Nine University 2.0 Review

Intro.

Okay folks, it’s time I reviewed Nine University as it’s had some interesting discussion lately. There are some that see the owners of this course as fake guru’s, so I luckily gained access to this course so I can review it myself.

So, is Nine University a scam, or are we just talking about a course that’s not quite up to scratch? Are these guys genuine, or is Nine University honestly worth the $1,997 price tag?

After checking out the course for myself, here’s my findings.

What is Nine University 2.0

You’re probably reading this review because you want to learn how to sell products on Amazon. Nine University is a course that you’re supposed to take for 7 weeks, and get educated in how every part of the Amazon selling process works.

There are over 250 instructional videos designed to be watched in order.

They say that within 49 days, you will have your Amazon store profitable. There’s some other fairly outlandish claims on the Nine University sales page, including that Nine University has:

• Created 3 Millionaires
• 100+ six figure earners
• 474 people have quit their jobs
• Over 500 testimonials on their website

Like many courses, their sales page is littered with fast action bonuses that are apparently included. For a course that cost around $2K, these extras should be included anyway. Oh, but they have an apparent value attached to each. Not too sure I believe this because you cannot purchase these bonuses separately. In fact I’m not sure how a Facebook community page can be worth $1,998!

Anyway, let’s carry on and see what’s on the inside of Nine University 2.0.

Nine University From The Inside

Inside of Nine University 2.0 is an easy to navigate layout. I do like video courses rather than slides , audio or written material, and that’s what you’ll get here. The following is a brief explainer of each of the sections included.

#1 Education Review

All videos are laid out in sections, or modules. Here’s a rundown of each section.

Welcome

Pretty much 9 videos that explain how the main bootcamp section works, rules about how to use the Facebook community and getting support. This includes actually joining the FB group and the steps you need to take to get help.

Welcome Videos:

1. Do The Bootcamp First – Then Start Here
2. Welcome to Nine University
3. How This Program Works
4. Joining The Community
5. Joining The Community – Part 2
6. How to Get Help
7. What the Heck is This Scoreboard Thing?
8. Help Us Help You
9. Want to FastTrack Your Success

Start Here

Motivation and mindset are the key focuses of these initial 25 lessons, especially the first few. You’ll then get into which programs are going to help you find product information related to selling. What you’re not told is the cost, which I’ll explain to you.

They advise Hellium 10, which is a brilliant tool for researching the top selling products on Amazon. This will set you back $97 per month as a minimum. They do have a free version, but it’s basically only a 30 day free trial.

You’ll get a handle on their 7/7 formula for finding products to sell, even claiming you can find the product that will possibly make you $20k per month! A large claim I know. Anyway, I do like some of the tips that Kale does offer here, like the price point, and not using fragile products to sell.

Other aspects that Kale and Taylor talk about are getting your logo sorted, finding suppliers, working out your ROI (return on investment), ordering samples from Alibaba and negotiation hacks.

Day 1-14 Bootcamp Start Here Videos:

1. Motivation For The Journey
2. Day 1 Optional Assessment
3. Vision and Mindset
4. Day 2 Optional Assessment
5. Setting The Foundation – Product Research
6. Day 3 Optional Assessment
7. Finding 7/7’s
8. Day 4 Optional Assessment
9. Find 3 Viable Products
10. Day 5 Optional Assessment
11. Finding Your Supplier
12. Day 6 Optional Assessment
13. Creating Your Brand
14. Day 7 Optional Assessment
15. Getting Your Logo
16. Day 8 Optional Assessment
17. Narrowing Your List of Suppliers
18. Day 9 Optional Assessment
19. The holy Grail
20. Day 10 Optional Assessment
21. Finding 7/7’s + 200% ROI
22. Cit The Stragglers! Final List
23. Getting Ready to Order Samples
24. Last Negotiation Hacks
25. Now What?

Week 1 – The Foundation Bedrock of FBA

This module is pretty much dedicated towards getting the elements in place that allow you to move forward. This means setting up Fulfillment by Amazon, organizing an LLC (limited liability company) and other Amazon specific tasks.

