Questions to ask an Amazon agency or accelerator before you sign, with an RFP template
Ask every Amazon agency or accelerator the same written questions in six groups: who owns the accounts, data, creative and code; how the fee is calculated and how the contract ends; who does the work; how results are reported; which software and AI will act on your accounts, and how they meet Amazon's Agent Policy; and what you get back when you leave. Score the written answers, not the pitch.
- Amazon's Solution Provider Portal FAQ, updated September 16, 2026, says sellers authorize service providers such as agencies under User Permissions, Manage Services, for 365 days at a time.
- Amazon Ads lets agencies choose to bill ad spend to the partner, at manager account level, or to the advertiser, so the template asks whose payment method carries yours.
- Amazon's Business Solutions Agreement update, effective March 4, 2026, says all AI agents must identify themselves as automated systems, follow its new Agent Policy and stop accessing Amazon's services if Amazon asks.
- Amazon says it lists Service Provider Network providers solely as an informational resource and does not endorse any of them.
- The template has 41 numbered questions in six groups, a 0-2 scoring scale and suggested section weights that add up to 100.
- Ecomsellertool deploys Growth OS on the brand's own accounts. You keep your accounts, your data and the custom code we build; the Growth OS base is licensed to you.
Agency pitches are hard to compare. One leads with a case study, another with a dashboard demo, a third with a low monthly fee. A request for proposals (RFP) fixes that: every candidate gets the same numbered questions, answers them in writing, and you score what they wrote. This template is for the selection stage, before you sign anything. If you are leaving an agency, our guide to switching agencies without losing your data covers the exit. The questions work for Amazon agencies, reseller accelerators, consultants and firms like ours.
What should you decide before you talk to agencies?
Decide what kind of help you are buying before you compare who sells it. An agency supplies people who work in your accounts for a fee. A reseller ecommerce accelerator buys your inventory and sells it as the merchant of record. An in-house team means hiring your own staff, and an owned system is software that runs on your own accounts. Our five-model ownership table shows who keeps the seller account, the margin, the data and the ad account in each. If you are still weighing whether to hire your own people instead, our comparison with building an in-house team works through salary costs and the steps before systems go live.
Then write a one-page brief and send it with the questions, so every candidate answers the same request. Writing it also makes your own team agree on scope and on how results will be judged, which is far easier to settle now than after a contract starts. A range is enough for sales and ad spend. The brief is page one of your RFP:
- Your brand, categories, and the marketplaces and countries you sell in today, plus the ones planned for the next 12 months.
- Your annual marketplace sales and monthly ad spend, as ranges.
- The scope: which jobs you want covered (advertising, listings and content, catalog and inventory, operations software, reporting) and which your team keeps.
- Who holds each account today: the Seller Central primary user, Admin on Amazon Ads and the Brand Registry rights owner.
- The three numbers you will judge the work by, with today's value written down as the baseline.
- Your non-negotiables, such as "our company registers every account" and "no shared logins".
- The deadline for written answers, the decision date and who decides.
Check your own accounts before you ask candidates about them. Confirm who holds the primary user login, the Ads Admin role and the Brand Registry roles today, because an agency cannot give you back what you never held. Our switch-agency checklist lists what your brand should hold, and our guide to giving an agency access to Seller Central safely shows which roles to grant once you have chosen.
Which ownership questions should you ask?
Ownership comes first because it is the hardest thing to fix after you sign. Fees can be renegotiated and people replaced, but an ad account registered to an agency, or sales history that sits on someone else's seller account, is slow and uncertain to untangle. Ask these seven questions of every candidate, whatever its model, and ask for the answers in the contract rather than the pitch deck. The first column is what you send; the other two are for your scoring.
