Amazon account management, run from our own warehouse.
Your account, your inventory, 100% of your profit — run day to day by our team from a warehouse we own. $15,000 a year, flat. We take no percentage of what you make. Most done-for-you operators charge $25,000 to $75,000 a year plus 25–50% of your net profit.
Most management companies are marketing firms that hand fulfillment to somebody else’s warehouse. These are our own numbers, from the floor in Homer Glen, Illinois, where your inventory actually sits.
Everything from sourcing to the shipping label.
Sourcing from licensed distributors
We hold the supplier relationships and build buy lists from brands your account is actually approved to sell. Distributor invoices Amazon accepts for ungating — never retail arbitrage, which is what gets accounts suspended.
Purchase orders you approve
Every buy sheet shows SKU, supplier item number, quantity, your cost per unit, and the expected sell price before a dollar moves. Nothing is purchased until you confirm it in writing.
Listing & catalogue work
Category approvals, listing creation or matching, titles and bullets, and variation setup — done before inventory lands so units go live on arrival instead of sitting.
Pricing & buy box
Competitive pricing maintained against the offers you’re actually competing with, adjusted as competitors move and inventory ages.
FBA prep and FBM fulfillment in-house
Receiving, inspection, labeling, poly-bagging, and outbound — all in our building. We choose Amazon FBA or seller-fulfilled per SKU based on which is actually more profitable, and switching is a same-day decision, not a vendor request.
Returns & account health
Returns received, inspected, and put back to sellable where possible. Account health monitored, with a monthly report on what sold, what didn’t, and what we’d do next.
Seven steps. You hold the money at every one.
Account review
We look at what you have — existing account, health metrics, current inventory — and tell you plainly whether this is worth doing. If it isn’t, we’ll say so.
Agreement & onboarding
Written agreement, then account and system setup. Your seller account stays in your name with your LLC, EIN, bank, and tax details. You keep the login.
We map what you can sell
New accounts start gated. We run distributor catalogues against your approvals to find the openings that actually exist for your account today.
You approve the buy sheet
Every line: SKU, supplier item number, quantity, your cost per unit, expected sell price. You fund it and you approve it. We never buy on your behalf without written confirmation.
Inbound & prep
Goods arrive at our Illinois dock. We receive, count, inspect, label, and prep to marketplace standard — and flag any discrepancy against the buy sheet before it becomes your problem.
Listed, priced, live
Listings go live, pricing set, and units route to Amazon FBA or ship from our floor depending on which is more profitable for that SKU.
Run & report
Reorders on real sell-through, pricing maintained, returns handled, and a monthly report you can actually read. When something isn’t working we tell you why, not what you want to hear.
A flat fee for the work. That’s the whole model.
Managed account
- No performance fee — 0% of your profit
- Sourcing, listing, pricing, prep, fulfillment, returns
- ACH, wire, or Melio
- Inventory funded separately, priced per buy sheet
Two marketplaces
- Still 0% of your profit
- Amazon + Walmart, or add eBay
- One inventory pool, one warehouse, one contact
- $5,000 less than running two separately
There is no performance fee. We don’t take a percentage of your net profit, your revenue, or your inventory. $15,000 is what the service costs for the year.
How we make money on the product side, stated plainly: we source and supply the goods, and we sell them to you at our price. That margin is ours and it is shown on every buy sheet as your cost per unit — alongside the quantity and the expected sell price — before you approve anything. You are never charged a percentage of what the account earns, and you are never billed for goods you didn’t approve.
Walmart and eBay are available alongside Amazon, and multi-store accounts can be combined — ask for combo pricing rather than paying two full fees.
What we don’t promise: we do not guarantee sales, profit, or a timeline to recoup your investment, and we’d treat any provider who does as a warning sign. We control sourcing, listing, pricing, prep, and shipping. We do not control what buyers do. Some accounts grow quickly; others stabilise and optimise. Both are real outcomes.
Who this is for — and who it isn’t.
Good fit
- You want to own an ecommerce business without running the daily operation
- You have working capital for inventory beyond the management fee
- You’re comfortable reinvesting early profit rather than withdrawing it
- You want owned inventory from licensed distributors, not dropshipping
- You’re taking a twelve-month view, not a ninety-day one
Not a fit
- You need a guaranteed return or a fixed payback date
- You’d be financing inventory on credit
- You need to pull profit out immediately
- You want to run the account yourself day to day
- You’re looking for dropshipping — we don’t do it and the marketplaces ban it
What’s yours, and what’s ours.
