A FREE dropshipping course from the self-proclaimed King of eCom. Read on as I break down the nitty-gritty of Kamil Sattir's eCom King Free Dropshipping Course.
Is it worth 4+ hours of your time when all good business people know that TIME = MONEY?
Dropshipping can still work in 2021. I’ll show you how in this article however the saturation and the high FB ad cost is a great challenge now.
IMO the best days of dropshipping are behind us now so I'll include info on my #1 recommendation; Local Lead Gen. Check it out down below.
Back to the eCom King - let's jump in and find out if he deserves a royal wave.
1. What is eCom King?
eCom King is the 'catch-all' brand built by Kamil Sattir and his business partners.
That said, I'm focusing on his free Dropshipping course, which is available on YouTube.
So, what will this eCom King video teach you:
Kamil goes through each essential step in getting a dropshipping store up and running.
And the good news, Kamil has impressed and gone into plenty of detail here.
In fact, there's more here than you get with some of the paid courses on the market.
Best of all, remember it's free.
So, what are some of the crown jewels of the training:
For starters, Kamil's product research is legit.
He shows some different strategies to find hot products.
It gets better when he also explains how to study and understand their sales trajectory, so you don't end up with a dud.
There's a free option and a paid option.
Kamil goes into the benefits of the paid option in terms of quality and speed but acknowledges some newbies might feel safer with the free option.
You see, one of the things I like about Sattar and this course is how he shares workarounds.
The truth is neither of the product research platforms is technically free, but he shares how to get around it to begin with.
It's great to see someone share these insider hacks.
And if that's not enough, Kamil goes into a fair amount of detail on what to look for in items to increase the chances of finding a winner.
You'll also learn how to find Instagram Influencers by using metrics that help you identify the right fit for your product and for your budget.
Plus, what questions to ask and how to make sure you're not out of pocket if they end up ghosting you when it comes time to post.
Kamil walks students through setting their Shopify store and what plugins or apps to get.
Sattar also covers how to set up all your email marketing campaigns and increase the chance that store visitors will give you their email address.
He walks through his logic for deciding which ads to scale or when to kill them.
A big part of promoting products these days comes down to being one step ahead of your competition.
The latest marketing trend is using quality video creatives. Allowing you to tap into your customer's senses and make the benefits or pain points of your sales pitch more vivid.
Sattar demonstrates how to use a basic video production app that he uses for his stores.
By the way, what is clear from his YouTube training is Sattar's understanding of the small details that enable him to reap the rewards.
Now that you know about the content, just who is the self-proclaimed king of eCommerce?
2. Who is Kamil Sattar?
Mohammed Kamil Sattar hails from England and has been in the eCommerce space for the last 4 years.
Garnering kudos from the Online Forbes Business Council’s likes, Sattar has claims to have generated over 3 million a year from various companies.
For a 22-year-old, that's some impressive numbers.
His companies include:
Kamil appears to be big into routines and setting himself up for a successful day. He encourages folk to manage their energy by exercising and taking care of their nutrition.
3. How Does Dropshipping Work?
In dropshipping, you find a product from a supplier who will hold the inventory and mail the item to customers on your behalf.
You build your online store to display your product so customers can purchase it from you.
When you make a sale, your supplier handles all of the packaging and shipping.
Unlike traditional retail or regular eCommerce, you never see or touch the item - it’s all handled for you.
In theory, you profit by keeping the difference between what the item cost you and how much you sold it for.
However, there are additional expenses to factor in too:
The impressive numbers posted by some in the dropshipping industry are far from what they get to put in their bank account at the end of the day.
If you're making 20-25% profit, then you are way ahead of most dropshippers.
4. Is Dropshipping Legit or a Scam?
At its core, dropshipping is very much legit as a business model.
Simply put, there are some prominent brand names who's entire business revolves around dropshipping.
However, even this giant demonstrates a hard truth - that dropshipping can still be draining on your bank account and no guarantee that you'll make a profit at the end of the day.
Although there's plenty of legit companies in the dropshipping space, both small and huge, there's a reason it comes with a reputation for being associated with scams.
By the way, let's not even mention the many ex-dropshippers selling courses by misleading people to think they can be driving Lambos and riding private jets.
Speaking of expensive courses, you're probably wondering.
5. How much does Kamil's Course Cost?
That depends on what you're looking for:
The eCom King Dropshipping Training Course is completely FREE on YouTube.
