In most cases, the idea that one can sell things that are not personally owned is an allusion to affiliate marketing, the process of selling products that other people own and earning commissions from the product owner. In this process, the sale is generated by the affiliate, and the merchant takes it from there. When the sale is completed, the affiliate earns a commission.

Many people make money doing this, as it is a very good business model if one is able to perfect the strategies involved. However, there is another way to make money selling nothing of your own, and it includes the process of drop shipping.

Drop shipping, which existed long before the internet, breathed a new type of life once eBay and the internet turned e-commerce on its head. Drop shipping is simply the process of selling a product that is owned by someone else at an inflated price. For example, if an individual is able to find products at a wholesale price, he or she can place it on eBay or their own store and sell it at a premium. In the process, one can avoid having to own anything, and the shipping is taken care of by the company that manufactures the company.

While this process is similar to affiliate marketing, it differs in the fact that the product actually passes through the hands of the individual. Furthermore, affiliate marketing is often applied in the digital product industry, while drop shipping can only be done with physical products. And, while the product does pass through the hands of the individual, it does not do so physically. Because the manufacturer handles the shipping, the middleman does not need to package the item, ship it, or store it anywhere. Instead, he or she simply completes the order and earns the profit that is taken on the sale of the item.

This type of a business model is very simple, easy to understand, and repeatable. For these reasons, people flock to study this strategy to see if they can make money by implementing it. While not everyone finds it to be a profitable venture, many in fact are able to generate solid income streams from drop shipping.