Don’t we all just have this intense desire to become entrepreneurs? With all the innovations happening these days, becoming one is considerably more accessible than ten years ago.
According to the grapevine, you can instantly establish your business online in just a few clicks here and there, and perhaps this is the very reason why you landed on this page.
You probably wonder whether Shopify is a scam or indeed a legitimate, rewarding opportunity that genuinely offers the highest of highs.
When was the last time you bought something on Amazon? Was it last week? Last month perhaps? Maybe even today?
Well, no matter when, there’s no doubt that online marketplaces are one of the most frequently visited sites throughout the world.
Not only do they promote convenience, but they’ve proven to be much safer than malls and shopping side by side with strangers, especially during these times of the pandemic.
Ever since this horseshit outbreak started, many people began to consider setting up online businesses to sell various products of theirs.
From a rough estimate, I think that nearly one-third of my Facebook friends have become fully-fledged business owners, and what’s nuts about it is that most of them managed to become insanely profitable. 💰
You could say that majority of them are better than the usual, but some, like my close friend Nathaniell, are comfortably earning five figures during the winter holiday season alone.
As it happens, he earned around $12.000 in just a few short months two years ago, and I highly suggest you read his story to understand better how he mapped out his days, weeks, and months to achieve his yearly goals more quickly.
You honestly don’t have to be a genius to figure out that you can achieve riches in just a few months if you can get to that amount.
Want to know the reason behind Nathanniels success this year? 😊
Well, because of the face-to-face restrictions and frequent lockdowns, consumers are finding themselves with so much time on their hands that they become easily bored of social media and therefore start scrolling through online shopping sites more.
It could be that this is why digital marketplaces are experiencing a surge in business transactions. And here’s the reality about this: this trend may still be in effect in the years to come.
And if you happen to be one of those online dwellers, I bet that pursuing this opportunity has crossed your mind, at least in the past few months.
It’s good fortune that the options for running a sustainable online store have increased drastically over the past couple of years.
Nowadays, you can effortlessly sell on the Facebook marketplace or start an Instagram shop. At the same time, if you’re seriously looking to take part in the big leagues, then signing up for an e-commerce platform like Shopify might just be the best choice for someone like yourself.
Are you keen on finding more about this platform and how you can make money out of it? If so, please take your time and read through my updated Shopify review to get the most comprehensive explanations.
Additionally, I also included my most recommended earning online from Shopify in the last part of this article. If that sits well with you, then let’s get you grounded on the basics!
Oh, and I nearly forgot. Before I continue with my blabbering, let me just state that I am not getting paid nor sponsored in any way to publish this post and share my views on this platform.
I am saying this now so that you can have peace of mind while reading my honest review of today’s company.
What is Shopify all about?
Have you ever heard of Kylie Cosmetics or Tesla? How about Partake Foods or Hiut Denim? The one thing that all of these have in common is that they are all created on Shopify.
Generally, Shopify stands as a modern solution by which anyone can make their own store and streamline every intimidating area of business management in a single platform.
It can help you do the following:
- Set up your store using ready-made themes
- Set up your store using your integrated themes
- Set up a shopping cart with ease
- Create and manage product listings and stocks
- Accept online payment options
- Auto-calculate total purchase and tax
- Track and analyze orders
- Offer discounts, coupons, and trigger site-wide sales
- Optimize store with various features
What makes it different from Amazon? 💭
To put it simply – if you set up a shop on Amazon, it’s like you’re renting a stall in a famous district or a local mall. This means that you do not need to drive people towards it; you just wait till someone buys off you.
On the other hand, if you work with Shopify, it’s like you’re renting a professional business place, and particular customers will be the ones looking for your specific shop.
As you probably know, Amazon has over 150 million unique visitors and prides itself with an astonishing number of signed-up accounts worldwide. But for Shopify’s case, it doesn’t have an existing audience.
So, technically, this e-commerce platform is here to help you sell products by allowing you to establish your OWN site.
The benefit here is that you can take advantage of some powerful and flexible e-commerce tools to assist your brand in achieving recognition by itself.
Through this, you won’t need to piggyback on the name of Amazon, and you can simply promote and style your site on its own.
For the disadvantage, I believe the major one here is the idea that you alone should be responsible for driving traffic to your site, meaning that you have to know a thing or two about SEO and digital marketing. 🧠
Since marketing is not something that you’ll instantly be good at overnight, additional expenses are usually expected because shop owners typically hire freelancers to get the job done.
Let me just clarify one thing – Shopify is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Establishing your store on this platform will undoubtedly take some time, effort, perseverance, and of course, a bit of investing.
So, please, don’t waste your time believing anyone promising you that you can start this line of business for free (maybe “free” during the trial period) because, in reality, Shopify is a subscription-based service.
Is Shopify a Scam?
Shopify is not a scam, and it’s, in fact, used by over 500k businesses, including some of the biggest international brands.
