One of the biggest challenges people face when they want to start a business is the issue of having to deal with inventory. But did you know that you can sell products online without inventory?
Having a business with inventory can be a problem! Imagine that you invent some kind of widget that you are sure people will want to buy from your website. But then you have to pay to make it, pay to store it somewhere, pay to ship it.
If you don’t start selling a wide range of these tools soon, you could end up with a huge loss and a whole lot of products you’d rather not have!
So why deal with all that? Why not sell products online without inventory? Go digital instead!
Ideas for selling products online without inventory
Developing your own electronic products can give you a unique advantage over traditional businesses that still rely on physical products.
One example we can all relate to is the music industry. In the past decade, online retailers selling music online have greatly outpaced those who still insist on selling physical CDs.
The same applies to computer software. Almost no one gives you a physical disc anymore. It’s the way this media works now, and it’s much easier for sellers!
We’ll show you how to create your own electronic inventory business. Then we’ll follow up by sharing some real-life success stories of people who have done just that.
Throughout my blogging career, I have witnessed many marketers who developed and sold their own products online without having to worry about any inventory.
And they have income reports to brag about. Here are some amazing examples of success stories where digital products have proven to be a great passive income idea.
So, how do you go beyond inventory and build your own e-commerce business?
1. Create an e-course
Do you have knowledge of a topic that will provide value to others? For example, have you paid off thousands of consumer debts?
Or have you succeeded in designing and selling t-shirts? You may have learned some great parenting skills. Or you learned how to cut expenses and save a significant percentage of your income. Make a list of skills you have that can help others.
Then use a site like Teachable To help you easily create your own online course.
2. Create designs for t-shirts and other items
In 2016, my oldest daughter created some fun t-shirt designs. Opened for free Red bubble Calculate and download their designs.
She was 16 years old at the time, and just wanted to have some fun with the minimal graphic design skills she had learned. So she is This design has been uploaded and a few others, and let e-commerce do its job.
Redbubble sells its designs on t-shirts (its best-selling product), mugs, pillows, tote bags, and more. All you do is do some promotion, sit back and collect your regular checks.
She has great fun getting checks every month from Redbubble. The money goes directly into her PayPal account and she saves it for “fun money.”
The great thing about sites like Redbubble and Cafe Press is that all you do is upload your design. They take care of inventory, printing, shipping, and customer service.
You don’t have to pay anything to upload your designs on these sites either. Both companies only take a portion of the sales and give you the rest.
Your job is to create great designs and market those designs so people can find them. Share it on social media sites like Pinterest or Instagram, or on your personal Facebook page.
The more people know about your amazing designs, the more people will have a chance to buy them.
3. Write an e-book
Another way you can share the knowledge you have is to write an e-book. You can write a non-fiction eBook and share historical events or how-to information.
Or you can write a fantasy e-book and use your imagination to share entertainment with the masses.
To get started, you have to write a great book. Fact: If your book doesn’t have valuable or engaging content, it won’t sell.
Once you’ve written your book, it’s easy to publish it online. You can publish with Amazon through the Kindle Direct Publishing program, or use dozens of other eBook publishing companies.
You’ll need to make sure your eBook is formatted correctly as well. Amazon KDP can help you with this, or you can pay a third party to format it for eBook publishing.
Better yet, save some money and learn how to format your book for eBook publishing yourself.
Once your book is published, be sure to promote it on social media and elsewhere. Amazon KDP has a great book they offer to members to help them learn how to promote their book.
Follow the suggestions in this marketing book if you want to maximize sales. Great content plus great marketing equals a lot of sales.
*Hint: Successful eBook authors will tell you that in order to write a successful book, you have to start with a successful blog.
Your blog will serve as the foundation, a starting point of sorts, for your book. If you’re sharing your blog content and finding that you have a lot of people reading your information, you’ve already created a marketing group for your book.
4. Create an electronic product
Electronic products are another option for selling without inventory. You can sell electronic products in several ways such as:
- Downloadable computer programs
- Create an application
- Create a system or website theme
- Sell downloadable and printable artwork
For example, this Etsy shop, Faith and Farm Lifesells downloadable digital prints for the home and office for just $5. Buyers receive digital prints in five different sizes that they can purchase in frames to fit the style of their home or office.
The seller doesn’t have to handle shipping or inventory.
