Ready to make millions on Amazon? Don’t get stuck in the six-figure comfort zone; You didn’t hustle your way to $500K just to flatline.
Once you’re pulling six or seven figures, the problems don’t go away, they just get more expensive instead. You start bleeding money from ad inefficiencies, operational delays, and sloppy execution.
Many mid-market brands blame the market or the algorithm. But the real issue is often poor strategy and even worse agency support.
This blog post will show you why profits stall out and what it really takes to go beyond $1M per month in sales. If you’re serious about making millions on Amazon, this is where the next level begins.
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The $1M Trap: Why Growth Slows for Most Brands
Everyone jumps into Amazon because the money is clearly there. But once the revenue starts flowing, most sellers realize just how easy it is to lose control of their profits.
At every level, the pressure shifts. Newbies are busy ranking and getting reviews. But by the time you’re doing $500K per month, the problems change fast.
Your ad spend starts bleeding, inventory missteps get expensive, and even small fulfillment issues can wreck your metrics. You’re no longer building; you’re patching holes.
This isn’t a scaling problem, it’s a systems and focus problem. The brands that stay profitable are the ones that simplify operations, fix what’s breaking, and stop trying to do everything themselves.
The Real Profit Killers Amazon Sellers Face
Even top-performing sellers struggle to stay profitable due to various reasons. Here are the most common challenges Amazon sellers face when trying to grow profitably on Amazon:
Death by Amazon Fees
Between referral fees, FBA fulfillment costs, storage charges, and refund deductions, it’s easy to lose track of what Amazon’s actually taking. If you’re not calculating true net margins, you’re flying blind.
Price Wars and Competitive Squeezes
Thousands of sellers are fighting for the same keywords and customer base. The pressure to lower prices just to stay visible often slashes profits to razor-thin levels.
Amazon Competing Against You
You could be doing well until Amazon decides to offer a similar product. Competing with the platform itself almost always forces you to cut prices or lose rank.
Bad Inventory Decisions
Overstocking means you’re paying high storage fees for items that aren’t moving. On the flip side, stockouts kill your Buy Box chances and future ranking potential.
Returns That Eat into Margins
Each return costs you more than just the product. There’s a refund fee, admin hassle, and the possibility of damaged goods.
Poor Forecasting and Cash Management
When sellers don’t plan for seasonality or supplier delays, it leads to expensive air shipments or missed sales windows. Inaccurate forecasting also causes inconsistent cash flow that can choke your growth.
Lack of Clarity on Unit Economics
If you don’t know your landed cost per unit, you’re guessing at your profitability. This gap in insight often leads sellers to run ads or promos that are actually losing them money.
Inability to Adapt to Fee Increases
Amazon quietly raises storage and fulfillment fees regularly. Sellers who don’t adjust their pricing or operations accordingly get left with shrinking margins.
Proven Strategies to Help You Make Millions on Amazon
Making millions on Amazon isn’t just about luck or selling trendy products. Sellers who break past the mid-level milestone focus on smarter execution and stronger systems that protect and grow profit.
1. Get Obsessed with Profit Data
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. If you don’t know your actual profit margins at the SKU level, you’re guessing instead of managing.
Track every cost, not just COGS or ad spend. Factor in packaging, returns, labor, and overhead so you can make decisions based on real numbers.
2. Optimize Your Pricing Intelligently
Pricing shouldn’t be set-and-forget. It needs to respond to shifts in demand, seasonality, and what your competitors are doing.
Use rules or schedules to test small pricing changes and measure the effect on conversion and profit. Keep your margins top of mind so you don’t end up selling volume at a loss.
3. Streamline Inventory Management
Too much inventory ties up cash and racks up storage fees. Too little inventory hurts your rankings and forces you to slow down.
Look at historical sales and adjust your reorder points accordingly. Don’t keep dead SKUs around hoping they’ll move later; instead, cut them loose.
4. Fix Your Product Listings
If your Amazon listing doesn’t convert, you’re wasting money bringing traffic to it. Your images, copy, and A+ content should do the selling for you.
