The claim rattling PPC agencies: thousands in fees for hundred-dollar automation

A criticism gaining traction among Amazon sellers: some pay-per-click agencies charge thousands of dollars a month for work largely performed by automation software costing around $100. The claim is fueling interest in seller-run PPC frameworks that cut out agency markups.

Practitioners promoting the do-it-yourself approach point to results from a group of 24 sellers who adopted one such framework in January: 37 percent year-over-year sales growth, average order values up $2.77, and one brand on track to quintuple sales into the millions, all without agency fees.

The debate centers on how much of agency work is genuinely strategic versus automated bid management, and whether a psychological approach to ad creative, rather than spending levels, is what turns ordinary Amazon ads into converters.