The widespread accessibility of AI tools in e-commerce, particularly for dropshipping, has democratized basic store creation and product sourcing, rendering these AI-driven advantages obsolete and leading to market saturation and eroded customer trust. True success now lies in adopting a "middleman" strategy by building genuine brand infrastructure, focusing on direct sourcing and authentic customer content, which AI cannot replicate.
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If you're using AI to build your drop
shipping store right now, you're
basically guaranteeing you'll fail. And
I know that sounds backwards, right?
Because everyone's telling you AI is
this massive advantage. Use Tract 5D for
your copy. Use AI tools to find
products. Let AI build your store. But
here's what nobody's talking about. When
everyone has access to the same
advantage, it's not an advantage
anymore. Think about it. Right now,
there are thousands of people using the
exact same product research tools as
you. They're building stores with the
same templates. They're writing copy
with the same chat prompts. So, you end
up in this weird situation where the
easier it gets to start, the harder it
gets to actually succeed because you're
not competing with other entrepreneurs
anymore. You're competing with an army
of people who all look exactly like you.
Same [music] products, same stores, same
everything. Now, look, I'm not saying
don't use AI. That's not the point. What
I'm saying is that there's a completely
different way to think about this that
most people are missing. And the brands
that are actually making money right
now, they're doing something AI
literally cannot do. So, in this video,
I'm going to show you what that is and
how to actually build it. So, let's get
into it. So, first thing is pretty
obvious once you see it. AI made it so
easy to do the basics that now the
basics aren't enough anymore. Think
about it. Take product research tools
for instance. I use them constantly.
They're great. But the problem is that
everyone else has access to them as
well. So, everyone's seeing the same
trending products at the same time. Same
thing with store builders. You can
pretty much throw together a
professional looking store in less than
10 minutes right now. clean template,
good layout, everything works, but so
can everyone else. So now every store
kind of looks the same. Chipd can write
solid product descriptions. It can
generate ad angles. It can do all the
stuff pretty well actually. But again,
everyone's using it. So if you're
prompting it the same way everyone else
is, you're getting the same output. So
what happens? These tools used to be
real advantages. Like if you had access
to good product research tools a few
years ago, that was huge. That was
amazing. But now they're just table
stakes. everyone has access to the same
research methods. Everyone can build a
decent store. Everyone can generate
solid copy. Which means if that's all
you're doing, if you're just using these
tools and stopping there, you're
identical to your competition. And when
you're identical, the only thing left to
compete on is price. That's problem
number one. It's not that these tools
are bad. They're not. They're actually
really helpful. It's that they're not
enough anymore. Now, here's where it
gets worse. AI didn't just make everyone
look the same. It made it so easy to
start that everyone actually did start.
Like it used to take someone weeks to
build a decent looking store between
designing it, writing copy, getting
everything set up. It was an entire
process. [music]
Now you can go from zero to fully
functional store in less than like 20
minutes. And that sounds great until you
realize if it only takes 20 minutes for
you, it takes only 20 minutes for
thousands of other people as well. So
what used to be maybe a hundred people
testing a product over a few months is
now thousands of people launching that
same product in a single week. And I'm
not exaggerating. A product can go from
brand new opportunity to completely
saturated within a matter of weeks. And
when that happens, what do you think
happens to ad cost? They skyrocket
because now you got thousands of people
all bidding on the same audiences for
the same product. So your cost per
purchase goes up, your margins
disappear, and you're basically working
for free just to compete. That's problem
number two. But honestly, the third one
might be the biggest problem of them
all. And most people aren't even talking
about this yet. AI destroyed customer
trust. And here's what I mean. Right
now, the internet is flooded with AI
generated content, fake product reviews,
fake testimonials, AI influencers that
don't even exist promoting products.
There are literally tools right now that
will generate a fake UGC video of
someone using your product. The person
isn't real. The video isn't real, but it
looks real. And I proved anyone can do
it in this video right here. And with
tools like Sora coming out, you
literally can't [music] tell what's real
anymore. We're at the point where the
only way to know if something's AI
generated is checking for a soror
watermark. That's how we determine
reality now. And here's the crazy part.
That's only going to get worse. Like a
few years from now, it's going to be
completely impossible to tell the
difference between what's real and
what's AI generated. Which means
customers are only going to get more
skeptical from here on. So right now, if
someone lands on your store, they're
already looking for any sign that you're
just another generic drop shipping site.
