Online Courses

Yo, what’s up!

So if you’re thinking about selling on Amazon, then you’re probably wondering what the best Amazon FBA course is for you to jump into.

The good news is that I’m a bit of an online course junkie. As a successful online marketer, I’ve been through a ton of online courses in the last 6 years.

(one of them is actually making me $30K a month at the moment)

In this article, I’m gonna do a deep dive into this course, as well as outline the best proven Amazon courses on the market for you to consider.

These are the courses put together by the very best Amazon gurus out there.

What I'm Looking for in an Amazon Course:

  • How much it costs.
  • Do they cover mindset and mental skills? 
  • Their business foundation module. 
  • Their product selection module.
  • Their Facebook community group.
  • Is the course up to date.
  • Ease of navigation.
  • Anything that makes it stand out from the rest.

In this article, I'll dive into 5 of the best Amazon FBA courses on the market, and give you my thoughts on each one.

From there, I’m gonna tell you which one of the courses is my top pick, and how it compares with my #1 business recommendation for 2021….

Ok, let's get started!

5. Wholesale Amazon by Larry Lubarsky

Price: $1,997 or 4 payments of $697 ($2,788).

Wholesale Academy

Pros

  • Content is in-depth and on point.
  • Facebook community group is high value.
  • Free coaching calls every 2 weeks.

Cons

  • Limited spaces available.
  • Refund policy is sketchy.
  • Negative reviews.

Wholesale Academy is the course put together by Larry Lubarsky, which covers the ins and outs of selling on Amazon.

The big difference with this course to most other Amazon courses, is that it looks at selling on Amazon using the Wholesale model, rather than the very popular Private Label model.

Wholesale Academy Overview

This makes it fairly unique in my opinion, and the only wholesale Amazon course I’ve done myself.

As far as Amazon courses go, it’s a pretty new course, only put together in 2019. 

Larry’s claim to fame is that he went from being a student that was $100K in debt, to selling over $18m on Amazon.

He then decided to package up his knowledge and skills into an online course, which we now know as the Wholesale Academy course.

As one of the top wholesale sellers on Amazon's platform, he claims to sell over 3,000 products at any given time (yes that's three zeros).

Larry Lubarsky

His theory is that anyone can be successful on Amazon, as long as they are willing to put in the work.

I like this kind of mindset, and I felt like I could relate to this with the businesses I’ve built over the last few years.

He also has a decent Youtube fanbase, with over 24K followers.

Larry Lubarsky Youtbube Channel

Overall, the course content was legit. 

We’re not talking about a quick 2 hour “how to” course here. 

Larry puts out well over 50 hours of content, with the supplier sourcing module making up 9 hours of in-depth video alone.

As someone that has very little experience in the Wholesale area of selling on Amazon I found the content stacked up, and I learnt a ton of new things that I could even apply to my Private Label business.

Amazon lead time

The module on managing inventory was one of the best modules I've seen on this subject. 

As a seller on Amazon myself, I can tell you that supply chain management is one of the toughest aspects of the business.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve been selling on Amazon for 3 months or 3 years, predicting your sales volume is a tough nut to crack, and the Wholesale Academy module on inventory management was an eye opener for me.

One aspect that I loved about this course was the free coaching calls every 2 weeks.
For me this is a great way to stay on top of the content, and bounce ideas and problems off other successful people in the group. 

It can be a real game changer when it comes to keeping you focused on your business, and overcoming obstacles along the way.

Larry Training

While the course is decent overall, there were a few downsides.

First up, they have limited spaces available on the course at any given time.

I was lucky enough to be able to jump in, but at the time of writing, it looks like the course is closed.

This could be annoying if you’re ready to part with your money and start learning.

The other aspect of the course I didn’t like was that the refund policy seemed a little sketchy. 

I’m the kind of guy that’s used to getting the good old 30 day, no questions asked, money back guarantee. 

Wholesale Academy is not that kind of course.

They have a complex refund policy that makes it tricky to get your money back if you’re not happy with the course.

