Introduction

what companies can i sell for from home is a question entrepreneurs ask when they want to earn revenue without a retail storefront. In the next paragraphs you will get specific company types, platform names, commission and fee ranges, and step-by-step timelines to start selling for others or reselling products from home.

This article covers the main ways to sell for companies from home: marketplace reselling, dropshipping, affiliate and referral selling, print-on-demand, white-label and private label, and B2B wholesale or consignment. It matters because each option has different startup costs, margins, lead times, and customer service responsibilities. You will get actionable checklists, realistic pricing examples, a 30/90-day launch plan, and the most common mistakes to avoid.

Read on to pick the model and platforms that match your cash, time, and risk tolerance. Examples include selling on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Shopify-based stores, Faire for wholesale, Printful for print-on-demand, or joining affiliate networks like ShareASale or Commission Junction. Each path below includes concrete numbers and a practical setup timeline.

What Companies Can I Sell for From Home

This section lists company types and specific names you can sell for from home, and explains the manner in which you “sell for” them. Selling for a company can mean reselling their products, acting as an affiliate or referrer, serving as a channel partner, or operating a dropship/print-on-demand arrangement where the company handles fulfillment.

Marketplace Resellers

Amazon Seller Central (Individual or Professional): sell physical products, pay referral fees 6-45% depending on category; Professional plan usually around $39.99 per month plus selling fees.
eBay: list and sell used or new goods; expect insertion fees and final value fees often 10-12% depending on category.
Etsy: focused on handmade, vintage, and craft supplies; $0.20 listing fee plus 6.5% transaction fee.

Dropshipping Suppliers and Platforms

AliExpress and Alibaba (supplier access): low product cost but longer shipping; use with tools for order automation.
Spocket, Modalyst, and DSers: integrate with Shopify; item costs vary, typical retail markup 30-100%.
Tundra: wholesale with no transaction fees for some sellers, suitable for higher-volume dropshipping.

Print-On-Demand Companies

Printful and Printify: no monthly fees; product cost per item (for example, $12 for a basic shirt), you set retail price; profit equals retail minus base cost and shipping.
Teespring (Spring): creator-focused, handles fulfillment and returns.

Wholesale and Trade Platforms

Faire: wholesale marketplace where boutiques buy; you can be a wholesaler or sell to retailers if you have inventory.
Handshake (Shopify wholesale): for B2B sellers with order minimums.

Affiliate and Referral Programs

Amazon Associates: commissions 1-10% by category.
ShareASale, Commission Junction (CJ Affiliate), Impact: networks with many retail and digital product partners; commissions vary widely, often 5-30% or flat fees.
PartnerStack and Partnerize: SaaS (software as a service) and recurring commission networks, common payouts 10-30% recurring.

Software and Digital Marketplaces

Gumroad, SendOwl, and ClickBank: sell digital goods or promote others’ digital products; ClickBank commissions can be 50% or higher for high-margin digital courses.
App stores or Shopify App Store: become a reseller or referral partner for apps, often with referral fees or recurring shares.

Services and B2B Channel Sales

Become a freelance seller for DTC (direct-to-consumer) brands, handling outreach, listings, or account management on a freelance basis (Upwork, Fiverr, or direct contracting).
Channel partner programs for SaaS: receive referral or revenue-share for introducing customers.

Each of the company types above comes with realistic margins and operational expectations. For example, reselling on Amazon often gives net margins after fees and shipping of 10-25% for private label, while dropshipping margins often land between 20-40% if you price smartly and source competitively. Affiliate selling may produce lower per-sale revenue but can scale faster if you have content or paid traffic.

Why Sell for Companies From Home

Selling for companies from home can be faster to launch and require less capital than manufacturing and running your own brick-and-mortar store. The reason is simple: you reduce fixed costs, inventory risk, and logistics overhead if you let another company handle product creation and fulfillment.

Lower Startup Costs

Marketplace seller: initial fees can be under $100 if you buy a small inventory lot. Example: buy 10 units at $8 each = $80, list on eBay for $25 each, fees ~12% plus shipping cost, potential gross profit $120 before ads.
Dropshipper or print-on-demand seller: platform fees often zero to $39 per month; no inventory costs. Example: sell a shirt with base cost $12, price $28, profit $16 minus ads and transaction fees.

Faster Time-To-Market

Affiliate marketing: you can start promoting the same day you register with networks like ShareASale or Amazon Associates and place links on a blog, social post, or email.
Marketplace listings: you can list items on Amazon or eBay in a day once approved and have inventory ready.

