Zero Up takes a unique approach to dropshipping. Rather than just a course, Fred Lam has created Zero Up to be a software platform as well as a dropshipping course. Similar to Dropship Lifestyle, it acts as a done-for-you software system.
It offers fast store setup, custom product engine, and drag & drop funnel building. All of this is meant to be 100% automated, from your product fulfillment to your shipping. The main flaw that I see is that dropshipping is already automated. Apps like Oberlo already offer automatic order fulfillment and shipping.
In terms of the course, Zero Up Masters Program, it claims teaches you how to launch a “foolproof and profitable ecommerce business starting from zero knowledge”. He claims this is the exact blueprint he used to become a millionaire. There are quite a few dropshipping courses out there, though, so does Zero Up really measure up? We’ll take a closer look to see if this course is legit or a scam in this thorough review of Zero Up. Let’s dive in!
Who Is Fred Lam?
Fred Lam, the creator of Zero Up is an online business guru and speaker. He got his start with his book, The Traffic Trilogy, and went from there. His current ventures include iPro Academy, Water Liberty, the Traffic Trilogy, and Zero Up. He was the youngest marketing manager of the BMW group Canada. He’s shared the stage at speaking events with Robert Kiyosaki.
Keep in mind, these are claims made by Fred Lam. I don’t doubt he’s successful, I just don’t think it’s the perfect rags-to-riches story he’s making it out to be. There’s not a lot of information about him online, making his story seem too perfect. Especially since nowadays, his YouTube channel is a shell of his claims.
His videos seem very “clickbaity”, but then again, so are most entrepreneurs nowadays. With that said, his most recent video (at the time of writing) only has 457 views, for the 4 days it’s been up. With 91k subscribers, his engagement rate is 0.4%. While these only are numbers, it does show his relevancy is fading. He focuses his channel on his dropshipping program, e commerce software, and how to make money.
Zero Up Pricing
Zero Up costs $1,497. It offers a payment for $597, with three installments one month apart from each other. It totals out to be $1,791. It can be purchased through Lam’s ipro academy.
It comes with a lot of bonuses, such as:
- Product Vault- A list of “high-converting” products you can add to your store.
- Traffic Genius- A blueprint scaling & optimization for PPC ads like Facebook, Google, and Bing.
- Starting From Zero Bootcamp- A weekly recorded Q&A session with Fred Lam
- The Concierge Program- A free consulting session with Zero Up
He also includes advanced email integration and email marketing campaigns in a bonus module course.
Zero Up features no refund policy. However, you do get a 3 day cancellation policy for the software and training. If you’re within the three days, you can email them and they claim they will refund your money back in full. It’s not clear if it’s for the full dollar amount, or if it’s for the valuation they put on their software and training.
Zero Up Modules
Zero Up Masters Program is split into seven different modules, each covering a different section of dropshipping. There was an eighth jewelry module, but it has since been removed.
Module 1: Store Creation
This is the basic introductory tutorial about your Shopify store and dropshipping itself. Fred Lam teaches you how to set up your shopify store, register your domain, and set up your Google analytics. He then goes on to show you the different legal frameworks within the US to register your business with. Fred Lam also talks about picking the right niche, and gives you ideas on finding your own. He ends by showing you a little of Zero Up as a software, giving you a tour and a quick tutorial.
Module 2: Inventory Arbitrage
In this module, Fred Lam focuses on sourcing your products. He shows you how to talk to suppliers and start listing your product. He then goes on to teach you how to increase the perceived value of a product, spying on sellers, writing a good product description, and developing a pricing formula.
Overall, Inventory Arbitrage has some good information. I like his ideas on perceived value, and he even goes on to talk about how you can increase the perceived value.
In this module, he also gives you a 100-page report on top-selling products, which is the “Product Vault” bonus.
Module 3: Turbocharging Your Store
Fred Lam shows you how to take your store to the next level with this module. He shows you how to set up email capture systems, set up autoresponders, and prevent cart abandonment. Using different applications, he shows you how to integrate them into your store.
A lot of this module is just integrating apps. Apps that cost money. Be warned, if you integrate all the apps he shows you in this module, you may have a very steep monthly bill.
Module 4: Creating A Sales Funnel
In this module, Fred Lam shows you how to create a sales funnel. He goes over the concept of a sales funnel, shows you how to make one using Funnel Builder. After that, he talks about the “Profit Multiplier”, which is basically just integrating upsells into your checkout. Finally, he ends the module by giving a brief overview of copywriting itself. This is a short module, with only three videos combined making less than 30 minutes.