Refund Policy

Rules for Getting Your Refund:

  • You can't have watched more than 40% of the course videos.
  • You need to have watched 100% of the videos up to Module 3.
  • You need to have found 100 potential supplier leads (yes 100).
  • You must have participated in the Facebook Group.
  • You must have contacted at least 50 suppliers via email.
  • You must submit all evidence of the above within 14 days.

Overall, this left a pretty sour taste in my mouth when I read it.

Expecting the buyer to have found at least 100 suppliers within 14 days of purchasing the course, seems a little ridiculous to me.

Wholesale Academy Bottom Line:

All in all, Wholesale Academy is a decent Amazon FBA course if you’re looking to get into the game. 

I’ll be honest though. 

When it comes to selling on Amazon, I’m a fan of the Private Label business model.

For me, Private Label offers me more control over my business, and allows me to build my own brand with a customer base that I can market it to.

So with that said, while there were a few useful bits of information in this course, there wasn’t a ton of value I got out of it overall.

4. Nine University (2.0) By Kale and Taylor

Price: $1,997 (no payment plan option)

Nine University

Pros

  • Solid content.
  • Quickstart Bootcamp gets you moving.
  • KT Scoreboard.
  • Good energy from course instructors.

Cons

  • Upsells and sales pitches.
  • Limited support.
  • Limited product sourcing information.
  • Risky hacks.
  • Not much about scaling.
  • No payment plan option.

So if you’re been digging into Amazon courses at all, then you’ve probably already come across Nine University by Kale Abrahamson and Taylor Hiott.

Just visiting their website once, will lead to a barrage of Youtube ads featuring them for the next few weeks (I found that out firsthand).

Unlike the Wholesale Academy course, Nine University (2.0) is built around the Private Label FBA model, which is the process of having suppliers create a product for you and then re-branding it under your own label.

Nine University Course Layout

This is more my style of Amazon selling, as I’m always a fan of controlling the product as much as possible. 

After all, this allows me to build a fan base of raving fans, which means more and more sales.

Overall, Nine University drops some solid course content, and pretty much covers everything you’re gonna need to know to get your FBA business up and running.

Here's a quick overview of what you're gonna learn:

  • How the entire FBA system works from start to finish.
  • How to find a product that will sell well.
  • How to find a supplier to make your product.
  • How to ship your product into Amazon’s warehouses.
  • Optimizing your Amazon listing so it starts getting traffic.
  • How to become a top seller in your category.
  • Running PPC ads to drive more targeted traffic to your listing.
  • Getting traffic from outside of Amazon to your listing.

One of the best modules of the course was the Bootcamp module. This gave me the kick start I needed to dive in and start taking action.

You see, the more and more success I’ve managed to have online, the more I’ve realized that there is a direct correlation between success and taking action.

Nine University Boot Camp

You simply have to take action if you’re gonna be successful, and the Bootcamp module gets you doing that.

Another dope feature in Nine University was the KT Scoreboard Challenge.

I’m a competitive animal, and being able to compete against other course members not only got my competitive juices flowing, but it again got me taking massive action.

Nine University Scoreboard

While the content was decent in this course, there were some areas where it lacked a little. 

For one, the product sourcing module was a little thin, as it only seemed to cover sourcing products from China (essentially Alibaba).

If you’re just getting started with selling on Amazon you’ve probably heard of Alibaba.

While finding suppliers on Alibaba is cool for newbies, the more advanced Amazon sellers are sourcing products from all over the globe, not just China.

Kale and Taylor also didn’t offer much training on building out a team of virtual assistants (VA’s), and scaling your business.

I know when I was looking to grow my Amazon FBA business, scaling was an essential aspect of doing this.

They also teach a few risky Amazon hacks that could potentially get you banned on Amazon.

Amazon TOS

One of these is the Super URL hack, which involves "fooling" Amazon into thinking your customers are searching for your product, in an attempt to improve your search ranking.

You have to be super careful to make sure you're not violating any of Amazon's terms of service.

Always remember that when you sell on Amazon, you're merely playing in their playground.

They can kick you out at any time if they want to.

Nine University (2.0) Bottom Line:

So after working through the Nine University course, here are my thoughts.

All in all, it’s a solid course that has a ton of value.

