Sebastian Ghiorghiu’s story hits every note the algorithm loves. Taco Bell employee making $8.25 an hour. First dropshipping store earns nearly $1,000 in 14 hours. Fast-forward a few years and he’s building a $3 million house and claiming a net worth somewhere between $6 and $8 million.
It’s the kind of trajectory that makes you either inspired or suspicious — maybe a little of both.
With close to 900,000 YouTube subscribers and multiple courses under his belt, Sebastian has positioned himself as one of the go-to voices in the dropshipping space. But the courses he’s sold over the years have had mixed receptions, and his income sources tell a more nuanced story than the thumbnails suggest.
I’ve spent 15+ years reviewing online business programs, and dropshipping gurus are some of the most common — and most overhyped — players in this space. In this review, I’ll break down Sebastian’s background, his courses, where his money actually comes from, and whether any of it is worth your time and investment.
Before We Start…
After more than 15 years testing every way to make money online, I’ve narrowed it down to one model that consistently works. It’s simple, scalable, and beginner-friendly.
If I had to start all over again today, this is exactly what I’d do.
Go here to see the exact system I use to do this
Who Is Sebastian Ghiorghiu?
Sebastian is a 25-year-old entrepreneur from a low-income household who broke into online business through car flipping before discovering dropshipping around 2018. His first Shopify store reportedly generated $991 in its first 14 hours — a result he used to launch his YouTube career.
From there, he built his channel into one of the larger dropshipping-focused YouTube accounts, covering Shopify strategies, product research, TikTok ads, and general ecommerce advice. He’s also founded a Google Ads marketing agency, invested in real estate, and released multiple paid and free courses.
The quick timeline of his products:
Dropshipping Crash Course — His earliest paid course, now discontinued. Basic introductory content on building Shopify stores.
EcomAlphas ($797) — A more comprehensive course created in collaboration with Matthew Bolis, covering everything from product research to Instagram marketing. This was his main paid offering for a couple of years but is no longer accepting enrollments.
Discover TikTok Dropshipping (Free) — A newer course created with Sebastian Esqueda, teaching dropshipping with TikTok ads. It’s free but requires signing up for a Shopify account to access — essentially a lead generator for Shopify’s affiliate program.
Shopify Olympics — A $100,000 dropshipping contest where participants compete to generate the most revenue. More of a promotional event than a course.
The pattern here is important: Sebastian moves from product to product, updating his approach as trends shift. That’s either smart adaptation or a sign that each product has a limited shelf life before the hype fades.
The EcomAlphas Course — What Was Inside
Since EcomAlphas was Sebastian’s flagship paid product and the one most people search for, it’s worth examining in detail even though it’s no longer sold.
The course was split across 10 modules released weekly — meaning even if you blazed through the content in a day, you had to wait a week for the next module. That frustrated many students who wanted to move faster.
Week 1 — Introduction & Mindset: Sebastian and Matthew Bolis introduce themselves. Light on actionable content. Mostly motivation and expectations.
Week 2 — Product Research: Eight videos covering how to find products using Facebook, Twitter, AliExpress, and spy tools. Solid but not unique — this information is available across dozens of free YouTube channels.
Week 3 — Facebook Ads: Ad creation basics, dos and don’ts. Functional but surface-level.
Week 4 — Shopify Store Setup: Themes, apps, product pages, logos. Standard material.
Week 5 — Instagram Marketing: Run by Matthew Bolis. This is where things get questionable — one lesson teaches how to get 10,000 fake followers for $10. Instagram has been actively cracking down on fake engagement since 2019, making this strategy not just ineffective but potentially account-destroying.
Weeks 6-10: Advanced ads, scaling, automation, email marketing, and a final mindset module.
For $797, the content was decent but not groundbreaking. Multiple independent reviewers noted that much of it could be found elsewhere for free, and the weekly drip schedule felt artificially slow.
Where Does Sebastian’s Money Actually Come From?
This is the question that matters most when evaluating any guru, and Sebastian’s income breakdown tells an interesting story.
YouTube ad revenue is a significant income stream. With nearly 900K subscribers and consistent uploads, his channel likely generates substantial AdSense revenue — estimates range from $15,000 to $40,000+ per month depending on views and CPM.
Course sales from EcomAlphas and the Dropshipping Crash Course generated millions collectively. He’s never publicly disclosed exact figures, but at $797 per enrollment with hundreds of students, the math is substantial.
Google Ads agency — Sebastian founded a marketing agency in 2021 focused on Google Ads for ecommerce businesses. This appears to be a legitimate service business.
Real estate — He built a $3 million custom home, indicating significant wealth. However, real estate is an investment, not an income stream in the traditional sense.