Scalability and Recurring Income

SaaS referral programs and recurring subscription products: earn monthly recurring commissions by signing up customers. Example: a SaaS reseller program that pays 20% of $100 monthly subscription yields $20 monthly per active referred customer.
Private label and wholesale: once you build distribution or retailer relationships, orders can grow predictably month to month.

Risk and Control Trade-Offs

When you sell for another company via dropshipping or print-on-demand, you give up control over manufacturing quality and fulfillment speed. That affects customer satisfaction and returns.
As an affiliate, you cannot control landing pages, up-sells, or product availability, which can make conversion rates volatile.

Metrics to Track From Day One

Gross margin: revenue minus cost of goods sold (COGS) divided by revenue.
Customer acquisition cost (CAC): ad spend divided by new customers.
Return rate: returns divided by units sold.
Average order value (AOV): total revenue divided by number of orders.

Example Economics

Example 1, Amazon private label: Buy 500 units at $5 each = $2,500. Sell at $20 with Amazon referral fee 15% and fulfillment costs $3 per unit. Per-unit profit = $20 - $5 - $3 - $3 (15% of 20) = $9. 500 units x $9 = $4,500 profit.
Example 2, affiliate blog promoting a software: 1,000 visitors, 2% conversion = 20 signups. Commission $50 per signup = $1,000. If content cost was $400, net $600.

Choose based on capital, tolerance for operations, and desired time to revenue. If you want immediate cash with little overhead, affiliate selling or marketplace reselling of used items is fastest. If you want to build a brand and higher margins, private label or wholesale usually pays off in months to a year.

How to Choose Companies and Sales Models

Selecting the right companies and model means matching three things: your capital, your skills, and your audience or traffic sources. Below is a decision framework and specific selection criteria.

Decision Framework

Capital available: under $500, $500-5,000, over $5,000. Under $500 points to affiliate marketing, used-item flipping, and print-on-demand. $500-5,000 opens private label, small wholesale orders, or inventory-based marketplace selling. Over $5,000 allows larger private label runs, branded e-commerce stores, and paid ad testing.
Skills: copywriting and SEO favor affiliate and content marketing; product sourcing and logistics favor reselling and private label; social media and community building favor direct-to-consumer (DTC) social stores and Instagram/Facebook shops.
Traffic: organic audience, paid ads, or marketplaces. If you have an email list or blog, affiliate or SaaS referrals convert better. If you rely on marketplaces, focus on product selection and listing optimization.

Model Selection and Examples

Affiliate selling (low cost, passive-ish): join Amazon Associates, ShareASale, or PartnerStack. Example: niche blog on home coffee equipment promoting grinders and subscriptions; aim for 1,500 monthly visitors, 2% conversion, average commission $25, resulting in $750 monthly.
Reselling on marketplaces (moderate cost, operational): source liquidation or thrift finds, list on eBay, Poshmark, or Amazon. Example: buy 50 refurbished power tools at $20 each and resell at $60; after fees and shipping your profit per unit might be $25.
Dropshipping (low inventory risk, moderate complexity): use Shopify plus Spocket or DSers for US or global suppliers. Example pricing: Shopify Basic $39/month, Spocket starts at $29/month, product price $8, retail $24, net after advertising and fees maybe $6-12 per sale.
Print-on-demand (no inventory, lower per-unit margin): integrate Printful with Shopify or Etsy, expected base cost for shirt $12, price $28, profit before ads $10-12.
Wholesale and consignment (higher order sizes, B2B focus): use Faire or approach local boutiques; expect 30-50% wholesale discounts and longer payment terms.

Selection Checklist

Verify company terms: marketplace seller policies, dropship supplier reliability, affiliate program cookie length (days), and payout thresholds.
Calculate end-to-end cost: product cost, shipping, platform fees, payment processing (Stripe or PayPal ~2.9% + 30 cents), advertising, and returns.
Test one product or partnership: run a 30-day test with a $200 ad budget or a small inventory lot of 20-50 units.
Track metrics weekly: AOV, CAC, conversion rate, refund rate.

Concrete Example:

30-day test for print-on-demand

Days 1-3: setup Shopify store ($39) and integrate Printful (free).
Days 4-10: design 5 shirt concepts, set prices at $28, write product descriptions optimized for SEO.
Days 11-20: run $300 Facebook ads targeted to interest audiences; expect initial CTR 1% and conversion 1.5%.
Days 21-30: analyze results, adjust ad creative and price, aim for break-even or 10% profit.