Some of these videos have been outsourced, but some through necessity. They’ve used a British lady to explain setting up a business from outside of the US, which some people will find handy.

You’ll get an overview of Seller Central and a brief description of the features inside.

There’s also the offer of their partner company setting everything up for you. Of course this will cost a fee and it’s also strongly encouraged, so guess who will be making a fair bit out of this.

Week 1 Videos:

1. Watch This Video First
2. Week 1 Overview
3. How to Set Up your Seller Central Account USA Sellers
4. Identity Verification
5. Differences in Selling in the UK and US
6. Setting Up as LTD Company vs a Sole Trader UK
7. How to Set Up Seller Central For Those In The UK
8. How to Set Up Seller Central For Those In Canada
9. How to Set Up Seller Central For Those In Other Countries
10. Seller Central Walkthrough
11. How to Avoid Any Frustration and Move Fast With This
12. How to get Your LLC
13. What About Taxes
14. How To Get In-Touch With Seller Support
15. How To Use The Amazon Seller Phone App

There is some useful information here, although I do find much of it skims the steps required. For instance, they show you which websites to go to, and say fill out the forms. Many newbies won’t know what some of the form questions mean. An actual demonstration of setting up a new account may have been better.

Week 2 – 7 Figure Product

Using external programs are going to help you find ideal products to sell, and Helium10 is known as one of the best. It does cost a lot, but you will have a discount by joining through Nine University. You can either get 50% off your first month, or 10% of every month. It’s still not explained how much it costs, just that you’ll get a discount.

Several of the videos in this section are fronted by Bradley Sutton from Helium10, and he explains how the software is to be used.

Not only are you going to have to purchase Helium 10, you’ll also be required to purchase Boost Nine. This is Kale and Taylor’s own software that finds products following their 7/7 rule. Although it’s a free Chrome extension, you will be required to pay $297 for it (Boost Nine launching price)

I do believe their product sourcing methods are good, and most guru’s seem to have their own intricacies to do this. The only real issue I had was the video on checking for restricted categories. While this is a good video, it should really be watched before finding products, not after you’ve found an ideal product.

I must admit that some of Taylor’s videos for searching with Jungle Scout bored the heck out of me. Although he’s attempting to make a point, he can be painful to watch.

Another piece of software they recommend you using for keyword research, which you’ll need to do if you want to follow Nine University, is called Viral Launch. Kale says it’s not too pricey, but at $50 per month on the beginner plan, YOU may consider it pricey.

Because these guys know it costs a lot of money to get started, they give some advice on getting credit cards. I’m not sure this is their field, and I’d imagine they will earn extra funds themselves from you signing up to these credit cards.

My advice would be that if you cannot afford the course & software packages, don’t take the course. Maybe try a cheaper way to make money online like affiliate marketing.

Week 2 Videos:

1. Week 2 Overview
2. How to Install Boost Nine
3. How to Install Helium10
4. Welcome to Week 2
5. Motivation For The Product Research Section
6. Everything You Need To Know About Your Brand
7. Product Research Overview – The 3 things you MUST HAVE
8. Why Search Volume Doesn’t Matter
9. Using Boost Nine To MAKE SURE You Have 7-7 and 200% ROI
10. What Software Do You Need to Find Amazon Products
11. What Happens When Boost Nine and Other Software’s Numbers Disagree
12. Accuracy With Helium10
13. Boost Nine – How to Utilize Amazon Best Sellers to Hack Your Next Product
14. Boost Nine – Reverse psychology
15. Helium 10 – Reverse psychology
16. Playing With Fire
17. Checking for Restricted Categories or Categories Requiring Approval
18. How to check for seasonality
19. Seasonality with Helium10
20. What About Weight, Breakable, etc
21. Using Helium 10’s Blackbox 1
22. Using Helium 10’s Blackbox 2
23. Product Research Technique #2 – AmazeOwl and Jungle Scout
24. Product Research Technique #3 – Jungle Scout Best Sellers Page
25. Product Research Technique #4 – Typing into Amazon Using Helium10
26. Product Research Technique #6 – Helium10 Magnet
27. Product Research Technique #7 – Viral Launch Keyword Research
28. Want Extra Funds for your FBA Business
29. Using Helium10’s REVIEW DOWNLOADER to do keyword research based off competitors
30. FAQ! Watch this if you have questions

Week 3 – Crafting the Perfect Product with an Elite Supplier

The videos in this section are gearing you up for contacting suppliers to get the best price, and determining how good the supplier’s English language is. This is because the suppliers you’ll be dealing with are based in China, and generally through the Alibaba website.

