David Zaleski – FBA Academy Review, Scam or Legit?

Are you looking for an FBA Academy review? If you want to learn Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon), you might have heard of David Zaleski. But you may wonder if it is a scam.

I have a passion to help people explore money-making opportunities online. Over the years, I have reviewed many programs like David Zaleski’s FBA Academy.

In the past week, I have done thorough research about David Zaleski and his course, so I can tell you more about it.

As a disclaimer, I’m not affiliated with David Zaleski. It means I’m not paid to write this review. So you can be sure that my words are unbiased.

At the end of this review, I’ll also tell you a better alternative that has enabled me to make a full-time passive income online.

In this FBA Academy review, I’m going to cover the following.

Who Is David Zaleski?

David Zaleski creates the online program FBA Academy. You cannot find a lot of information about him.

David Zaleski doesn’t show off rented Lambos like other gurus. It has been a common tactic by online gurus to sell the luxury lifestyle in order to recruit students. But it seems that David Zaleski is more down-to-earth. 

David Zaleski has a YouTube channel to build his personal brand and promote his FBA Academy. At the time of writing, he has around 12.5K subscribers, which is not bad. I watched some of his videos and found some useful information shared by him.

David Zaleski also has a private Facebook group which is free to join. The Facebook group is called “Amazon FBA Private Label Sellers | EcomHub.com” There are around 9.9K members in the group. The group is quite active.

Anyway, should you join David Zaleski’s FBA Academy and learn how to make money on Amazon? Let’s take a look at his FBA Academy in the next section.

In case you don’t know what is Amazon FBA, here’s the video for you:

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What is the FBA Academy?

One component of EcomHub is David Zalenski’s FBA Academy, a training program for selling on Amazon under your own brand. The product validation component of this FBA training is its strongest point.

When David Zalenski proposes a product idea, his team reviews it and gives their opinion on whether it’s good or not. For a newbie, this is a goldmine of information.

You’ll also discover EcomHub’s patented ranking and banking system, which outlines the steps you need to take to successfully launch a product and increase its visibility on Amazon’s search results page.

There are twenty different modules with a total of seven hours of video content. With a one-time payment, you get unlimited access to the course forever.

Spreadsheets, templates, and David’s proprietary PPC Spyder Launch method for generating paid traffic are included in the bonus material.

You’ll have access to a closed Facebook group with the team and David, and you can participate in three weekly live coaching calls.

The FBA Academy Business Model: What is Amazon Private Label?

When you order a private label product from Amazon, you buy an unbranded item and then add your own label. To differentiate your products from the competition, you can offer additional customizations such as price increases, alternative colors, and bundles.

Amazon then handles customer service and shipping and takes a cut of your revenue. This makes it one of the more costly Amazon FBA business concepts when you start it.

In addition to FBA fees, you’ll incur additional costs for things like logo and brand development, product sourcing and testing, and Amazon Pay-Per-Click (PPC) marketing.

Private label brands have higher profit margins, sometimes 40%. Comparatively low profit margins of 10-30% are common in other business models like Amazon Dropshipping.

Plan on spending between $15,000 and $20,000 to start your business if you want to use the Amazon FBA private label business model. This does not include the cost of related training programs.

Difference Between Amazon FBA and Amazon Dropshipping

If you have your own brand, you can sell it on Amazon through the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) private label program.

Selling other companies’ products in your store is called “Amazon Dropshipping” It is also full-blown marketing (Fulfilled by Merchant). This means that your supplier does not ship the product through an Amazon warehouse, but directly to the customer.

The Amazon marketplace is not the only option for dropshipping; Shopify and eBay are also viable alternatives. Margins for Amazon dropshipping range from 10% to 30%, while Amazon private label margins average 40%.

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How Does FBA Academy Work? 

The latest version of FBA Academy is called “FBA Academy 2.0”

Once you sign up, you will begin a 4-stage online training program. Each stage of the onboarding process can be addressed using this academy’s online programs and resources.

You will also be supported by a mentor throughout the process and have the opportunity to participate in five separate weekly coaching calls.

Your first step is to select a “winning product” with the help of your mentor and the course modules.

The next steps to get your product ready for the Amazon warehouse are to select a supplier, order samples, and resolve any outstanding issues.

While you wait for production to finish, you can prepare for a successful launch by learning how to create a compelling offer.

To start selling, turn on your quote after your product is packaged and ready to ship.

To increase your revenue, you will use the tools at your disposal to optimize and grow your pay-per-click campaigns.

Your mentor will be there to help you, and there are a variety of resources available to you in terms of finance and management.

FBA Academy Overview

FBA Academy is a course that teaches you how to sell on Amazon. It has 20 modules, covering many topics about Amazon FBA. For example, you will learn how to find products, find suppliers, list them on Amazon, advertise and get sales. It works like step-by-step training.

Let me break down the content of FBA Academy for you so that you will know exactly what you can expect from the course.

