Do you want to know more about the Earnest Epps course and whether the high price tag is worth it? Do you want to find the best eCommerce course to sell high-ticket products?
It’s a middle-of-the-range course from an online guru, and costs $997. Is it worth the cost? Do you get value for your money, regardless of who the instructor is?
Who are Earnest Epps’s parents?
You probably already know him, so if you are looking for a review, you may already be familiar with him. But for those who don’t or want more information, I’m happy to announce that he has his own blog. He is an eCommerce and business consultant, and his famous quote, “Knowledge is the new currency.”
Earnest isn’t proud of his wealth on IG and FB like young people who start eCom courses each week. He offers coaching and has been featured at live events for eCommerce.
Is his course worth $997? Can you make high-ticket drop shipping money?
Take Care with High-Ticket Products
High-ticket courses are a term that I find incredibly fascinating. Many believe there is a difference in a standard eCommerce course from one called high-ticket. It’s a marketing trick to sell their course or a different type of course.
You don’t need to be able to sell high-priced items and make a lot of money to succeed. Use the same methods that you learned with low-ticket courses and apply them in a similar manner.
The high-ticket items come with a lot more risk than gurus will ever tell you. It seems easier to sell one product for $2,000 than to sell 200 products for $10. It is not easy to convince people online to purchase a $2000 product, but they will be more likely to make a quick decision to buy something that was $10 on their newsfeeds.
My friend sells furniture online. He is selling luxury pieces for upwards of $10,000. He has a problem: selling one piece of furniture is more expensive than selling a bunch of smaller pieces for $100.
Many people look at the sales figures and the $10k in our example, and assume that they can sell a few pieces of furniture and be done for a month. You might need to spend $2,000 on advertising to sell the furniture. Then there might be the $6000 cost of the furniture. There are also your website fees, sales tax, and other expenses.
Rhys, what about other expenses? These are the things no guru will tell you unless you give them your money. Fraud is a serious problem. Change of mind? Refunds are another major one. Shipping back?
Let’s not forget about all these aspects. Fraud is a major reason my furniture buddy loses over $50k per year. The furniture will be purchased by someone who will pay with a credit card. They then wait for delivery. Sometimes, they ship the pieces interstate. Your furniture and money can be lost.
What happens if you drop ship furniture to a customer only to have them change their mind? The return shipping costs will be charged to you. If not, your supplier may cover it.
All these factors are easy to deal with if your business is large. However, if your business is small and you’re just starting out, you could be seriously affected, especially if there’s unlimited liability.
Too many people start out with expensive items but end up with thousands of dollars in debt due to poor cashflow. High risk, high reward is the motto of high-risk drop shipping. However, if your cashflow is not sufficient to cover your expenses, you shouldn’t start.
Review of High-Ticket eCom Secrets
On the sales page, the course makes bold claims such as “Escape your 9-to-5 life by starting a high-ticket drop shipping business”. Unfortunately, this mentality only increases confusion about who the course is intended to target.
The Teachable platform is used to create the course. It looks great on desktop and mobile. Although you can’t save the videos to your computer for offline viewing, they are of high quality and work well together.
Successful Selection
This module contains only five videos. It gives you an overview of what to do and how to start. The video covers product selection, pricing and choosing a target audience. Finally, there is a video about choosing your first product.
Although the videos are short, they offer valuable information.
Market Definition
This section contains seven videos with strange names. Earnest Epps creates a feeling of special masterclass with these videos, but in reality the videos are very basic eCommerce ones.
This section contains videos that I have created using my basic descriptions. They include market research, brand loyalty and search volumes. There is also a bonus video about how to gain an edge over your competition.
Start a business
Sorry to burst your bubble, but many of the videos here are not relevant if you don’t live in America. Videos will show you how to set up your EIN and obtain your reseller’s certificate. Learn how to register as a DBA.
This is important for US citizens. It is unlikely that you can drop ship with US suppliers to US clients as an international sole trader. They will likely ask you for your social security number or reseller ID, which you do not have.
This quick article is about how I started a US-based business. However, it’s a complicated process. Before you register a US company, consult an accountant or tax advisor to understand your tax obligations in your home country and the USA.
This section also includes videos on setting up a domain, linking it to Shopify, and buying and configuring email, phones, and addresses for your store.
Site Creation
This section is not going to bore you with too many videos, but it contains eleven videos on how to set up Shopify, choose a template and install all the apps that he recommends.
Videos are available on how to add logos, change color schemes, layouts, and so forth.
Although the content is quite basic, there are plenty of videos that can be used to help you set up Shopify stores.
Supplier Approval
If you are not from the USA, you will find it nearly impossible to follow this section. However, you can still learn from the videos provided to you by Earnest Epps.
This section contains videos on how to accept suppliers, supplier types and supplier contact scripts. It also includes making initial contact with suppliers as well as other supplier research techniques.
Optimize for Conversions
This module is what you should follow in order to optimize your store. However, the videos were very basic and many of the features are already available in themes like eCom Turbo or Konversion.
Although I won’t be going into every video, they all have the same basic features: adding urgency timers and bonus offers to upsells, as well as social media signals and proof. Reviews can also be used and Lucky Orange is used for tracking visitors.
Each video must be followed. If you wish to get a refund, your site must be set up exactly as the videos in this module.
Unlimited Traffic
The word unlimited does not exist for web traffic. There is always going to be a limit on what you receive and how much money you can spend to get it.
Although this module sounds promising, it only contains basic videos about using Google Adwords and Google Shopping, influencers, banner ads, and Google Shopping. There are 50-100 videos about the topic in other courses, but you only get nine short videos.
Given the cost of the course, and the importance traffic is to your business’s success, I would have expected this section to have more content.
I was just trying to clarify my earlier comment. Does this course suit people who are already drop shipping and want to scale up to bigger profits? Or is it suitable for someone who is just starting out in drop shipping, looking to fire their boss.
This module is not for you if it is the former. It is hard to compare this course with eCom Elites‘, which offers almost 100 videos on Facebook and Instagram.
*Update: It appears that there are 15-20 additional videos in the bonus modules.
Module 8: Automation
Four videos about automating your business. These videos are very short and cover topics like outsourcing with VA’s.
Software plugins? There is no mention.
2 Bonus Modules Original
Two bonus modules are currently available. One is on fighting fraud, which I mentioned earlier. The last module is on additional information to update your store.
Additional Traffic Modules
The course now has five bonus modules on the topics I originally wrote. The course covers the basics of Google Shopping and retargeting. One nice feature that you won’t find many courses on is Bing Advertising, which is making a comeback in 2019.
You can also benefit from the weekly live masterclasses.
- Google Adwords
- Google Product Ads
- Google Dynamic Retargeting
- Bing Advertising
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
- Conversion Optimisation
- Weekly Live Masterclasses
Refund Policy
If you are not satisfied with the course, you can request a full refund. You will need to complete the entire course within 30 days.
You will need to use the knowledge to receive a refund, if desired.
Final Verdict
If you are new to drop shipping or eCommerce, you would be foolish to begin high-ticket drop shipping. It’s better to buy a course at a lower price, such as $197 or $297, and then spend $700-$800 on learning how to set up Facebook Ads and Google Shopping.
This course is worth the money if you are a seasoned drop shipper. However, it will not be ground-breaking and certainly not worth $997. Drop shipping is something you already do, so you won’t find much new information from this course or any other courses.
A course costing $997 is too expensive for beginners. You will then have to spend money on traffic. Do you think the $997 worth of Earnest Epps High-Ticket eCom Secrets course is worth it? I don’t, and the course is very short with tons of bonuses at the end to help you out.
