October 18, 2023

My 15-year-old brother makes $5K a month doing this. William Rivera teaches a money-making method that no one is talking about. It leverages the credibility of big brands and resells their products on the #1 ecommerce platform in the world, a.k.a Amazon. The best part? He makes over $100K by piggybacking on the success of billion-dollar brands. And all he needs is an LLC, a reseller’s permit, and a best-selling product. 

To put it simply, William is teaching Amazon FBA wholesale through Ecom Degree University. It’s for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start a work-from-home biz with low capital investment. This ecom course teaches how to find products, design and optimize websites, do SEO, and make the right pricing. Sellers buy products from big brands at wholesale and sell them in retail in their Amazon stores. Warehousing of the goods, packing, and shipping are fulfilled by Amazon since this is an FBA business model. Ecom Degree University’s full course costs $1997. But, there’s also a $84 starter course if you want to get a glimpse of what to expect before paying the full price. There’s a 30-day conditional warranty. If you claim a refund, you should prove that you completed the course, set up your FBA seller account, and have spent at least $500 on Facebook ads. Even if you meet all these conditions, William still has the last say to approve your request or not. 

William Rivera is an internet entrepreneur and the founder of Ecom Degree University. He brands himself as the “felon at 17, 6-figure entrepreneur at 21”. At first glance, you’ll think he’s the typical internet guru with over-hyped success claims. But digging deeper into his life, I discovered he had a dark past. At 17, he got arrested for a felony charge. It’s unclear what the charge is for. He only shared his mom didn’t have money to bail him. Another report also mentioned a fake music career. Apparently, he isn’t too honest about his life. He also never mentioned having a degree, and probably doesn't have one. Before he joined ecommerce, he worked at Walmart and LA Fitness. He doesn't have a business background or education, and has many secrets. Overall, he's under-qualified to teach a $2,000 course on building 8-figure businesses. 

Ecom Degree University and Amazon FBA Wholesale

Ecom Degree University is a Trustpilot-verified company, and it has a 4.9-star rating. The training provides foundational knowledge on Amazon FBA wholesale and drop shipping. You’ll also get a walk-through of Will’s Shopify store and how he made $350K selling just one product. Will claims that he had over 1,000 students since he launched in 2020. He even uploads a video testimonial of his student, Derrick, to prove this. Derrick claims to have made $10,000 in 3 weeks by just selling coffee and sanitizing wipes. This is where I get skeptical about his claims. 

64% of Amazon sellers are profitable only after 12 months, according to sellerapp. It’s because starting an Amazon FBA wholesale business is complicated and costly. Ecom Degree University alone costs at least $1,997, excluding upsells and add-on tools. The training could take over a week to a month. You should also comply with all the requirements in forming your own LLC. These include a unique business name, registered and operating agents, Articles of Organization, licenses (may vary in different states), permits, and tax forms. It would cost from $150 to $4,000, according to Forbes. Aside from forming an LLC, you should also get a reseller’s permit. Derrick didn’t mention if his first three weeks included getting the requirements. 

The biggest issue with William Rivera’s Ecom Degree University is that it over-promises results. The claims are deceitful and could easily convince naïve new entrepreneurs. Will also has a habit of lying (he lied about having a music career). So, you shouldn’t easily believe everything he says. Testimonials are produced and published by Will on his YouTube channel. There’s no guarantee they’re unbiased and unsolicited. 

According to Entrepreneur.com, it typically takes about a year before an e-commerce store becomes profitable. 46% of Amazon sellers have an 11% to 25% success rate. It’s possible to make a few hundreds to a thousand bucks in the first few months. However, making $10K in just 3 weeks, and selling only two basic commodity products, is borderline unrealistic. 

Amazon FBA wholesale isn’t the best way to make money online. An Amazon seller report on the sellerapp website shows it’s a saturated market. There are over 9.7 million Amazon sellers and only 63% of them are profitable in their first year of business. The same report shows that 36% are making $5K per month. To be fair, William wasn’t lying when he said that you can make a monthly income using this business model. However, what he’s not completely honest about is how much you can realistically make with Amazon FBA wholesale. The Jungle Scout State of the Amazon Seller Report shows only 5% of sellers are making $100K to $250K in sales. But Will makes it sound like ordinary people can do it on a daily basis. In a saturated industry like Amazon FBA, sellers have almost identical products. To hit exponential numbers, you should stand out from the competition. It also means you need to outspend them on ads. 

About the Author Pamela Salvana

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