Regarding The Recent Amazon Canada Gatings
This is a blog post from our sister site, Arcane Society.
Let’s clear the air on the recent Amazon gating wave.
Yes, a lot of Canadian sellers are seeing brands suddenly gated—mostly ones they haven’t sold before. It’s triggering panic, with some people already acting like this is the end of arbitrage.
It’s not. Not even close. Don’t overreact. This isn’t the first time Amazon has tightened things up, and it won’t be the last.
What do we actually know?
Right now—very little. But based on how this is playing out, it looks like either a temporary issue or a system glitch. Here’s why:
1. Many people have reported being able to sell through inventory they already had in stock after they were advised they would be gated on it (this almost never happens with traditional re-gating's).
2. A similar wave hit the U.S. earlier this year, and it was later confirmed to be a glitch. Eventually, those gates reopened.
Ref: https://x.com/yodayee/status/1945613618441072960
What’s our move?
We’re not rushing into any major decisions. We're watching how this plays out over the next week or two. If it turns out to be more than a glitch (which seems unlikely), the fix is straightforward—just annoying: get invoices and re-ungate.
In the meantime, we’re building a master list of Canadian-friendly retailers and distributors to make ungating easier across tons of brands. This resource will be shared with our lead list subscribers and Arcane Society members.
What should you be doing right now?
There are a few things we can do:
Audit your inventory. Confirm your stock levels are accurate and nothing’s slipping through the cracks. Revisit old ASINs that might be profitable again. And don’t forget to review your repricer settings—tweak your strategy if needed to stay competitive without bleeding margin.
Keep sourcing. Build a pipeline of potential products so you’re ready to move the second restrictions ease up.
Tighten operations. Update your books, knock out admin work, refine your SOPs, and get clear on your goals for Q4 2025 and beyond.
Diversify your income. Explore other markets—Canada to US, US to US—and look at parallel income streams outside of Amazon to future-proof your business.
How do you diversify your income?
Start with what you control—inside Amazon—and expand from there:
Within Amazon:
Expand to new markets. Stop limiting yourself to Canada. Tap into the U.S., cross-border arbitrage, or even international marketplaces. With prep centers, breaking into these markets is faster and easier than ever.
Diversify your catalog. Don’t let one brand or category sink your ship. I personally cap brand exposure at 10% of my cashflow (usually 5% or less), and category exposure at 25% max (usually 15% or less). That way, if something gets restricted, it doesn’t blow up the entire operation. Stay spread, stay safe.
Outside Amazon:
Sell on other marketplaces. eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and others still print money if you know what you're doing. It’s less saturated, more flexible, and gives you backup if Amazon gets shaky.
Play the long game. Alongside your day-to-day arbitrage or wholesale, start stacking long-term investments—especially in toys. LEGO, Pokémon, and other retiring products have insanely predictable appreciation curves. If you’ve got extra cashflow, park it in sealed units and forget about them for 18–36 months. The profits are boringly reliable.
Explore other business models. Don’t box yourself in. Look at short-term rentals, building a Shopify brand, flipping event or concert tickets, or launching something with AI. The opportunity landscape right now is wide open—and most of it doesn’t require a massive upfront investment. Just pick a lane and move.
Need help navigating all this? That’s what Arcane Society is for.
Whether it’s bouncing back from gating issues, expanding into new marketplaces, or building entirely new income streams—this is exactly the kind of chaos we prepare for. Inside Arcane, you’re not guessing alone. You get real-time support, ungating resources, vetted distributor lists, and guidance on everything from Amazon to eBay to Shopify to AI.
If you're serious about reselling—and not just riding trends—Arcane Society is where you sharpen the blade. Let the others panic. We build.
