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Nine University Review – 5 Things People Hate About KT9

March 7, 2024

Nine University is an online course and educational platform that teaches you how to build an eCommerce business with Amazon FBA. You have access to software, education and tools all on one platform to help you start and scale your business. You've seen Kale and Taylor's high energy YouTube videos where they promote the Nine University Amazon FBA course, but why is there so much hate towards these guys? In this Nine University review, we'll cover the 5 things people hate about KT9, if their program is worth it, the tools they provide you with to succeed, how can you start an Amazon FBA business on a tight budget, if Amazon FBA is profitable in 2024, and how it compares to a popular online business model that is passively paying thousands of people each month, local lead generation.

Pros

Step-by-step guidance through video or chat; 1-on-1 coaching is available; Up to 9 live mastermind session per week for you to brainstorm with other members and ask expert sellers questions.

They added training that can help you succeed as an overall entrepreneur (negotiation & credit repair/boost)

The platform contains training on how to target traffic from Pinterest ads

Cons

No training on how to train or hire VAs to help you scale your business faster

Training videos seem unorganized and scattered

Basic Amazon FBA course

Price:

The Nine University Amazon FBA course costs $1,997, though some students claim to have paid close to $10K; other tools, masterminds and courses range from $19.99 to $1,500

Refund Policy:

10-day money-back guarantee with many conditions

Training:

14-day bootcamp divided into 7 weeks

Group:

Private Facebook group

Origin:

Kale and Taylor started Nine University in 2017 after seeing each other's success. Their Nine University YouTube channel started in 2018.

Reputation:

Although they have been featured on Nasdaq, Forbes, and Sourcing Journal, they don't have the best of reputations and there are many things people hate about them.

5 Things People Hate About KT9

1. False Flagging YouTube Reviews

So many online courses have reviews on YouTube. Nine University is no different. Kale and Taylor were caught telling their students to false flag certain YouTube videos that were reviewing their program. Coffeezilla proved they were doing it.

Coffeezilla shed light on how fake he thought Kale and Taylor were, which is why they were upset. Apparently, they didn't have tough skin. Scott Shafer, another YouTuber who did a review on their course, also had the same thing happen to him. This was proved because he received an email from a current Nine University student. That student confirmed that the link to Scott Shafer's Nine University review was posted within their private community and they encouraged everyone to dislike the video and flag it as spam or harassment. Scott's theory is that Nine University is Kale's and Taylor's only form of income. He says they must not be making money on Amazon as sellers, but only by selling their course to people. 

2. Fake Review

KT9 have been accused of paying a lot of money to famous bloggers from all over to world to do away with any negative Nine University reviews. At the same time, they've put out many fake reviews on platforms like Quora and BBB. If you go to the BBB website, it says that many of the complaints against them have been closed. All of those complaints take away from any of Nine University's legitimacy. This method of paying famous people for reviews is what Wesley Virgin was caught doing too.

3. Nine University Amazon FBA training is basic

Many people say that the NineU Amazon FBA training course is basic. According to Gripeo, the free Amazon Seller University course will provide you with the same content. The course by Kale and Taylor doesn't really teach anything out-of-this world that will give you an edge with Amazon FBA.

4. Ripping Their Training from Another Course

According to some sources, KT9 repurposed Kevin David's Amazon FBA course material and put it into Nine University. Scott Shafer said that many "gurus" have been doing the same thing towards the end of 2021. People are catching on nowadays because they realize they don't need to pay $10K to learn basic Amazon FBA skills anymore. It can all be learned for free by going through various YouTube videos and following legit Amazon FBA coaches like Tim Sanders.

5. Kale is doing Crypto Scams now

In September 2021, Kale started The Kale Show YouTube channel.

This channel is all about crypto. He is accused of repurposing legitimate content that cryptocurrency gurus put out and making similar videos on his channel.

Who are Kale Abrahamson & Taylor Hiott?

Kale is an Amazon FBA seller from Des Moines, Iowa who now lives in Pittsburgh. He grew his Amazon FBA business from 0 - $4million dollars in only one year. Before reaching this success, he played basketball at North Western University, Drake University, and Duquesne University, but after an injury, he was forced to do something else for money.

That's when he turned to Amazon FBA. Taylor joined Kale 9 months after he started his business and they started the Nine University to what it is today.