The wording that you use to contact your suppliers wants to be easy for them to understand, and you’ll see Kale demonstrate this.

Part of this also encompasses price negotiation, and comparing it to your ROI. If your supplier is cooperative, you can order samples to know if the product is as good as you expect to sell.

I do like that Kale explains how to deal directly with suppliers in terms of quantities and price. He actually comes up with a few great tips to find what these suppliers are charging the Chinese, compared to the rest of the world. This can become a great negotiating tip.

When you have products sent out to customers, you want them to be professionally boxed. This is also explained in this section with a few links to some suppliers that Nine University recommend. Putting thought into your packaging can go a long way, and their idea of leaving product inserts is not a bad idea.

Week 3 Videos:

1. Week 3 Overview
2. Finding the Exact Same Supplier Your Competition Uses
3. Quick Format Update! Trade Assurance and Verified Supplier
4. How many Suppliers Should you Contact
5. What to SAY to Suppliers Once they Respond
6. Why you should ONLY be negotiating for DDP (Air Shipping) at First
7. Getting the Price FIRST + Ordering a Sample
8. How Many Samples to Order + How to Test Them
9. How to get UPC Barcodes
10. Creating your Ghost Listing
11. Quick Update – Format Changes
12. Negotiating Final Price
13. Negotiation Hack Number One! Leveraging 1688
14. Negotiation Hack #2. How to Leverage Invoices to Halve Prices
15. Why Box Design is Next
16. How to Order Boxes from Your Supplier & Design Them
17. What SELLS with Box Design
18. How to create a Product Insert

Week 4 – Shipping to Amazon without Hassle + Paying for Orders

So you’ve got your products sorted, packaging organized and now it’s time to get your shipping done. There are 3 categories of shipping, and the Nine University guys will explain the differences, and their preferred methods.

Kale recommends a logistics company that can help with various aspects of your shipping.

Apart from this, you’re going to need to understand barcodes, ASIN and FKSKU codes. You’ll learn what these are, why they are needed and how they are used in terms of your shipping.

Now you will learn two different ways to get your products to Amazon. Firstly from your own location, then directly from the supplier. This is for different circumstances. Once your products are with Amazon, they will be responsible for shipping out to your customers.

Another cost that will be required (although not essential), is to have your products inspected through a third party company. This company will check your items are packaged correctly, labeled properly, etc.

Lastly, you want a few housekeeping issues tidied up before paying for your products. Kale will give you a list of things you want checked by the supplier.

Week 4 Videos:

1. Week 4 Overview
2. Week 4 Introduction – Shipping Methods Explained
3. How To Use Freight Forwarder and Logistic Companies
4. Printing off your Amazon Label
5. Getting your Supplier to LABEL YOUR BOXES Correctly
6. Barcode from ASIN to FNSKU — B0 to X0
7. How to Seal Boxes and Protect your Investment
8. How to send to Amazon from within the USA
9. How to send your product DIRECTLY to Amazon from Internationally
10. How to Get Your Product Inspected
11. The Last thing to do Before Paying for Products
12. Paying for your Products
13. Should I Send a Wire Transfer
14. How long does it take for products to become available
15. What to Do If Your Product Arrives with Quality Issues

Week 5 – Creating a Listing that Sells on Autopilot

So everything is just about complete with product research, packaging, shipping etc, now you need to list the products on Amazon. The following 22 videos will explain how to get your products listed, the best format for doing so and some hacks to get you listed as high as possible.

Basically you’ll learn how to add images, keywords, description, bullet points and other details relevant to your product. Another program they recommend that can help you optimize your listings is Seller.tools. Unfortunately, this is going to be another big cost if you choose them, because their starter account is $97 per month after a 14 day trial.

