Compare launch quotes on scope, not on headline price. Our management fee runs $800 a month for one product to $2,400 for five, and that number is small next to the $8,000 to $15,000 of capital a single product launch needs. The quotes that look cheap usually exclude the expensive parts.
The short version
- The fee is the small number. Inventory, freight, and creative dominate a launch budget.
- Two quotes are only comparable when both list the same line items. Most do not.
- Ask which line items are subcontracted. Sourcing and photography are the usual candidates.
- Percentage-based pricing changes whose interest the budget serves. Know which model you are buying.
- Lock-in is a price too. A long contract is a cost that does not appear on the invoice.
Normalize the quote first
Take every proposal and force it into the same list before you look at any totals. This is the checklist, and each item is either included, excluded, or pass-through.
- Management fee, and what it covers. Ours is a flat monthly fee tiered by product count, with all 50 plus services included at every tier and no commission, no revenue share, and no onboarding fee. Confirm whether the quote in front of you works the same way or charges per service.
- Product research and market sizing. Included or billed separately, and what depth it actually involves.
- Sourcing and supplier management. Who finds the factory, who negotiates, who inspects. Ours runs through our own studio in Guangzhou, on frameworks built across more than 500 brands. If a quote does not name who does this, it is usually a broker relationship.
- Samples, tooling, and quality control. These are real costs and they are frequently missing from launch quotes entirely.
- Photography and creative. In-house or subcontracted, how many assets, how many revision rounds. Our creative comes from our own Dubai studio.
- Copy and keyword work, per locale. One locale or several, and written or translated.
- Trademark and Brand Registry support. Advisory or filing, and whose legal costs.
- Advertising management, and whether ad spend is included. It normally is not, and it should be a separate line you control.
- Contract terms. Notice period, lock-in, and what you keep on exit. Ours is month to month with 30 days of notice, and on exit the client keeps the Seller Central account, the campaigns, the creative, and a written handover.
What the money actually goes on
| Line | Typical size for one product | Who bears it |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory and freight | The largest single item | Always you |
| Management fee | From $800 a month at our tiers | You, monthly |
| Creative and photography | Moderate, one-off per product | You, sometimes bundled |
| Trademark and registration | Moderate, one-off | You |
| Advertising spend | No hard minimum, around $1,000 a month to optimize meaningfully | You, and it should stay in your account |
| Samples and quality control | Small individually, easy to underestimate | You |
Total capital for a single product launch lands in the $8,000 to $15,000 range. A five-product brand runs $25,000 to $50,000. Against those figures, the difference between two agency fees is rarely the deciding factor, and choosing on fee alone is how sellers end up with a cheap partner and an expensive launch.
Pricing models you will encounter
Flat monthly fees, per-project launch packages, percentage of advertising spend, percentage of revenue, and equity arrangements all exist. The question to ask of each one is the same: under this structure, what happens when the honest recommendation is to spend less or stop entirely.
We charge a flat fee for most clients and take a share only above $50,000 a month in profit, at 10 to 20 percent with no fixed fee, because that is the point where a share stops being volatile enough to be unfair to one side. We will also discount services for equity, case by case, though that is a partnership decision rather than a pricing one. On billing, our first invoice covers the first and last month upfront, which is worth knowing when you are comparing cash requirements in month one.
What most agencies will not tell you about launch pricing
A launch package quoted as a single number is almost always hiding either sourcing or creative. Those are the two most labor-intensive parts of a launch, and they are the two most commonly handed to a third party at a markup. Ask directly who does the work and where they sit. It is a fair question and the answer is instantly revealing.
The second thing: a low fee combined with a long contract is more expensive than a higher fee you can leave. Notice period is a price. So is any clause restricting who you can hire afterwards, or who owns the creative. On our side deliverables become client IP on full payment, we keep our own tools and methods, there is no non-compete on the client, and the only restriction is a non-solicit on hiring our staff.
The third: the initial analysis should be free. We deliver a written audit with prioritized fixes in 48 hours at no charge, and my honest advice is to get one from several candidates before paying anyone. Comparing three written assessments of your own account tells you more about who to hire than any pricing table ever will.
Related answers
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- Done-for-you Amazon management: the complete guide
Every tier and every included service is published, and the audit is free, at Flapen.