If your product descriptions look like
they came from ChachiBT with the dashes
and you know so on, they're gone. If
your photos look ultra polished up
models with the product in their hand,
it just looks very perfect, they're
going to be gone. If anything feels
slightly off or generic, they're not
going to take the risk. And even if your
store is actually legit, you're paying
the price for everyone else flooding the
market with AI generated garbage. So
customers don't trust anyone anymore,
which means that they're less likely to
buy from a store they've never heard of.
And if they don't trust you, nothing
else matters. They're just going to
bounce. So AI made everyone identical,
flooded the market, and killed trust.
That is the bad news. Here's the good
news. If you understand what just
happened, you can actually use this
towards your advantage. Because while
everyone else is trying to be a
retailer, so finding products and then
flipping them, the real opportunity is
positioning yourself as a middleman. And
you can think about it. Amazon [music]
doesn't make products. Uber doesn't own
cars. Airbnb doesn't own properties.
They are all middlemen. They simply
connect supply and demand and they've
built billion-dollar businesses doing
it. So instead of competing with
thousands of other stores selling the
exact same product, you become the
connection between the manufacturers and
the customers. You control the
relationship on both sides. That is how
you build something that actually lasts
and compounds over time. And this shows
up in two specific places. First, how
you're sourcing products and fulfilling
orders. And that is what middlemen do.
They go direct to the source instead of
going through another middleman. Most
people are using AliExpress for
everything. And look, I get it. It's
easy. You know how it works. But here's
the problem. If you're sourcing from
AliExpress, you're getting these same
products, the same pricing, the same
slow shipping as everyone else. So, you
can't compete on selection. You can't
compete on price. You can't compete on
shipping. The only thing left is ad
spend. And if your margins are already
terrible, you can't afford to outbid
your competitors. Plus, your customers
are waiting 3 weeks for a generic
product in a white bag with Chinese
writing on it. They're never going to
come back. That's the trap. Whether
you're using AliExpress directly or some
fulfillment service that's basically
just marking up the same suppliers. Now,
here's what you need instead. Direct
access to Chinese domestic markets like
for example 1688 or Taba. These are the
China wholesale platforms meant for
Chinese buyers. So, the pricing is much
much better. And here's the thing, it's
basically all the listings that you see
on AliExpress. those sellers are buying
from 1688 or Tao and just selling it to
you for a markup because you're paying
extra for pretty much nothing.
AliExpress is just marking it up and
then reselling to you. So instead of
being the customer buying from a
middleman, you want to be the middleman
going direct to the source or at least
as close to the source as possible. And
we're talking anywhere from 30 to 40%
better pricing for the exact same
product. Better margins means that you
can outspend competitors and stay
profitable. Plus, you get access to
unique products. they literally can't
get. And when you scale, you can do
custom packaging, white label, all that
stuff that makes you look like a real
brand. That's where you build your MOAB.
Now, the thing is, most people don't
know how to access 1688 or Taoba because
everything's in Chinese. There's
currency conversions. There's a lot of
friction. You don't know what suppliers
are reliable. So, there's this platform
called Team Drop that I've been recently
using. It's absolutely amazing. And it's
completely free to start. They're not
going to charge you anything, and they
give you direct access to both
platforms. Now, what's really cool is
they assign you a dedicated agent. So,
an actual person that's managing your
account that you can contact over
WhatsApp right here. So, if you hover
over the WhatsApp button, you can get in
direct communication with your own
dedicated agent that is assigned to your
account. So, I can simply just say, "Hi,
my name's Andy. This is the product I
would like to sell." So on and so forth.
And if something goes wrong, for
example, a loss package, quality issue,
whatever it may be, your agent is going
to be there to handle any issues that
might arise. So, I've spoken a lot about
how important it is to have your own
private agent. The fact that we can have
an integrated into this platform is just
crazy. All right, let's just say, for
example, I wanted to sell this product
right here. So, I'm just going to use a
basic image. Search, drag and drop, and
then it's going to find listings that
are similar. So, we'll go into this one.
The best part about this platform are
the shipping lines. Let's just pick a
random color, 300 mil. And if we look at
the shipping lines, we can drop down
these shipping times from, you know,
normal 3 weeks to 5 to 8 days, which is
insane. So you have Uni Express, which
is one of the most reliable, the fastest
lines coming from China. And if you need
to get a package out to a customer
really quickly, you have the option to
do so. To get the product itself process
is anywhere from 1 to 3 days. And to get
it to the customer is 5 to 8 days. Total
shipping fee of $8.90. So yeah, you can
choose if you want to do uni express, if
you want it to be much faster, or you
can go with a cheaper line if you're
just trying to save on the cost, but
you're not locked into one option. So
this platform is basically like having
your own sourcing agent built in to this
website that's built into your store. So
it's way less friction. And as you
scale, your agent is going to be able to
help you with custom packaging,
connecting with potential manufacturers,
all that jazz. You're going to be
getting better pricing from day one,
multiple shipping options, and someone
actually helping you manage all this.
