Amazon agency, freelancer or in-house team? How to choose account management

Where to start

Companies selling on Amazon, or planning to launch on Amazon.de, usually face the same question: who should run the account? The choice usually comes down to four models. None is best for everyone; each has a different price, different risks and a different level of control.

1. Amazon agency

An agency is a team in which the account is usually run by an account manager, backed by specialists in ads, content and design.

Pros:

• a wide range of services in one place (ads, listings, design, A+),
• cover during holidays and sick leave,
• processes and experience from many accounts.

Cons:

• the account is often run by a junior specialist, while the senior only appears in meetings,
• one manager handles many accounts, so reviews may happen weekly or less often,
• the highest cost, often with a minimum contract term.

Best for: large brands on many marketplaces with a budget for full service, including design and photography.

2. Freelancer

One person you deal with directly.

Pros:

• lower cost than an agency,
• direct communication with no intermediaries,
• flexible scope.

Cons:

• limited hours, so work on a bigger account can be superficial,
• no cover: the freelancer's holiday is your account's holiday,
• quality varies widely, from excellent specialists to people after a short course.

Best for: smaller accounts that need help in one area, e.g. ads only.

3. In-house team

You hire one or more specialists and run Amazon yourself.

Pros:

• full control and the best product knowledge,
• fast communication with logistics, purchasing and production.

Cons:

• the highest fixed cost: salaries, tools, training,
• one person rarely masters ads, catalogue, analytics and foreign marketplaces at once,
• turnover: when a specialist leaves, account knowledge leaves too.

Best for: companies for which Amazon is the main sales channel and that can build a team rather than a single role.

4. An expert with a team of AI agents

A newer model: the account is run directly by an experienced specialist, while routine daily work is done by AI agents. They review the previous day's results, exclude non-converting keywords, adjust bids, and watch for listing errors and FBA stock.

Pros:

• work on the account every day, 7 days a week, not at a weekly review,
• direct contact with a senior, with no intermediaries,
• every change logged with a reason,
• usually lower cost than a large agency, with daily work comparable to a team.

Cons:

• it is a new model, so check carefully which decisions the agents make on their own and which a human approves,
• photo and design production is usually a separate service.

Best for: brands and manufacturers who want daily optimisation and contact with an expert without large-agency costs.

At a glance

	Agency	Freelancer	In-house team	Expert + AI agents
Cost	high	low–medium	highest (fixed)	medium
Who runs the account	usually an account manager	one person	your employees	senior + automation
How often work happens	usually weekly	depends on hours	daily	daily
Cover	yes	no	depends on team	partly (agents run continuously)
Control and visibility	reports	direct contact	full	change log + reports

Red flags in any model

• Guaranteed results, e.g. "we'll double your sales in 3 months". No honest provider guarantees results on Amazon.
• No access to your own data, e.g. campaigns on the provider's account rather than yours. The account and data must always be yours.
• Reports without decisions: lots of charts, little about what was changed and why.
• Optimising for ACoS only, without asking about your margins.
• Long contracts with no trial period or audit to start with.

7 questions to ask before choosing

1. Who exactly will work on my account, and what Amazon experience do they have?
2. How often does someone actually make changes?
3. Will I see a history of changes with reasons?
4. How do you measure profitability: by ACoS or by margin after Amazon fees?
5. Have you worked with my account model (Seller Central or Vendor Central) and my marketplaces?
6. What is the pricing model and notice period? (More in How much does Amazon Ads management cost.)
7. Can we start with an audit before I sign a longer contract?

Summary

There is no single best model. A large brand with a full-service budget will benefit from an agency, a small seller with one product from a freelancer, and a company for which Amazon is the main channel from its own team. If you want daily work on your account and direct contact with an expert, look at the model with AI agents.

Want to check which model makes sense for your account? Book a free call.