Yo what’s up!
So as you may know, I spend most of my time focusing on my lead generation business these days, which is now making me well over $30K a month in passive income.
For me, lead gen is the real deal, and by far the easiest way to build a 6 figure business online.
That said, as a serial entrepreneur, I do dabble in other business models from time to time, and I am also a successful Amazon FBA seller in my own right.
If you’re reading this review then I’m guessing you’ve been trawling the internet trying to find out more about the world of Amazon FBA.
You’ve also probably heard the hype about the Nine University (2.0) course, and want to find out how it stacks up right?
Well you’ve come to the right place.
In this review I’m gonna tell you everything you need to know about Kale and Taylor, the self proclaimed rock star Amazon sellers that created the Nine University course.
With over 24k subscribers and millions of views on YouTube, they have a pretty decent online presence and are making a big splash in the world of Amazon FBA.
In the last couple of weeks, I've trawled through 150+ videos which makes up over 15 hours of content.
Why?
Because I wanted to pull back the curtain on their course and give you the real picture of what it's all about!
As a successful Amazon myself, I know the ins and outs of what it takes to actually sell your products on the world's biggest shopping platform.
I think this makes me qualified to know if this course is any good or not.
So I’m gonna share it all with you, breaking it down week by week, running you through what’s good, what's bad, and what downright sucks.
As always, I’ll be totally upfront and honest about it.
Stick with me, cos you're gonna find out:
Buckle up and hold on tight!
Here we go...
1 . THE COURSE: What is the Nine University 2.0 Course?
The Nine University course comes with high expectations.
Here’s why.
It's the course that makes some big claims, boasting thousands of successful students that have graduated from completing the content, and then gone on to build their own successful online businesses.
Naturally, when you purchase the course yourself, you expect to be one of them.
The course has been around since 2017, and has already got some big press from some of the monster media companies like Forbes and Market Insiders.
It's also been mentioned in dozens of power house publications, so you know this ain’t your average low-key training course.
2. COURSE CREATORS: Who are Kale and Taylor (KT9)?
If you've been fishing around in the Amazon FBA pond for any amount of time, then there’s a good chance that you’ve come across these two characters.
They go by the names of Kale Abrahamson and Taylor Hiott, but in the Amazon FBA world they are more commonly known as KT9.
These guys claim to have build a highly successful Amazon business themselves, and are now pulling back the curtain to show you how they did it.
Throughout the course they share all sorts of tips, tricks and golden nuggets about what it takes to win on Amazon.
3. AMAZON FBA: How Does it Work?
Before we dive into the course, let's be sure you understand the ins and outs of Amazon FBA.
At the highest level, it Amazon FBA is about selling products on Amazon's shopping platform.
But remember, this ain't your average shopping platform. This is a platform that literally gets millions of shoppers dropping in every single day of the year, looking for products to spend their money on.
Here's How it Works
Boom!
That’s a cool business model right?
In theory yes, but there are a ton of pieces that go into the Amazon puzzle, and it’s how you put these pieces together that makes all the difference.
Nine University claims to show you how to build that puzzle piece by piece.
4. COURSE OVERVIEW: What Does the Course Cover?
As you dive into the course and start building out the Amazon puzzle, you’ll cover everything you need to know about what it actually takes to start and then build a successful Private Label business on Amazon.
Nine University (2.0) Course Overview
Training Videos Include....
These are just the high level topics, and in each module you’ll go into a ton of sub topics that will make you feel way more confident about dipping your toe into the world of Amazon FBA.
5. LEGIT OR SCAM: Is Nine University 2.0 the Real Deal?
So the main reason anyone reads a review like this is to find out if the course they are about to drop their cash on is the real deal, or if it’s a scam!
Over the years, I’ve been through my fair share of Amazon courses, and I can tell you Nine University is legit.
There’s no doubt these guys know what they’re talking about, and the content they cover in their course will give you some solid information on the ins and outs of the Amazon FBA world.