Module 5: Advertising Your Store
This module introduces you to Facebook advertising. Fred Lam teaches you everything you need to know about Facebook ads, from setting up your account, posting your ad, and to different types of ads. He also goes into scaling your ad, showing you how to understand your audience, skim, and analyze your data. He ends by teaching you how to deal with account troubles and suspensions.
Overall, there’s a lot of content in this module. It comes with 15 videos, each clocking with about 10 minutes of video.
Module 6: Store Management
For this module, Fred Lam shows you how to manage your store in an effective way. He goes over developing a daily routine (and shows you the ideal one), how to deal with customers and issues, and dealing with chargebacks. He also gives you a financial keeper to track your money, but it isn’t exactly the best. Using Quickbooks would be much easier.
Module 7: Traffic Genius
Zero Up focuses on paid traffic in this module. Mainly, Bing and Google ads for your online business. Zero Up is one of the few to include Bing ads. For both platforms, he teaches you how to set up your account, post your ad, good sales copy, and tracking your conversions. In the Google part of this module, Lam dives a little deeper, showing you how to optimize your ads, “hidden” features, and some advanced tips.
Zero Up Course Quality
Zero Up has good course quality. Many of his ecommerce trai will be through powerpoint presentations, where Lam will discuss the overall concept before showing you how to do it. His tutorials are done by screen recorded tutorials. Visually, you should have no problem learning with the quality.
Audibly, sometimes Lam can get a bit loud, but it’s good enough to get you through the course. Overall, his quality is good, but it’s not great. There are times where it doesn’t feel professional, but this is a very small critique.
Does Zero Up Deliver?
Lam promises to teach you how to build a “foolproof and profitable” ecommerce store. If you use the information he gave you, you do have a good chance, but it’s not a “foolproof” online business as he claims. In this sense, Lam does not deliver on Zero Up.
While Zero Up is a good course, it’s not the system that he makes it out to be. He uses very expensive online store apps that beginners may find adding up quickly. He focuses solely on PPC ads, which have the potential to cost more than you are making. While he does address tweaking and optimizing your ads, his Zero Up software and his course are not foolproof. There is a chance you may lose money with your online store.
Who Is Zero Up Best For?
Fred Lam’s course, Zero Up, is best for any absolute beginner. Lam does a good job of teaching the basics in a very easy to understand fashion. He goes over all the necessities, like Facebook ads, managing your business, and setting up your store.
However, for those looking for a more advanced course, it falls flat. Zero Up does go over some advanced topics, it’s not enough to make you feel like the course is truly advanced. He skips over social media, landing pages, and order value. There are many times where Lam will over explain simple concepts.
Is Fred Lam’s Zero Up Worth The Price?
No, Zero Up is not worth the money. Zero Up costs $1,497 (or $1,791 if you do the payment plan). Fred Lam’s Zero Up does nothing in this course that warrants the price he charges. He offers the same knowledge and production as a $10 udemy course.
Many argue that the value of Zero Up comes from the software, which “automates” the dropshipping creation process. The thing is, dropshipping is already automated inherently.
Order fulfillment is conducted and shipped through your app (like Oberlo). Shopify and Clickfunnels are already drag and drop. And, you can get email autoresponders that are much simpler. All the selling points of Zero Up are just smoke and mirrors. His software doesn’t do anything unique. You can still make money online without the Zero Up software.
Zero Up Alternatives
Dropshipping is a very popular industry, and as such, there are many alternatives out there. Here are a few:
- The Complete Shopify course (Udemy)- This course offers the same level of knowledge as Zero Up, but with much higher course quality. It teaches you everything you need to know about Shopify, Aliexpress, and online traffic.
- eCom Elites (Frank Hatchett)- Hatchett’s course is widely regarded as among the top dropshipping courses. And for good reason. Hatchett gives you much more information and knowledge than Lam, and for significantly less. If you are even remotely considering Zero Up, I highly recommend you take this course first.
Our Final Verdict: Zero Up
Overall, Zero Up is a good course. But it’s certainly not worth $1,497. Lam’s course is mediocre compared to other $1000+ courses. It provides very basic knowledge, but advertised as a very advanced as thorough course. His Zero Up software is not a necessity at all, as you can find cheaper apps that do the same exact thing. With that said, I was pleasantly surprised by his Product Vault, which contained really good information about many products. But, Zero Up needs to charge significantly less, or focus solely on the software, in order to be relevant.
Pros
- Good for beginners
- Product Vault is very useful
Cons
- Extremely expensive
- No unique insights or knowledge
- Software isn’t that useful