Aside from that, this 2009-born platform is also known for being a blue-chip, as reflected by its unique historical stock experience, where it dramatically increased in price in the last five years.
BBB accredits it since 2012, and it boasts a resounding A+ rating. ⭐
Additionally, it has a Trustpilot page, but it seems to me that the 1.5 rating is not really about the company’s service but more about the websites’ poor service.
You see, that’s the deal with Shopify – their name is usually dragged down not because of how it operates but because of the shops using their service.
How to Make Money with Shopify?
Maybe you already have a business homepage or a social media account that you seamlessly wish to transition into your Shopify site.
But, on the other hand, perhaps you are just checking out if it’s possible to make money here.
Whatever your reason may be, I’d like to congratulate you for doing your research on this, and at the same time, reassure you that you’re making the right move.
I mean, the intensive publicity is there, and even freelance jobs are revolving around this matter, so before you take a bite on any of those, feel free to read my honest opinion on the top few legitimate ways to profit from Shopify.
Dropshipping
Aside from the fact that it’s easily understood and not that big-of-a-capital is expected out of you, dropshipping continues to be one of the most profitable ways to make a living online that many aspiring entrepreneurs and freelancers are trying to learn.
This sudden increase in popularity can be reflected by the number of free Youtube tutorials and crash courses related to this topic.
Have you ever read my review on Fred Lam? If you have, then I sure bet that you have read my overview on how successful and complicated the dropshipping business actually is.
What sets this model apart from others on our list is that it focuses on retail fulfillment where the owner is not expected to handle the logistics and the product stock itself.
In other words, you’re selling a product without even laying eyes on it. 🪄
As a dropshipper, you are mainly expected to become the seller of a specific product. Once someone purchases through you, that is the only time that your supplier will manufacture the order, prepare it, and send it directly to the client’s shipping address.
So, basically, your job is done once someone buys off you.
Selling Digital Products
Want something flexible with no shipping costs? Digital products are one of the easiest things to market today.
Now that we are moving into a more technologically connected era, users are demanding appealing and functional digital consumables. If you go to Etsy, you will see that the top-performing items to sell are:
- Digital assets (that are on formats like .png and vectors)
- Stock photos, video backgrounds, music
- Invitation and resume templates
- E-courses and eBooks
Most of these may sound easy to sell, but you must also consider how good you are at creating any of them.
Of course, we always want to offer value for money, which is why you should consider hiring a freelancer if you’re not entirely confident about creating your digital asset but still keen on selling one.
From this perspective, your only costs will be on the graphic design and the Shopify subscription.
Start a Print On Demand Business
Are you interested in something similar to dropshipping but in the area of printing? Then, POD is the perfect business model for you.
Have you ever heard of Tee Launch and T-Pop? These services can help you establish your clothing line without investing in considerable stocks to print out your design.
Back in the day, opening a shop like this would require you to have a minimum of a hundred printed items per product. Still, nowadays, by signing up with a print-on-demand company, you’ll be able to sell your designs no matter how many orders your customer may want.
All you have to do is create your site with Shopify and connect with a print-on-demand platform of your choice. 👕✅
This print-on-demand will be the one who will handle the printing of your design (on any possible surface that your client wants) and shipping of the product.
Some print-on-demand’s can also provide additional services like refining your design to even creating marketing paraphernalia.
Establish an E-commerce Store
Of course, this one is the most straightforward business model that Shopify lets you create. Here, you are the boss of your company, where you will manage your site, handle the delivery, and provide the product.
The significant drawback here is that you have to think of your stocks every time someone purchases from you.
I’m trying to say that can you provide 100 orders of a particular product and have it sent right away. The answer here lies with you alone. If you are seriously considering this, you must take note of the following:
- You must fulfill orders while being on call 24/7
- You must have enough products for sudden bulk orders
- You must pack each item appropriately
- You must deliver each order to your customer immediately
Trust me; point number two is probably one that you should watch out for the most as no one will buy from you if your store always has an “out of stock” label.
But once you have everything set up, the good thing about this type of business is that you’ll have the profit all to yourself- no need to pay some third-party supplier or anyone at all.
Become An Affiliate
Let’s say you want a business, but you do not like managing products, hiring people, or even stressing over the logistics. In that case, I suppose affiliate marketing might be your match made in heaven.
This business model allows you to recommend and promote products through special links under your name. Once someone buys off your unique link, you will get a commission for every purchase.
So, you don’t need a product, a shop, nor a Shopify page. ❌
Here, you earn through your audience. If you consider yourself an influencer on any platform, you can take advantage of this and make a decent amount of cash. Sounds great, right?
To get started, you must meet the criteria first:
- Show proof of audience count and engagement.
- Run your website (just like the one you’re on now!)
- Have original content on that site.
- No plagiarized articles or re-postings of viral content!
- You must agree with the Shopify Partner Program terms.