They’ve been featured in Business Insider, ESPN, Benzinga and more because of their success. Their company has over 150 employees and they continue to teach and coach students to be successful with the Amazon FBA business model. These guys are not scam artists.

How does Nine University compare to other FBA courses?

Kale and Taylor aren't just selling one entire course on Amazon FBA. They've recently turned their company into an educational platform. 

You’re going to have access to many courses that teach you different aspects of the business model and how you can succeed every step of the way. You get to choose what courses or resources you want to invest in based on your needs.

What is Honey Badger Boost?

Honey Badger Boost is a team of experts that helps you optimize your listing in a variety of ways. They help with your photography, videography, search engine optimization and product research.

Jungle Scout reported that 58% of Amazon sellers are actively selling on other platforms. Therefore, the Honey Badger Boost team also provides their services to non-related Amazon sellers on platforms such as Etsy, eBay and more. 

What is the Fast Track service at Nine University?

Fast Track is a done-for-you service that helps you speed up your Amazon brand and business. It requires a monthly fee of $297. They do your taxes through their Amazon FBA, CPA firm and you have access to legal experts to make sure your business is legally compliant.

With this membership, you get 24/7 support and plenty of discounts for the tools needed to run your business.

What are the basic tools an Amazon seller should have?

The basic tools an Amazon seller should have are...

  • Helium 10; to manage inventory and handle all logistical issues on one interface
  • Viral Launch; aids in product selection
  • JungleScout; helps find the best suppliers and manage purchase orders
  • Feedback Whiz; gain more positive reviews and manage negative ones
  • Teikametrics; PPC campaign management software.
  • Repricer Express; automated repricing to win the Buy Box

Depending who you talk to, some of these may or may not be necessary. But, you can't go wrong using them because things will simply be more manageable for you.

What is the best product research tool for Amazon FBA?

Helium 10 is the best product research tool for Amazon FBA. Many sellers have been using it for years and have found it to be the most accurate and consistent when giving you product ideas and insights. Although JungleScout was the first product research tool founded in 2015, the consensus is that Helium 10 is the best today.

You’re easily able to search for an Amazon product, view sales estimates, calculate potential profits, spy on competitors and more. According to Dreamgrow, many 7 and 8 figure sellers are using Helium 10. As the saying goes, “success leaves clues.” 

How to start Amazon FBA on a tight budget

To start Amazon FBA on a tight budget, there are some basic purchases you need to make.

  • Amazon Seller Central fee; $40
  • Equipment; Product labels, box labels, tape, weighing scale etc. (Roughly $50)
  • Shipping fees; varies depending on the weight of your products (Around $10)
  • Buying arbitrage products in stores such as Walmart or Target (Ideally around $15 per product)
  • Look for lightweight products so that your shipping fees are low
  • Visit your local stores to see what products can be sold for more on Amazon or check online
  • Check for products and look at their rating (3 stars or higher) and BSR (Best sellers rank); the lower the BSR #, the more it sells; preferably less than 100,000 BSR
  • Make sure the product you buy isn’t a seasonal product (Ex. Summer or Holidays)

Once you’ve made enough money from arbitrage sales, your next goal should be to transition to wholesale and let Amazon fulfill the shipping, receiving and even customer support. This is where you’ll buy products directly from suppliers at wholesale prices.

Nine University Alternatives

Private Label Masters by Tim Sanders is the top Amazon FBA course we've found. Tim is an 8-figure Amazon seller who has done over $76 million in sales in the Amazon marketplace. He started his course in 2017 to teach private label and remains active within his private Facebook group to continue providing support. There are 8 modules that cover everything from how to set up your business, product research and brand optimization to PPC training and how to scale your business. If you join this program, you're going to be learning from someone who is an active, successful Amazon seller.

Price: Private Label Master costs $5,000. 

More Info: Private Label Master review.

Wholesale Academy by Larry Lubarsky is the best Amazon Wholesale course online. Larry has scaled his business to 8-figures out of a garage in Brooklyn, New York. Like Time Sanders, he is still an active seller who keeps making money selling products on Amazon. There are over 40 hours of in-depth video content. Larry has an excellent reputation as an Amazon seller. He holds live coaching calls each month and always updates the content within his course. Enrollment isn't always open, but when it is, you can expect to learn the most up-to-date strategies for an Amazon Wholesale seller to implement. You aren't being taught outdated strategies like you might learn from other fake gurus.

