I don't think arbitrage has to be in USD for you to make a profit on the trading concept. For instance, take a look at bitcoinwisdom and see the price differences in BTC and LTC between the exchanges - the differences are quite noticeable.
Here's an arbitrage example that I plan on doing:
1. Buy BTC at Coinbase and move it to BTC-E.
2. At BTC-E, swap your BTC with LTC
3. Move LTC to another exchange like Crypto-Trade
4. At Cryto-Trade, swap LTC back to BTC
5. Move BTC back to BTC-E and repeat.
The goal is to slowly grow my BTC count, and then move back to Coinbase to cash out.
While I do this, I will be familiarizing myself with the commission fees and transfer fees for each exchange and calculate those fees into my equation. I'll also keep close attention to news at bitcointalk and coindesk about any troubles the exchanges might be having.
-BeaconDelta
Here's an arbitrage example that I plan on doing:
1. Buy BTC at Coinbase and move it to BTC-E.
2. At BTC-E, swap your BTC with LTC
3. Move LTC to another exchange like Crypto-Trade
4. At Cryto-Trade, swap LTC back to BTC
5. Move BTC back to BTC-E and repeat.
The goal is to slowly grow my BTC count, and then move back to Coinbase to cash out.
While I do this, I will be familiarizing myself with the commission fees and transfer fees for each exchange and calculate those fees into my equation. I'll also keep close attention to news at bitcointalk and coindesk about any troubles the exchanges might be having.
-BeaconDelta
Only problem with your method is I calculated it and you wouldn't even make back your original amount put into coinbase. You would be a couple of $ short.
But like other FX, sports betting or similar market, if you consider transfer cost and risk, discrepancy is diminishing immediately.