Affiliate commissions — The free TikTok Dropshipping course requires Shopify signup, which likely generates affiliate commissions for every new account created.
Actual dropshipping revenue is harder to verify. Sebastian has shown $36,000 revenue days and other impressive screenshots, but revenue is not profit. In dropshipping, margins are typically 15-30%, and that’s before ad spend, returns, and chargebacks. A $36,000 revenue day might yield $5,000-10,000 in profit — or even less if ad costs were high.
The honest picture: Sebastian makes money from dropshipping, but the bulk of his wealth likely comes from teaching dropshipping — a pattern I’ve observed across nearly every dropshipping guru I’ve reviewed, including Mike Vestil and in the broader ecommerce education space.
Discover TikTok Dropshipping — The Free Course
Sebastian’s current main offering is free, which immediately changes the risk calculation. Created with Sebastian Esqueda, it contains 36 lessons covering product research, store setup, TikTok ad strategies, and mindset content.
The good: It’s free. The content is beginner-friendly and covers the basics of launching a TikTok-focused dropshipping store. If you’ve never sold anything online, it gives you a starting framework.
The catch: You must sign up for a Shopify account to access it. Shopify’s free trial is limited, and once it ends, you’re paying $39/month minimum. This is essentially a Shopify affiliate play — Sebastian and Esqueda earn commissions when you create an account through their link.
The limitation: The content is basic. It covers what to do but not how to handle the inevitable challenges — customer complaints, payment processor holds, ad account bans, supplier issues, returns. These are the problems that actually determine whether a dropshipping business survives past month three.
The Dropshipping Reality in 2026
Sebastian built his success during a particular window — 2018-2021 was arguably the golden era of Shopify dropshipping, when competition was lower, ad costs were cheaper, and platforms like TikTok were still early enough to offer organic reach advantages.
In 2026, the landscape looks different:
Ad costs have risen substantially. Facebook, TikTok, and Google Ads are all more expensive than they were three years ago. The cost to test a product — which is the core activity in dropshipping — has increased dramatically.
Platform crackdowns continue. Payment processors, ad platforms, and Shopify itself have all tightened restrictions on dropshipping stores. Getting banned mid-campaign is a real risk that courses rarely address.
Customer expectations have risen. People expect fast shipping, easy returns, and responsive support. The old model of shipping from AliExpress with 2-3 week delivery times barely works anymore.
The 90% failure rate is real. Industry data consistently shows that roughly 9 out of 10 dropshipping businesses fail within their first three months. The courses don’t cause this — the business model’s structural challenges do.
Margins are compressed. Between rising ad costs, return rates, and the race to the bottom on pricing, the profit margins that made dropshipping attractive have narrowed for most products and niches.
None of this means dropshipping is dead. People still make money with it. But the gap between what gurus show on screen and what typical students experience has widened considerably. If you’re interested in the broader ecommerce conversation, I’ve also reviewed the proven Amazon course and AutoDS for different perspectives.
What Students Say About Sebastian Ghiorghiu
Reddit is the most honest source. Users generally respect Sebastian’s free content and acknowledge he’s a legitimate entrepreneur. But there’s consistent criticism that his paid courses (when they were available) didn’t offer enough value beyond what his free YouTube videos already covered.
Several Reddit threads point out the pattern common to dropshipping gurus: they make more money teaching dropshipping than doing it. That’s not unique to Sebastian, but it’s worth noting.
Independent review sites rate EcomAlphas as decent but overpriced. The weekly content drip, the Matthew Bolis fake followers lesson, and the lack of coverage on critical topics like customer service and refund management are consistent complaints.
Positive feedback tends to focus on Sebastian’s presentation style — he’s clear, organized, and doesn’t oversell within the course itself (even if his YouTube thumbnails do). People who are complete beginners seem to get the most value.
Sebastian Ghiorghiu vs. Other Dropshipping Gurus
| Feature | Sebastian Ghiorghiu | Jordan Welch | Biaheza |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube subscribers | ~900K | ~1.45M | ~1.4M |
| Current paid course | None active | AI Com Academy ($1,997) | YouTube course (varies) |
| Free training available | Yes (TikTok Dropshipping) | Limited | Some YouTube content |
| Main income source | YouTube + agency + affiliate | YouTube + courses + software | YouTube + courses |
| Transparency about earnings | Shows revenue, not profit | Shows revenue, not profit | Shows revenue, not profit |
| Reputation on Reddit | Generally positive, some skepticism | Mostly positive | Positive |
The common thread across all dropshipping gurus: they show revenue screenshots (which look impressive) but rarely discuss profit margins, ad spend, returns, or the actual net income from their stores. This makes every guru’s results look better than they are.
Is Sebastian Ghiorghiu a Scam?
