Zero Up Review (2023): Fred Lam Scam? (by a Real Student)

You might have come across Fred Lam’s Youtube videos or Facebook ads, but you’re probably wondering if he’s a scam artist. Well, a few years ago, I was in the same boat as you and decided to purchase Fred Lam’s Zero Up program to learn more about dropshipping. 

So, what exactly is Zero Up? It’s a package that includes software designed to streamline the process of Shopify dropshipping, as well as a complete training program on dropshipping.

Now, let me be clear – I’m not an affiliate of Zero Up, so you can trust that my review of Fred Lam’s program is completely unbiased.

At the end of this review, I’ll also give you a better alternative that has helped me achieve a full-time passive income online.

Who is Fred Lam?

Fred Lam is a serial entrepreneur who has shared the stage with big names like Robert Kiyosaki, Grant Cardone, and Jack Canfield.

In the past, he worked as the youngest Marketing Manager for BMW Group Canada and has since climbed the ladder to become CEO of several multi-million dollar businesses.

Fred’s achievements have earned him numerous awards for his marketing and entrepreneurial skills, including the INC 5000 Award, Startup 50 Award, and Canadian Business Excellence Awards for Private Businesses (as stated on his Facebook page).

Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative

What is Zero Up?

Zero Up is a dropshipping course that provides an easy-to-follow introduction to dropshipping. Besides, it includes helpful software to assist you in creating and optimizing your Shopify store.

According to their website, the Zero Up software provides the following features:

• Integrated with AliExpress – Access millions of products plus automatically fulfilling and tracking product orders
• Synchronize with over 11 email Autoresponders and allows you to segment your lists to create email marketing campaigns
• A built-in, drag and drop landing page and sales funnel builder
• A profit multiplier function to increase average order value per sale

Does Zero Up really work?

Zero Up is a dropshipping training platform that you might want to be careful with. Although it offers comprehensive training, it’s important to be cautious of the automatic order fulfilment function.

Instead of letting Zero Up place an order on AliExpress without your permission, it’s recommended that you double-check for fraudulent orders.

Unfortunately, Zero Up is known to have a lot of bugs that can cause the software to malfunction from time to time. This can be frustrating because when the software goes down, you may not be able to place orders and end up losing money.

Additionally, you should always keep an eye on the product price and shipping cost on AliExpress as the idea of auto-fulfilment in Zero Up may not be practical in reality.

Personally, I switched to using Oberlo after a while because it’s owned by Shopify and the system is better optimized and well-maintained.

Oberlo has a large team of developers monitoring the apps, while Zero Up is simply a primitive software developed by Fred Lam.

Zero Up Course Breakdown

The Zero Up course includes 10 different modules, with videos and additional resources.

Module 1 – Store Creation

Duration: 12 videos with a total length of 2 hours and 4 minutes.

In this module, Fred introduces to you some basic concepts of dropshipping and how to select a niche that is hot-selling.

After that, Fred goes over the process of setting up a business within the legal framework of the US and purchasing a domain.

This is followed by a quick run-down of setting your Shopify store, including shipping, email, checkout and linking Google Analytics.

Fred concludes this chapter with an introduction to the Zero Up software that has the function of installing a Shopify Theme and customizing store settings.

Module 2 – Inventory Arbitrage

Duration: 6 videos with a total length of 1 hour and 28 minutes.

In this module, Fred begins with the concept of “inventory arbitrage”. It is a fancy term for not keeping any physical stock i.e. dropshipping itself.

This is followed by a demonstration to use his Zero Up software to look for ads that are selling products similar to what you intend to promote.

However, Facebook actually has a function that allows you to type in a product name and find out relevant ads.

After the walkthrough on his Zero Up software, Fred will tell you how to increase perceived value, approach different pricing strategies and write product descriptions.

You can also find in this module the 100 “top-selling” product documents that you can use on your Shopify Store.

But you can actually Google “best selling dropshipping products” to get similar results.

Module 3 – Turbocharging Your Store

Duration: 9 videos with a total length of 1 hour and 38 minutes

In this module, Fred teaches you how to use apps that allow everything from creating coupons, testimonials to automated email marketing.

However, Fred doesn’t tell you to caution against the prices. Some of the apps he recommends can add up to $160 a month.

Worse still, he doesn’t warn you that if you don’t have a sizable email list, it’s redundant to buy any expensive apps for email marketing.

Module 4 – Creating A Sales Funnel

Duration: 5 videos with a total length of 1 hour and 5 minutes

In this module, Fred shows you how to create a sales funnel and introduces you to some of the tools provided by the Zero Up software, including:

• The Funnel Builder  – it helps you to create and launch a sales funnel.
• The Profit Multiplier –  it allows you to create 4 different types of pop-ups

Fred also teaches how to raise your average order value.

Module 5 – Advertising Your Store

Duration: 16 videos with a total length of 3 hours and 27 minutes.

In this module, Fred teaches his students how to make good use of Facebook ads to sell products. He will show you how to create different types of ads, instal Facebook pixel and scale your ads.