| Ask | A strong answer | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| O1. Whose company will register each account you work in: Seller Central, Amazon Ads, Brand Registry, Shopify and Walmart? | Yours. The agency works through access you grant and can remove | "We'll open it under our account to move faster" |
| O2. How will your people and your tools get into our Seller Central account? | People through a service provider authorization you approve; software through app authorizations you can see in Manage Your Apps | A request for your primary login or its verification codes |
| O3. Who will hold Admin on our Amazon Ads account, and whose payment method will carry the ad spend? | Your staff hold Admin, the agency works as Editor, and the billing setup is written down | Spend billed through the agency, with no written way to move it back |
| O4. Where will our sales, ads and change history be stored, and can we get it without asking you? | In your accounts, plus scheduled exports to storage your company owns | History that exists only in the agency's own tools |
| O5. Who owns the images, video, copy and A+ files you make for us, including the source files? | A written assignment to you on payment, with layered source files delivered | A license to use them that ends with the contract |
| O6. Which code, rules and automations will you build for us, which are assigned to us, and which are licensed? | A written split, code in a repository you can access, and license terms named | "It's our proprietary system", with no terms for the day you leave |
| O7. Will you ever buy our inventory or sell our products under your own seller account? | A clear yes or no. If yes: who is the seller of record, who sets prices and what happens to stock at the end | Any vague answer |
Amazon's own documents help you judge O2. Amazon gives agencies and other service providers their own route into Seller Central. Its Solution Provider Portal FAQ says the provider registers in Solution Provider Portal, each individual who accesses seller accounts must be verified, and sellers grant access under User Permissions, Manage Services. Each authorization is valid for 365 days and renewable (updated September 16, 2026, checked September 25, 2026). An agency that asks for your login instead is skipping that route, and anything its people do would show up in your account as if you had done it.
For O3, Amazon Ads' advertiser account guide says agencies can choose to bill spend to the partner, at manager account level, or to the advertiser (checked September 25, 2026). Both setups are normal. What matters is that you know which one you are signing. If the agency pays Amazon and then invoices you, ask for Amazon's invoice next to theirs each month, so you can see whether anything is added to the spend, and agree in writing how billing moves to your own payment method when you part.
What should you ask about pricing and the contract?
The fee formula matters more than the headline rate. A retainer, a percentage of ad spend and a percentage of sales can produce the same bill in month one and drift far apart a year later, as spend and sales move. Ask each candidate to work its formula through on your own numbers over the same period, such as three years, and add the ad spend and software you pay for directly. Our guide to what an Amazon agency costs covers the common models, and the operations cost calculator compares agency, in-house and owned-system costs from your inputs.
| Ask | A strong answer | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| P1. How is your fee calculated: a flat retainer, a percentage of ad spend, a percentage of sales, a performance component, a project fee or a mix? | One formula in writing, worked through on your numbers | A formula that depends on figures only the agency can see |
| P2. If any part is a percentage of sales, which sales count? | A named report and channels, returns netted out or not, and a written baseline | "Total sales" with no baseline, so you pay a share of sales you already had |
| P3. What is included, and what is billed on top? | A scope list, plus a rate card for extras such as creative, new marketplaces, onboarding and software | "We'll quote as we go" |
| P4. Which software subscriptions will we pay for, and whose name are they in? | A list, with accounts in your company's name where the vendor allows it | Tools bundled into the fee with no list |
| P5. What are the minimum term, the notice period and the renewal terms? | A notice period you can live with, and a reminder before any renewal | Automatic renewal with a short cancellation window |
| P6. Is anything owed after the contract ends? | Nothing, or a written and time-limited amount | Fees on sales after you leave |
| P7. What do you commit to in writing? | Deliverables, dates, response times and the named team | A promised sales figure or growth multiple |
What should you ask about the team and process?
The people who pitch are often not the people who do the work. Ask to meet the team that will run your account, and ask how much of each person's week you get. A strong answer names people and gives numbers; a weak one describes the agency's culture. Ask, too, which changes the team makes on its own and which come to you first, because that line decides how much of your brand's pricing, spending and copy you still control day to day.
| Ask | A strong answer | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| T1. Who will work on our account each week, in which roles, and can we meet them before we sign? | Names, roles and time per week, and you meet them | You never meet anyone but the sales team |
| T2. How many other accounts does each of those people run? | A number, given plainly | No answer |
| T3. Is any of the work subcontracted, white-labeled or given to freelancers? | Yes or no, with who does what and where | You find out later |
| T4. What happens when our main contact leaves or is away? | A named backup and written account notes | Everything lives in one person's head |
| T5. Which changes will you make without asking us, and which need our sign-off? | A written list: bids within agreed limits alone; budgets, prices and listing copy with your sign-off | "We handle everything" |
| T6. What will happen in weeks one to four, and what do you need from us? | A dated onboarding plan with owners on both sides | No plan until after signature |
| T7. Can we speak with two current clients of a similar size and channel mix? | References you can call, chosen for fit | Only logos and unnamed case studies |
Treat directory listings as a place to find candidates, not as vetting. Amazon's Service Provider Network says it provides its listings "solely as an informational resource", that you contract directly with the provider, and that Amazon does not endorse any service provider or its services (checked September 25, 2026). A call with a current client of your size, on your channels, tells you more than any badge or directory profile.