That said…is it the best course to invest in if you’re looking to start an online business?
I’ll cover that later on in my review, so be sure to read to the end...
6. PRICE: How Much Does Nine University Cost?
You may be wondering what a course like Nine University will set you back?
Well it may depend on when you’re reading this review, but when I purchased Nine University (2.0), it cost $1,997, so I’d expect it to be somewhere around that price point.
Is that Too Much?
Honestly, I don’t think so.
For me, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to invest in your own education.
I've found that the most successful people on the planet choose to invest in themselves.
Basically, they model success, by paying someone to teach them what they want to learn.
This is one of the best ways to get ahead in life, and I personally have no problem dropping a few thousand dollars on a course if I know it's going to teach me a new skill that could make me hundreds of thousands later on.
In-fact, over the last 6 years, I’ve invested thousands in different high ticket courses because I could see they were going to teach me the skills I needed to make a ton of money in the long run.
That's the kind of mindset that's made me a 6 figure lead generator and allowed me to spend my time doing what I love (like writing product reviews like this).
Pros of Nine University (2.0)
6. CONTENT: The Course is Packed Full of Gems
This might not be the most in-depth Amazon FBA course on the market, but you can be sure the content stacks up, and is more than enough to give you the confidence you need to make all the right moves in the Amazon game.
For me, one of the best parts of the course was in Week 2 where they give you in-depth training in the Product Selection process.
They take you through their entire process, and show you some of the coolest tools on the market to help you do this.
I know first hand how scary it can be selecting a product to sell on Amazon, and for new FBA sellers, this is probably the scariest part of the Amazon FBA process.
If you get it wrong, it could literally cost you thousands of dollars.
It also provides you with some solid golden nuggets which will separate you from the average Amazon seller out there.
Trust me, with nearly 3 million sellers on Amazon already, and with thousands more joining them every single day, you’re gonna want to use anything you can get your hands on to stand out from the competition.
7. BONUS CONTENT: The Facebook Video Module Rocks
Another feature I also liked was the bonus Facebook videos.
These go into some pretty decent strategies that are going to help you when it comes to launching your product and driving outside traffic to your listing.
These Facebook strategies cover some tips and tricks you can use that will help you through the critical phase of launching your product with the right momentum, so that Amazon gives you a ranking boost.
Believe me, this can make or break the success of your product, so I appreciated the tips they covered here.
8. MILITARY TRAINING: The Quick Start Boot Camp Will Kick Your Ass into Gear
One of the coolest things about this course was the quick start Boot Camp.
This gave you a daily action plan and let you jump in and start taking massive action right from the start.
I know that often when you buy a course like Nine University, you can find yourself overwhelmed with content overload - not in this case.
The boot camp keeps things clear and simple, and it gets you to stop over thinking and just take damn action!
At the end of the day, you will never get results until you start taking action, so Kale and Taylor totally nailed it with this part of the course.
9. COMMUNITY SUPPORT: The Facebook Group Keeps You On Point
With any decent online course these days, you’ll find that you usually get access to a private Facebook group as part of the course.
It’s easy to take this for granted, but often the Facebook private group ends up being one of the best benefits of the course.
Nine University is no different.
You’ll soon find out that once you have access to the Facebook group you have the ability to ask other students questions, and see how they are doing which can be super inspirational and keep you laser focused on your goals.
Note: One negative is that they do hit you hard in the group with the upsells, so just be aware of that.
10. MOTIVATION: The KT Scoreboard Keeps the Competitive Juices Flowing
At the start of the course, Kale takes us through the KT Family Sales Scoreboard, and encourages us to go all in and be #1.
I loved this aspect of the course as it really brought out my competitive side.
Personally, I'm super competitive, and when something like a scoreboard is presented to me, it really kicks me into gear and makes me want to up my game so that I can win.
