It used to be that earning money from home required a substantial financial investment for product right at the start. It was then your job to sell off that entire investment to make your profit. Today, things have changed. Most legitimate online home based businesses do not require any inventory or initial investment at all.

The problem with inventory is not just with the initial investment that you put out to purchase all your stock. It takes a lot of space to store the product and then you often have to lug it around from one place to another trying to make a sale.

All that has been erased by the Internet. You can now go online and sell other people’s product, without ever having it in your technical possession. There are several ways to do this and earn a decent income.

Drop and ship companies have been around for many years and most people use them to sell products through eBay or their own websites. The company holds the actual stock and you select items from a catalog and set up avenues to sell those chosen products online. The company does all of the actual shipping to your customers.

The beauty of this arrangement is that you get to sell and collect a profit without ever storing the merchandise or even paying for it up front.

Affiliate marketing is another way to sell for other people and collect your own cash without the hassle of controlling inventory. You simply select affiliate programs with products that you feel confident promoting and then try to direct traffic and paying customers to their website.

You will receive a kickback either for every person that clicks from your site to theirs, or for each paying customer that you deliver.

Today, legitimate online home based businesses do not require you to deal with any inventory at all. You can make a living selling online without giving up space in your home or a solid paycheck just to get your hands on the inventory.