So, I'm going to drop a link to this
platform in the description for you guys
to sign up for free and get access to
all these benefits. I haven't seen too
many people talk about it because it's
entirely new platform to the space. Now,
really quickly, here is why all this
matters. So, when you've got better
margins, you can outbid competitors and
stay profitable. When you have unique
products, you're not competing with 50
other stores selling the same thing. And
here's where it gets extremely powerful
is that custom packaging once you're
doing consistent volume. I recommend
anywhere like 200 plus orders a month.
You can work with your agent to do basic
branding. So the agent that is attached
to your account, you can speak with her,
you know, add your logo on the box,
brand insert, so on and so forth.
Something that shows that this came from
an actual company. Another thing, Team
Drop, they don't uh send any products
with Chinese lettering or just make it
seem like it came from China. So you're
good on that end. Now, if you want to go
to the extra extent as you scale, you
can go the ultra premium option, meaning
that you go on the side, whether it's
Fiverr or whatever platform you use,
Upwork, and you hire a 3D designer to
create proper renders of your packaging.
So, for example, custom printed boxes,
aesthetic, unique packaging, the whole
experience, making it look professional
before you even produce it. Because when
people get a package that feels really
premium, what do they do? They post
about it. They film unboxing. They put
this entire story together and that kind
of content is absolute gold for us. Real
people showing your real product with
your real branding. It's not AI
generated garbage, real customers with
their real reactions to the unboxing. So
your competitors, they can't fake that.
They can copy your product. They can
steal your store design, whatever it may
be, but they can't manufacture authentic
customer content showing branded
packaging. At least right now, AI is not
that good. And here's the crazy part.
This stuff, it takes time to build.
Whether you're using a fulfillment
platform or going direct to
manufacturers, you're building
relationships, proving that you can move
volume, becoming someone suppliers
actually want to work with. Your
competitors, again, they can't copy
that. They have to start from scratch,
and that takes months. So, while
everyone else is stuck on AliExpress
with terrible margins and slow shipping,
you're already operating at a completely
different level. That's your MOA. And
that's exactly how middlemen build
defensible businesses. They control both
the supply and the customer
relationship. Now, look, I know some of
you are probably thinking, "Okay, I get
the concept. better suppliers, custom
packaging, all that makes sense. But
here's where most people get stuck
actually executing on all this. When I
was starting, I understood the strategy,
but when it came time to launch, I would
freeze up, second guess everything, or
I'd be running ads with no idea if the
numbers were good or if I was bleeding
money away. That's why I built my
mentorship program, my one-on-one
mentorship program. Me and my team
basically become your eyes on this. You
show us your product, we will tell you
if it's worth testing. You show us to
your store. We catch what's going to
hurt conversions before you spend a
single dollar. You're running your
campaigns. We're making the calls with
you in real time. We run it like it's
our own store because we only make money
if you make money. So, we're actually
incentivized to get you results. There
are currently spots open right now. And
if you are serious about this, you can
apply below. And the second place this
shows up is your content. Because
middlemen don't just sell products, they
build trust with both sides of the
transaction. So, with all the trust
gone, how do you actually prove you're
legit? It's not about having perfect
product photos or better descriptions.
It's about showing real people getting
real results with your actual product.
And the key word here is real. Because
when someone sees a person that they can
relate to, not some polished up
influencer, just a regular person
actually using your product and solving
their problem, that's when their guard
comes down. That's when they think,
"Okay, maybe this is legit." So, here's
how you can actually make this happen.
You need people creating content who
feel like they could be your customer's
friend, not someone reading a script,
someone who genuinely uses stuff like
this and talks about it the normal way
people do. This is why Tik Tok shop has
been doing so well. It's because it's
literally just normal people talking
about the product and giving an honest
opinion about it. Now, finding these
people is pretty straightforward. First
option is X. I'll go on there and I'll
search for people who are already doing
this for a living. So, for example,
let's just say that I'm in the fitness
niche or let's just say the yoga niche.