What should you ask about reporting?
Reports are how you will judge the work, so agree what goes into them before you see the first one. The data a brand needs is spread across Amazon: sales and traffic in Seller Central, spend in Amazon Ads, search data in Brand Analytics and fees in payments reports. A report built on one of them tells part of the story. ACOS can look healthy while a product loses money after fulfillment and storage fees, which is why R3 asks for TACOS and contribution margin.
We have built this side of an agency's work. For SellerDrive, a team that supports sellers from Shopify store launch to full Amazon account management, we built its analytics panel. It combines SP-API order, finance and catalog data with Amazon Ads data and Brand Analytics sessions. It reports spend, sales, ACOS, TACOS and ROAS, broken down by ad type, then portfolio, campaign, ad group, product and keyword, and a rule-based fee engine calculates fees Amazon does not provide directly. Ask each candidate to show you that level of detail from a real account.
| Ask | A strong answer | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| R1. Can you send a real report from another account, with the names removed? | A recent report from a live account | Only a designed sample |
| R2. Which source feeds each number: Seller Central reports, Amazon Ads, Brand Analytics or payments data? | A source named for every metric | Nothing but "our dashboard" |
| R3. Do you report profit after all marketplace fees, or only ad metrics such as ACOS and ROAS? | TACOS and contribution margin by product, after fulfillment, storage and promotion costs | ACOS as the headline number |
| R4. What baseline will you measure against, and how will you separate your work from seasonality, price changes and stockouts? | A baseline agreed in the first weeks, with outside events noted | Growth claimed against last month, whatever happened |
| R5. How often will we get reports, in what format, and can we have the raw data? | A set schedule, plus CSV exports or database access | PDF only |
| R6. Do you log every change made in our accounts, with who made it, when and why? | Yes, and the log can be exported | No log beyond what Amazon's screens show |
Ask where the history will live, too. Amazon Ads says its unified reporting keeps up to 15 months of daily or weekly data and up to 6 years of monthly, yearly or summary data (Amazon Ads announcement, June 8, 2026, checked September 25, 2026). For daily detail older than 15 months you need your own copy, which is why R5 asks for raw data you can keep. The screen below is the kind of view to ask for: net payout and net profit after fees and the cost of goods, with the orders that lost money listed.
Net payout, net profit and the orders that lose money after fees and COGS
See Growth OS ↗What should you ask about technology, AI and Amazon's Agent Policy?
Many agencies run software in your accounts, and more of it is now sold as AI. Amazon's update to its Business Solutions Agreement, effective March 4, 2026, added requirements for automated software and AI agents that access Amazon's services. All AI agents must clearly identify themselves as automated systems, follow a new Agent Policy and stop accessing Amazon's services if Amazon asks. The update also restricts using Amazon's materials or services for AI development (Amazon's announcement in the Seller Forums, checked September 25, 2026). That agreement is between Amazon and your business, so ask about every tool that will act on your account. Our guide to Amazon's Agent Policy goes through each rule.
Amazon's Acceptable Use Policy for the Selling Partner API backs up three of the questions below (checked September 25, 2026). It binds solution providers, which Amazon defines as developers and service providers. They must not request Amazon portal usernames or passwords from sellers, such as your Seller Central login (section 3.3). They must not request or retrieve data their application does not need (section 3.8). And they must be explicit about any calculations and any use of models such as artificial intelligence, including their accuracy and data freshness (section 2.4). An agency registered as a service provider should answer A1 to A3 without trouble.