Of course you’ll get a 15% off discount code by signing up to Nine University. Seller.tools does integrate with your Amazon Seller Central account, and you’ll be shown how to do this. This tool basically gives you more data to help you optimize your listing.

As you can see by the list below, there’s a load more videos that are relative to this module, with most explanatory videos within one of the software packages.

If you don’t want to deal with the whole optimization section of your business, Nine University will do it through their offshoot company Honey Badger Boost.

Week 5 Videos:

1. Week 5 Overview
2. Intro to Week 5 – How You Can Skip This Whole Week with ONE CLICK
3. Cool Hacks to Use on Your Listing to Make It EVEN BETTER
4. Outsourcing your listings
5. Seller.Tools Set Up 1
6. Seller.Tools Set Up 2
7. Using Helium10’s Scribbles-Frankenstein for Listing Optimization
8. Helium 10 CEREBRO Keyword Searching
9. Helium 10 MAGNET Keyword Searching
10. Optimizing your Product Title
11. Optimizing your Product Title with Helium10
12. Optimizing your Product Bullet Points
13. Optimizing Your Product Back End Keywords
14. Optimizing your Product Back End Search Terms W- H10
15. Optimizing Your Product Description
16. Creating a Listing ALL THE WAY THROUGH STEP BY STEP Seller.Tools
17. Using the Viral Launch Opportunity Score
18. The Spanish Opportunity
19. Spanish Opportunity with Helium10
20. A Brand New Way to Read Your Customer’s Minds When Optimizing Your Listing
21. Bonus Hack – Canonical URL
22. Bonus Hack – the Heavy Check Mark

Week 6 – Going from A Product to THE Product

The week 6 videos are all about getting your images correct, which is basically about photography. Even though Kale does explain what Amazon expects in terms of their images, this section is really a promotion for Kale & Taylor’s other business Honey Badger Boost. This part of their business can do all of the photography for you, taking the hard work out of it for you.

Yes, of course you’ll pay a fee for this service, but it could well be worth your time. You will get some photography tips from this module, but it’s more about their service.

Week 6 Videos:

1. Week 6 Overview
2. The Quickest way to DOMINATE Photography
3. Studio Photography
4. Lifestyle Photography
5. Pictures with Words
6. Selling your Story with Pictures
7. Best thing you can do for your pictures RIGHT NOW
8. Why Your Thumbnail
9. Putting your Best Thumbnail Forward
10. A Bonus Hack to RANK Your PICTURES

Reviews

It’s best to have product reviews from your listed products than not. This set of videos will explain how to get product reviews via several methods. As Kale explains, it’s not easy. But those that make the effort will benefit from these product reviews.

There’s also a Chrome extension that has been released to help you get reviews in bulk. It’s a handy hack that can save you a lot of time and effort in getting these reviews.

One of the cheaper subscriptions that Nine University recommends you sign up to is their preferred email autoresponder. This is for following up with purchasers to leave a review for the product they’ve bought. You’ll even be given some email templates.

You’ll also be taught how to deal with and avoid negative reviews, and it will happen.

Reviews Videos:

1. How we get all of our reviews (unlimited) that stick EVERY TIME
2. AMZ Requesty for reviews
3. Setting Up Your Automated Email Sequence
4. How to Track Down Customers Who Left a Bad Review
5. What to Say to Negative Reviewers
6. How to Avoid Negative Reviews in the First Place
7. Little Known Review Hack

Week 7 – Elite PPC Launching + Robotic Growth

So what are PPC’s? They are Pay Per Click ads, which means you’ll be paying for advertising to get eyeballs on your products. You will be shown when the ideal time to start PPC advertising is, and why it’s a good idea.

There are lots of videos in this section because there are so many components that can be integrated with your ads. You need to get keywords right, your bidding right, whether to automate and how long for.

You’ll be using many of the paid subscriptions that have been advised earlier in this course to advance your PPC campaigns. Another product is recommended for monitoring your auto campaigns, but Kale does suggest it will cost $99 per month. Gee, the monthly costs are adding up!

