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A question asked by many—is it possible to sell on Amazon without inventory? Yes! It is possible.

E-commerce has balanced the industry for small businesses in such a way that anyone with no money, high entrepreneurial skills, and passion can start their own business.  

What does “how to sell on Amazon without inventory” mean?

This refers to 3 answers.

  1. You own stock or inventory but don’t want to manage the problems of packaging, handling or shipping the products.
  2. You don’t have an inventory, but you still want to become a seller on Amazon by selling products manufactured by someone else.
  3. You don’t have or don’t want to manage stock but are still interested in becoming a seller on Amazon, or you want to sell digital products.

All of the 3 options above are viable and legal according to Amazon’s terms and conditions.

Although, one of the greatest challenges to start an online business is sourcing products to sell. 

When people think of becoming a seller on Amazon, they think they need to fully stock up the goods and become a fully loaded seller to begin. But in such cases where you have no money to stock up or no space to store goods? Or what if you just want to sip to get the taste before you actually start?

There are multiple methods to sell on Amazon without an inventory. Our guide will take you through the entire process and steps required to start selling on Amazon without an inventory.

Benefits of Selling on Amazon Without Inventory

Sell on Amazon without Inventory

Amazon offers many advantages for those who are willing to sell without inventory. Firstly, let’s discuss the benefits of selling on Amazon without inventory:

  • The biggest benefit of selling without inventory is that there’s no requirement to invest in stock beforehand. 
  • This way, it also prevents all the risks of wasted stock and money.
  • It adds more flexibility to your profit as you can source products from different sellers according to your convenience.
  • Selling without inventory helps businesses focus more on customer service and marketing than logistics or shipments. So, it’s a wise way to grow your e-commerce business.

Ways to sell on Amazon without Inventory

  • Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA)
  • Dropshipping
  • Third-Party Logistics (3PL)
  • Digital Products

Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA)

It is one of the most widespread methods of selling on Amazon without inventory. This method helps users to sell products by just dropping them to Amazon warehouses. The rest is FBA’s job. They take care of storing, packing, and delivering your products to the correct addresses.

This is an advisable method if you want to sell without inventory. Amazon takes care of packing, storing, customer service and shipping your inventory and takes a monthly fee and charges from each transaction.

Pros and Cons of FBA

Everything has its advantages and disadvantages. Let’s discuss the pros and cons of using FBA for selling without inventory:

Pros
  • You don’t need warehouse space to sell.
  • You get 24/7 customer service from Amazon.
  • You can access the largest fulfilment network and Amazon’s broad customer base.
  • Fulfilment and delivery services help you to focus more on your business strategy.
Cons
  • Monthly fees and transactions can minus your profit.
  • Amazon has stringent rules and product standards.
  • You manually need to keep track of your stock.

Dropshipping

Sell on Amazon without Inventory

Dropshipping is also a very popular method of selling without inventory. This method has been around even before Amazon.

In this method, the seller doesn’t have to take up the inventory burden because whenever an order comes, the seller gets in touch with the supplier, who instantly delivers the product to the customer.

While using dropshipping, you are responsible for marketing and selling the product, and your supplier will be responsible for the inventory.

For dropshipping on Amazon, you only have to create product listings, and when you make a sale, you contact your supplier and get it shipped to the customer. It is a direct gateway to your e-commerce journey. 

Pros and Cons of Dropshipping

Dropshipping is in great use lately, so let’s discuss its pros and cons:

Pros
  • Through dropshipping, you can sell without inventory, so you don’t have to worry about any warehouse space or storage.
  • Dropshipping lets you start with less or no money, as you don’t have to invest beforehand.
  • Dropshipping gives you flexibility regarding your product range, as any standards do not limit it.
  • As all the payments and transactions are handled online, so you can conduct your business anywhere through an internet connection.
Cons
  • The dropshipping industry is filled with competition, making it difficult to source items for sale.
  • Even if you manage to source products, you might not earn a lot of profit as there might be numerous sellers carrying the same product.
  • Furthermore, in dropshipping, it takes longer to ship products which can be a massive drawback to your business.

Third-Party Logistics (3PL)

If you want to sell without inventory, you can consider taking a third-party logistics (3PL) service. It is a service that manages your inventory, packages and ships your products and even deals with the customers.

A 3PL service provides warehouse space and shipping service for sellers. This option is great for sellers whose business is grown up or who need assistance handling their orders.

Here’s what a 3PL service includes:

  • Inventory control 
  • Warehouse storage
  • Collecting and inspecting
  • Packaging service
  • LTL, FTL shipping methods
  • Return management and service

Pros and Cons of Third-Party Logistics (3PL)

Every business considers using 3PL service while shipping products to customers. Here are its pros and cons:

Pros
  • It increases your control over the management.
  • It can be more profit-friendly.
  • It gives more time for you to concentrate on other parts of the business.
Cons
  • This process can be highly convenient, but that comes with a high price. This service can be costly for a startup.

Digital Products

Another method of selling and making money from Amazon without inventory is selling digital products.

As we all know, Amazon is a virtual platform, which makes it obvious to list virtual products on its website. Moreover, the best part is that you can sell them without inventory.

What are Digital Products?

Immaterial items that are offered electronically, such as the following are digital products:

  • eBooks
  • Music
  • Digital art
  • Software
  • Any courses

There’s no limit to selling these digital items, as they can be sold as often as you want. The best thing is that you don’t have to manage any physical inventory for this.

Pros and Cons of Digital Products

Here are the pros and cons of selling digital products:

Pros
  • You can sell digital products with low or almost no startup cost.
  • Anyone with no e-commerce experience can start selling digital products.
  • Huge profit margins.
  • Comparatively, it is easier to manage the entire process.
  • You are always in stock.
  • Digital products are sold at much higher margins than physical products.
Cons
  • Creating what to sell can be very hard.
  • It is easy for anyone to copy and resell your digital inventory, which will directly affect your selling.
  • You have to pay high commission fees for selling digital products.

Wrapping Up 

We have explained all sorts of methods you can use to sell on Amazon without inventory. The rest depends upon your need and goal. You can go for dropshipping or digital products if you don’t have enough money to startup. And luckily, if your business grows, you can use 3PL service or Amazon FBA.

We have told you the pros and cons of each of them; the rest is your choice.

Best of luck!

Author

  • James Smith

    Our Team is highly experienced and skilled in making money online. We have experts from almost all fields available, and we love sharing our experience and writing guide articles for our readers.

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