Price: Wholesale Academy costs $1,997

More Info: Wholesale Academy review.

marvin leonard

Wholesale Underground by Marvin Leonard teaches you Amazon wholesale just like Larry Lubarsky does. In this course, you learn the basics to get started. There are 2 less modules (6) in this course than Larry's but Marvin still covers everything you need to know. Marvin also shares how to get more 5-star reviews for your product listing and how to scale your profitable products to other platforms to generate more revenue. He will even help you with product research if you reach out to him.

Price: Wholesale Underground costs $997. 

More Info: Wholesale Underground Review.

For more alternatives, read my article on the 6 best Amazon FBA courses.

Pros and Cons of Amazon FBA

Pros

Amazon is a trusted brand. There are millions of Amazon Prime accounts (over 200 million according to EarthWeb)

Low barrier to entry; easy and cheap to get started (specifically the arbitrage method)

Ability to scale and sell products anywhere in the world (Germany, Japan, Canada, etc.)

Work from anywhere in the world; visit suppliers and have meetings with your team, no matter where you are

Cons

Anyone who buys from you isn't your customer, they're Amazon's customers

Due to how easy it is to get started, many new sellers join the platform; more competition for you to deal with

Scaling your online business gets expensive because you need capital to have inventory on hand. 

PPC ads are expensive because of the split testing you need to do to find an ad that converts well

For a deeper dive, read my article on the pros and cons of Amazon FBA

Why I don't sell products on Amazon anymore...

There are many reasons things could go wrong for you with Amazon FBA. I know because I used to sell products on Amazon before realizing how volatile the situation was.

Here are the main reasons I suggest you stay away from Amazon FBA:

  • Expensive; you're going to spend a lot of money on Facebook ads
  • Control; Amazon can suspend your account and cut affiliate commissions anytime.
  • Entry; anyone can easily start selling the products you're selling, making it difficult to win the Buy Box and make sales
  • Saturation; you're competing with thousands of Amazon seller worldwide

Why some people love Local Lead Generation more than Amazon FBA

Local lead generation is a business model I like. Here's why.

Other marketers can copy your lead generation sites easily, but they won't rank them as easily. Also, your competition isn't in the thousands, it's only 10-15 local businesses. You're not paying for ads or Amazon's outrageous fees and you don't need to worry about manufacturers messing up or running out of stock.

Once your site ranks, it requires little maintenance.

Although, it's not for everyone, people love the local lead generation business model because the odds of success are much higher since you're not spending as much money as you would getting started with Amazon FBA.

You can still create a successful Amazon FBA business and there are many Amazon FBA success stories to prove that, but it's a hard route to earning a passive income online.

Interested in how you can create your own digital properties that make you money each month? Learn more about the local lead generation training program here.

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Ippei Kanehara
Founder/CEO

$52K per month providing lead generation services to small businesses

Ippei.com is for digital hustlers, industry leaders and online business owners.

His #1 online business recommendation in 2024, is to build your own lead generation business.

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  1. I am i NineU now and they are pretty awesome. Facebook and emails daily. But your right with the upsells!! Wow! However, they have been a big help

  2. I signed up for kale and Taylor’s Amazon fba and nine university program for $9800 that was originally 15k but if I hurried they cut it to $9800 so I took the bait. I started watching the videos but then they started upselling software packages and legal advisors, etc. And I’m now thinking it wasn’t worth it. I’m teetering on whether this was actually worth it or not specially for the $9800 I paid. I’ve seen this program being sold for $1997 so how come their associate charged me $9800.. which I’d substantially more. Any input or advice from you would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

    1. They charged me the same price. I couldn’t afford the course at this price. I was forced to ask for a refund which is still processing. I’m Canadian so the course cost me $13,300 on a high interest rate credit card. Then considering all the additional costs to come I realized I was in over my head. Also my bank refused to help. I’m not bashing the course or FBA but I do believe that this is a real and viable opportunity, but if you don’t have the funds to enter this without sweating bullets then you should wait until you can more comfortably afford ALL the costs to come .

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