Cons of Nine University (2.0)
11. SALES PITCHES: Get Ready For the Upsells
I don’t know about you, but when I pay $2K for a course I kinda just want to get on with the content I’ve bought and not get distracted with the next shiny object.
One of the things I hated about Nine University was that it floods you with upsells.
As a successful online marketer, I totally get the value of upsells and I understand why they exist.
This course just had way too many in my opinion, and it left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth if I’m totally honest.
Upsells are important, but there is a time and a place.
12. SUPPORT: Limited Considering the Cost
I mentioned there is a private Facebook group which you get access to once you join the course, but other than that the support is a little limited in my opinion.
As someone that buys online courses all the time (and not cheap ones either), I guess I'm just used to a certain level of customer support.
For me supporting your customer base is a no brainer. You want to keep them happy and make sure there are no refunds etc.
Essentially you want them to be as successful as possible, so that they become a living testimonial for your course.
So the lack of support that came with Nine University left me a little surprised, if not annoyed at the same time.
13. PRODUCT SOURCING: They Only Cover China
Another con of Nine University is the limited product sourcing modules, with it being pretty much limited to sourcing products from China.
Sure, China is a popular hot spot for product sourcing when it comes to finding someone to supply your Amazon product, but these days you’ll find that the savvy Amazon sellers are sourcing their products from all over the world, not just China.
I guess I was a little disappointed to find that there weren’t a few more hidden product sourcing nuggets in this course, as I’m always on the lookout for anything new.
NOTE: What they do teach about sourcing products from China is decent though.
14. PROOF: No Proof of Their Own Earnings
While the content of the course is pretty solid, Kale and Taylor offer no proof of their own Amazon FBA earnings.
I mean let’s be honest, anyone can read up on the theory of selling on Amazon and then create a course around it right?
I don’t know about you, but if I’m paying $2K for a course, I want the creators to have some practical knowledge, not just theory.
So this got me a little skeptical and I think some hard proof of their own selling skills is clearly missing here!
15. IT’S RISKY: Some of the Hacks they Teach are Controversial
During the course, Kale teaches you various “hacks” you can use to get ahead on Amazon’s selling platform.
As a seller myself, I can tell you that some of these are pretty risky, and there’s a good chance they could get you flagged or even banned from Amazon’s selling platform.
Don’t get me wrong - some of them are pretty cool and could definitely work well, but there are a bunch of hacks he shows you that blatantly go against Amazon’s Terms of Service.
...and trust me, when you start messing with Amazon’s beloved Terms of Service...well you can imagine what happens next.
My advice to any Amazon seller (new and old) is this.
Never, ever forget that you are playing in Amazon’s playground.
If they don’t like you they can kick you out, and you could be left with thousands of dollars of inventory sitting in a warehouse that you can’t sell.
So always tread lightly and respectively when you're in Amazon’s house.
16. SCALING: There Isn’t Much about Building a VA Team
If you’re serious about building your online brand, then at some stage you are going to look to scale your business.
When this happens, one of the best strategies you can use is building a team of virtual assistants that will help you outsource the various day to day tasks that come with your business.
Nine University lacked in this area, and covered little to no content on how to build a team of VA's once your product is selling well.
For me this would be one of the content features that would separate an average Amazon FBA course from a great one., but sadly this was nowhere to be seen here.
What Else Do You Need to Know?
17. CONTENT SCHEDULE: What Does Each Week Look Like?
Here’s a quick breakdown of the course week by week.
When you start diving into the content, you’ll soon find that each week has tons of videos which cover each topic in detail.
High Level Course Overview Broken Down By Week
18. SOFTWARE: What is Boost Nine?
You’d think that creating an Amazon FBA course that contains almost 170 videos would be enough for Kale and Taylor.
Nope!
They have also launched their own Amazon FBA software called Boost Nine, which helps users find lucrative products, and weed out the losers when it comes to product selection.
Personally I prefer using Jungle Scout myself, but the Boost Nine software is decent, and will definitely make the nerve racking task of finding your first product to sell a lot easier.