You’ll do well to find two guys with more energy than Kale and Taylor...maybe that’s a good thing, maybe it’s not.

It kinda depends on whether you’re into high energy people.

The content is legit and if you’re just starting out in the Amazon game, you’ll find that it covers pretty much everything you need to get the ball rolling with confidence.

That said, there were a number of big holes in the content for more experienced Amazon sellers, which I was a little disappointed with.

Overall, it’s a solid Amazon course, but not the best one on the market in my opinion.

3. Amazon FBA Ninja by Kevin David

Cost: $1,997 or 5 payments of $599 ($2995)

Amazon FBA Ninja

Pros

  • Course is well laid out.
  • Killer, next level hacks.
  • Blackbelt Facebook group community.
  • Course tutor has had success on Amazon.

Cons

  • Upsells.
  • It’s not for slackers.
  • Refund policy is intense.

Another big player in the Amazon course space is Kevin David, who runs a number of successful million dollar businesses.

While his course Amazon FBA Ninja covers selling on Amazon, he’s become somewhat of a digital marketing guru in a number of different business models.

AMZ Automation by Kevin David

Not only does he sell an Amazon FBA course, but he also offers a number of other courses such as his Shopify and Facebook Advertising courses.

He certainly doesn’t lack confidence, and his Amazon FBA Ninja comes with some big expectations, with its tag line of “The last Amazon FBA course you will ever need!”

But does the course live up to the expectations?

Overall, this is another really solid Amazon course which leaves very little on the table. 

It does a deep dive into product selection (including some awesome tools to use), sourcing your products, building out your listings, launch strategy, getting reviews, and even driving more traffic to your listings with PPC. 

Amazon FBA Ninja Content

It also has a really high quality bonus module which covers niche selection in more detail.

For me, this showed that Kevin was committed to going above and beyond for his students.

Matching the previous two courses in cost at $1,997, it also offers a solid payment plan of 5 payments of $599. 

Sure this option makes the overall cost more expensive, but it makes purchasing the course a lot more affordable if you don’t have a spare $2K lying around.

The 8 modules of course content are extremely well laid out, and you feel like Kevin is holding your hand throughout the training. 

This gives you a ton of confidence, which trust me you’re gonna need to pull the trigger on a $10,000 inventory order.

I was also a fan of the black belt Facebook group which you get private access to as a course member.

Amazon FBA Ninja Facebook Group

What was cool about the group is that Kevin himself drops in and out of it on a regular basis, answering questions and giving advice. 

You can’t put a price on being able to hang out with super successful people in a group like this.

For me it created a lot of support and confidence knowing that everyone was going through a similar journey.

It was super cool that a ton of them had already been successful and were there to help and guide you if you needed it.

As an Amazon seller myself, I already knew a few cool tips and tricks, but the Amazon FBA Ninja course dropped a few hacks that I hadn’t seen before. 

I’ve already implemented one of the product listing hacks in which you optimize your product images by reducing them in size, and then rename them as the keywords you’re trying to rank for.

Amazon Images

The jury is still out on how well this works, but I’ve already seen a slight bump in my ranking so I’m pretty happy so far with this.

Like any online course, Amazon FBA Ninja isn’t perfect.

I didn’t feel the need to request a refund, but like the Wholesale Academy course, it is downright close to impossible to get a refund. 

I mean, you can get one, but you’re gonna need to prove that you’ve already done a ton of work, been through all the modules, got quotes from suppliers etc.

Again, this is kind of annoying. 

It’s also packed full of upsells, with Kevin promoting his other courses and online groups. 

I don't know about you, but for me, when I drop $2K on a course, I just want to dig into the course and not be bombarded with other “better content”.

Amazon FBA Ninja Bottom Line:

After working through the Amazon FBA Ninja course, I gotta say I’d definitely rate this as one of the better FBA courses on the market. 

For me it always helps that the course instructor has actually made money on Amazon himself, although he does seem to be a bit of a “love him or hate him” type of character. 

I also suspect that these days the majority of his income is coming from the courses he sells, rather than actually selling on Amazon.