And that might be all you need from eCom King.
It's certainly enough to get someone up and running.
Obviously, as a savvy business owner, and is all the rage in business these days is once you have a customer on the hook or prospect's contact details, it's figuring out ways to monetize them.
So, yes, this free course is technically a lead magnet.
With this in mind, eCom King offers several helpful services for an additional cost.
Perhaps you could benefit from some done-for-you stuff like store set-ups or video creatives.
Or a consultation call with Kamil or another member of his team might be just what you need to get the keys to the castle.
Kamil and his crew also offer a mentorship program where you work side-by-side with one of his proven team of dropshippers as they hold your hand every step of the way like a knight in shining armor.
It involves daily calls PLUS an agreement to follow the actions exactly as they are laid out to you by your mentor.
There is a qualifying process, and a sales call before you can join the mentorship program.
It also states that they only take on 5 new clients a month.
Overall, I would imagine it's not cheap given the amount of 1-on-1 attention.
Again, note that you don't have to purchase anything to benefit from eCom King's starter training.
Pros of eCom King
6. The YouTube Course is Completely Free.
Kamil provides more insight here than many other dropshipping gurus do who charge for their programs.
You can't beat that for value!
There is plenty to get started with finding a product, building a store, and Facebook Ads.
7. Kamil Reminds Students That Dropshipping Is NOT a Get-Rich-Quick Scheme.
It's refreshing to hear someone reminding folk not to get into dropshipping, thinking it's easy and they'll be a millionaire overnight.
His recommendation is to have a minimum of $1,000 upfront to get started, or it's not worth it.
Here's Sattar's breakdown of the setup expenses.
Kamil is straight up with people about what level of investment is required to get started and not to expect much success in the first year of dropshipping.
Besides, he stresses how it's a 1-3 year game plan to see the kind of numbers he gets from his stores.
Something that he didn’t touch on is needing the funds to pay your supplier!
Most of these programs (conveniently) forget to mention how you’ll have to buy the products from your supplier before shipping them to your customer.
Let’s say you find a product you can purchase for $20, and you list it on your store for $40.
Luck is on your side with your advertising, and you sell 25 the first week.
Yes, there’s $1000 coming your way (minus merchant fees), but you need to front $500 to pay for the merchandise and maybe more for shipping.
When you first get started, expect Shopify to hold your store’s money for up to 3 months until you’ve gained a solid reputation for customer service.
Meanwhile, you’re still selling products and needing to pay your supplier to get them shipped asap.
Screw this up initially, and things get even tougher with Shopify and your merchants who will see you as high-risk in an already high-risk industry.
No Bueno.
8. Sattar & His Crew Are All In Dropshipping Themselves
Now, you should be extremely wary of anyone who's selling a course when they no longer have sweat equity in the business model anymore.
Just think about it for a second.
There's a reason they got out of it, and many of them sold their stores as they exited.
IMO Sattar and his team are in the dropshipping space.
Yes, you could question why they want to share their secrets in such a competitive industry; they at least have some skin in the game and should know what they’re doing.
I'd trust these guys to stay on top of what's currently working more than someone who's just focused on selling courses.
9. He Has Time-Specific Updates
If you've had your foot in the dropshipping industry, you've probably at least heard about the feeding frenzy that is the 4th quarter.
eCom King has even provided a free training video specifically to get up and run for dropshipping for the busiest sales period.
The best part? Kamil is even honest enough to be straight forward about whether or not you're setting yourself up for disaster by trying to compete here.
Namely, if you don't have plenty of financial resources for Q4, it's not a good idea to try to play the game. Ad spent is significantly more expensive, supply chains are stretched, competition is rampant, and you don't have a lot of time to figure out your suppliers.
Meaning, he comes across as someone trying to help people versus stack up views or hype people up.
Sattar mentions that it takes around 5 days of work to produce these courses so I respect him for creating a Q4 specific YT video given that many of the dynamics are different in dropshipping compared to the rest of the year.
Cons of eCom King
10. You'll Be Tempted to Purchase & Go Bigger
I really can't knock Sattar for his course, and anyone in their right mind will give him respect for making such a ridiculous amount of wisdom available for no charge.
It's only fair that he will drop a lead magnet here or an affiliate link there.
That's more than reasonable - better get used to that in the online business world.
11. No Facebook Group Unless You Purchase the Mentorship.
It would be helpful to get access and connect with others to see some social proof.
