How to choose an Amazon account management agency in India

Most brands start looking for an Amazon agency after something has already gone wrong. Sales have flattened, ad spend keeps climbing, or a few listings got suppressed and nobody in the team knows why. That is exactly the moment when it is easiest to pick the wrong partner, because you want the problem gone quickly.

I ran my own Amazon business from 2017 to 2023 before I started managing accounts for other brands, so I have been on both sides of this decision. Here is what I would check before signing with any agency, including mine.

1. Ask whether they have ever sold on Amazon themselves

Running ads for a client and running your own store are very different experiences. When it is your own money, you learn fast which levers actually move profit and which ones only make a report look busy. An agency led by people who have been sellers will usually think about margin, stock and cash flow, not just clicks.

2. Find out what "management" actually includes

Many agencies say account management but only run advertising. A healthy Amazon business needs more than ads. Ask specifically who handles each of these:

• Listing content, keywords and images
• A+ content and the Brand Store
• Advertising campaigns
• Inventory planning and replenishment
• Account health, suppressed listings and seller support cases
• Monthly reconciliation of fees, returns and reimbursements

If half of this list stays with your team, you are not buying management. You are buying a service, and you should pay for it accordingly.

3. Ask how they report results

A good monthly report starts with revenue and profit, then explains what drove the change. If a report opens with impressions, clicks and a wall of advertising terms, ask how those numbers connect to money in your bank account. You should be able to understand your report without a glossary.

4. Make sure you keep ownership of your account

Your Seller Central account, your listings and your data should always stay yours. A trustworthy agency will ask to be added as a user with specific permissions, which you can change or remove at any time. Be careful with anyone who asks for your main login and password, or who wants to list your products under their own account.

5. Check their experience in your category and marketplace

Selling beauty products is different from selling apparel or kitchenware. Category rules, return rates and seasonal peaks all change the plan. The same goes for marketplaces: Amazon India, Amazon US and Amazon UAE each behave differently. Ask for examples from a similar category, and ask what they learned there.

6. Be wary of guarantees

Nobody controls Amazon's algorithm. An agency that promises a number one ranking or ten times your sales in a month is either guessing or planning to buy short term results with heavy ad spend. Honest agencies talk about realistic timelines instead. In our experience, foundational fixes usually show impact within 30 to 45 days, and meaningful growth takes three to six months of consistent work.

7. Understand the pricing model

Agencies in India usually charge a fixed monthly retainer, a percentage of sales, or a mix of both. None of these is wrong, but you should know what is included, whether ad spend is separate, and how long the notice period is. Long lock-in periods are a warning sign. If an agency is confident in its work, it should not need to trap you in a contract.

Questions to ask on the first call

• Who exactly will work on my account, and how often will I hear from them?
• What will you fix in the first 30 days?
• Can you show me a sample monthly report?
• How do you handle reconciliation and reimbursements?
• What happens if I want to leave?

A good agency will answer these clearly and will usually ask you just as many questions back. If the call feels like a sales pitch rather than a conversation about your business, keep looking.