amazon product listings from phone | |||
Access to Amazon sales & account data | |||
Respond to buyer queries |
Here’s a quick peek at each Amazon price scanner app, showing many of the above-mentioned features in action:
Profit Bandit
Here is Profit Bandit in action. On the left, you see a wealth of current Amazon pricing data, and on the right, a look at the fees and cost details that go into the profit calculation for an FBA-fulfilled item. On the lower right, you see your profit estimate in green, based on all of these factors.
Scoutify
Here are screenshots showing Scoutify’s sleek, easy-to-navigate mobile screen. On the left, you see key Amazon pricing information for the scanned item. And with a tap, you also get 1-click access to a full range of additional research data and external sites like CamelCamelCamel, Google & more:
Amazon Seller App
The free Amazon Seller App lets you scan products and research price and profit potential based on Amazon sales data, FBA or FBM costs, and seller fees. But the real power of the app is that it’s Amazon Seller Central for your smartphone. With it, you can manage your orders and inventory, as shown on the left, and respond to buyer needs, shown center. Plus you can even photograph products and create Amazon listings, as shown on the right, all from your smartphone.
Integrations
There are no critical integrations with Amazon price scanner apps. Rather, each works in tandem with their native software, which we’ll explain below.
Customer Support
None of our Amazon price scanner apps offer phone support. All customer service issues are handled via email or online form submission. However, Profit Bandit and Scoutify have excellent tutorials to get you going. And the Amazon Seller App is an Amazon product, so you can contact Amazon via your Seller Central dashboard with any issues.
All Amazon Price Scanner Options
Software/Service Name | Best For | Description |
---|---|---|
ProfitBandit | Small & Growing Amazon sellers | Low-cost standalone app for complete product profit research |
Scoutify | Volume Amazon sellers | Package deal includes complete Amazon inventory management |
Amazon Seller App | New Sellers | Free app brings Seller Central to smartphones |
FBA Scan | Growing Amazon Sellers | Has a live connection and downloaded price database for offline use |
Bqool | Heavy sellers | 24/7 repricing tool |
The Bottom Line
Whether you choose the standalone Profit Bandit Amazon price scanner app or the package deal with Scoutify and InventoryLab, you’ll get a powerful profit research tool in the palm of your hand. Plus, you can pair either with the free Amazon Seller App to make wise purchasing decisions and manage your entire Amazon business, all from your smartphone.
Or, if you’re just testing the waters, it’s perfectly fine to start with the free Amazon Seller App, but know you’re not getting the entire picture when it comes to an item’s profit potential.
Do you use Amazon price scanner apps for product research, sourcing, and Amazon sales management? If so, which app works best for your selling needs? We’d love to get your input in the comments below.
Eric
September 18, 2018 at 6:58 amHey really great info. Just wanted to add an app that is really good for checking sales ranks on the go is called SPM Analyzer, it’s free and works really well. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/spm-sales-rank-analyzer/id1435825571?mt=8
Marianne
June 23, 2018 at 2:57 pmThanks for this informative post! I am just starting out and wanted to try profit bandit monthly with the one time $49 fee for their inventory software.
However on their site I can see only seller engine plus for $49/mo. Am I looking in the wrong place or do they no longer offer that software? Thank you!
Krista Fabregas
June 26, 2018 at 8:25 pmHi Marianne,
Profit Bandit is $9.99 per month and you can add it to your $49 Seller Engine software. Seller Engine is a one-time fee, but Profit Bandit is a monthly fee. You can find it on this page. Hope this helps, good luck!
Cheers,
Krista
Lee Gomez
February 19, 2018 at 9:33 pmHello and thank you for this well informative articles…
Quick question, does Retail Arbitrage looks good for 2018? Or do we know if Amazon is doing alway with Retail Arbitrage?
Again, thank you : )
Krista Fabregas
February 22, 2018 at 12:49 amHello Lee,
As far as I know, retail arbitrage is alive and well in 2018 and fully supported by Amazon’s own free Amazon Seller App. Certainly, there are more people getting into it, but if you’re smart about your buys, there’s plenty of money to be made. Good luck!
Cheers,
Krista
avinash patel
January 6, 2018 at 9:18 pmHey, Thanks for publishing this Post this makes everything clear and understandable easily.
Krista Fabregas
January 12, 2018 at 11:28 amHello,
Thank you for commenting, I’m glad the information was helpful.
Cheers!
Krista