[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-en-non-compete-and-exclusivity-in-amazon-contracts":3,"blog-translations-non-compete-and-exclusivity-in-amazon-contracts":50,"blog-related-category-en-non-compete-and-exclusivity-in-amazon-contracts":51,"blog-related-latest-en-non-compete-and-exclusivity-in-amazon-contracts":64},{"id":4,"type":5,"locale":6,"slug":7,"title":8,"description":9,"body":10,"status":11,"section":12,"tags":13,"author":18,"cover_url":19,"published_at":20,"metadata":21,"template":5,"sort_order":45,"source_id":46,"search_vector":47,"created_at":48,"updated_at":49},"f561379e-d6d8-4bad-a9cf-742c7b19f93c","blog","en","non-compete-and-exclusivity-in-amazon-contracts","Non-compete and exclusivity in Amazon contracts","Accept a non-solicit, refuse any non-compete on you, and price category exclusivity honestly. Every restriction should bind both sides or neither.","A non-solicit is reasonable and a non-compete against you is not. Agree not to poach the agency's staff. Refuse any clause restricting which agencies, categories, or marketplaces you may work in afterwards. Category exclusivity, where the agency promises not to take a direct competitor, is worth asking for but rarely worth paying much for.\n\n## The short version\n\n- **Non-solicit: accept it.** Ours runs 36 months and only stops clients hiring our staff.\n- **Non-compete on you: refuse it.** Your commercial freedom is not the agency's to limit.\n- **Category exclusivity: ask, but price it honestly.** It costs the agency real revenue.\n- **Reciprocity is the test.** Any restriction should bind both sides or neither.\n- **Check what survives termination.** Restrictions that outlive the contract are where the damage sits.\n\n## The three clauses people confuse\n\nThese get used interchangeably in sales conversations and they are completely different things.\n\n| Clause | Who is restricted | Reasonable? |\n|---|---|---|\n| Non-solicit | You, from hiring their staff | Yes. Standard and fair |\n| Non-compete | You, from working with others or in a category | No. Push back hard |\n| Category exclusivity | The agency, from taking your competitors | Yes, if scoped and priced honestly |\n\n### Non-solicit\n\nThe agency trains operators. If a client can hire them directly after six months, the agency has effectively run a recruitment service at its own expense.\n\nOurs runs 36 months and prevents clients from soliciting or hiring Flapen employees or contractors, directly or indirectly, after the relationship ends. That is a normal term and I would sign it as a client. Three years is at the longer end, so if the duration bothers you, negotiate it down rather than trying to remove it.\n\nThe version to watch for is one that binds you but not them. If nothing stops the agency from hiring your staff, ask why the obligation runs one way.\n\n### Non-compete\n\nThis is the one to refuse. It appears in a few shapes: you may not engage another Amazon service provider during the term, you may not sell in a category the agency also operates in, or you may not launch a competing product for some period after.\n\nNone of that is the agency's business. You are buying a service, not entering a partnership with control rights. Our own agreement contains no client non-compete for exactly this reason. The relationship should hold because the work is good.\n\nTwo narrow exceptions I would accept. First, a confidentiality obligation, which is normal and mutual. Second, an agreement not to run a second agency inside the same Seller Central account simultaneously, which is a practical operating point rather than a restriction on your freedom.\n\n### Category exclusivity\n\nHere the direction flips. You are asking the agency to refuse work from your direct competitors.\n\nAsk for it. It is a fair request, particularly in a narrow category where the agency would otherwise hold both sides of a competitive picture. But be realistic about two things.\n\nFirst, it costs the agency real revenue, so expect it to be priced or scoped tightly. Second, define \"competitor\" precisely. Same subcategory is workable. \"Anything adjacent\" is unenforceable and will produce an argument later.\n\nThere is also a benefit to an agency having category depth. We have built sourcing and quality control frameworks across 500 plus brands through our Guangzhou studio, and that pattern library only exists because the team has seen many brands in the same categories. Total exclusivity buys you protection and costs you experience. Decide which you need more.\n\n## What clauses should I strike before signing\n\nFive, in priority order:\n\n1. **Any non-compete binding your commercial activity.** Strike it entirely.\n2. **One-sided confidentiality.** Make it mutual.\n3. **Restrictions surviving termination beyond a non-solicit.** Nothing else should outlive the contract.\n4. **Vague \"competitor\" definitions** in an exclusivity clause. Define by subcategory.