Drop shipping is a business model where retailers sell products but do not keep the products in stock. Instead, when a customer places an order, the retailer purchases the product from a third party and has it shipped directly to the customer. Some key advantages are that it is easy to start with no inventory management required and allows businesses to operate with low budgets. Potential disadvantages include difficulty finding reliable drop shippers and risk of errors if drop shippers fulfill large numbers of orders incorrectly.