132. Masters of Arbitrage with Jon Shugart & Luke Sample

On this episode, I’m joined by not one, but two industry insiders who are going to give us a behind-the-scenes tour of the world of arbitrage, which simply involves buying low and selling high. Jon Shugart is an entrepreneur at heart and a computer programmer by trade. He’s also a master at webinar marketing who was on one of the very earliest episodes of Marketing Speak. Luke Sample is a serial internet entrepreneur and black hat SEO. Together, they are the co-creators of BookTrades Biz. If you’re ready to learn how to build an internet empire from anywhere in the world, this is the episode for you!

Find Out More About Jon and Luke Here:

BookTrades Biz
Jon Shugart
Jon Shugart on Twitter
Jon Shugart on Facebook
Jon Shugart on LinkedIn
Luke Sample
Luke Sample on Facebook
Luke Sample on LinkedIn

In This Episode:

• [02:02] - Jon and Luke talk about arbitrage as a revenue model and how it compares to affiliate marketing.
• [05:21] - Arbitrage has been around for a long time as far as the internet is concerned, Stephan points out. Luke then talks about whether this kind of arbitrage is still around, and Jon points out that there was a big push over the last few years to arbitrage native ads.
• [07:30] - Jon defines native advertising for listeners who may not be familiar with the term, then finishes off his idea about native ads.
• [10:53] - Stephan gives an example of a non-obvious thing that you can arbitrage.
• [13:15] - Luke tells the story of how he and Jon got into the textbook industry.
• [19:00] - Is it possible to send purchased books directly to the place offering trade-in, or do you have to take possession of it?
• [20:25] - Jon talks about how long it takes to make a decent income off of the textbook market, considering each transaction is for relatively low amounts.
• [25:00] - We hear about whether Jon and Luke have friends or family members doing textbook arbitrage since it’s basically a guaranteed way to make money.
• [29:48] - Why did Luke and Jon turn this into a service rather than just building an arbitrage business themselves?
• [33:04] - The key for Luke and Jon is that they’re continually innovating, Luke points out, which makes it a win for everybody.
• [34:21] - We hear whether Luke and Jon offer a prep service for their customers.
• [37:57] - Jon gives a rundown of what they offer listeners, in response to Stephan’s point that one needs a fair amount of information upfront.
• [40:11] - The program has a secret Facebook group where people have a sense of camaraderie and generosity that’s unusual in other industries.
• [42:11] - Is there an MLM component to the program?
• [44:10] - We hear about the next step for a listener who is interested in learning more or taking part in this program. If you’re interested, head to this link!
• [45:13] - What would be Jon and Luke’s parting advice for someone in terms of arbitrage or looking beyond traditional affiliate marketing?

Links and Resources:

• BookTrades Biz
• Jon Shugart
• Jon Shugart on Twitter
• Jon Shugart on Facebook
• Jon Shugart on LinkedIn
• Luke Sample
• Luke Sample on Facebook
• Luke Sample on LinkedIn
• Jon Shugart on Marketing Speak
• Traffic and Conversion Summit
• BookTrades Biz special link for Marketing Speak listeners