Make sure your listing answers real customer questions before they even ask. If conversions are low, start here before touching your ads.
5. Cut Down on Unnecessary Fees
Fees are one of the easiest places to lose money without noticing. Things like oversized packaging or stranded inventory add up fast.
Audit your fee breakdown regularly and take action where it makes sense. Even small packaging tweaks can reduce shipping costs and boost profit.
6. Bundle and Upsell Like a Pro
Bundling increases perceived value and helps move more units per order. It also lowers your per-unit cost on fees and fulfillment.
Use your existing catalog to create value without spending on new development. Upsell higher-priced versions or quantity packs to increase average order value.
Pro Tip: Hire a Growth-Focused Amazon Agency
If your numbers are flat and you’ve already done the basics, an outside perspective can reveal what you’re missing. Agencies that know Amazon inside and out can fix leaks you didn’t even know were there.
They can improve your Amazon listings, optimize your ad strategy, and solve catalog issues that are costing you money. Speed matters, and working with experts helps you move faster and smarter.
Why Sellers Without an Amazon Agency Hit a Wall
Some Amazon sellers struggle with getting help from an Amazon agency because they are used to doing everything themselves. However, doing everything solo often leads to burnout and missed opportunities, so let’s break down what you’re really missing out on when you try to do it alone.
SEO
With an Amazon Agency
Your listings are constantly optimized with up-to-date keyword strategies that align with Amazon’s algorithm shifts. Agencies track rankings, run keyword tests, and fine-tune your ASINs, ensuring they stay competitive in even the most saturated niches.
Without an Amazon Agency
You’re relying on outdated keyword research or static tools. This leads to missed opportunities, low impressions, and ultimately lower organic rankings, which can hurt your sales over time.
Catalog Design
With an Amazon Agency
Your product titles, variation structures, and backend data (like browse nodes and attributes) follow Amazon’s best practices. This ensures your catalog is compliant, well-organized, and prevents issues like suppressed listings.
Without an Amazon Agency
Your catalog might be messy, with broken parent-child relationships and incorrect data. Small errors can take down your listings for weeks, causing lost sales and frustrating customer support interactions.
Inventory Management
With an Amazon Agency
Your inventory levels are forecasted based on real-time data, sales velocity, and lead times. This proactive approach helps avoid stockouts, long-term storage fees, and keeps your products in front of customers year-round.
Without an Amazon Agency
You’re reacting to inventory problems as they arise. Whether you run out of stock during a peak season or overstock and incur high storage fees, poor inventory management can quickly hurt your profits and rankings.
Performance Monitoring
With an Amazon Agency
Your account health, customer feedback, and policy compliance are monitored constantly. An agency quickly handles issues like listing flags or potential suspensions, often before you even know there’s a problem.
Without an Amazon Agency
You’re checking performance metrics only when something breaks. Ignoring warnings or missing notifications can lead to account suspensions or other major setbacks that are time-consuming and costly to fix.
Brand Storefront
With an Amazon Agency
Your brand store is fully optimized with subpages designed for search intent, high-quality visuals, and a clear brand message. Agencies ensure your storefront becomes a conversion tool, not just an empty space.
Without an Amazon Agency
Your brand store might be empty or poorly designed, offering little more than a logo and a few product listings. Without a strategy or purpose, it misses the chance to build brand credibility or increase average order value.
Advertising Management
Without an Amazon Agency
Your campaigns are structured to capture every stage of the customer journey, with constant bid adjustments, search term pruning, and ongoing testing. The agency ensures you scale efficiently while maintaining a controlled ACoS and TACoS.
With an Amazon Agency
You may set campaigns to run and forget them or constantly make adjustments without direction. This often results in wasted ad spend and poor campaign performance, leaving you unsure why your ads aren’t converting or why TACoS is higher than expected.
10 Checklist Items to Look for When Hiring an Amazon Agency
Now that you’ve seen how valuable a full-service Amazon agency can be for serious sellers chasing million-dollar results, the next question is: How do you choose the right one? Not all agencies are built the same.
