(Note: This article was originally published to JamieMcSloy.co.uk on March 11th, 2020. I’m going through an old backup of the site, which has hundreds of posts that aren’t currently uploaded. As I’m working hard on updating the site, letting these old posts be the daily posts for a while.)
Dropship Scammers And The Reality of Ecommerce
I woke up this morning, performed my usual routine and then logged onto Twitter. I’d received several notifications overnight, as per usual.
One of them asked me, “Jamie, what do you think about this?”
It had a link attached – a thread about a guy who had been scammed by someone on the drama-filled community I’m vaguely attached to called, “Money Twitter.”
I’m sure you’re all aware of what that is, so we won’t delay.
Anyway, I figured I’d check it out, because it’s been a while since there’s been any drama in that little circle and who doesn’t like a bit of gossip.
Scrolling through my timeline though, it was seemingly the only topic anyone was talking about. Hot takes ranging from, “someone should sue” to, “The guy who got scammed had it coming.”
Naturally, because someone asked my opinion and at least six people in the world wanted to hear my opinion on this drama, I delved right in.
On Falling For Scams
Our victim was scammed. He paid six-thousand dollars for a working ecommerce site and a media-buying service that would run ads for him. The promise was made that his store would reach $10,000 a month in short order and he’d be mentored along the way.
He received nothing.
Now, some people would immediately look at that above paragraph and want to move on, baying for blood.
We’re not going to do that though.
Here’s the thing; that’s a pie in the sky promise and there was no hope anyone would achieve that. If they could, they’d unlikely be selling it for $6,000. The economics simply don’t work.
With pie-in-the-sky promises and “should you blame the scammer or the scammed?” here’s my general view.
If you walk through a dodgy area of town late at night, wearing gold chains and talking on your brand new iPhone, or you are a girl walking alone through a dodgy area and you’re in a tight dress and high heels with jewellery all over you, then you are stupid. I won’t go so far as to say you’re asking for trouble, but you are painting a bull’s eye over your head and making it very easy for trboule to find you.
And if you get mugged, you have been wronged. It doesn’t change the fact you’re stupid.
Nor does it change the fact that your attacker is a criminal. I’m not one of these “respect the hustle” types. A criminal is a criminal. A liar is a liar and a scammer is a scammer.
It’s your responsibility not to be stupid and it’s a scammer’s responsibility not to be a scammer.
Do your due diligence.
Let’s move on to more helpful matters, however.
The Reality of Ecommerce
Ecommerce isn’t really a business type.
If you have a website selling physical products, you are in that business. The fact that you sell most or all of your products via the internet is simply a delivery method and logistic choice.
As such, whatever business you’re in, that’s your business.
And just like every other business – physical or not – you have the same things you need to take care of.
- Logistics
- Gaining customers
- Having a product that competes on the open market
- Retaining customers
- Customer support
The list goes on, but that’s the gist of it. When you talk about an ecommerce business or dropship store, you need to think of those things. Long term, your biggest issue is having good products to sell. Short term, you need to find an audience to sell your products to. However, you need to think about all of these things before you start, because each is a part of the chain that makes a successful business.
The problem comes when newbies read the glitz and glam of Instagram or Twitter and think they’re going to “buy a website” that “generates profit.”
You can buy assets that generate profit. You can’t buy businesses that “generate profit.”
You buy a business that you run and you generate the profit. It is not passive. It’s not ever going to be.
And you need to have skills to run that business; you have to arrange all of the above. You have to sell your products. You have to make sure they get from customer to customer. It’s important to mention this because you cannot buy the skills. Nor can you buy understanding of a market.
That’s another thing when it comes to scammers and people selling you an ecommerce dream.
Your success does not come from a “winning product” or a “funnel” or a “site design.”
Even if it did, you aren’t going to find a “hidden gem” on AliExpress, which billions of people have access to and millions use every day. And there is no magical system that will mean your product flies off the shelf.
Bear in mind that for every industry, there are people who have businesses selling what you want to sell. They are thinking about their businesses every hour of every day. They are your competition. You will not be able to put a Shopify store up in 6 hours and outcompete them. That’s simply not how it works.
This is dream-spinning and you mustn’t fall for it. It’s wrong for people to sell it as well, but, your due diligence for your money.
Hiring Services
“But Jamie… why can’t I hire services to do the work for me?”
If you read the above and still think you should just hire someone to build a business for you, then that’s fine. I don’t really think it’s smart, but it’s your money and choice.
When you want to hire someone, you must think of them as your contractor.
Someone will build you a website? Fine. Treat them, and hire them, like you would a web designer. Do your due diligence.
Someone will run your PPC ads for you? Fine. Treat them and hire them like any other media buyer.
Do your due diligence. They are hired by you for their service.
If you hire someone to “mentor you” or “give you the keys to the kingdom” this is stupid and you will get burned.
Final Thoughts
This isn’t to say that ecommerce is something you can’t succeed in. Far from it. We’re still living in the Wild West era, (clearly,) and there are many opportunities to be had.
However, it is to say that you can’t buy success and if someone wants to sell you a dream that you can pay $6,000 to make $120,000 a year with no skills, experience or knowledge – well, they’re obviously a scammer and they’re obviously selling you a dream.
You can succeed with ecommerce or whatever business you might want to start. But you’re going to have to work hard, fail, and learn from experience until you get there.
That’s the reality of business.
IF you are talking to someone who is trying to sell you on the opposite; that it’s easy, there’s no work, there’s no risk and that you can do it without any advantages whatsoever, then they are probably selling you a scam.
You have the knowledge from this article (let alone the rest of the blog,) to spot the scam and understand the reality. It’s your choice as to whether to pay attention or get swept up by the promise of a dream.