Affiliate Marketing vs. Dropshipping: What’s the Difference?

The main difference between Affiliate Marketing and Dropshipping is that in Affiliate Marketing, you earn a commission for promoting other people’s products, while in Dropshipping, you sell products directly to customers.

Before we move to more differences, let’s first understand Affiliate Marketing and Dropshipping:

  • Affiliate Marketing: Affiliate marketing is when you help sell someone else’s stuff and earn a reward for it. You share a special link, and when people buy through that link, you get some money in return.
  • Dropshipping: Dropshipping is like a middleman job. You sell things in your shop without keeping them in stock. When someone buys from you, you buy it from a supplier who sends it straight to the customer. Easy peasy!

Now, let’s get to Affiliate Marketing vs Dropshipping:

Major differences between Affiliate Marketing and Dropshipping

Affiliate Marketing Dropshipping
Affiliate marketing involves promoting products for a commission. Dropshipping involves selling products without holding inventory.
In affiliate marketing, you earn a commission for each sale you generate. In dropshipping, you purchase products from a third party and sell them at a markup.
Affiliate marketing requires no product handling or shipping. In dropshipping, you are responsible for shipping products to customers.
Affiliate marketers do not need to deal with customer service or returns. Dropshippers handle customer inquiries and returns.
Affiliate marketing allows you to earn passive income from referrals. Dropshipping involves more hands-on management of orders and inventory.

So, these are the main differences between the entities.

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