1) Welcome and Setup

This module is just a brief introduction. You will learn what to expect in the course and get some basic information about Amazon FBA.

2) Search

Module 2 is about finding products to sell and finding a niche for your Amazon store.

You will learn how to find products by spying on competitors and looking at some non-Amazon websites.

David Zaleski also talks about how to make your brand your product and differentiate it from your competitors.

3) Sourcing

This is module is about sourcing suppliers for products. 

David Zaleski will teach you how to find suppliers. He also covers the following topics:

• Spying on your competitor’s suppliers
• Communication with your potential suppliers
• Communicating with Chinese suppliers
• Getting a great deal
• Custom packaging and branding

4) Launch

After you decide what product to sell, you will learn how to launch your Amazon store.

David Zaleski will talk about keyword research to get traffic when people search on Amazon.

He also covers how to list your product for more conversions.

5) Rank And Bank

This module is a separate course that teaches ranking on Amazon. It is included in the FBA Academy. 

Amazon is like a search engine, which means you should always aim to rank higher on the search results.

6) Listing 

This module is about presenting your product on Amazon. You will learn the ways to test images, price your products and do paid advertising on Amazon.

7) Rank and Bank Setup

David Zaleski explains rank and bank in this module. You will learn this concept in order to make money. 

You will also learn how to create a Facebook page and connect it with Manychat to interact with potential customers. 

8) ManyChat/Messenger Overview

You’ll learn about what ManyChat is and how to build a messaging flow in this section.

9 to 11) Rank And Bank Flow setup

In these three sections, you’ll learn about various messaging practices.

12) Facebook Ad Set Up

This guide teaches you how to leverage Facebook ads to get people to your Facebook page and to interact with your Manychat messenger.

Facebook is sometimes a little complex, so good training is necessary to master it. But this section is not comprehensive enough.

13 to 14) Questions and Resources

In these two sections, you can see a list of Frequently Asked Questions along with downloadable resources.

15) Scale

In this module you will learn that once you have some success, you need to scale up so you can take things to another level.

16) FeedbackWhiz Setup

This module will show you how to send out emails that get opened.

17) Bonuses

There are a number of bonus topics covered in the bonus section, including how you can get people to promote your business, and how to use Craigslist to boost your sales.

18) PPC Spyder Campaign

This module explains how to run a PPC campaign on Amazon and what keywords to target.

19) Master Resource PDF

You’ll find a bunch of resources here to help you out.

20) FBA Academy Coaching Calls

The last module is the recorded coaching calls that get updated every week.

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Does Amazon Offer FBA Training? 

In case you were wondering: Amazon offers official Amazon advertising courses.

In fact, David Zaleski and Travis Marziani were both highlighted in promotional materials for a course on sponsored products.

The Amazon Advertising Learning Center offers free courses such as:

• Introduction to Amazon advertising
• Introduction to Sponsored Display
• Amazon Retail for Advertisers Certification

While a course isn’t required to become a successful Amazon seller, the guidance of a trainer can make a big difference.

FBA Academy Pricing

FBA Academy is a very expensive course that costs $4997. This is a huge investment without a guaranteed return. Actually, Amazon FBA is a very difficult business model because the competition is very intense. Many people do not make a profit with it. 

Personally, I think FBA Academy is overpriced because it is just an online program, not one-on-one coaching. You will not get personal help when you encounter difficulties.

Also, I don’t recommend people to make a huge investment before you prove it works.

Moreover, there is a red flag that there is no refund policy. That means you may not be able to get a refund even if you don’t like the course later. Therefore, be careful before you make the payment.

Pros and Cons of FBA Academy

FBA Academy has some pros and cons. Here’s a list for your reference.

Pros

• You will learn the basics of Amazon FBA in this course
• The course training is quite comprehensive, but it doesn’t guarantee your success because Amazon FBA is quite difficult.

Cons

• David Zaleski seems to be an expert in Amazon FBA but I doubt if he really makes millions of dollars in it.
• There are no verified success stories of students
• Amazon FBA is a difficult business model, which is not suitable for beginners
• A lot of the information shared in the course can be found online for free
• The course is very much overpriced.

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What I Like About FBA Academy

In general, I think the FBA Academy is a good idea.

The FBA Academy seems to be very effective, and most reviews are very complimentary of David and the EcomHub staff.

The ability to tailor the FBA Academy to your specific needs is a major selling point.

Typically, you find a “one size fits all” training program that is meant to be used without modification.

Do-it-yourselfers can save money with FBA Academy’s low investment plans, while those with higher incomes can opt for a service where they can do it themselves.

Aside from the videos, this course offers a wealth of additional materials.

Numerous testimonials attest to the effectiveness of the EcomHub team’s mentoring and support services.

Compared to other available courses, David’s method is much more hands-on.

So you’ll get actual, hands-on support in opening your store, not just instructional videos.