Week 7 Videos:

1. Week 7 Overview
2. What MUST be done BEFORE starting week 7
3. PPC Campaign Timeline and Checklist
4. Updates to the Layout of PPC, Don’t Panic
5. ASIN Grabber – Courtesy of Schrone
6. ASIN Grabber – Courtesy of Schrone 2
7. The Low Bid Auto Campaign
8. Low Bid Auto Campaigns 4 Different Ways
9. AutoFill Manual Campaign
10. Merchantwords PPC Campaign
11. Seller.tools PPC Campaign
12. Viral Launch Keyword Research PPC Campaign
13. A Brand New Way to Get Keywords
14. Keyword Inspector PPC Campaign
15. How to Optimize PPC Manually and Why You Should Just Set It On Autopilot
16. Automation Software – The #1 Thing You NEED for PPC
17. Teikametrics Not Working for You- Watch This
18. Little known PPC Hack to Double Sales
19. Misspell your way to PPC Nirvana
20. Duplicating and Replicating Automatic Campaigns
21. WATCH THIS BEFORE YOU DO A LAUNCH
22. and THEN, watch THIS before you do a launch

Launching wGiveaways

Using a giveaway as part of your Amazon selling technique can be a good idea. This module set will explain how to find the correct types of keywords to use, and what it will cost you in regards to the impact of your business.

It’s possible that people will take advantage, so you need to put measures in place so that no one can buy all of your inventory for $1 as a giveaway.

Is there really a best day to launch? The guys from Nine University think there is, and they’ll explain why.

Launching wGiveaways Videos:

1. Before you do a Giveaway
2. Identifying Keywords for a Giveaway
3. Picking Keywords by Budget
4. Calculating the Cost of Launching a Product + Spreadsheet
5. Adding a Product to Your Viral Launchpad
6. How to SET MAX QUANTITY (SO IMPORTANT) + Generate Promo Codes
7. Best Day to Start Launch
8. Actually Launching Your Product With Viral Launch
9. Tracking Giveaway Progress and Ranking

Bonus Department

Okay, I’m not going to go over all these bonus videos, but I’m sure you can tell that there’s loads of value here. Another 43 videos of information.

Bonus Department Videos:

1. Bonus Section Overview
2. How to Create a Fulfillment Order
3. Sourcing from USA manufacturers
4. Introduction to Feedback Genius
5. Setting up Feedback Genius
6. Copywriting 1 – Feedback Genius
7. Copywriting 2 – Feedback Genius
8. Creating a SECOND Seller Central Account
9. New Landing Page software
10. Creating a promo Page
11. Baby Towel Horror Story
12. How to Fix Bad Packaging
13. How to Get Unlimited Amazon FBA Storage
14. Shipping Checklist – Everything you Need for Success
15. How to Get Rid of Hijackers
16. How to get your Listing Back Up if Amazon Takes it Down
17. Building a Shopify or Wix Site for Your Amazon Store
18. How to Get a CRAP TON of FREE STUFF from Amazon
19. The Daily Grind – What to Do On a Day-to-Day Basis with Amazon FBA
20. Why ‘Web Apps’ Can Sometimes Screw You Over
21. How to Build an Email List
22. Have a Common Product Issue- Get out in front of it
23. Hiring a Virtual Assistant
24. Liquidation Strategies
25. Outsourcing Everything
26. The Power of One Influencer
27. Amazon Productivity Hacks
28. One word to double your productivity
29. How to Track Your Profit Automatically With One Tool
30. Using YouTube for AMZ profits
31. Grain of Salt Theory
32. When to Launch your Second Product
33. How to Know When to RESTOCK Your Inventory
34. Creating an Epic Facebook Brand Page
35. Facebook Ads for Dummies
36. What to say to INFLUENCERS to increase sales
37. Amazon Fees and how to Decrease Them
38. The Magic of Thinking Big
39. The 10x Rule
40. How to use the 10x rule with influencers
41. Cancel your Netflix
42. How to NEVER EVER Get Charged Amazon Fees
43. Going After Massive Keywords

Facebooks Ads Mini Course

Facebook ads can be a great tool to help with getting your offers seen. This last module goes through how to launch an ad campaign, writing the copy for ad campaigns and what images to use.