19. BAD REVIEWS: Nine University Complaints
Heads up - while Nine University has tons of positive reviews, not everyone is a fan.
I stumbled upon a few doubters, where the general consensus was that you don’t need to pay $2K for the information in this course - you can find it free online.
I even read a few claims that Kale and Taylor get their supporters to flag bad reviews on Youtube as spam so that they get removed.
This all seems a little shady to me, and definitely got my defenses up.
20. REFUND POLICY: It’s a Little Vague
Personally, when I purchase a course, it always gives me reassurance when I see that they offer a 30 day money back policy, with no questions asked.
This tells me that the course creators have enough confidence in their own course to offer a solid policy that they don't think people will take advantage of, and it also gives me the confidence to part with my money, knowing I can get it back again if I'm not happy with the product.
Think about when you buy on Amazon? You always know you can send the product back for a refund if you're not happy right?
In the case of Nine University, the refund policy seems to be a little sketchy.
While I didn’t feel the need to request a refund myself, I noticed on their website that they are a little vague when it comes to outlining the details of the policy, although they do claim that their policy is the best in the industry – I’ll let you decide for yourself.
21. CAPITAL: Starting an Amazon Business Ain't Cheap
I also want you to know that starting an Amazon business costs a fair amount of capital investment.
It’s critical to remember that you’re not just dabbling online here.
You’re building a business that not only requires stock to be purchased, but also requires it to be imported to Amazon’s warehouses, usually from another country.
On top of that, you’ll also then need a budget for running PPC advertising, customer refunds and warehouse fees
So just to be very clear, not only do you need a cool $2K to invest in this course, but I’d say that conservatively you’ll need another $10K to invest into inventory, shipping and advertising to get the ball rolling.
Here’s what most Amazon FBA courses don’t tell you...
Even if your first order of say 500 units only costs you $3K, it will probably take you 90 days to get it produced and then shipped into Amazon’s warehouses.
That means your lead time for a new order is 90 days.
So that means that before your first order even lands in Amazon’s warehouses, you are going to need to place a 2nd order.
Because unless you are planning on it taking more than 90 days to sell your first 500 units, you are going to run out of stock if you don’t have a 2nd order in production already.
After that you will probably find you need a 3rd order pretty quickly too.
So you see, you won't just need $3K for the first order, but you'll need another $6K lined up so that you can place order 2 and order 3 soon after.
This is the kind of thing new Amazon sellers don’t get told when they first start out, so I wanted to make sure you were aware of this before you made any big decisions.
While this business model can be rewarding, it ain’t for the fainthearted, and Amazon stock inventory can be a wild beast to tame.
22. FINAL VERDICT: Should You Buy Nine University?
So as an experienced Amazon FBA seller, I’m gonna wrap this up for you with my final thoughts and advice.
Look here’s the deal.
I’m a huge believer in investing in courses like this that are going to help you improve your life.
In-fact, I think this is one of the biggest things that successful people do.
They find someone that has already done what they want to do, and then they model them, usually by paying them to learn from them.
Modelling success is one of the quickest ways to achieve it!
So should you spend money investing in Nine University?
Maybe.
If you’re looking to start an Amazon FBA business, then Nine University is a decent course that will show you what you need to do.
But here’s my real take...
If it was me, and I had to start all over again, I wouldn’t be starting an Amazon FBA business at all, and here's why...
I may run an FBA business on the side, but that's only because I can.
These days I focus 99% of my attention on my lead generation business, which is now making me well over $30K a month in passive income.
In my opinion, lead gen is the best business model on the planet, and if I was sitting here having a cup of coffee with you, I'd be telling you to roll up your sleeves and to dive in head first.
If you're interested, here’s how it stacks up against Amazon FBA.
Amazon FBA
Lead Generation
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Amazon's terms of service are fickle and ever changing. Bans are frequent and can spell disaster for FBA startups and established businesses alike.
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