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A brand should consider hiring an Amazon agency when the channel’s complexity outgrows internal capacity: growth has stalled, profitability is eroding, unauthorized sellers are out of control, or no one internally owns Amazon end to end. If none of those apply, staying in-house is often the right call.

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Signals It’s Time

  • Stalled growth - revenue is flat while weaker competitors gain share in your niche
  • Eroding margin - channel profitability has slipped to low single digits and no one can explain exactly why
  • Unauthorized seller chaos - your Buy Box is being hijacked and MAP violations are angering retail partners (what to do)
  • No internal owner - Amazon is a part-time responsibility split across people who also do other jobs
  • Rising complexity - fees, ad types, and policies change constantly and keeping up is a full-time job in itself

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When to Stay In-House

  • You have a dedicated, experienced Amazon operator (or team) with capacity
  • Your catalog is small and stable and the channel is already profitable
  • You mainly need execution bandwidth, not strategy - contractors may suffice
For a fuller breakdown, see Agency vs. In-House.

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What to Look For in an Agency

  • Aligned incentives - compensation tied to your profit, not your ad spend or revenue
  • No lock-in - confidence enough to let you leave any time
  • In-house delivery - who actually touches your account matters
  • Senior involvement - are the people who sold you still involved after signing?
These criteria are, not coincidentally, how OBG is built - see OBG vs. a typical agency. A low-risk first step either way: run the DIY audit checklist or get a free professional OBG360 Audit.