What I Don’t Like About FBA Academy 

One thing I don’t like about FBA Academy is that it’s difficult to determine how much money you need to get started.

You won’t know the exact price until you talk to the team, because the program can be tailored to your specific needs.

Depending on the specifics of the program you choose, there may also be many business costs.

These include the cost of inventory, marketing, shipping, administration and packaging.

In my opinion, FBA Academy would benefit from more transparency up front as to what you’ll have to pay for certain components.

Market prices fluctuate frequently and product features vary widely, so it’s not an easy task.

Therefore, I can’t blame EcomHub entirely for this lack of clarity. In business, there will always be unexpected costs, no matter how well you plan.

Is David Zaleski a Scam or Legit?

I cannot say David Zaleski is a scam. There is no evidence to prove so. In fact, you can learn quite a lot of Amazon FBA from him in the course.

After all, the course is very expensive, and hence you will receive some value from the course for sure.

However, I’m not sure if David Zaleski is really making so much money from Amazon FBA. I reckon his major source of income is selling his online courses because he spends so much time and resources in promoting his course instead of focusing on his Amazon store. 

Also, if you want to become a successful Amazon seller after enrolling in his course, you might not realise your dream. The reason is that David Zaleski only tells you the bright side of Amazon FBA but not the problems with selling on Amazon.

Let me tell you thee problems of Amazon FBA in the next section.

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Problems With Amazon FBA Business Model

Selling on Amazon is more challenging than you think. Here are some of the critical issues you have to overcome to start an Amazon business.

FBA business needs a large upfront cost

To launch a business on Amazon, you will need $15-20k, at least.

Moreover, you have to spend money on testing a number of products in order to find out that winning product. This means you have to create listings for different products and filter out best selling products from the unremarkable ones.

This process is time-consuming and costs a lot of money. So, you must think carefully if you really want to risk your hard-earned money.

FBA Business is sophisticated

You have to face a lot of challenges in Amazon FBA. For instance, you’ll have to negotiate with suppliers, make comparisons on shipping companies, freight forwarders and comply with the regulations of Amazon and local governments, etc. This process is too sophisticated for beginners who might be just looking for a side hustle or a source of passive income that requires little time and investment. 

There is no quick cash flow

Cash flow is the lifeblood of a business. However, in the Amazon FBA business model, mostly sellers have to invest a considerable amount of money to purchase inventories from suppliers in China.

If you want to create a unique private label product, the costs will be even higher. For example, most manufacturers in China charge you a few hundred dollars just for creating a prototype. If you don’t trust me, you can ask for a price on Alibaba.com.

In most cases, production may take 1-2 months depending on the nature of the products and quantity. Afterwards, it takes 2 weeks in shipment and customs clearance before arriving at the Amazon warehouse.

This process indicates that it can take up to months before you’re paid for the inventory you bought.

Price war reduces profitability

Price war is ubiquitous on Amazon. Whenever a seller tries to attract more customers by lowering the prices, other sellers will be forced to cut their prices as well. 

To avoid a net loss, you might have to cut the product costs. This results in lower product quality, negative feedback from customers and hence a drop in sales.

Apart from the intense competition, you have to deal with changing sales tax laws, category restrictions and Amazon policies.

In the worst case, Amazon might even ban your account permanently if you mistakenly violate some rules. 

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Is There An Easier and Better Alternative to Make Money Online?

If you’re new to online business, you might wonder if there’s a better business model that doesn’t need initial capital and can do it as a side-hustle.

Of all the business models I’ve tried, affiliate marketing is the easiest and most rewarding so far.  It is less time consuming since you don’t have to manage inventory or handle customer service.

It can help you to generate a steady stream of passive income while going on vacation or working a full-time job.

Since the world is full of uncertainty, I’d always choose a business model that has the lowest risk.

But How Much Can You Earn in Affiliate Marketing?

A 21-year old student from my #1 recommended training platform of affiliate marketing was able to earn $7,395 in just 1 week, which means he made more than $1k a day…all while using free traffic methods and affiliate marketing.

Wealthy Affiliate has existed for more than 10 years and there are many success stories over the years.

To give you more examples, here are some of the other inspiring success stories of Wealthy Affiliate members.

Where to Join Wealthy Affiliate?

Wealthy Affiliate has a very simple pricing scheme. It has free and premium membership.

If you want to feel about Wealthy Affiliate, you can sign up for the starter membership here (no credit card required). You can select to be a free member with no time limit.

And as a starter member, you can get instant access to the community, live chat, over 500 training modules, 2 classrooms, networking, commenting, 1 free website, access to the keyword tool.

You can enjoy all these values without paying a penny. 

So I strongly recommend you to register a free account and see it yourself.

If you’d like to be the next success story and get the most out of Wealthy Affiliate, you can upgrade to the Premium Membership later. 

After that, you can get access to everything without the bother from any upsells.

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