Month-to-month, unless the annual term buys you something specific and priced. The usual
justification for a year is that Amazon takes time to show results, which is true and is an
argument for a milestone plan rather than a lock-in. We run month-to-month with 30 days'
notice and clients stay for years.
The short version
- Month-to-month is achievable. It is not a concession, it is a normal commercial term.
- An annual term should buy a discount, in writing, if you accept one.
- Watch the notice window, not just the term length. Ninety days is the real trap.
- Auto-renewal into a fresh year is the clause that costs most.
- Results take months. Contracts do not have to.
The direct comparison
I run Flapen with 50 operators managing about 70 brands, on month-to-month terms with
30 days' notice and no long-term contract.
| Month-to-month | Annual | |
|---|---|---|
| Your exposure | One month | Up to twelve |
| Their incentive | Earn it every month | Earn it once |
| Typical notice | 30 days | 60 to 90 days |
| Discount | None expected | Should be meaningful |
| Renewal risk | None | Auto-renewal into a new term |
| Who it protects | You | Their revenue forecast |
| Effect on advice | Neutral | Advice can outlive its usefulness |
The row that matters most is the second. On a monthly cycle, an agency has to be worth
keeping every thirty days. On an annual term, month seven arrives with the fee already
committed, and that is precisely when clients start asking harder questions.
When an annual term is defensible
Two cases, both narrow.
A real discount. If a year buys you fifteen or twenty percent off, that is a genuine
trade and you can price it. Compare the saving against the cost of being stuck for eight
months with an agency you want to leave, which for most brands is larger than the discount.
A defined project with a long arc. A full brand launch runs about seven months, covering
sourcing, production, creative, and launch. Committing to that arc is different from
committing to twelve months of ongoing management, because the deliverable is specific.
Even then, negotiate termination for convenience with 30 days' notice inside the term. You
can commit to a project without surrendering the right to leave if it goes wrong.
The notice window is the real term
An annual contract with 30 days' notice is milder than a monthly contract with 90 days'
notice, and sellers rarely read it that way.
Work out your actual exposure: term length plus notice period, minus how far into the term
you are. The worst combination is auto-renewal into a fresh twelve months paired with a
ninety-day window, which leaves a three-week slot each year to leave. Miss it and you have
bought another year without deciding to.
What to ask before agreeing to any term
- What is the notice period, and is it the same both ways?
- Does it auto-renew, and into what?
- What discount does the longer term buy? No discount means the term is purely for them.
- Can I terminate for convenience inside the term?
- What do I receive on the day I leave?
Question five belongs in this conversation because term length only matters if leaving is
otherwise clean. If you own the Seller Central account, hold revocable permissions, and get a
written handover, a twelve-month term is an expensive inconvenience. If you do not, no notice
period protects you.
How to give a partnership time without a long contract
The real concern behind annual terms is legitimate. Amazon work does take months. Listing
rebuilds, ad learning cycles, and organic ranking all move slowly, and judging at week three
is unfair to everyone.
Handle it with a plan instead of a clause. Agree a 90-day arc up front with a written
diagnosis in week two, execution priorities, and defined checkpoints. Agree what would count
as progress by day 90 even if revenue has not moved yet, which for most accounts means
conversion rate, cost of customer acquisition trend, or organic share of revenue.
That gives both sides the patience a long contract is meant to enforce, without removing your
ability to act if the first month reveals the wrong partner.
What most agencies will not tell you
Contract length is set before any work happens, which makes it the purest available signal of
what the agency privately expects.
An agency confident it will be worth keeping does not need to trap you. One that knows its
retention drops after month six writes a twelve-month term and calls it industry standard.
It is not. Plenty of agencies, including ours, run monthly.
The other quiet point: annual contracts are often justified by onboarding cost, the argument
being that the first two months are unprofitable so the agency needs the year to recover.
That is a real cost and it belongs in the pricing, not in your exit rights. If onboarding is
expensive, charge an onboarding fee and let the ongoing terms stay clean.
Related answers
- Termination clauses in Amazon management contracts
- Contract terms to negotiate with Amazon agencies
- What to ask about fee structure vs ad spend
- Cost to switch Amazon agency and expected ROI
- Hiring an Amazon agency: the complete guide
We publish our terms rather than negotiating them case by case. See Flapen.