All in all, Kevin David's Amazon FBA Ninja is probably the best medium priced course on the market....but it's not my #1 pick.

2. Blue Sky Amazon by Sophie Howard

Cost: $3,499 or 4 payments of $995 payments.

Sophie Howard speaking

Pros

  • Killer content (product selection)
  • 2 courses bundled into 1.
  • Unique perspective from a woman’s point of view.
  • Brand building content and selling for 7 figures.

Cons

  • Cost.
  • Need time to get through it all.
  • Her sales funnel.

Blue Sky Amazon is an Amazon FBA course which has a slightly different look and feel to the average course on the market.

Here’s why...First up, it’s put together by a woman (Sophie Howard). 

I loved this, because it gave the course a different perspective (call it a woman’s intuition).

I found it really insightful to see how Sophie handles all the bumps and challenges that selling on Amazon throws you.

Known as the “Amazon Selling Queen”, she’s from New Zealand, and this also gave the course a different non-American feel to it.

Sophie Howard on Amazon

Again, this was a nice change of pace from the string of other courses out there.

Sophie jumped into the Amazon world back in 2014, and committed to going all in!

Since then she’s built a number of million dollar retail brands which she’s now sold.

She's also created a number of top selling Amazon courses (now packaged into Blue Sky Amazon) and also has a best selling book on how to sell online (Amazon Jetstream Income).

On top of all that, she's appeared on some heavy hitter podcasts such as the AM/PM podcast.

Sophie Howard Podcast

She’s not as prolific in the Amazon space as some of the other course creators out there, but it turns out she’s kind of a big deal once you dig into her a little more.

Her course Blue Sky Amazon is a combination of two of her previous courses, Product University and Amazon Navigator.

For me this is one of the most in-depth courses on the market, because you’re essentially getting 2 courses packaged into 1.

Sophie covers her unique method for selecting products which doesn’t involve using any of the cliche Amazon tools that you’ll see in other courses. 

Product Selection

Instead she takes you through her process of how she’s personally selected her own products that she’s managed to build into large scale brands that she’s gone on to sell for millions.

One of the highlights of the course for me was when she covers the process of building out an Amazon sales funnel, using Russell Brunson’s Clickfunnels tool. 

Sales Funnel

Again, this is lacking in most of the other courses out there, and for someone like me that already sells on Amazon, this was next level content that I could really sink my teeth into.

Generally, I thought Sophie over delivered on content as she then covers how to scale your business through building a team of VA’s. 

Again, as we've seen, this is usually lacking in other courses.

For anyone looking for a more hands off approach, they’ll need to master this aspect of their business, as there are a number of mundane day to day chores that come with being an Amazon seller.

Training a team of VA’s to do them is critical as your business grows, unless you want to spend hours in-front of a computer screen doing basic data entry work.

Amazon Virtual Assistants

As with the above mentioned courses, there were a few pain points with this one. 

Sophie is a great course instructor, but it’s important to remember that at her core, she’s a digital marketer. 

She practices what she teaches, and continually upsells you through her sales funnel. 

To be honest I didn’t really mind this, but it helps to be aware that you’re part of the marketing process.

Another downside to Blue Sky Amazon is that it's quite a bit more expensive than most courses.

At $3,499, you’re looking at almost twice as much as the previous courses we've been through.

In my opinion though, the extra cost is probably worth it for the extra content you’re getting.

Blue Sky Amazon Bottom Line:

All in all, Sophie Howard's Blue Sky Amazon is hands down one of the top Amazon courses you'll find. 

There's no doubt she's the real deal, and not only does she talk the talk, but she also walks the walk.

When all is said and done, you won't go too far wrong with the Blue Sky Amazon course if you're looking to dip your toe in the Amazon pond. 

It's got a unique feel and style to it, and is right up there with the very best Amazon courses on the market today.

1. The Amazing Selling Machine (ASM) by Matt Clark and Jason Katzenback

Price: $4,997 or 6 monthly payments of $997.

Amazing Selling Machine

Pros

  • Most in-depth training on the market.
  • Content updated annually.
  • Access to their mentorship program.
  • Access to their private resources vault.
  • Amazing refund policy.