There’s also some advanced techniques on how to gain extra reviews through Facebook ads. I hadn’t seen this technique before, which was quite interesting. Many of the other videos can be found in other courses or even on YouTube, but they are a good refresher.

Facebook Mini Ads Videos:

1. FB Ads Mini-Course Overview
2. How to Launch an Amazon Product with Facebook Ads
3. How to get REVIEWS with ManyChat and Facebook ADs
4. How to get UNLIMITED Reviews that STICK with FB ADS
5. How to PIXEL, RETARGET, and track ROI for Amazon Products with Facebook Ads
6. How to RETARGET and 10x YOUR SALES with Facebook Ads

Graduation!

Yep, you’re done!

Graduation Videos:

1. Graduation

Pros:

#1 Knowledge

There is a bundle of knowledge in this Nine University course which I was very unsure about when I initially started the course. The further I went into the videos, the more I understood the legitimacy of this course.

#2 No Fluff in This Course

Nine University is not filled with fluffy pieces to bridge a gap. The information is good, and they go into a lot of detail. A lot of work has been put into this course and I would recommend it as one of the better Amazon fulfillment courses around.

Cons:

#1 Cost

Having reviewed other courses, I believe that Nine University is slightly overpriced. The best course I’ve come across is called Search.Find.Buy. which is run by Ben Cummings, and this course is the same price. However, I’ve also seen it reduced from time to time, so look out for that. 

#2 Overhyped Presenting

Kale says he and Taylor spent $100k and 12 months so they could teach you this course. He’s a little patronizing, saying he feels bad for you because of how blessed you are. This doesn’t even make sense, and his demeanor can be a turn off for some people.

Kale also talks so quickly that anyone that is very new to Amazon selling will find it hard to keep up with what he’s saying. Yes, you can pause the videos and go back, but slowing down and not being so patronizing would be more beneficial.

#3 Course Outline Unclear

I’ve written the course videos in this review because I believe you should get an understanding of what’s on the inside. Judging by the Nine University sales page, you only get the impression that you’ll learn about Amazon fulfillment, and how to implement it.

Many other course creators write the course title video outlay, and I believe this is extremely beneficial.

Would I Recommend Nine University 2.0

At the beginning of this Nine University review, I was going in thinking this would be crap. I had watched a YouTube video that calls out these guys as scams, saying they outsource all their content.

Having gone through the course myself, I can honestly say this is not the case, and I was pleasantly surprised. Kale would be in 70%-80% of the videos, Taylor in 10-20% and a small fraction are outsourced.

Would I recommend Nine University to anyone considering joining? Yeah, why not. A lot of work has gone into this course and if you are willing to invest a fair amount of money to make this happen, then you will gain the required knowledge.

In my opinion, Search.Find.Buy. would be my preferred course to sell on Amazon. Much of this comes down to Ben Cummings style of presenting, and his formulas to success. Clicking on the link may also get you his course for $997. Click here to find out.

Is This Too Expensive

Paying nearly $2K for a course means you really need this to be a successful venture. Not only is there an up front course fee, but there are ongoing monthly fees that you will need to subscribe to, in order to follow the course.

Here’s a few of the programs that Nine University recommends:

• Helium10 $97 per month
• Viral Launch $50 per month
• Seller.tools $97 per month
• Autoresponder service $9.99 per month
• Teikametrics $99 per month
• Boost Nine $297

Then there the optional services of Honey Badger Boost. This is their own company that will do some of the work for you, at a fee.

Learning to sell your own branded products on Amazon can be a great investment in yourself, but this kind of outlay is not for everyone. If you don’t have a $5K budget to start this (and risk not making it back if all fails), I’d be considering a different path.

You can still make money online by selling products, just earning smaller commissions. This is the affiliate marketing route, and it’s what I do to make money online. If you’d like to learn how to do this, here’s how to start affiliate marketing from scratch.

Final Thoughts

Is Nine University a scam? No. You can learn a lot from this course. The style of presentation may not be for everyone, but that’s up to you.