Again, I can't really complain about this since we aren't paying for the course.
12. Not a Recommended Business Model for 2021
What a year 2020 was.
There is plenty of chatter about how much eCommerce grew.
Sure, if you are Amazon, Walmart, Target, and the other big names, the pandemic helped shift more buying habits online.
And yes, people have started buying more things online than going to physical stores.
But with how many eCommerce stores are already out there that you’re competing with, the good ole days of dropshipping are well behind us.
That’s over a million stores just on Shopify. We aren’t even counting all the other platforms that support eCommerce activity.
When competition is that fierce, there’s always someone willing to lower their price to get more business.
Look at this post. It’s from a 2018, meaning these estimates will be lower now.
It’s no wonder profit margins have disappeared, and the majority of stores are lucky if they make $1000 a year.
It’s near impossible to find accurate info in the dropshipping world about actual income. We are talking about income that lands in your bank account for you to pay living expenses.
One more thing that’s just beginning to unfold but is likely to unravel the eCommerce world is Apple’s new privacy notifications on IOS 14.
Yes, people have always been able to opt-out of data tracking if they search their settings.
I doubt many people wanted to make an effort because it wasn’t that obvious how much companies like Facebook track them.
When the info pops up on their cell showing how much data our friends at Facebook collect, even after we stop scrolling our Facebook feed, they will be horrified.
Why is this a problem for dropshippers?
Well, Facebook tracks people to learn all their interests and gather as much data to create an accurate idea of who you are, what your motives are, and all of your interests.
It can then sell this data or use it for targeted ads.
Dropshippers won’t be able to target demographics and interest with anything like the same level of accuracy. It is going to mean less effective ads for your product.
I believe the lid is about the blow for Facebook, and many folk are going to be disgusted when they learn how Facebook has been spying on their online activity for years.
This is how the likes of Mark Zuckerberg have made obscene amounts of money. Did you know he’s currently estimated to have a net worth of $90 billion?
I’m sure some people like having targeted ads and don’t mind being pawns in the marketing industry’s winner takes all.
Concluding Thoughts
13. Do Kamil's Students Actually Make Money?
Without access to some kind of networking with a Facebook group, it's tough to say for sure.
The eCom King Instagram stories do show examples of stores that could be student examples of success.
14. Who's a Good Fit for eCom King?
This is a great option if you're wondering what dropshipping is and how to get started.
Kamil throws a lot of knowledge your way and it's going to take a while to implement the strategies.
But here's the deal, without any initial support or a Facebook group to bounce ideas off, you're going to need to be okay with working through the concepts on your own.
Nevertheless, you can always book a consultation call if you hit a wall.
15. What Alternatives are there to Kamil's eCom King?
Simply put, for free courses that are top quality, none.
If you're looking for the best of the best, you can read my full review on the best dropshipping courses here.
For the paid courses that offer value without breaking the bank, here's a couple of quick recommendations:
Sarah Chrisp's The eComm Clubhouse is a $67 monthly subscription with no contract and no minimum subscription period. Check out my full The eCom Clubhouse Review.
It's designed with beginners in mind and even Shopify have given it their seal of approval.
Sarah has several skills as an online marketer who fronts the popular Wholesale Ted YouTube channel.
The eComm Clubhouse also covers print-on-demand, which can be a less risky method of getting started in dropshipping.
Her Facebook Ads strategy is a bit cautious, but there's plenty to work with here.
Franklin Hatchett's eCom Elites is the best value overall, with an incredibly comprehensive course for $197.
He covers numerous marketing channels, and the higher tier package ($297) includes some cutting-edge strategies like funnels and chatbots.
Admittedly, Franklin uses his eCom Turbo Shopify template throughout the tutorials.
It can make it a bit tougher to follow along when building your store if you don’t want to shell out an additional $97 for eCom Turbo.
Franklin is the grandmaster at all things affiliate marketing - that’s where he seems to make most of his income.
Although you’re getting a course for cheap, Frank knows he will make more money in the long run with his affiliate links in the long run.
Both Hatchet and Chrisp are still dropshipping themselves, which is a good sign for those who pony up for their courses.
Parting Thoughts on eCom King
If you're looking to get started in dropshipping and learn from someone who's in the trenches right now, you can't go wrong with this free course from eCom King.
Granted, Sattar won't make any money from you unless you buy another of his products BUT he's giving value first.
Now, this is where the rubber meets the road.