| Ask | A strong answer | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| A1. Which software and apps will you connect to our accounts, and which SP-API roles or Ads permissions does each one need? | A list, with one reason for each role | "We can't share which permissions our tools use" |
| A2. Does any tool work in Seller Central through a browser, an extension or a shared login? | No. Software goes through Amazon's APIs, on authorizations you can revoke | Browser automation that is meant to look like a person |
| A3. For each automated task, which steps follow fixed rules and which use an AI model? | A written split, task by task | "Our AI does it all" |
| A4. What does the software do on its own, and what comes back to us for approval? | Routine actions within your rules; purchase orders, budget changes, claims, appeals and customer replies go to a person | No approval step before money is spent |
| A5. How do your agents identify themselves to Amazon, and how are they stopped on our account if Amazon or we ask? | The agent name it sends, a pause for your account alone, and a named person who triggers it | "Amazon can't tell it's automated" |
| A6. Does data from our accounts train or improve your models, or your AI provider's? | No, written into the contract, with the model provider named | "It helps our AI get smarter" |
| A7. Can we export the rules, prompts and settings tuned for our account? | Yes, in a format another team can read | They stay in the vendor's system |
Ask for the rules-and-model split in writing, because "AI" on a sales page proves nothing. In Operation AI Comply, announced September 25, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission's cases included three operations that sold consumers online stores, or training in running them, promoted as AI-powered, and it alleged deceptive earnings claims (checked September 25, 2026). A brand agency is a different business, but the test carries over: which step uses a model, what it decides, and who checks the result before it touches your account.
What should you ask about leaving?
Agree the exit before you start, while both sides want the deal. These questions are short because the ownership answers settle most of it: if your company holds the accounts, the data and the files, leaving means removing a few logins and running a handover. Put every answer in the contract. The mechanics of an actual switch, from the export list to a dated handover plan, are in our guide to switching agencies.
| Ask | A strong answer | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| E1. How much notice does each side give, and what does ending early cost? | A clear notice period and a stated early-exit cost | Neither is written down |
| E2. Within how many days of the end date do we receive our data exports, the change log and the rules you ran? | A number of days, in the contract | "On request" |
| E3. Which creative source files and code do we receive, and under what written assignment? | A list, and an assignment clause | Delivery "at our discretion" |
| E4. What stops working the day we leave, and what keeps running? | A written list of which dashboards, tools and automations stop, which continue, and on what terms | You find out on the last day |
| E5. Will you work with the next team for a set handover period? | A set number of days of cooperation | No handover duty |
| E6. How and when will your access be removed from Seller Central, Amazon Ads, Brand Registry and our apps? | A dated checklist, run after the handover | Access nobody tracks |
| E7. For resellers only: what happens to the stock you hold, the listings and content you made, and the Brand Registry roles your accounts hold? | Buyback, content and role terms, in writing | Exclusivity or stock terms that outlast the contract |
How do you send the RFP template and score the answers?
To use the template, download it as a spreadsheet below, or copy the brief, the six question tables and the scorecard into one document. The file holds all 41 questions with their strong-answer and red-flag columns, plus blank score and notes columns. Send only the question column to candidates, and keep the strong-answer and red-flag columns for your scorers. Send every candidate the same package with the same deadline, on the same day. Ask for one written reply that answers each question by its number, and says so where it cannot answer. Two people on your team score each reply on their own, then compare scores. Invite the top two or three to a call with the people who would do the work, and check references before you sign.
Download the Amazon agency RFP template: 41 questions, strong answers, red flags and a score column CSV, 9 KB
Score each answer on a three-point scale:
- 0: no answer, a vague answer, or anything in the red-flag column.
- 1: a partial answer, or a good answer given only verbally.
- 2: a clear answer in writing that matches the strong-answer column.
Then weight the six sections. The weights below are a starting point; move them to match what worries you most, as long as they still add up to 100.
| Section | Questions | Suggested weight | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ownership | O1-O7 | 25 | The hardest thing to fix after you sign |
| Team and process | T1-T7 | 20 | The people are the service you are buying |
| Pricing and contract | P1-P7 | 15 | Sets total cost and how easily you can change course |
| Reporting | R1-R6 | 15 | How you will know whether it works |
| Technology, AI and Agent Policy | A1-A7 | 15 | Software acting on your account is your risk too |
| Exit | E1-E7 | 10 | Good ownership answers settle most of it |
Section score = (points scored ÷ points possible) × section weight, with 2 points possible per question. Total = the six section scores added together, out of 100.
One rule overrides the total: a red flag on O1, O2 or O3 stops the review for that candidate until it is fixed. A high score elsewhere does not make up for an agency that registers your accounts, holds your login or controls your ad billing. Here is a cover note to send with the package:
Subject: Request for proposal: [Brand] marketplace growth, answers due [date]
Hello [name],
We are choosing an agency or growth firm to help [Brand] grow on [channels].