Some talk a big game but fumble when it’s time to deliver. If you’re ready to scale, here’s a no-fluff checklist to help you find an agency that actually knows how to grow brands on Amazon.
1. Has Amazon Selling Experience
You don’t want advice from someone who’s never been in the trenches. Look for leadership that has sold on Amazon and understands the ins and outs of Seller Central.
2. Industry-Specific Knowledge
Selling supplements is not the same as selling electronics. Ensure the agency has experience in your specific product category, and bonus points if they’ve scaled a brand to seven figures or beyond.
3. Full-Service Capabilities
From SEO and PPC to design, catalog cleanup, and brand registry, ask if they handle everything in-house. Relying on multiple agencies can lead to inconsistent results.
4. Strong Client Retention
If their clients stick around for years, that speaks volumes. A short client turnover is not a good sign, so ask how long their average client stays with them.
5. Clear Strategy and Proven Processes
A good agency will walk you through their onboarding, audits, strategy development, and performance review processes step-by-step, instead of just “winging it”.
6. Real Case Studies or References
They should have proven results. Ask for past case studies or references from current clients who can speak to their success.
7. Amazon Ads and Algorithm Expertise
Ads are more than just a budget; they’re about strategy. Ensure they understand keyword isolation, ranking strategies, and TACoS optimization, and that they stay on top of algorithm changes.
8. In-House Team of Experts
Agencies that outsource their work can’t guarantee consistent quality. Ask how many in-house specialists they have in key areas like PPC, SEO, design, and account health.
9. Personalized Support
A cookie-cutter approach won’t work. The agency should ask about your brand’s specific goals, margins, and tailor their strategy to suit your needs.
10. Transparent Pricing and No Long-Term Lock-Ins
Avoid agencies that push long-term commitments before proving themselves. Look for agencies that offer fair pricing and flexibility without locking you into a year-long contract.
Red Flags to Watch for When Hiring an Amazon Agency
Just like there’s a checklist of things you want in a solid Amazon agency, there’s also a list of red flags you don’t want to ignore. If you don’t pay attention to these warning signs, you could end up wasting time, burning cash, and getting stuck cleaning up a mess that should’ve been avoided from the start.
Here’s what to look out for before signing anything:
1. No Proof of Results
If an agency can’t show you case studies, testimonials, or real-world examples of what they’ve done for other brands, that’s a major red flag. You should be able to see concrete evidence of their success, not just vague claims.
2. Guaranteed Sales Claims
Any agency that promises to get you to page one or double your sales in a month is either using unrealistic tactics or trying to take advantage of you. The Amazon algorithm is unpredictable, and no one can guarantee specific outcomes.
3. Too-Good-to-Be-True Pricing
Agencies offering rock-bottom prices are often cutting corners or preparing to upsell you later. It’s crucial to focus on value over price since what matters most is the agency’s ability to generate results, not just low fees.
4. Vague or Hidden Fee Structures
If an Amazon agency can’t clearly outline their pricing or you find “extra charges” that weren’t disclosed upfront, it’s a red flag. Transparent pricing is essential, so an agency should be open about how they bill and what you’re getting for your money.
5. Lack of Transparency in Strategy
A solid agency should be willing and able to explain what they’re doing and why. If they can’t walk you through their process or avoid giving direct answers, it suggests they may not have a clear strategy in place.
FAQs About How Sellers Make Millions on Amazon
Make Millions on Amazon by Fixing What’s Really Holding You Back
Most Amazon sellers don’t fail because of bad products, they fail because of hidden inefficiencies that drain profit. From poor strategy to unreliable partners, the wrong setup will cost you more than you think.
Solving those issues takes clarity, experience, and a team that actually knows what they’re doing. A capable agency can help you clean house, protect your margins, and finally get your business running right.
Ready to stop the profit bleed? Reach out to our full-service Amazon agency today and let us help you take control of your bottom line.