Even though this is free education from Sattar, it’s essential to factor in the amount of time you’ll spend going through the material.
To put all of these things into action will take you a lot longer than the length of the video.
There's also the opportunity cost to factor in too.
Kamil estimates a year at the minimum but more likely 1-3 years to see a significant, life-changing profit level.
And all of this is assuming that people will have the income and ability to keep consuming products at the same rate before any recession and mass unemployment becomes a reality.
I would be doing you a disservice if I didn't point you toward a much more secure and evergreen business model.
Continue reading on to learn what my #1 recommendation is.
Chapter 8: How Does Dropshipping Stand up to Others? Like Lead Generation?
As I explained in the intro, the actual dropshipping biz model has few issues that make it not sustainable long-term.
I've experienced this first hand, and in this chapter, I'll cover everything you need to know before getting into this biz.
First, have you read M.J. DeMarco's book titled The Millionaire Fastlane?
If you're serious about building a successful, long-term business, this is essential reading.
M.J. cuts through the ceremonies and gets straight to the point about the cold hard truth of entrepreneurship.
In one of the most valuable sections, DeMarco shares his model for evaluating business opportunities.
He's created the acronym CENTS to make it easy to remember.
Let me show you a couple of quick examples of how I use the CENTS model in practice.
16. Entry
When it's easy to enter the market, it quickly becomes flooded.
With dropshipping, it's easy to throw a store up using Shopify or other ecommerce platforms that anyone can do.
There are hundreds of new copycat stores popping up every day.
AliExpress is the go-to destination, but if everyone is selling the same products, the only thing left to compete on is pricing.
Let's not even get into the rising costs of paid ads either as more and more people pour money into the Facebook coffers.
Yes, it's easy to follow the crowd.
Dang, our human instinct even makes it feel like it's the safe option because we are wired to fit in and there is safety in doing the same thing as everyone else.
But nothing great happens from following the herd.
When I found Local Lead Gen, I was one of a small handful in the market, and ever since then, there are very few competitors if you really know what you're doing.
And unless you know where to go for training, it's impossible to get into.
With the quality of what I do and the proven process to get clients on board, It's like being the leader of the pack.
17. Need
As we have already touched on, dropshipping is becoming a saturated market. Heck, more dropshipping stores are having to close down than Royal scandals hitting the tabloids.
Add to this the pending financial crisis created by the pandemic, and there's plenty of fear that rates of consumption we've seen in the past few years could see a significant decline.
Will people need another fancy, but somewhat useless, gadget?
Probably not if they're having to figure out where the next paycheck is coming from or worried about employers their cutting hours or salaries.
Here's where Lead Gen is playing by an entirely different set of rules.
See, I can focus on services that are essential and will always be in-demand.
If your tree needs trimming or cutting down because it's posing a risk to your property, you bet that call gets made to hire a Tree Service Company.
Just imagine owning a digital property like this.
That ranks at the top of Google's local search, and it cranks out leads for your client every day on autopilot because people will always need tree care.
This site has been paying me since 2015; that’s passive, residual income, baby.
The same goes for Plumbers, AC repair, Autoglass replacement, and so on.
And the best part?
There are business owners who are fantastic at their job, whether it be landscaping or towing cars, but most of them are clueless about marketing and generating leads to grow their business.
And the kicker; they need customers or they won’t stay in business, putting you as someone they need to work with.
Conclusion
Wow, talk about generosity.
Kamil drops bombs of wisdom here, and it's free.
It makes a lot of sense to give this a go versus pay thousands for a course.
The section on making creatives is quality, plus he goes into detail on Facebook bidding strategies. Both of these are sadly missing from some of the higher-ticket courses.
Now, let's get real here for a moment.
Dropshipping is past its prime. For most people, getting into dropshipping now is going to be an expensive mistake.
Especially when there are much better options on the table to start an online business.
I was frustrated with soaring ad costs and micromanaging my Facebook Ads Manager with the fear of getting shut down.
Anytime Facebook had an issue with my ad account, my revenue came to a grinding halt.
Their customer service sucks. There's no one to talk to and it would take days to get it reinstated.
When I found the Local Lead Gen business model, I never looked back.
Today, I enjoy FREE Google traffic and regular passive income from loyal clients.
Heck, I make more money in a month than most people make in a year. And my income continues to grow.
Do yourself a favor and click the button below to find out how to start your own Local Lead Gen biz and why it's the smart move for financial wealth in the future.