Five Star Commerce vs. Most Agencies, Employees & Freelancers

When you’re trying to grow your Amazon channel, you’ll quickly realize there’s more than one way to get help.
But not every option offers the same level of flexibility, expertise, or return on investment.

Here’s a breakdown of how Five Star Commerce compares to traditional agencies, hiring full-time employees, and working with freelancers—so you can decide what truly makes sense for your brand.

Five Star Commerce: Flexible, Cost-Smart, and Growth-Focused

Five Star Commerce was built to give brands expert Amazon support—without the heavy commitments or inflated costs of other models.

• True flexibility. You can start or stop anytime. That means you can scale up when you’re in growth mode or scale down when you’re waiting on inventory or testing a new strategy.

• Profit-driven strategy. If your Amazon channel is smaller, we help you stay profitable by adjusting your hours and workload instead of locking you into fixed fees.

• Internal team training. We can train your existing employees so you don’t have to hire expensive full-time Amazon experts. A hybrid approach—your team plus ours—often delivers the best results at the lowest cost. Although utilizing our team exclusively is an option as well.

• Tiered talent and rates. Our team has multiple levels of expertise, so lower-level tasks are handled efficiently at lower hourly rates, while strategy and optimization are handled by seasoned specialists.

• Continuous coverage. As your account evolves over many years, we can seamlessly transition your project to other trained team members if needed—so your brand never loses momentum.

• Tight communication. Our team is based together in Utah County, which makes collaboration easy and keeps projects running smoothly. No overseas hand-offs or timezone headaches.

• Adaptability to Amazon’s volatility. Amazon changes constantly—new ad formats, policies, and algorithm shifts happen every month. Our flexible hourly model allows your brand to pivot fast when strategies need to change, instead of being locked into outdated packages or rigid scopes of work.

In short, you get the flexibility of freelancers, the structure of an agency, and the consistency of an internal team—all without the drawbacks.

Traditional Agencies: Rigid, Expensive, and Often Outdated

Most agencies operate on flat-fee “packages,” which sound convenient but come with serious downsides.

• Bloated pricing. Flat-fee models force agencies to overcharge so they can cover all possible scenarios. Even if your needs drop, you keep paying the same.

• Inflexible packages. Their offerings rarely evolve quickly enough to match what’s working on Amazon right now.

• Volatility problem. With Amazon changing so fast, it’s nearly impossible for an agency to predict what you’ll need even a few months from now. Their set packages don’t account for those constant shifts in competition, costs, and strategies.

• Disconnected teams. Many agencies have staff scattered across locations and time zones, which slows response times and creates communication gaps.

• Siloed expertise. Different specialists handle listings, ads, and strategy—but they rarely coordinate effectively. Each has to “learn your brand” separately, wasting time (and money).

• Low attention per client. Because their income doesn’t scale with effort, agencies often overload employees and automate work. Many clients report getting less personal attention and more errors.

• Unfair pricing for larger brands. Some agencies charge more just because you have higher revenue—even when your workload isn’t larger.

• Slow cancellation. Most require 30-60 days’ notice. And once you give notice, the effort usually drops off—so you’re paying for one or two more months of minimal work.

• High minimums. Many won’t take on brands under $100K/month or $10M/year, ignoring smaller or emerging brands that could still thrive with the right help.

• Remote-only challenges. Fully remote setups can lead to distraction, miscommunication, and inconsistent collaboration.

Bottom line: traditional agencies are optimized for their own convenience—not for your flexibility or profitability.

Full-Time Employee: High Commitment, High Cost, Limited Range

Hiring an internal Amazon manager can work for larger brands—but it’s rarely the most efficient option.

• Expensive expertise. Finding someone with full-channel experience is tough and costly. Salaries, benefits, and overhead add up fast.

• All-or-nothing commitment. If your Amazon needs shrink or change, you can’t easily scale back.

• Limited perspective. Most employees have worked on just one or two brands, so they can lack broader insights into current Amazon trends.

• Hidden downtime and costs. You’re paying for all the non-productive hours—training, breaks, PTO, holidays, sick days, and slower periods when there’s simply less to do.

• Risk and turnover. Experienced Amazon employees are in high demand and often get poached. Each time, hiring a replacement can take a month or two, leaving you with major gaps in account management. Two weeks’ notice usually isn’t enough.

• Hard to hire for “experimental” roles. If Amazon is still a smaller or newer channel for your business, many qualified candidates won’t take the risk.

The advantage: they’re focused solely on your brand. But for most small to mid-sized brands, that focus doesn’t outweigh the cost and inflexibility.

Freelancers: Inexpensive but Unreliable

Freelancers can be helpful for quick, tactical projects—but they often lack stability and depth.

• Lower rates—but inconsistent availability. Many freelancers juggle multiple clients or side jobs.

• Rising costs over time. As freelancers gain experience, they increase their rates or move on to bigger clients.

• High disappearance risk. Life issues or communication drop-offs are common—especially with overseas freelancers.

• Potential outsourcing. Some quietly delegate your work to others without telling you.

• Timezone and travel challenges. Communication gaps can delay progress and complicate feedback cycles.

Freelancers are a gamble: when they’re good, they’re great—but when they disappear, your business suffers.

At a Glance: How the Options Compare

So, What’s the Smart Choice?

For most brands, Five Star Commerce offers the best balance of expertise, flexibility, and accountability.

You get a U.S.-based team that understands Amazon inside and out, works on an hourly basis so you only pay for what you need, and can adjust quickly as your brand evolves.

No long-term contracts.
No inflated flat fees.
Just the right level of expert help—exactly when you need it.