If you don't want to buy products, warehouse and then pack and ship them, there's a good alternative. It's called drop-ship selling. It doesn't require you to purchase anything, warehouse any products or spend hours packing and shipping goods.

Here's how it works: You find a wholesaler (or wholesalers) who will drop ship their products. You select some products, and put them on eBay. When they sell, you place an order for the items with the appropriate wholesaler, pay for them with a credit card, and the wholesaler packs and ships them for you. Your profit is the difference between what the items sell for and what you have to pay the wholesaler.

Here are five tips that can help you succeed as a drop-ship seller:

1. Get a sales tax license from your state. You will need this to prove to legitimate wholesalers that you are a real business and not just somebody trying to buy products cheap for your own use. In most states, you get the license from your state's department of revenue.

2. Find legitimate wholesalers. There are a lot of companies on the Web who claim they sell at wholesale prices and will drop ship their products. Unfortunately, many of these wholesale prices are just a bit below the normal retail price which makes it hard for you to sell them and make any money. The company I trust most is Worldwide Brands (www.world-wide-brands.com). This company sells access to a great directory of drop shippers. I think the cost is about $65 which is very reasonable given the quality of its information

3. Find a market niche with RWA (Ready, Willing and Able) buyers. Many people start their business by trying to sell consumer electronics, household appliances or computer-related products. In one word, fogetdaboutit. This category is just too crowded and too competitive. Instead, look for a narrower market niche of people who are anxious to buy products designed specifically for them. For example, knitting is big right now which means the niche may be pretty competitive. But there might be a niche within this niche for example, a unique kind of knitting material that appeals to a special kind of serious knitter.

4. Find a wholesaler or wholesalers whose products fit your niche. Then, make sure their prices are truly wholesale so you can mark them up and make a profit. Unfortunately, in some cases, the narrower the niche, the more difficult it may be to find a legitimate wholesaler. Before you buy any directory of drop shippers, try to "sample it" so you will know it includes wholesalers with your kinds of products.

5. Find your best wholesaler and stick with it. The more of its products you sell, the more it will value you as a marketing channel which in some cases, translates into lower prices for you.

Follow these five tips and you will definitely increase your chances for success as a drop-ship seller on eBay.