Cons

  • Cost.
  • Not always open to new students.
  • Not much about outside traffic sources.

If you’ve done any serious digging into Amazon FBA programs, then no doubt you’ve heard of The Amazing Seller Machine (ASM).

I know when I was starting out with Amazon, this was the #1 training course on the market, and 4 years later it’s still a force to be reckoned with.

Created by the dynamic duo of Matt Clark and Jason Katzenback, the course is now taught by Rich Henderson and Mike McClary.

ASM12

In the course they dive into the 9 module online webclass, which is made up of a total of 160+ videos.

Aside from the awesome content, here’s what really sets the ASM course apart from the average Amazon FBA course out there.

ASM Overview

You get access to the ASM Mentor Program, which is made up of 21 top level Amazon sellers who are crushing it on Amazon.

Supposedly they have collectively sold over $20m worth of products on Amazon, so they know what they’re talking about.

You’ll also get access to the Platinum ASM community group, 

They’re on hand to help you with any questions you have as you tread deeper and deeper into the waters of the Amazon sellers platform.

For me, having access to this kind of mentorship is a total game changer. 

Mentorship

You can watch as many videos as you like, but being able to jump on a live call with an actual real person, who has already done what you’re trying to, is the difference between winning and losing.

The only time I’ve seen this before, is in the lead generation group I’m currently in.

In this group, we get 2 live calls a week where we can literally jump onto a call with successful students who have already been through the course and applied its material successfully....more on this course to come below.

With The Amazing Selling Machine, you also get access to their Private Resources Vault.

This includes all sorts of killer resources and tools that the actual founders of the course use themselves when building out a business.

This mainly consists of a bunch of different templates and process sheets that are super helpful, as well as discounts on a number of tools.

What’s also cool about this course is that it is updated every year. 

This is important because Amazon is a complex and ever changing Beast.

Wild Beast

A course created in 2016 will be almost redundant today because of all the changes that have taken place in the last few years.

Hands down, one of the biggest factors about the ASM course is the refund policy.

ASM Refund Policy

While almost every other course I’ve reviewed makes is down right impossible for you to get a refund, the ASM creators understand that starting an Amazon business and dropping $5K on a course is scary.

That’s why to remove the fear, they offer a “no questions asked” 30 day money back guarantee when you buy the course. 

On top of that, they also offer an even better refund policy down the line. 

If you roll up your sleeves and launch a product within 4 months, follow all the training and still don’t make money within 6 months of buying the course, they will not only refund you the price you paid for the course, but they will also pay you back for up to $5,000 of unsold inventory.

I don’t know about you, but I found this pretty impressive, and it really made the decision to buy the course a no-brainer.

Even the best courses have a downside though.

While the Amazing Selling Machine ticks virtually every possible box, there are a few minor gripes. 

First up, like Sophie Howard's course, ASM is not cheap.

At $5K, it’s one of the most expensive courses on the market and making the purchase could be really scary for many people. 

Invest in Yourself

That said, I actually don’t have a problem with dropping this kind of money on a course, if I know it’s gonna earn me 10X or even 100X back in the long-run.

I’m a big believer in investing in yourself, and since I started doing this 3 years ago, everything started to really change for me.

Since then I’ve dropped thousands on online courses in order to upskill myself, and it’s paid off handsomely. 

Another negative from this course was that I was a little disappointed in the lack of information about driving outside traffic to your listing.

In particular, there was very limited information about Facebook ads.

Facebook Advertising

In 2021, you're gonna need every trick in the book if you're going to do well on Amazon, and I would have thought that Facebook advertising would have made up a core component of the course.

The other downer about this course is that they only allow a limited number of students in each year. This is kinda frustrating if you’re ready to hit the ground running only to find that the course is closed. 

I know in the past I tried to get in a few times, but had to join the waiting list. 

The Amazing Selling Machine Bottom Line:

All in all, the ASM course is my #1 Amazon course on the market. 

It's not cheap, but if you follow the instructions and commit, there’s no reason why you can’t join the thousands of successful students they’ve coached over the years.

As far as Amazon courses go, this is about as good as it get. 