No. He’s a legitimate entrepreneur who has built real businesses — YouTube, courses, an agency, and actual ecommerce stores. He’s not running a fly-by-night operation, and his free content has genuine educational value.
But there are important caveats. His paid courses, when active, were priced at a premium for content that wasn’t dramatically better than free alternatives. The income narrative centers on revenue rather than profit, which paints a rosier picture than reality. And like most people in this space, his biggest income stream is teaching the business model, not executing it.
If you’re exploring different online business models — not just dropshipping — I’ve covered a range of approaches in reviews of the digital leasing model, Ippei Kanehara’s lead generation system, and Sam Ovens’ Consulting.com.
The Real Cost of Starting a Dropshipping Business in 2026
Sebastian’s content makes dropshipping look like a low-cost, low-risk entry into entrepreneurship. And compared to opening a physical store, it is. But “low cost” doesn’t mean “no cost” — and the expenses add up faster than most beginners expect.
| Expense | Monthly Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify subscription | $39–$105 | Basic to Shopify plan |
| Domain name | $1–$2 | Annualized monthly cost |
| Product samples | $50–$200 | Testing quality before selling |
| TikTok/Facebook ad spend | $500–$3,000+ | Testing products requires budget |
| Video ad creation | $50–$300 | Per ad creative |
| Apps and tools | $50–$200 | Email marketing, upsells, analytics |
| Returns and refunds | Variable | Typically 5-15% of revenue |
| Payment processing | 2.9% + $0.30 | Per transaction |
Realistic startup budget for serious testing: $1,500–$5,000 in the first three months, assuming you’re testing 5-10 products.
The uncomfortable truth: Most of those products will fail. Industry data suggests that finding a “winning product” typically requires testing 10-20+ products, each requiring $100-$500 in ad spend before you can determine whether it’s viable. That’s $1,000-$10,000 in testing costs before you’ve made a sustainable profit.
Sebastian’s own success came from a combination of skill, timing, and volume — he was willing to test aggressively and absorb losses before finding winners. That approach works when you have capital and patience. It’s devastating when you don’t.
Who Should (and Shouldn’t) Try Dropshipping
This could work for you if:
- You have $3,000-$5,000 to invest that you can afford to lose entirely
- You’re comfortable with paid advertising and willing to learn ad platforms
- You have time to manage suppliers, customer service, and order fulfillment
- You understand that most products will fail and you’ll need to test relentlessly
- You can handle the emotional stress of losing money before finding a winning product
This probably isn’t for you if:
- You need income within the next 1-3 months
- Your starting budget is under $1,000
- You’re looking for a “set it and forget it” business
- You’re uncomfortable with the idea of losing money during the testing phase
- You want a business model with more predictable, recurring revenue
For people in the second group, service-based models like local lead generation, digital storefronts, or even social media management offer more predictable paths to income with lower upfront capital requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is EcomAlphas still available? No. The course is no longer accepting new students. Sebastian’s current free offering is Discover TikTok Dropshipping.
What is Sebastian Ghiorghiu’s net worth? He estimates $6-8 million, though this includes real estate and assets. The figure isn’t independently verified.
Can you still make money dropshipping in 2026? Yes, but it’s harder than the marketing suggests. Expect higher ad costs, longer testing phases, and tighter margins than even a few years ago.
Is Discover TikTok Dropshipping really free? The course content is free, but you need to sign up for Shopify to access it — which means you’ll be paying for a Shopify subscription once any trial expires.
Who is Matthew Bolis? Sebastian’s collaborator on EcomAlphas who ran the Instagram marketing modules. He claims expertise in influencer marketing but his own Instagram following is modest, and his advice on buying fake followers was widely criticized.
The Bottom Line
Sebastian Ghiorghiu is one of the more credible dropshipping YouTubers, and his free content is legitimately useful for beginners trying to understand the model. He’s not a scammer, and he’s built real businesses beyond just selling courses.
But the dropshipping model itself — not Sebastian specifically — faces structural headwinds that make 2026 a tough year to jump in. Rising ad costs, compressed margins, platform restrictions, and brutal competition mean the barrier to profitability is higher than ever.
If you’re attracted to the idea of building a real online business but don’t want to bet thousands on product testing, ad spend, and platform algorithms, there are simpler models with more predictable outcomes.
After 15+ years of testing, the system I use doesn’t depend on finding viral products, managing Shopify stores, or praying to the TikTok algorithm. It generates consistent, recurring revenue — and it’s where I’d start if I were building from zero today.
Go here to see the exact system I use to do this
Mark is the founder of MarksInsights and has spent 15+ years testing online business programs and tools. He focuses on honest, experience-based reviews that help people avoid scams and find real, sustainable ways to make money online.