When and How to Scale Selling From Home

Scaling from a solo operation to a growing ecommerce business requires systemizing operations, increasing acquisition channels, and deciding where to invest profits.

Scaling Triggers

Predictable profitability: at least 3 months of consistent profit margins above 15%.
Repeatable process: you can replicate listings, ad creatives, or outreach with a template.
Capacity issues: packing, customer service, or supplier lead times causing delays.

Scaling Options and Timelines

Hire contractors or virtual assistants (VA): timeline 2-6 weeks to onboard a VA for customer service and order processing. Cost example: $4-12 per hour offshore VAs, $15-40 per hour US-based.
Use fulfillment services: Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) or third-party logistics (3PL) like ShipBob. FBA makes scaling easier for Amazon sellers but adds storage fees; ShipBob charges pick/pack and storage fees roughly starting around $5-7 per order plus storage. Expect onboarding 2-6 weeks.
Expand channels: add marketplaces (eBay, Walmart Marketplace) or international channels to increase reach. Expect 1-3 months per additional channel for setup, testing, and optimization.
Increase catalog breadth: add 10-30% more SKUs each quarter based on winners. Example: if you sell 100 units/month of product A, introduce product B and target a similar audience.

Financial Scaling Plan (90-Day Timeline)

Month 1: Stabilize profit with current model; aim for 10% net profit margin after ads.
Month 2: Reinvest 50% of net profits into advertising or inventory expansion; hire a VA for 20 hours/week for customer service.
Month 3: Evaluate KPIs (CAC, lifetime value (LTV), returns) and decide whether to shift to FBA or 3PL for fulfillment. If orders exceed 200 per month, strongly consider fulfillment outsourcing.

Systems and Automation to Implement

Inventory and order sync: tools like Sellbrite, Linnworks, or Shopify’s multi-channel inventory to avoid overselling.
Accounting and taxes: QuickBooks Online or Xero with SKU-level tracking; set aside 25-30% of net profit for taxes until you know actual tax obligations.
Customer support: Zendesk or Gorgias integrated with Shopify for shared ticketing; use templates for common replies.

Kpis to Track While Scaling

Gross margin per SKU.
Return rate and reasons for returns.
Customer acquisition channel performance.
Repeat purchase rate and customer lifetime value.

Example Scaling Math

Current: 100 sales/month, AOV $40, gross margin 30% = $1,200 gross profit.
Goal: 300 sales/month in 90 days. Requires tripling traffic or conversion; if you invest $2,000 in ads and maintain a CAC of $15, you can acquire ~133 customers via ads; increase organic and marketplace listings to close the gap.
If profits support hiring a VA at $600/month for 20 hours/week, you free up owner time to manage scaling strategy.

Tools and Resources

Below are specific platforms and estimated pricing or fee structures. Prices reflect typical ranges as of mid-2024 and should be verified before signing up.

Ecommerce Platforms and Marketplaces

Shopify: ecommerce platform, Basic plan often around $39/month; transaction fees if not using Shopify Payments.
Amazon Seller Central: Individual plan charges $0.99 per item sold; Professional plan ~ $39.99/month plus referral and fulfillment fees.
eBay: fees include insertion fees and final value fees, often 10-12% of sale price.
Etsy: $0.20 listing fee + 6.5% transaction fee.

Print-On-Demand and Dropship Integrators

Printful: no monthly fee; base costs per item. Example t-shirt base cost $12-$15; shipping $3-$5.
Printify: free plan or paid plans starting around $24/month for lower product costs.
Spocket: marketplace for US/EU suppliers; plans $0-$49/month depending on order volume.
DSers: dropshipping automation for AliExpress; free to $19.90+/month for advanced features.

Wholesale and B2B Platforms

Faire: free to join; offers net payment terms and wholesale pricing. Sellers may offer 60-90 day terms to retailers.
Tundra: free for sellers; B2B focused with bulk pricing.

Affiliate and Partner Networks

Amazon Associates: commission by category, often 1-10%.
ShareASale: network with many merchants; signup is free for affiliates; merchants pay network fees and set commissions.
Commission Junction (CJ Affiliate): similar model, pay-per-action or percent commissions.
PartnerStack: specialized in SaaS partnerships, commission structures vary, often recurring percentages.

Fulfillment and Logistics

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA): fees include picking, packing, storage. Example: standard-size item fulfillment fee $3-$6 per unit plus storage monthly.
ShipBob: pick-pack fees starting around $5-$7 per order; storage fees apply.
Local 3PLs: pricing varies; expect negotiation for monthly Minimum Order Quantities (MOQs).