Does That Mean You Should Buy It?

So with ASM being my #1 Amazon FBA course, does that mean I recommend that you buy it?

Well I guess that depends...

For me, this course has the same problem that every other Amazon course has….

It involves selling on Amazon!

Here me out...

Selling on Amazon is Hard

Ok, I'm gonna get real with you.

As a successful Amazon seller myself, I can tell you that selling on Amazon is hard!

7 years ago it was like the Wild West, where you could almost sell anything you wanted, at the price you wanted, with very little competition.

But as Amazon has evolved into the Billion dollar animal that it is today, it's become more and more competitive, and a very difficult way to make a living in my opinion.

Should I start an Amazon Business

There's a Better Way

The good news is I've found a much better business model, and over the last few years have managed to build a 6 figure income from it.

This model is known as local lead generation and involves sending local businesses leads, and then taking a slice of the pie in return.

Here's why I love it...

You basically build a simple website about any local service (e.g. a tree service in your local town).

Next you rank the site #1 in Google (super easy to do because there is very little competition), and then send the leads it generates to a business owner who is hungry for more business.

Here's an example of one of my sites...

Tree Service Lead Gen Site

Local Lead gen

These businesses will either pay you a commission on each lead (say 10%), or a flat fee per lead (say $20), or a fixed rental fee each month for all the leads you send them (say $750)

The cool thing is, each site costs less than $15 a month to build, so you can literally build 100's of them if you're really ambitious.

Here's how lead generation stacks up against Amazon FBA:

Lead Generation Always Wins...

Amazon FBA

  • Expensive to start. You need at least $10K. 
  • Risky - You don't know if your product will sell.
  • High competitive - New sellers joining every day.
  • Price wars - It's a race to the bottom.
  • No control - Amazon have full control over your business.
  • Low profit margins - 15% - 30%.

Lead Generation

  • Cheap to start - Only a few hundred bucks.
  • Zero risk - No inventory to buy or sell.
  • Very low competition with unlimited opportunities.
  • You set the price.
  • Full control - You always own the asset.
  • High profit margins - 90% - 95%.

Here's one of the sites I built in 2015, that is still paying me every month.

lead gen organic rankings for tree service

Conclusion

Amazon is a solid business model, but if you ask me, it doesn't come close to comparing to lead generation.

As far as I know, there is no other business model on the planet that compares with lead generation in terms of the low cost to get started, the insanely high profit margins, and the ability to build total passive income, once your sites are ranked and rented.

MARKET SATURATION & COMPETITION

You're going head to head with literally millions of sellers covering over 6000 different product niches. Breaking into an established niche is next to impossible - and finding untapped niches are becoming increasingly rare.

MASSIVE START UP COSTS

Start up costs require roughly $5000 in initial inventory, $10,000 in advertising, and $3000 in listing optimization, packaging, and branding. All in all, if you want to have a chance at success, you'll need to spend roughly $15,000 to $20,000 just as an initial investment.

AMAZON BASICS & CHINESE COPYCATS

Nearly all successful products are copied and resold by either Amazon or Chinese manufacturers who then undercut their competition at margins that only billion dollar companies can afford. Every time you see an Amazon Basics or Essentials product at the top ranked listing, it's likely that dozens of independent sellers went out of business.

NO LONG-TERM ASSETS

The key to long term wealth is in building and owning valuable assets, but with Amazon FBA, you own nothing. You're an enslaved middleman to Amazon, who care only about market domination and making a profit. Remember, you're there to make them money - and your use of Amazon is a privilege they grant you; a privilege they can revoke at any time.

LONG START UP TIME

Between identifying products and suppliers, passing quality assurance, securing inventory, and then product ranking, you're looking at over a year before you even have a chance at seeing a net positive income.

LOW PROFIT MARGINS

Profit margins are extremely low, meaning the only real way to make money is through mass ordering. Successful Amazon sellers often make less than 10% profit off of their sales.

ACCOUNT DEACTIVATIONS

Amazon's terms of service are fickle and ever changing. Bans are frequent and can spell disaster for FBA startups and established businesses alike.

Local Lead Generation

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