Emma promised to make her clients dropshipping moguls. Now, the ‘Amazon queen’ has gone quiet after facing serious complaints – and she’s just made a shocking revelation

A dropshipping mentor who made big promises to aspiring businesswomen has broken her silence after customers complained about underwhelming returns and long waits for refunds.

Emma Cunningham, from Melbourne, built several seven-figure businesses on Amazon through dropshipping – the practice of selling products without ever touching the inventory.

She previously revealed to the Daily Mail that she was drawn to the e-commerce space at the age of 24 after becoming tired of ‘climbing the corporate ladder’.

Three years ago, when I wrote a glowing profile of Cunningham, she told me she had made $4million within three years, and predicted she would earn another $2million in the following financial year.

This success led to her launching My Amazon Empire at the start of 2022.

Her online educational consulting agency promised to help anyone interested in owning and operating an Amazon business modelled after hers.

I even took one of her courses, and while I didn’t make much money, I still considered the so-called ‘Amazon queen’ to be a young success story.

However, recently I have been approached by dissatisfied clients who say they paid up to $10,000 for one of Cunningham’s three-month courses – or ‘challenges’, as she calls them – but didn’t make the money promised, nor have they received refunds.

Three clients allege they paid for her course and were told there was a ‘money back guarantee’ if they did not make $20,000 upon completion.

They claim their dropshipping businesses did not see those lofty returns and, later, they did not receive refunds from Cunningham, as per the earlier agreement.

When I contacted Cunningham for comment on this story, she said the refunds had been delayed but were issued on Friday, August 1. At the time of publication, the three clients I spoke to said the money hadn’t yet hit their bank accounts.

Another woman, who worked for Cunningham, claims she was not paid by her between January and May 2025, and is owed $11,121. (Cunningham says this payment will be resolved once the clients’ refunds are settled.)

Cunningham, who now lives in Dubai, has been uncharacteristically quiet on Instagram so far this year.

The website for My Amazon Empire appears to have been deleted.

In a rather shocking twist to the tale, Cunningham told me the delays and setbacks were caused by an unspecified personal catastrophe.

‘I unfortunately had a major personal matter happen,’ she said.

The matter was ‘out of my control’ and had resulted in ‘setbacks’, Cunningham went on to explain. She did not disclose any further details.

Chloe*, 40, signed up to the course in January this year and paid $2,500 per month for three months. 

‘I thought [the course] was a good opportunity to make some money and learn a new skill. It just sounded so promising,’ she told me. 

Before committing, she asked Cunningham several questions, including about the money-back guarantee. 

‘If you don’t reach $20,000 turnover from the challenge, I will refund you the $2500 x 3,’ Cunningham wrote in an email.

Cunningham also spoke at length about this policy on her Instagram page, which has also since been taken down.  

The course mainly comprised video tutorials on how dropshipping works, setting up a Shopify website, selecting ‘winning’ products from a detailed spreadsheet, and using social media adverts to promote the store.

‘I chose four to five products in a specific niche but my website never went live. We never made any money,’ Chloe said.

‘The communication was slow throughout. I’d send an email or Slack message and it would take three or four days to get a response. I felt like I was the problem.’   

After finishing the course in March, Chloe continued to send emails and Slack messages to Cunningham asking about a refund. 

It wasn’t until July that she finally heard back. Cunningham told Chloe she had refunded her $5,000, but four weeks on, she says she still hasn’t received the funds. 

‘I just want my money back and to forget about this so I can move on,’ she says. 

Amanda* completed the same course and claims she only made a few hundred dollars from her online business. 

She told me she had been following Cunningham on Instagram for several years before deciding to sign up.

‘When she posted online about a new dropshipping course in January with a guaranteed return of $20,000 once completed, I thought I couldn’t lose,’ she said. 

The 39-year-old signed up, paying the $7,500 fee. 

She also spent $1,500 on Facebook ads to promote her Shopify store and spent hours on the side hustle alongside her full-time job. 

Like Chloe, Amanda claims that communication with Cunningham was initially slow before ceasing altogether.

‘In the third month, I was kicked out of the Slack group, lost access to all the content that was shared, and she was taking ages to respond over email,’ she says. 

Cunningham disputes that her communication was poor, saying: ‘I’m unsure why these ladies would continue to pay thousands if the communication was so poor from the beginning.’

Amanda followed up with Cunningham again on June 11, then again a week later on June 18. 

On July 1 she finally received a response. 

‘She apologised and said she’d been dealing with a lot of personal issues. She promised to organise the refund in the next billing cycle – I’m still waiting,’ said Amanda.

After following up once more, Amanda was finally told the refund had been issued on July 29 but received no receipt. At the time of publication, she still has not received the money.

‘I borrowed money from my grandma for this and she thinks I’ve started this amazing online business. I still haven’t told my family I lost the money.’

Lauren was in the same boat as Chloe and Amanda after completing the three-month course, but after enormous perseverance, she managed to get her money back. 

‘I had to be persistent. It took weeks of back and forth, compiling screenshots, emails and timelines to clearly show what was and wasn’t delivered,’ she said.

‘I had to be thorough, organised, and patient –  but it was worth it. As of Monday, July 28, I received $6,259.48, which is roughly 84 per cent of the full amount I paid.’

Lauren says the money was not ‘voluntarily’ refunded – only paid back to her after she opened a formal dispute case.

‘I’m not expecting any further refunds. I accepted the 84 per cent as a fair outcome.’ 

Jessica* worked for Cunningham for four months and claims to have done more than 100 hours of unpaid work.

‘The first two invoices were paid by Emma, although very late, and the last two months of invoices are outstanding,’ Jessica told me. 

In an email to us, Cunningham acknowledged that Jessica was yet to be paid, but said she intended to resolve this. She didn’t provide a timeframe for this and, at the time of publication, Jessica has not received any money or updates. 

*Name has been changed