Dropshipping courses are sold harder than almost anything else in ecommerce, usually as a route to passive income. The US Federal Trade Commission has warned about exactly this kind of programme. Here is what it says to look out for, and where to learn dropshipping without paying for a promise.
We earn a commission if you sign up through the links on this page. We pay for every tool we test and no brand sees a draft before it goes live. How this site makes money.
What the FTC warns about
the FTC‘s consumer guidance on business and coaching programmes names the patterns to watch for: promises of guaranteed income or large returns for little work, a supposedly proven system, pressure to join now or miss out, repeated upsells once you are in, and claims that you do not need to understand the business because the system or the coach will handle everything. It also tells readers to treat success stories and glowing reviews with scepticism.
One case it describes is directly about online stores: a scheme called Automators AI sold done-for-you stores on large marketplaces, promising passive income. According to the FTC, most of those stores were suspended by the marketplaces for policy violations, and most buyers did not recover what they paid.
Red flags, in plain terms
- Income screenshots and lifestyle footage in place of a syllabus.
- “Winning products” lists — if a course can sell the list to thousands of students, so can everyone else.
- A cheap entry course that exists to sell a coaching programme costing thousands.
- Done-for-you stores, or any claim that you will not need to understand the business.
- No written refund policy, or one that depends on conditions you cannot meet.
What a legitimate course looks like
It teaches the unglamorous parts: calculating landed cost and margin, choosing and vetting suppliers, ordering samples, handling returns and delays, and marketplace and payment-provider rules. It shows its syllabus before you pay, states its refund terms, and makes no promise about what you will earn.
Where to learn for free first
- Shopify Academy — Shopify’s free course library, including the basics of running a store.
- Our dropshipping apps comparison — including the most-reviewed supplier app, and the one rated lowest.
- How to start a Shopify store — the setup, step by step.
- Supplier samples — the cheapest education there is. Order what you plan to sell, time the delivery to an address in your target market, and judge the product in your own hands.
Why we do not name a best paid course
Because we have not taken one, and recommending a course we have not taken — in the one category most associated with overselling — would be exactly what this page warns against. When we have bought and completed one worth recommending, it will appear here with what it cost and what it taught.
Questions we get asked
Are dropshipping courses worth it?
Most of what you need to start is free. A paid course can be worth it for a specific problem later on — never for a promise of income.
How do I report a scam course?
In the US, to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Start your free trialNo credit card to start