Module 6 – Store Management

Duration: 9 videos with a total length of 2 hours and 8 minutes.

In this module, Fred teaches you the daily routine of running a Shopify store e.g. how to deal with some customer issues and credit card chargebacks.

But he doesn’t teach you how to read the data generated from your Shopify Store and Google Analytics, or how to hire virtual assistants to give you more time on scaling your business.

Apart from that, neither does he mention anything about setting up automated email or doing your own split testing.

Module 7 – Traffic Genius

Duration: a total of 28 videos with a length of 5 hours and 52 minutes.

In this lesson, Fred will teach you about Bing and Google ads.

He will start by showing you how to set up Bing Ads and create ads that are ready to launch.

Then, he will guide you through the process of setting up campaigns for Google Ads.

Module 8 – Zero Up Jewels

This module teaches you how to customize your own jewelry and sell it on your E-commerce store.

Module 9 – Weekly Bootcamp

Duration: a total of 20 videos with a length of 26 hours and 17 minutes.

Fred hosts a “Bootcamp” session with Zero Up students on a weekly basis, where they can get more tips from Fred or ask him questions via email.

Sometimes Fred might spend some time looking into a student’s website or advertisement campaign and provide some ways to make improvement.

Module 10 – Bonus Trainings

Duration: a total of 7 videos with a total length of 1 hour and 50 minutes.

Fred passes off this bonus section with only two subjects i.e. email marketing and managing influencers. It is full of great theories without any practical steps.

Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative

How much does Zero Up cost?

It costs $1,497 to join Zero Up. On top of that, you’ll need to pay around $170 per month for various apps. That’s a significant investment, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll see any returns.

Is Fred Lam a scam?

If you’re wondering whether Fred Lam is a scam or not, the answer is no. However, the content of the course is pretty basic, and you can find similar information for free on YouTube or blogs.

Fred spends a lot of time showing you how to use his software and add-on apps to automate your store, but he doesn’t teach you any proven marketing strategies that can boost sales. And without sales, automation won’t do you much good.

Moreover, all the tools in the Zero Up software can be found on the Shopify app store for a lot less than the $170 package of apps that Fred recommends. With a bit of time and research, you can find the apps that best suit your store or niche for half the price.

Finally, it’s important to note that dropshipping can never be completely automated. As Fred himself points out, you need to have a daily routine to be successful. So while his software and apps can help you streamline your business, you still need to put in the work.

4 Challenges of Dropshipping Business

Starting a dropshipping business can be an exciting opportunity to be your own boss and make money online. However, there are a few challenges you should be aware of before jumping in.

1. Financial Risk: It Takes Money to Make Money

One of the biggest challenges of dropshipping is the financial risk involved. While you don’t have to invest in inventory upfront, you still need to advertise your store and products to get sales. Social media marketing, like Facebook ads, can be pricey and eat away at your profits.

Additionally, investing in courses like Zero Up can also be costly. It may take weeks or even months to break even and start seeing a profit.

2. Facebook Ads: Tricky and Expensive

Facebook ads are one of the most popular ways to advertise a dropshipping store. However, they can be pricey and difficult to master. The cost of Facebook ads can easily account for 30% of your total sales, and they tend to lose effectiveness over time. Learning how to use Facebook ads effectively can be time-consuming and expensive, and violating Facebook’s policies can result in your ad account being banned.

3. Customer Support: Time-Consuming and Vital

While dropshipping eliminates the need to manage inventory and logistics, customer support is still an important part of the business. Dealing with customer complaints and supplier issues can be time-consuming and frustrating.

Poor customer service can lead to negative reviews and little repeat business. This can be a major risk, as excessive credit card chargebacks can result in getting your payment gateway shut down.

4. Product Research: The Key to Long-Term Success

For your dropshipping store to be successful, you need to find new products that sell well. However, finding winning products can be a lot of work. You need to constantly test new products with Facebook ads, and the lifespan of most products is short-lived.

Many competitors will jump on the bandwagon and start selling the same product once it becomes popular. This means you need to constantly look for new, profitable products to keep your business afloat.

Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative

Is there a better way to make money online?

If you really want to make a stable and secure stream of passive income, I would suggest you starting an affiliate marketing business.

Affiliate marketing is perfect for anyone who is new to online business.

In fact, of all the online business models I’ve tried, affiliate marketing is the easiest and most rewarding so far.

In affiliate marketing, you can actually run your business almost with zero cost and achieve a steady and sustainable passive income to pay for your bills. You don’t need any initial capital and can even do it as a side hustle.

And if you really want to learn affiliate marketing and build a business from scratch, I’d recommend you to get started with the most reputable platform for affiliate marketing: Wealthy Affiliate.

Wealthy Affiliate is an all-in-one platform for building your affiliate marketing business from scratch. It offers you a free account (including a free website) with comprehensive training on SEO (free traffic methods), which enables you to get started with affiliate marketing right away without paying a penny.

But How Much Can You Earn with Wealthy Affiliate?

A 21-year old student from Wealthy Affiliate 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.

For more information, you can check out my full review of Wealthy Affiliate.

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 free 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.

Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative