He Lost $52,000 Overnight ... Then Built It Back (Dropshipping Reality Check)

In episode 131 of The Side Hustle Experiment Podcast  John (https://www.instagram.com/sidehustleexperiment/ ) and Drew  (https://www.instagram.com/realdrewd/) sit down with Brandon (https://www.instagram.com/brandnpayton/) 

What happens when Shopify freezes your payouts during Chinese New Year, tariffs spike, and chargebacks hit—all at once? Brandon went from $100K/week run-rate to –$52,000 in a day, then rebuilt to multiple brands doing $10K–$20K/day. 

In this episode, we break down the exact funnel, ad strategy, supplier setup, and mindset that turned it around.

If you’re serious about dropshipping in 2025—this is your reality check and step-by-step playbook.

You’ll learn:
 ✅ High-ticket vs. branded dropshipping (and why he switched)
 ✅ Whitelisting + multi-channel scaling (TikTok Shop → Facebook → IG → Google)
 ✅ The only 3 metrics Brandon watches to scale: Amount Spent, ROAS, Cost per Purchase
 ✅ Supplier/agent basics, 5–8 day shipping from CN, when to use US 3PL
 ✅ Surviving payment processor holds, chargebacks, and stop-loss rules
 ✅ How to start with $100/day ad spend and know when to cut vs. double down

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Dropshipping Success
02:59 High Ticket vs Regular Dropshipping
05:44 Building Partnerships with Brands
08:28 Transitioning to Regular Dropshipping
11:26 Scaling Challenges and Setbacks
14:07 Current Operations and Brand Development
16:55 Understanding Margins and Cash Flow
19:49 Supplier Relationships and Shipping Logistics
22:51 Innovative Marketing Strategies
25:37 The Sales Process Explained
28:22 Using AI in Marketing and Content Creation
37:06 Innovative Product Seeding Strategies
42:40 Overcoming Common Marketing Challenges
48:59 The Importance of Data-Driven Decisions
53:28 Learning from Experience: The Pressure Washing Journey
01:07:19 Final Thoughts and Resources

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Check out Drew's Stuff
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realdrewd
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrewFBA

Check out John's Stuff
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sidehustleexperiment/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SideHustleExp 

FREE Resources
FREE Guide: How to Make Money Reviewing Products https://bit.ly/3HIGFSP