Operational and Automation Tools

QuickBooks Online or Xero: accounting, $20-$40/month typical.
Gorgias or Zendesk: customer support tooling; Gorgias pricing around $50+/month.
Sellbrite or ChannelAdvisor: multi-channel inventory tools; Sellbrite starts around $49/month.

Advertising and Traffic Tools

Facebook Ads (Meta): budgets vary; $5-$20/day is common for test campaigns.
Google Ads: search campaigns often require $10-$50/day minimum for meaningful tests in competitive niches.
Klaviyo: email marketing for ecommerce; free up to 250 contacts then starts at around $20/month.

Affiliate Tracking and Payouts

Impact: enterprise affiliate tracking; pricing varies.
PayPal and Stripe: payment processing fees ~2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

Checklist for Initial Setup

Register with at least one marketplace and one dropship or supplier.
Setup payment processor and bank account for payouts.
Prepare 5 optimized product listings with keywords and photos.
Budget $200-$500 for paid traffic or promotional testing.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Underestimating fees and margins

Mistake: Ignoring platform fees, payment processing, and shipping costs leads to negative margins.
Avoid: Create a full cost model per SKU before listing: product cost + fees + shipping + expected ad spend. Aim for at least 20% net margin as a buffer.

Launching too many products at once

Mistake: Expanding catalog before validating a single product wastes money and time.
Avoid: Use a “test and scale” approach: validate one product, then add 2-3 related SKUs after you have consistent conversions.

Not reading supplier and marketplace policies

Mistake: Violating brand or dropship rules can lead to account suspension.
Avoid: Read terms and ask suppliers for product compliance certificates if selling regulated items.

Poor customer service and slow fulfillment

Mistake: Slow responses and missed shipments lead to bad reviews and account penalties.
Avoid: Set service-level agreements (SLAs), use canned replies for common issues, and consider 3PL once you hit volume thresholds.

Ignoring taxes and legal requirements

Mistake: Failing to collect sales tax where required or missing required reseller permits.
Avoid: Register for a sales tax permit in required states and consult an accountant early. Track tax liability and set aside funds.

FAQ

What is the Quickest Company Type to Start Selling for From Home?

Affiliate marketing and marketplace reselling (used-item flipping) are quickest. Affiliate sign-up and listing used items can be done in a day, though meaningful income typically takes several weeks.

How Much Money Do I Need to Start Selling From Home?

You can start with under $100 for affiliate marketing or used-item reselling. Expect $300-$1,500 for basic dropshipping or a small private label launch, and $2,500+ for meaningful inventory and ad testing for private-label brands.

Can I Sell for Multiple Companies at the Same Time?

Yes. Many sellers diversify across channels: marketplaces, an independent Shopify store, and affiliate partnerships. Use inventory and order management tools to avoid overselling and maintain consistent service.

What is the Best Platform for Long-Term Growth?

Shopify is strong for long-term brand growth because you control customer data and branding. Marketplaces like Amazon and eBay are good for scaling sales quickly but offer less control.

Do I Need a Business License to Sell From Home?

Requirements vary by country and state. In the US you often need a local business license and possibly a seller’s permit for sales tax. Check local regulations and consult a tax professional.

How Do Shipping and Returns Work When Dropshipping?

Dropship suppliers handle fulfillment but you remain responsible for customer service. Returns policies vary by supplier; negotiate return windows and restocking fees and clearly state shipping times to customers.

Next Steps

Pick one model and platform for a 30-day test - affiliate, marketplace resell, or print-on-demand. Set a $200-$500 test budget and clear target metrics (AOV, conversion, CAC).
Build a minimum viable storefront or content asset - create 5 product listings, or one landing page and blog post with affiliate links.
Run targeted traffic tests - $5-$20/day on paid channels and monitor results for 14-30 days. Stop underperforming campaigns and double down on winners.
Systemize operations if positive - set up accounting, customer support templates, and either a VA or fulfillment partner to handle scale.

Checklist to Launch in 30 Days

Register accounts (marketplace, payment processor).
Create 5 product listings or 10 pieces of content with tracked affiliate links.
Run at least one paid ad campaign with a measurable goal.
Track margins weekly and hold a review at day 30 to decide next actions.

This guide provides the practical routes, platform names, pricing examples, and operational checklists to answer “what companies can i sell for from home” and to choose the model that matches your resources and goals. The fastest path to clarity is a 30-day focused test with strict cost tracking and weekly KPI reviews.