Have not decide if becoming an affiliate is for you? Then how about becoming a reseller?

In this article, I will explain to you the similarities and differences between a reseller and an affiliate. You should read this if you are not yet familiar with either terms which are often used in the Internet Business and Marketing arena.

An affiliate is someone who earns a commission (variable) from selling other people's products. The product can be either physical or digital. Digital products can vary from E-books, software, templates or even more.

In another term, an affiliate is also known as an associate. Quite simply, an affiliate acts very much as a referrer. There is no need for an affiliate to do any selling as the principal sales letter will do all the selling job to the prospects referred by the affiliate.

In other words, the affiliate does the job of marketing and pre-selling to his or her prospects.

Affiliates can source for products to promote and sell for at affiliate product directories such as www.refer-it.com, www.clickbank.com and www.associateprograms.com.

On the other hand, a reseller is someone who sells product(s) and keeps 100% of the profit to him or herself. The products are usually electronic in nature, making it possible for the copies to be resold without the original owner losing the enjoyment of having the product he or she purchased.

In order to become a reseller for a particular product, you must be sure that the product has resell rights for which without it, you are not allowed to resell it on the Internet.

A reseller first purchase a product with resell rights from either one-page sales letter or related membership web sites.

In addition, it is possible for a reseller to earn residual income and back-end profits from their sales as the products can be customized with their own affiliate links.

Overall, resellers are usually more motivated than affiliates because resellers have to invest a sum of money in obtaining the product to resell and keep all the profits.

This is in contrary to the affiliates as there is no joining fee in becoming an affiliate. This is probably why most affiliates are not as motivated as they have never invested any money at all in becoming one.

Becoming a reseller involves some risk as one has to invest in purchasing the product from the principal's web site.

However, this should not be a problem as great principals usually provide a 90 day money back guarantee. If the reseller is unable to resell the product within the 90 days, the reseller can ask for a refund.

Both resellers and affiliates get their marketing materials from the principal web site for their marketing efforts. Affiliates are usually given an affiliate link to promote and ease the process of tracking down sales on the part of the principal.

Resellers, however, work independently. A reseller sets up his or her own page or web site with the given marketing materials (often called reseller packs) to start selling the product.

So which one is for you? If you prefer rewards over risk, becoming a reseller is probably the best choice for you. If you are risk-adverse, perhaps becoming an affiliate is a better option.

Given the pros and cons of both sides, it is clear which option is the best for you.

Copyright (c) Edmund Loh

About the Author:
Edmund Loh is the author of the E-Biz Wiz Blog and Starting An Internet Business Special Report with over 6 years of web designing experience before he engaged in an Internet Business.