Let’s start out by saying: This is one man’s opinion and it should not be the end all be all for your decision making process. Please continue to do research and make your own educated decision. 

In the world of online arbitrage, there are now two tools that are major players in the market.

OAXRay and Tactical Arbitrage

If you have been on our blog at all, you will know that OAXRay has always been our go to software for online arbitrage. We have been using it since it was born and continue to use it every single day. To this day, we are positive that if you use it (and use it correctly) you will make money – and we back it with our guarantee. Tedric and Todd are great guys and they work like crazy to add new features and continue to innovate with the software. If you were to ask me the first software you should get to increase your online arbitrage, OAXRay would be my answer no questions asked.

That being said, I have been following Tactical Arbitrage closely and have had some great discussion with the creator Alex. I have taken the past few months to dive into the software and figure out the capabilities and learn how to use it. I will say that I have been very impressed with Tactical Arbitrage and I think Alex has done a great job (actually an outstanding job) with this product.

A question I am asked all the time is: Which one is better? OAXRay or Tactical Arbitrage?

I’ll start off with my famous answer: It depends.

Seriously. It does.

Although they are softwares that compete in the same market, they do not do the same things in the same ways.

Before we dive into a comparison between OAXRay and Tactical Arbitrage, we should take a step back and first answer basic question you might have…

When should I look at subscribing to an online arbitrage software like OAXRay or Tactical Arbitrage?

I could easily answer this with “it depends,” but there is actually a pretty basic answer that we like to give:

1. You need to know what in the world you are doing on Amazon. New sellers can be successful with these softwares, but if you don’t know how to ship a shipment, you need to start with the basics first.
2. You should be planning on sourcing $1,000+ of inventory a month. If you aren’t to that level, the $99 price tag of either software won’t be easily covered.
3. You need to have a full understanding of the basics of online arbitrage. These softwares are simply tools, they don’t magically make you a better seller. You need to understand the basics of OA to fully reap the benefits – Don’t worry, you can take a course on that here.

And that’s really it. If you meet those three criteria, you could consider yourself ready to consider either OAXRay or Tactical Arbitrage.

Now that we know who should consider either of these two online arbitrage tools, we can dive into the comparison.

I’m going to compare both of these tools on a five different factors (cost, trial period, ease of use, advanced features, customer support):

#1 – COST

This one is an easy comparison. Both of the software solutions cost the same price:

OAXRay: $99 per month

Tactical Arbitrage: $99 per month

So if we were scoring this comparison, I would give this one a tie.

#2 – TRIAL PERIOD 

The best way to get a feel for each of the software solutions is to literally push every button, pull every lever, and give it the old college try. A trial period is perfect for this and worth mentioning in the comparison:

OAXRay: 10 day FREE trial with this link

Tactical Arbitrage: 7 day FREE trial with this link

Both OA softwares offer a generous trial period, so I would give a slight edge to OAXRay on this one, but I honestly don’t think 3 days is going to make or break your purchasing decision.

#3 – EASE OF USE

When you start to use any software, there will always be a slight learning curve. If you are good with technology, you will have a shorter learning curve than those who don’t, but you will still have to learn the ends and outs of each software.

OAXRay: The basic features of OAXRay are very easy to use. You literally go to a page, click the button, and look for the pretty colors. The more advanced features require a little more know how, but overall the system is very easy to use. I personally think that this is a major advantage that OAXRay has in the online arbitrage software market. There are also very good resources in the form of videos and even a free course to help you get started with OAX.

Tactical Arbitrage: Even though I’m tech savvy, I had to go through each of the training videos provided by Alex to get the general idea of Tactical Arbitrage. In order to have more control over the data you see and the searches you run, you have to have more technical interface. The videos did a great job on explaining the basics, but I am still releasing that I have a lot to learn to fully understand the capabilities of this software.

This one has a clear winner – OAXRay. I wouldn’t say that Tactical Arbitrage is difficult to use, but I will say that it takes a little more know how than OAXRay.