The attached brief describes our business, the scope and how we will decide.
Please answer each numbered question (O1 to E7) in writing, in one document.
Where you cannot answer a question, please say so. We score written answers
only. Finalists will be asked to share a real report with client names removed
and to introduce the people who would work on our account.
Timeline: questions by [date], answers by [date], finalist calls in the week
of [date], decision by [date].
Thank you,
[Name, role]
How do we answer these questions ourselves?
Ecomsellertool is a tech agency that grows brands through technology, and we expect to be sent this template. We deploy Ecomsellertool Growth OS on your own seller and ad accounts, then build the custom software and AI agents your operation needs on top. We do not buy inventory or sell on your behalf, so you stay the seller of record. Here is where we stand on the questions that separate models most:
| Questions | Our answer |
|---|---|
| Ownership (O1, O6, O7) | Your company holds the accounts, and we never buy your stock or sell under our own accounts. You keep your accounts, your data and the custom code we build; the Growth OS base is licensed to you. |
| Pricing (P1, P7) | Custom modules and AI agents are scoped in an architecture doc with a fixed price and go-live date. Terms for the Growth OS base license are on request. |
| Team (T1) | We're intentionally small: no sales org, no account managers, no junior hand-off mid-project. Every client works directly with senior engineers. |
| AI and Agent Policy (A3 to A5) | Our AI agents are designed to follow Amazon's Agent Policy. Routine actions run within the rules you approve; budget changes, purchase orders and unusual cases come back to your team with the evidence and a proposed next step. Each agent page lists which steps follow fixed rules and which use an AI model. |
| Exit (E4) | Your accounts, data and custom code stay with you; the Growth OS base continues under its license terms. |
Our brand facts page lists who we are and what we have shipped: we have built on Amazon's seller APIs since 2017, shipped 50+ tools and served 100+ teams. If a reseller accelerator is on your shortlist, our Ecomsellertool vs Pattern comparison sets out how Pattern's 3P model, which buys inventory, differs from software that runs on your own accounts, and when Pattern is the better fit. And if what you need is people to run campaigns and listings day to day rather than software, a service agency is the better choice; the questions above will help you pick one.
Before you send the RFP, it helps to know where your own account leaks money, so your brief names real problems. Start with the free 24-hour diagnostic: connect Amazon with Login with Amazon, no password shared, and get a report within 24 hours of connecting, on business days. We only read data; we never change listings, prices, stock or ads. Or schedule a call from the card below and bring your brief.
Frequently asked questions
How many agencies should we send the RFP to?
Three to five is a workable number. Fewer gives you little to compare, and more gives your team more reading than it can score carefully. Send every candidate the same brief and questions on the same day, with the same deadline, so no one gets extra time or extra hints.
Should we pay for an audit before we sign?
A small, paid audit of one area, such as your ad account, is a fair test if it has a fixed fee and a fixed scope, and if it is done by the people who would run your account. A free audit is often written to win the contract, so read it as a pitch. Either way, give the auditor view-only access or exported reports, never your login.
Is a percentage-of-sales fee a bad sign?
Not by itself. It ties the agency's income to your sales, but it can also pay the agency for sales you would have made anyway. If you accept it, define which sales count, net of returns or not, against which baseline, and whether there is a cap. Then compare it with a retainer on your own numbers.
What if an agency will not answer some questions in writing?
Score that question zero and move on. Some things are fairly confidential, such as other clients' names, and a good agency will say so and offer another route, like a reference call. A refusal to put ownership, fees or exit terms in writing tells you how the contract will read.
Do the same questions work for a reseller accelerator or an aggregator?
Mostly, for a reseller accelerator: add who is the seller of record, who sets prices, what happens to stock it holds and any exclusivity by channel or country. An aggregator buys your brand or your company outright, so that is an acquisition, and the due diligence belongs with your lawyer and your accountant rather than an RFP.
How long should choosing an agency take?
About a month is realistic: a week to write the brief and agree it internally, two weeks for candidates to answer in writing, and a week for finalist calls and reference checks. Leave room before your peak season, so the new team is not learning your account during your busiest weeks.
How we research, fact-check and compare: our editorial standards. Spot an error? Email hello@ecomsellertool.com and we will correct it.