How I Make a Living Online
So, which of the ways are you most interested in trying out? 🙂
If I were in your shoes, the first thing I would do is determine my budget, see how much time I’ve got on my hands, and finally set realistic goals and expectations of how much money I want to earn.
I believe now would be the perfect time to share the story of how I make a living online and let you decide whether you want to follow in my footsteps or pursue a different opportunity or perhaps even some of the alternatives mentioned above.
To better grasp the entire process of how I earn money online, I highly recommend that you read through my money guide, as it explains everything there is to know about my business line.
I speak about what got me into this, a few of the challenges I faced along the way, and lastly, offer several great tips like how to get started with less than two bucks a day and some ways to speed up your success.
So, to summarize it in a few words, what I do is called affiliate marketing, and as an affiliate, my job is to promote and sell other peoples products and services.
In exchange, I get compensated with hefty commissions that most often than not, surpass the %40 marks, but the cherry on the cake is that nearly all of them are recurring ones.
Shopify may not be a scam, but I firmly believe that my method of making money online comfortably outperforms any of the Shopify-related ones. 💯
Compared to some of the ways you can make money on Shopify, affiliate marketing is effortless to get started with, has unseen low start-up costs (all you need is a blog), and most importantly, doesn’t require you to provide any customer support at all.
Your main concern is to learn how to drive traffic and get as many eyes on the product you’re promoting – precisely what I’ll be teaching you if you decide to give AM a chance.
As I end this article, I hope that I was able to give you the most honest review about Shopify and answer whether it is a total scam or a legitimate opportunity worthy of your time and effort.
If you enjoyed this article, I would highly appreciate it if you can show me some love by sharing this on some of the social media platforms you are using.
Last of all, if you do happen to have some products or services in mind that you want to be reviewed and featured in my future posts, feel free to drop the name below, and I’ll investigate them straight away.
All the best, and hopefully, talk to you soon. 👋
Hello Gorjan,
Thank you for sharing this article about if Shopify is a scam or a legit opportunity to earn money online. I really like how you presented and outlined the different directions to go in your online business with Shopify, and I learned a lot.
I think I will go with affiliate marketing.
The combination of not thinking about stocks, products, hiring employees, etc. but creating a website and influencing others, and getting commissions are things I can do with passion.
Thank you!
I hope I was able to help, Lemuel.
I’ve been involved in affiliate marketing for years now, and I can comfortably say it’s one of the best ways to get started online. I hope you have a good run, and if you happen to need any help, you know where to find me.
Haha, I have to agree about the ‘horseshit’ outbreak….. outbreak? Where? I haven’t seen one person sick in a year and a half, but I am now enduring my third lockdown!
Anyway, I checked out your article to see if Shopify is an excellent place to sell a book that I have written in digital format.
The return received from Amazon is so low that it is hardly worth using them. However, after reading your article, I now think that Shopify is possibly not the best option at the moment.
It would be too expensive to set up the website to sell just one item unless I could sell heaps of them. What do you think?
Cheers
Just because you didn’t get sick doesn’t mean no one did. I was seriously ill and wish nothing but good health and happiness to anyone who didn’t catch the virus.
You said it yourself. If you can sell heaps of them, it’s most certainly worth it.
If it’s only one product and not an entire store, I would look into Clickfunnels or any other similar funnel builder as an alternative.
You’ll likely have a much better return on investment and more clickthroughs/buys guaranteed.
The most important aspect of selling online is finding something that people will want and at the right price, which is why most people probably fail.
It’s not something that should be taken lightly and requires a pretty good understanding before you even consider this. That’s why finding the right training course/ platform is essential for success moving forward.
I remember not too long ago seeing the advertising campaigns all over the place for Shopify, not so much nowadays, and I can see why with around 90% negative feedback on review sites like TrustPilot.
If support isn’t there at the end of the day, it should be a non-starter, but maybe most people just don’t look into this and only find this out when it’s too late.
I see Etsy seems to be the place to use, but I’m not too familiar with this model, so I can’t really comment.
I suppose the rival to Shopify would be Amazon (FBA), but at the end of the day, you have to find a source where they can manufacture the product cheap enough for you to make a big enough profit.
China seems to be the place when you talk about language barriers, shipping costs, and lead times.
You have to ask the question, with literally millions of products sold on Amazon, why not just use Amazon as the POS.
All you have to do is get the customer connected to Amazon, and the beauty of that is once they are on Amazon through your link, anything they purchase within 24 hours you would make a commission on.
Sounds great to me, what do you think?
Thank you for sharing
Hey, Mick.
First and foremost, I appreciate you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. Secondly, know that I agree entirely when it comes to finding the right course.
People tend to fall for the first one they see as it’s usually a course jam-packed with many promises. (many of whom aren’t true)
As for using Amazon as a point of sale system, I couldn’t agree more. All you’re left with is to focus on driving relevant traffic to Amazon and let them do all the selling for you.
I like the way you’re thinking.