#4 – ADVANCED FEATURES

This category is really hard to judge due to the fact that both of these softwares are constantly rolling out new and exciting improvements and features on a weekly basis. For example: OAXRay just rolled out an offline link based search feature last week that is going to change the way I use their software and Tactical Arbitrage is getting ready to roll out a book search feature that is going to be awesome. So as I do the comparison, I’m going to do it from the current state of the softwares and their progression with development over the past few months.

OAXRay: This software has some pretty awesome features and there are a ton of great new additions in the pipeline that make me really excited for the future. The CSV uploader is perfect for lists that I purchase. The variation analyzer is perfect for clothing and shoes. And I love the book feature that I use all the time. With the addition of the offline feature, I am literally changing the way I use this software on a daily basis 🙂

Tactical Arbitrage: All I can say is wow. Every other day, I feel like Alex and crew are releasing another awesome feature is being released (granted – I am not 100% sure how to use any of them, but they are still cool). I am able to search my own websites, search textbooks with a brand new tool, and the Amazon to Amazon flips piece of Tactical Arbitrage is freaking sweet.

This one is a close race, but I think Tactical Arbitrage is a clear winner in my book. The customization on the searches you can run with this software is outstanding and the new features that are being introduced are incredible and seem to be added weekly.

#5 – CUSTOMER SUPPORT 

This is another one where OAXRay and Tactical Arbitrage are pretty close.

OAXRay: They have a Facebook support group with a great user base and support via their website close to 24/7 with their trained support staff. If someone is not live for a questions, the turnaround time is typically under 24 hours. There are also multiple articles and even a free course on using the software on FBA Master.

Tactical Arbitrage: As of the time this post was written (9/29/16), Alex is expanding his customer support staff and has a turnaround time of 24-48 hours (typically shorter). Once the new support staff is up and running, I would expect the turnaround time to be under 24 hours. There is also a Facebook group with a great user base and a wiki that is constantly updated with FAQ.

So if I’m scoring this, I would have to give it a tie. Both of the softwares offer great customer support and you can expect a response from either of them in usually 24 hours or less.

Overall results:

We can see that OAXRay would be slight winner (due to the trial period) with the metrics we chose for comparison, but overall there is something more important I want to stress:

These softwares have two completely different user bases and you need to be aware of that before deciding which one to use or subscribe to.

OAXRay is the best tool for someone who:

Is just getting started with online arbitrage or has less than 2 years experience with OA software

Would not consider themselves tech savvy

Have a select set of stores they source from on a monthly basis, but still want the ability to search other sites

Utilize VA and do training in-house

Wants to get the results of a search immediately and quickly make a purchasing decision

Tactical Arbitrage is the best tool for someone who:

Has intermediate to advance experience with online arbitrage

Would consider themselves tech savvy or a computer nerd

Likes to search the ends of the web for deals on sites not typically sourced

Wants the ability to source with complex filters and settings

Likes to run large searches during the time they are in bed (100+ links)

What do I use personally?

I use both of them. Seriously.

I use OAXRay during the day and Tactical Arbitrage at night.

I personally feel like they compliment each other nicely and I make enough using each of them to cover the cost (and then some….like a lot of some).

If I was just starting out, I would get a trial of both of the softwares and see which one you like more. You might really prefer one or you might be like me and love them both!

OAXRay: 10 day FREE trial with this link

Tactical Arbitrage: 7 day FREE trial with this link

I hope that this post helps you with your search for the perfect online arbitrage tool for your sourcing needs!

CW

Note: All of the links used in this post are affiliate links. We, FBA Master, do get a commission (at no cost to you) if you go through one of them and decide to purchase the product. Although we are using affiliate links, our opinion are unbiased and hopefully helpful. If you would rather not go through one of our links, you can visit both of the sites below:

http://oaxray.com/
https://tacticalarbitrage.com/