| Item | Owner | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon seller account | You | Registered in your name with your LLC, EIN, bank and tax details. You hold the login and full override rights, 24/7. |
| Inventory | You | You fund it, you own it. If we part ways, it ships wherever you want it. |
| Listings & customer data | You | Yours to keep. Marketplace message history stays with the marketplace under their terms. |
| Profit | You — 100% | We take no percentage of net profit or revenue. Flat fee only. |
| Purchase decisions | You approve | We build the buy sheet; nothing is placed until you confirm in writing. |
| Supplier relationships | Hardway | We hold the distributor accounts and source against your approvals. |
| Daily operations | Hardway | Sourcing, listing, pricing, prep, fulfillment, returns, account health. |
| The warehouse | Hardway | 15,000 sq ft in Homer Glen, Illinois — ours, not a partner’s. Your goods don’t move through a third party. |
Against DIY, a freelancer, and a typical automation company.
| DIY | Freelancer / VA | Typical automation co. | Hardway | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runs the account | You, 40+ hrs/wk | One person, several clients | Their team | Our team |
| Sourcing included | No | Rarely | Yes | Yes — licensed distributors |
| Warehouse | Yours or a 3PL | Not included | Partner 3PL | Owned, 15,000 sq ft |
| Typical cost | Your time | $1.5K–$3K/mo | $25K–$75K/yr | $15,000/yr flat |
| Performance fee | — | Flat, win or lose | 25–50% of net profit | 0% — none |
| You approve buys | — | Varies | Varies | Always, in writing |
| Guarantees returns | — | No | Some do — a red flag | No, and we’ll say why |
Run the numbers on a $100,000-profit year. A $50,000 annual fee plus a 35% performance fee costs you $85,000. Ours costs $15,000, and none of your profit. That gap isn’t a discount — it’s a different business model. We own the warehouse and we supply the goods, so the management fee doesn’t have to carry the margin. For what the term “automation” actually means and how to spot the operators worth avoiding, read our marketplace automation explainer.
Amazon management FAQs
Is Amazon automation legitimate?
The model — paying an operator to run a seller account you own — is legitimate. The term has been damaged by companies that guarantee returns, take five-figure buy-ins, and source through retail arbitrage. Amazon has no program called automation and endorses no provider as such.
What does Amazon account management cost?
$15,000 per year, paid upfront, for one marketplace — or $25,000 for two. There is no performance fee and no percentage of your profit. Inventory is separate: we source and supply the goods at our price, shown on every buy sheet as your cost per unit before you approve it.
Do you take a percentage of profit?
No. Most done-for-you operators charge an annual fee plus 25–50% of net profit — on a $100,000-profit year that’s $85,000 all in. We charge a flat $15,000 and take none of your profit. We make our margin on the goods we supply, disclosed per line on every buy sheet.
Do you guarantee results?
No, and we’d be cautious of anyone who does. We control sourcing, listing, pricing, prep, and shipping. We don’t control whether a buyer clicks buy. Some accounts grow quickly, others stabilise — both are real outcomes.
Whose Amazon account is it?
Yours. It’s registered in your name with your LLC, EIN, bank and tax details. You keep the login and full override rights, and you keep the account if you cancel.
Do I approve purchases before you buy?
Yes, every time, in writing. Each buy sheet shows SKU, supplier item number, quantity, unit cost, and expected sell price. Nothing is placed until you confirm.
Where does inventory come from?
Licensed distributors and wholesalers with invoices Amazon accepts for ungating. We do not source through retail arbitrage — buying from other retailers to resell — because it puts your account at risk.
Do you own the warehouse?
Yes. 15,000 sq ft in Homer Glen, Illinois, about 30 minutes from Chicago. Most management companies use a partner 3PL; your inventory sits in our building and is handled by our staff.
How much inventory capital do I need?
Enough to fund a meaningful first buy and reinvest for several months without withdrawing. If inventory would need to go on a credit card, this isn’t the right time to start.
Can I cancel?
The engagement is twelve months, paid upfront. Your account, listings, and inventory are yours throughout — if you leave at the end of the term we ship remaining stock wherever you want it.
Related services
Walmart management
Same model, same flat fee, same warehouse. Combo pricing for multi-store accounts.
3PL fulfillment
Prefer to run your own account and just use the warehouse? That’s our 3PL side, priced separately.
Amazon FBA prep
Prep only — receiving, labeling, and shipment into the network, without account management.
Talk through your Amazon account
Fifteen minutes. We’ll look at your account, your capital, and your timeline, and tell you plainly whether this is worth doing. If it isn’t, we’ll say so.
No pressure, no pitch deck, and no obligation to book anything on the call.
Book a 15-minute call →Prefer to write? matt@hardwayenterprises.com · (815) 524-0805
15745 Annico Dr, STE 3 · Homer Glen, IL 60491