If you are a business owner or thinking of going on an entrepreneurial voyage, you may have heard of Shopify. You can use this platform to sell products online without holding inventories. At times, it becomes challenging to manage and maintain stocks and track everything on your own. Such businesses, where you have to take care of inventory management, not only require a high capital investment but also need space to maintain inventories. If you have or want to start a small business, it’s impossible to manage logistics, buy/rent storage space, and take care of shipping & deliveries all by yourself. In scenarios like such, you can sell without inventory on Shopify to make money online.

You can try to sell without inventory on Shopify with these business models.

Dropshipping on Shopify is a reliable option to build your enterprise without inventory management. In a drop shipping business, you don’t need to send the orders directly to your customers. Once you receive customer orders on your website, you can forward the requirement to your dropshipping supplier and they will pack and ship the products to your customers. In short, you act as a bridge between your customers and suppliers.

Selling without inventory on Shopify is easy with the best dropshipping suppliers on your side. Check the product quality before sourcing them for your customers. You can order sample products to see if the quality is good.

dropshippingXL has easy API integration that helps you connect your Shopify store with our platform. You can easily import our entire product assortment and check real-time prices and product updates with our third-party integrations available for Shopify.

Pros of drop shipping

It’s better to weigh the profits before entering the dropshipping world. The prominent benefits of starting a dropshipping store are:

• Requires low startup cost so you don’t need to pay a large sum upfront. But you will require money to buy a domain name and launch & market your online store. You can start dropshipping on Shopify to display your products online.
• Chance to collaborate with different suppliers to serve your customers better and provide them with the highest quality products.
• Low entry barrier so you can easily launch and run your dropshipping store.
• Multiple product niches to choose from. You can select a specific niche and sell products from that niche or sell everything under the sun from your store.
• No shipping obligations on your behalf as the packaging and shipping are taken care of by your suppliers.

In the print-on-demand business model, you can print graphics on products like t-shirts, mugs, calendars, and other white-label items. You can customise the designs and sell them to your customers after receiving the orders. You can either make your own designs or cooperate with other brands by obtaining a license. Print-on-demand on Shopify is ideal if you want to sell custom products without managing inventories.

Pros of print-on-demand

• No inventory management is required, as a result, the startup cost is low. Also, the need to have a warehouse is eliminated.
• It’s easy to test new ideas and introduce new designs without the risk of buying inventories.
• Scalability is an important factor driving the print-on-demand business. You can produce the merchandise only after receiving the orders.
• The shipping and logistics are the responsibility of your supplier and you don’t need to worry about managing a vast logistics network.

In this business model, affiliate marketers earn commission on the sales made by recommending products or brands. They publish the affiliate links on their website. If a customer buys the product using that link, the commission is credited to their accounts.

If you are willing to start an affiliate marketing business, you can pick a niche with more audiences interested in your content. Create a tutorial or product guide video to encourage customers to buy the products you are promoting. You can start selling without inventory on Shopify with affiliate marketing to kickstart your entrepreneurial journey. But it’s important to monitor the referral links and traffic using Shopify affiliate apps.

Pros of affiliate marketing

• No need to invest more time to run an affiliate marketing store. It’s a beginner-friendly business model and you can easily start your affiliate marketing website and earn better from your home.
• It’s easy to start a career in affiliate marketing and hone your affiliate marketing skills.
• A good source to earn passive income by promoting the brands or products online.

Opening a Shopify store for order fulfilment is also a way to sell without inventory on Shopify. It is best when combined with drop shipping or selling wholesale items. Opening an online third-party fulfilment centre will let you handle logistics issues like warehousing, inventory management, shipment, and order fulfilment for businesses.

Pros of third-party fulfilment centres

• Reduced storage costs for businesses as 3PLs (third-party logistics) handle the storage of your products, eliminating the need for a physical warehouse.
• Advanced inventory management systems ensure accurate stock levels and real-time updates.
• Automated systems streamline order processing and picking, leading to quicker shipping times.
• 3PLs often have negotiated rates with carriers, offering competitive shipping costs.

Explore products for dropshipping here!

Digital dropshipping is a business model where you sell digital products like eBooks, software, music, or online courses without physically stocking any inventory. When a customer purchases a product from your Shopify store, the digital file is delivered directly to the customer from the supplier.

How It Works:

Step 1: Choose digital products to sell from a supplier or create your own.

Step 2: Set up your Shopify store, adding product descriptions, images, and pricing.

Step 3: A customer visits your store and purchases a digital product.

Step 4: The order is automatically sent to the supplier.

Step 5: The supplier delivers the digital product directly to the customer.

Pros of digital dropshipping

• You don't need to worry about storing or shipping physical products.
• The main costs are setting up your Shopify store and marketing expenses.
• You can easily scale your business by adding new products.
• You can sell to customers worldwide without geographical limitations.
• Once your store is set up, you can generate income with minimal effort.

Yes, you can sell without inventory on Shopify through dropshipping, print-on-demand, affiliate marketing, and other business models we have talked about before. There are a few ways to start dropshipping on Shopify. You can use Shopify Collective to list complementary products in your store. Using a dedicated dropshipping app on Shopify is also an option to consider.

Shopify does not necessarily require inventory as you can sell products online through dropshipping, multilevel marketing, and affiliate marketing. Dropshipping allows you to sell products online with the help of your dropshipping supplier. Remember to find a reliable supplier to grow your business and maintain product quality.

You can sell your products online with Shopify by running your online store on this platform. You can start your online business and start selling all types of goods on Shopify. If you are looking to start a business without managing inventory or with a low startup cost, you can try dropshipping on Shopify.

Hiding out of stock products is easy on Shopify. You can use the automated collections feature to hide unavailable products. You can either do this manually with your admin access or use an inventory management app to hide out of stock products automatically.

You can explore different business opportunities like dropshipping, print-on-demand, logistics supply, and other ideas we have talked about in this article to sell without inventory on Shopify. Starting your business venture might seem intimidating but it’s worth putting your effort and time. All the business ideas we have mentioned above is easy to start without the need to put in a large sum or invest in inventories. With low startup cost and flexibility, you can start selling without inventory on Shopify. Open the doors to financial independence with business ideas requiring minimal investment.