There are other ideas as well. The goal is to create an item that will help others have an easier time working online or in real life. Think about apps that help people achieve goals or make life easier.
Or programs that do the same thing.
Now, here are three real-life success stories of people who got rich by selling products online without stock.
Digital inventory success stories
1. Selling eBooks with Steve Scott
It’s pretty hard not to know the name Steve Scott when it comes to talking about eBooks. Steve’s collection of eBooks is widely regarded as some of the most useful titles on topics such as blogging tips, marketing strategies, self-help, time optimization, and more.
Even more impressive than his e-book collection is his book Monthly income reports. Just check it out! In just a few short years, Steve went from making a few dollars a month to making over five figures a month! In May 2014 alone, It was made $65,643.53! This is more than some people earn in an entire year!
The nice part is that his entire book is sold electronically on Amazon. There are no piles of hardcover books in his garage waiting to be sold. Every time someone purchases one of their eBooks, the file is automatically transferred digitally!
One thing you can learn from Steve Scott’s e-book work: the more books he produced, the more successful he seemed to become—both financially and in his own writing business.
To paraphrase from one of Steve’s books: You won’t get rich by selling just one e-book. You should create several great pieces of content.
This way, if someone reads just one of your pieces and likes it, they’ll be hungry for more great tips — and that’s when you have the opportunity to make multiple sales.
Steve also repeatedly stresses the importance of building an email list; Even if that sometimes means giving away his next book for free or next to it for free.
With an email list, you’re sure to get a captive audience that already knows and trusts you. This makes selling your next digital product much easier.
Here’s another example of someone who knows how to sell products online without inventory.
2.Launching an e-course with Brian Dean
Backlinko was a blog that pretty much came out of nowhere, yet it has become one of the most reliable sources of advice when it comes to blogging.
Although the author, Brian Dean, only posts on the site about once a month, his articles quickly become the topic of much discussion and are shared throughout the blogosphere.
His secret: epic posts. Most of his posts are long and actionable like a well-written e-book. However, he offers advice for free.
So what is the motivation behind all this?
In 2014, Brian began offering exclusive e-courses on backlinks and marketing strategies for bloggers. Results? On the podcast with Niche PursuitsHe reported this “Each launch has brought in over six figures; I’ve done a few launches this year.
That’s not bad for not actually selling a physical product! All he sells is what he knows about blogging, and people are lining up to buy!
Why would people want to pay a few hundred dollars for blogging advice? Because they know that if Brian offers such great stuff on his blog for free, he will surely get great stuff in his paid courses.
By putting his best work out there and establishing himself as an authority figure, people will pay to teach them what you know. Although proving your value and building trust takes time, the end result can be worth the investment.
3. Create an electronic product with Spencer Haws
Are you a great computer programmer or coder?
no? Then don’t worry!
Neither does Spencer Howes of Niche Pursuits. But that didn’t stop him from creating one of the best and most widely used keyword research tools on the market, Long Tail Pro.
Long Tail Pro allows users to search for keywords that are searched for the most on the web, and then measures the competitiveness of those keywords so you know which keywords will be easier to search for.
After blogging for a number of years, Spencer began to recognize certain patterns and traits that seemed to make one page rank higher on Google than another.
Although no one really knew the secret behind Google’s ranking algorithm, he felt so confident in his skills at evaluating PageRank that he paid to develop software that would help others overcome the same challenges.
Although Spencer has never revealed exactly how much he earns from his Long Tail Pro sales, he has made public statements that his online income is “more than he made at his old job” and is in the five-figure range per month.
Lesson learned: You don’t have to know everything yourself to develop a good electronic product that others will want to buy and use. You just have to know that there is an opportunity and be the person who supports its creation.
Skip the stock and go digital!
A strong business doesn’t always have to be about selling physical products. You can certainly sell products online without inventory if you have something people want.
Just like with real products, it has to be something of quality that people will be willing to trade their hard-earned money for. If you really want to achieve great sales numbers, matching demand with your supply is extremely important.
This is especially true if you want your business to survive over the long term, during recessions and all. Having the products people need or want in good times and in bad is critical to achieving consistent sales.
By not having inventory, you keep your overhead and operational costs to an absolute minimum, which only means making more money for you!
If you want to know how you can start creating your own website, you should check out our free guide on how to start a blog here. This link will show you how to start a blog in 15 minutes or less and make money from it.