\n5. **IP terms that keep your creative.** Deliverables become yours on full payment.\n\n## What most agencies will not tell you\n\nNon-compete clauses in agency agreements are usually there because a template was copied from an employment contract, not because anyone thought about the relationship. Ask why the clause exists. A surprising number of times the honest answer is that nobody knows, and it comes out without a fight.\n\nThe one worth real attention is what survives termination. A 36-month non-solicit is fine. A clause that prevents you from hiring a competing agency for twelve months after you leave is a lock-in mechanism disguised as a legal formality, and it does the same job as a minimum term without appearing in the pricing conversation.\n\nRead the survival clause, not just the restriction. That is where the teeth are.\n\n## Related answers\n\n- [Contract terms to negotiate with Amazon agencies](\u002Fblog\u002Fcontract-terms-to-negotiate-with-amazon-agencies)\n- [Amazon account management contract pitfalls](\u002Fblog\u002Famazon-account-management-contract-pitfalls)\n- [Data ownership in Amazon service agreements](\u002Fblog\u002Fdata-ownership-in-amazon-service-agreements)\n- [Termination clauses in Amazon management contracts](\u002Fblog\u002Ftermination-clauses-in-amazon-management-contracts)\n- [Hiring an Amazon agency: the complete guide](\u002Fblog\u002Fhiring-an-agency)\n\nOur full service agreement is public, not sent after a call, at [Flapen](\u002Famazon-consulting).\n\n## Keep learning\n\n- [Compare Amazon business models](\u002Fguides\u002Fbusiness-models)\n- [Value your Amazon business](\u002Ftools\u002Fbusiness-value-calculator)\n","published","working-with-agencies",[14,15,16,17],"seller-account","private-label","amazon-fba","competitor-analysis","joel-turcotte-gaucher","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fclusters\u002Fhiring-an-agency-04.jpg","2026-09-04T00:49:51.798+00:00",{"faq":22,"seo":39,"batch":40,"cluster":41,"cover_alt":42,"answers_prompt":43,"primary_benchmark":44},[23,27,31,35],{"id":24,"answer":25,"question":26},"non-compete-and-exclusivity-in-amazon-contracts-faq-1","It is at the longer end and it is defensible, since the agency trained the staff you would be hiring. If the duration concerns you, negotiate it down rather than trying to remove the clause entirely.","Is a 36-month non-solicit too long?",{"id":28,"answer":29,"question":30},"non-compete-and-exclusivity-in-amazon-contracts-faq-2","They should not, and you should refuse any clause that tries. Restrictions on your commercial freedom are not a normal agency term, and one that survives termination is a lock-in mechanism wearing legal clothing.","Can an agency stop me hiring a competitor agency?",{"id":32,"answer":33,"question":34},"non-compete-and-exclusivity-in-amazon-contracts-faq-3","Sometimes, in a narrow category where the agency would otherwise hold both sides of a competitive picture. Define competitor by subcategory rather than by adjacency, and accept that exclusivity costs you the pattern knowledge that category depth provides.","Is category exclusivity worth paying for?",{"id":36,"answer":37,"question":38},"non-compete-and-exclusivity-in-amazon-contracts-faq-4","Which obligations outlive the contract. A non-solicit and mutual confidentiality are reasonable. Anything else surviving termination deserves a specific explanation before you sign it.","What should I check in the survival clause?",{},"B01","C01","Flapen cover for Non-compete and exclusivity in Amazon contracts: a Flapen operator showing a client a sales chart beside an open proposal binder","non-compete and exclusivity in amazon contracts","B2",0,null,"'\u002Famazon-consulting':877C '\u002Fblog\u002Famazon-account-management-contract-pitfalls':841C '\u002Fblog\u002Fcontract-terms-to-negotiate-with-amazon-agencies':835C '\u002Fblog\u002Fdata-ownership-in-amazon-service-agreements':848C '\u002Fblog\u002Fhiring-an-agency':863C '\u002Fblog\u002Ftermination-clauses-in-amazon-management-contracts':855C '\u002Fguides\u002Fbusiness-models':884C '\u002Ftools\u002Fbusiness-value-calculator':889C '1':636C '2':648C '3':656C '36':103C,264C,762C '4':671C '5':682C '500':587C 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guide","2026-09-04T16:33:51.798+00:00",{"slug":57,"title":58,"published_at":59},"done-for-you-management","Done-for-you Amazon management: the complete guide","2026-09-04T16:26:51.798+00:00",{"slug":61,"title":62,"published_at":63},"build-vs-buy","Build vs buy for your Amazon channel: the complete guide","2026-09-04T16:25:51.798+00:00",[65,66,70],{"slug":53,"title":54,"published_at":55},{"slug":67,"title":68,"published_at":69},"geography-and-marketplaces","Amazon marketplaces by geography: the complete guide","2026-09-04T16:32:51.798+00:00",{"slug":71,"title":72,"published_at":73},"measurement-and-audit","Amazon account measurement and audits: the complete guide","2026-09-04T16:31:51.798+00:00"]