Below is my Proven Amazon Course Review:
Who is Behind the Proven Amazon Course?
Jim Cockrum | Proven Amazon Course
The Proven Amazon Course was created by Jim Cockrum, who probably doesn’t need an introduction. He is quietly considered one of the most trusted Internet Marketers in the business.
The signature product that put him on the map is the Silent Sales Machine, which he released back in 2002. While that may sound very dated considering how quickly the marketplace moves today, it’s updated frequently and is filled with fundamental business and marketing information required for anyone hoping to earn money online. He currently sells this for only $5.00, so it may be worth picking up if you don’t already have a copy.
He’s subsequently used the knowledge gained over the last decade to help literally thousands of people succeed online. I will admit he is the ONLY person who I have personally invested thousands of dollars with for a coaching programs. I did this shortly after I purchased the Proven Amazon Course for myself.
What is the Proven Amazon Course?
The course was released in 2011 and, in a nutshell, is designed to teach you how to succeed at Selling on Amazon. It is intended to help people that don’t have any experience with Amazon at all, so it starts at a very basic level. However, it is fairly in-depth, so even experienced sellers can benefit from it.
The Proven Amazon Course covers a few different strategies for sourcing product, but I think the best way to give you a sense of what’s included is to just show you what you have access to when you purchase the course.
- FBA Course Audio Interview I: Cockrum, Wells, and McGrath with Transcript PDF
- Beginner FBA Seller Resources with Amazon Pricing PDF
- FBA Course Videos 1-7 by Suzanne Wells
- PDF: Amazon 90-Day Experiment
- PDF: Craigslist Ad for Books
- PDF: Tips for Cleaning Used Books
- PDF: Where to Find FBA Inventory
- PDF: 12 FBA Products You Can Source Locally
- PDF: Sales Rank Explained
- PDF: Using the A Seller Tool Scanner
- FBA Course Audio Interview II: Skip McGrath and Stephanie Inge
- Proven Amazon Course Videos 1-3 by Chris Green with Powerpoint files
- Suggested Additional Reading
- Two-month trial of ScanPower (formerly called “FBAPower”) and Suggested FBA Hardware
- PDF: The Change Coming to Bookselling and Scouting
- PDF: FBAScout vs. Other Scouts
- PDF: Live vs. Local Database
- PDF: Four Things Amazon Doesn’t Want You To Know
- PDF: Amazon – The Quick & Dirty Guide I
- PDF: Amazon – The Quick & Dirty Guide II
- PDF: Top 99 Sources
- PDF: How To Win The Buy Box *New Report From Skip McGrath*
- Link: Official Amazon Letter Regarding New Sellers
- Downloadable video files and Course Contents ZIP file
- Interviews with PAC students just like you. Hear what they think.
- Access to our Amazon Discussion Forum (ask questions, interact with experts and students here)
As you can see it’s pretty comprehensive, but you also get access to an Advanced Amazon FBA Retail Arbitrage Training Course with Amazon expert Chris Green. They claim to have sold this for $1,400 in the past, but I haven’t taken the time to verify this. I will say that it’s top-quality content, though.
Jim Cockrum has also recently stated that Proven Amazon Course is in the process of a big update.
Proven Amazon Course Review
So, the big question – is it worth it?
Since I was already fairly experienced with selling on Amazon, I found the course to be a little too basic for me, but I did get some great tips that made the purchase worthwhile. Additonally, I was impressed enough with the content that I opted to sign up for one of his advanced coaching programs which was more in line with my experience level. As I mentioned above, I’ve NEVER signed up for a coaching program with anyone else, let alone one that cost me several thousand dollars.
I really like having access to the forums even though many of the questions asked by members seem to be pretty basic. I get the impression that successful members are busy making money rather than frequenting the forums, but they do have resident experts to answer all questions. This makes it a great resource for beginners.
There’s not much else to add here – it’s a great quality course. While at first glance the price might sound a little high ($347), it still represents great value and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in getting started with selling on Amazon.
Hi Dax,
I am a new seller on Amazon and this is my first online selling experience but in the nearly 4 months my sales have surpassed 10k/month and it has shown that I am moving in the right direction. I was forced by the circumstances into purse what I always thought to be the right business for me. I had other mortar and brick business in the past but between successes and failures I was back at square 1 in a bad economy and a family to support. I need to grow this numbers. I am working on s other projects such as starting an online store. (Read your shopify X bigcommerce review). I am willing to invest in knowledge. Can you help with some recommendations?
Thanks
Hi Marc,
First of all, congratulations on your success! That’s great progress for a new seller. I’m happy to try and help, but I’m not fully clear on what type of recommendations you are looking for. Can you be more specific?
Hi Dax,
Thank you for the reply!
My average profit has been around 2k/ month, I already dedicate most of my work time to this business but need to bring this profit up to between 7 to 10k/ month to make it a full time business venture. I could go the trial and error route or expedite the process by learning from someone who has been successful at reaching this goal. One of the ideas is to build a website to take advantage of the Amazon / EBay traffic and that is what brought me to your blog regarding big commerce/ Shopify.
I am wondering if coaching with people like Cockrum is a good idea. He look good on paper but who doesn’t.
Thanks again
Marc
Marcos,
I don’t know what your Amazon business model is, so I can’t recommend whether or not to try coaching from Jim. I can give you better feedback of you can tell me a little more about your model, but based on what you’ve said so far, my guess is that Jim Cockrum’s teachings probably aren’t for you.
Building out an ecommerce store may be a good idea, but again, it’s hard to give advice without knowing more. I have a couple of ideas you could consider if you want to contact me privately.
Hello, do not understand why people provide testimonials for the product they just bought or never used by themselves.
Probably, it would be the better idea to write something after you bought, tried and, yes, make some real money. I mean REAL, not something to go and by ice-cream or one cup of coffee.
I understand these people are making commission, but they destroy the entire trust to any product online even if it is really good and can bring the results.
Otherwise, people do not try anybody knowing the entire Internet field
is full of these lies and recommendation from those ones who already paid money and want to return them back offering the rest of crowd to buy the same BS.
Not good!
Anatoly,
I’m not sure if you’re referring specifically to me with your comment, but I have purchased and reviewed the entire Proven Amazon Course. While I didn’t implement a lot of it because I was at a more advanced level, I was very honest about my experience. It’s not for everyone, but I do respect Jim Cockrum and think he put together an excellent course. I’ve chosen a different business model, but I do know people making real money with his approach. It’s only really viable as a long term model if you can systemize the process, but it’s a great low-risk way to get started with Amazon knowing that you WILL make money.
Dax