Eva Answers / Working with an agency

What Are the Red Flags of a Bad Amazon Agency?

Answered by Hai Mag, Founder & CEO, Eva Commerce, with 20+ years in eCommerce transformation, marketplace optimization, and AI-driven automation.

Last reviewed: November 2, 2026

Short answer: The clearest red flags are the ones Amazon’s own rules expose: asking for your Seller Central password instead of Authorized Partner access, setting accounts up in the agency’s name, offering reviews, and promising results nobody can guarantee. Others show up in reporting: no dated baseline, reports that show ACoS or ROAS but never profit, and no named person in your account. Verify partner status in the Amazon Ads partner directory and get access, ownership and exit terms in writing.

Red flags and what to ask for instead

Red flag	Why it matters	Ask for this instead
Asks for your Seller Central password	Amazon says not to share your password and to add outside companies as Authorized Partners, not as users	An Authorized Partner invitation with the minimum permissions needed
Ad account or brand assets set up in the agency’s name	You can lose campaign history and data when the relationship ends	An Amazon Ads advertiser account in your name, with the agency invited as admin, editor or viewer
Offers reviews, “review services” or rebates for reviews	Amazon prohibits review manipulation and may suspend accounts, remove reviews, delist products and withhold payments	Only neutral requests to your own customers, never tied to a reward
Promises guaranteed rankings or results	Ranking and ad results depend on Amazon systems and competitors no agency controls	A plan with dated targets and the reasons behind them
Reports ACoS or ROAS but never profit	Amazon ties a good ACoS to your profit margin; ACoS alone can look fine while you lose money	A dated baseline and monthly report that includes contribution profit by product
No named person or hours in your account	Work drifts to whoever is free that week	A named lead, the hours they spend and an escalation path
Partner claims you cannot verify	Anyone can say “Amazon partner”	Their listing and status badge in the Amazon Ads partner directory
Long lock-in with no exit terms	Hard to leave if results stall	Written notice period and a clear handover of accounts and data

How to check an agency in one week

Ask how they will access your account. The only good answers are an Authorized Partner invitation in Seller Central and user roles in Amazon Ads.
Ask who owns what. Seller Central, the Amazon Ads account, Brand Registry and creative files should all stay in your name.
Ask for a sample monthly report. Check that it ties ad spend to profit and stock, not only to ACoS or ROAS.
Ask who works in the account each week. Get a name, a role and the hours.
Verify partner status yourself in the Amazon Ads partner directory, and call references you choose.
Read the terms. Fees, what is excluded, notice period and how accounts and data are handed back.

Exceptions

Pricing model alone is not a red flag. Flat, percentage and hybrid fees are all common; the issue is a fee with no profit target.
New partners. A firm without a status badge is not automatically bad; badges reflect Amazon’s criteria, not every kind of skill.
Planned high ACoS. A launch or ranking push can run above break-even on purpose, if it is agreed and time-limited.
Vendor Central promises. Amazon invites vendors; nobody can sell you access. See how to get access to Amazon Vendor Central.

How Eva handles this

Eva publishes the same checklist on its Amazon management page: scope, who does the work, a sample weekly report that ties ad spend to profit, proof you can verify (partner status, case studies and reviews) and terms covering fees, notice periods and who owns the accounts and data. Eva Commerce is an Amazon Ads Advanced Partner founded in April 2020. On full-service Amazon, a dedicated Senior Growth Specialist works in the account about 30 to 35 hours a month, against a dated baseline that includes contribution profit. Eva’s first conversation needs no store connection or account passwords.

Follow-up questions

Is it a red flag if an agency asks for my Seller Central login?

Yes, if they ask for your password. Amazon’s guidance is not to share your password and to add any outside company as an Authorized Partner with only the permissions it needs. A good agency will ask you to send that invitation and will never need your login.

Is percentage-of-sales pricing a red flag?

Not by itself. Amazon lists ad spend and sales-based commissions alongside flat monthly and project fees as common partner pricing. The red flag is a fee model with no profit target attached, so the agency is paid more as sales grow even if your ad spend stops being profitable.

How do I check whether an agency is really an Amazon Ads partner?

Look it up in the Amazon Ads partner directory, which lists partners with their services, marketplaces and status badges. Amazon awards verified and advanced partner badges based on expertise, engagement with Amazon Ads and growth delivered for advertisers. Treat status as one data point, not proof of fit.

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