I'll literally just type in yoga UGC
creator into the search and what comes
up are people who are specifically
creating content for brands within
[music] this space. Now, the reason this
works better than just finding random
people with followers is these creators
already know how to make content that
converts. They understand the pacing.
They know how to hook attention. They've
done this before. So, you're not
teaching someone how to make content
from scratch. You're working with
someone who gets it. Second option is
Fiverr. You can just search up UGC
creator and you'll find tons of listings
with portfolios and uh the pricing up
front. So, honestly, this is a lot
easier if you're just starting out and
you want to see everything kind of laid
out on a platform. Either way, here's
what you're vetting for. Do they post
about your niche organically? So,
someone who genuinely cares about
fitness or yoga is way more valuable
than a generic creator will make content
about anything. So, check their
portfolio. Does their style feel natural
or does it feel too polished? If it
looks like every other ad, it won't
build trust. So, when I find [music]
someone whose vibe matches what I'm
looking for, I'll DM them and I'll be
very specific about what I actually saw.
Something like, "Hey, saw your content
for insert the brand. The way you broke
down can insert a specific thing. Felt
really natural. We've got a product I
think would fit your style." So, being
specific gets way more responsive. It
shows that you actually looked at the
work. Now, when it comes to working with
them, here's where most people mess up.
They send this five-page chache created
brief with the exact words to say,
specific shots, film, all this rigid
structure. And what happens, the content
comes back feeling stiff, overproduced,
and overall fake in my opinion. So, what
I do instead is give them the outcome,
not the script. So, I'll say something
like, "Show what it's like to use this
for the first time. Film the unboxing.
React naturally. That's it." And just
copy and paste that. I'm trusting them
to figure it out with their own voice.
That's literally what I'm paying them
for. Now, look, if you want these
prompts that I just went over and a
bunch more to just copy and paste when
reaching out, I put together a free
notion document for you guys to get
access to. So, I've got DM templates,
content briefs, and a simple tracker so
you don't lose track of who you
contacted through like a pipeline, and
I'll leave a link to that in the
description for you guys to easily
duplicate for yourself. Now, here's the
thing about cost. If you're going
through X, you're looking at anywhere
from $150 to $500 per video, depending
on their experience and portfolio
quality. On Fiverr, you're usually going
to find creators for cheaper, anywhere
from $100 to $200 per video. Either way
works. The main difference is Fiverr is
easier to browse and see pricing up
front. X usually gets you more niche
specific creators with more experience.
But here's what you're actually paying
for. You own the content. You run it as
ads. You post it on your page. You use
it on your product pages, whatever you
want. And if one video brings in 10
sales, it already paid for itself. So,
the mistake people make is thinking
that, oh, $200 for a video, that's way
too expensive, but they'll spend $200
testing random ad creatives that don't
convert. So, you're losing money anyway.
This is the same budget. You're just
spending it way smarter. And here's what
makes this really powerful. Once you
find two or three creators whose content
actually performs, you run it as ads and
it converts. You find more people with
that same energy and you're not guessing
anymore. You know what style works for
your audience. So, you just replicate it
with different faces, different angles,
same core messaging. And suddenly you
got this constant flow of authentic
content that doesn't feel like ads. And
you can look at a brand for example like
Circle. They basically sell flavored
water bottles. You can go to their Tik
Tok right now and you'll see hundreds of
different creators making content for
them. All different people, different
angles, same message. That's what this
looks like at Skill because successful
middlemen don't just connect supply and
demand. They build trust on both ends.
And that is what makes this model work.
And here's where that custom packaging
we talked about earlier comes back in.
When these creators unbox your product
and it's got your branding, your custom
packaging, that thank you card, they're
filming all of that. That content shows
you're a real brand and your competitors
can't recreate it because they don't
have your packaging or your creator
relationships. And even if they did post
about your packaging with your videos,
they'd just be promoting you. That's
when the trust starts building. That's
when people stop questioning if you're
legit because they keep seeing real
people, different people using your
product and talking about it naturally.
So, while everyone else is scrambling to
figure out what content works, you're
already three steps ahead. That's
advantage. So, look, most people are
going to keep doing what's easy, same
supplier, same generic approach, same
wondering why nothing works. But if you
actually get what we just covered today,
building real infrastructure that takes
time, you're in a completely different
ballgame. Better margins, unique
products, content people actually trust.
That's not something that you can just
copy. That's what lets you scale. So,
this was helpful. Drop a like. Comment
what you're working on. go through all
these comments and I try and help where
I can. Either way, I appreciate you guys
for watching. I will see you in the next one.
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