Ask five Amazon agencies for a quote and you will get five different numbers, often far apart. That does not mean four of them are wrong. Agencies price differently, include different work and assign different people to your account. Comparing quotes only works when you understand what is behind each number.
The four common pricing models
| Model | How it works | Works well when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed monthly fee | One price for an agreed scope | You want predictable costs | Scope creep: what happens when you need more |
| Percentage of sales | A share of the sales the agency manages | Sales are small but expected to grow | Cost rising faster than the work; which sales count |
| Percentage of ad spend | A share of the advertising budget, for ad management | Advertising is the main service | An incentive to raise spend rather than profit |
| Hybrid | A lower fixed fee plus a smaller percentage | Both stability and shared upside matter | Complexity: model it at several sales levels |
Project work, such as account setup, a catalog rebuild or a set of new images, is usually quoted separately at a fixed price.
What drives the price
- Number of marketplaces. Each extra store adds listings, stock, compliance and reporting.
- Catalog size. Ten products and a thousand products are different jobs.
- Advertising budget. Larger budgets need more campaigns, more analysis and more frequent changes.
- Creative work. Images, video, A+ Content and Brand Store design take specialist time.
- Reporting and contact. A weekly call and custom dashboards cost more than a monthly summary.
- Who works on your account. Senior specialists cost more than generalists managing many accounts each.
What is often not included
Read the scope as carefully as the price. These are the items most often priced separately:
- Advertising spend itself, which is paid to Amazon, not to the agency
- Product photography, video and A+ Content design
- Launching a new marketplace or a new product line
- Translation and localization for European stores
- Account reinstatement work after a suspension
- Software subscriptions the agency uses on your behalf
How to work out what an agency is worth to you
A simple test: compare the fee with the extra profit you can reasonably expect, not with the extra sales. Here is an illustration with made-up numbers, only to show the method:
- A brand sells 50,000 a month on Amazon with a profit margin of 20% after fees and advertising, so it earns 10,000.
- An agency quotes 3,000 a month.
- To pay for itself, the agency must add at least 3,000 profit a month: for example by growing sales by 15,000 at the same margin, by cutting wasted ad spend, or by recovering reimbursements and avoiding stock-outs.
- If the plan the agency presents does not plausibly reach that, the price is too high for this brand today, whatever the agency’s quality.
Do not forget the cost you remove: the hours you or your team spend in Seller Central today, and mistakes that a specialist would avoid.
Questions to ask about any quote
- Exactly which tasks are included, and how often are they done?
- Who will work on our account, and how many other accounts do they manage?
- What counts as extra work, and how is it priced?
- What is the notice period, and is there a setup fee?
- For percentage models: which sales count, and is there a cap?
For the full list, see our 12 questions to ask an Amazon agency. If you are still deciding whether to hire an agency at all, read agency, in-house team or freelancers. Our own approach is explained on our pricing page: every engagement starts with a free audit and a written quote.