Running an Amazon business from another country only works because other people handle the daily grind. We have hired virtual assistants for years, and the honest summary is this: a good VA is the cheapest leverage in ecommerce, and most sellers still hire too late, hand off the wrong tasks first, and share access they should never share. Here is the order of operations we wish someone had handed us.
Hand off the repetitive work first
The right first tasks share three traits: they repeat on a schedule, they follow rules you can write down, and a wrong answer is cheap to fix. For most sellers that means:
- Customer messages. Ninety percent of buyer questions are variations of the same five questions. Write template answers, set a response-time target, and hand over the inbox.
- Listing monitoring. A daily sweep for suppressed listings, lost buy boxes, hijackers, and stranded inventory. It takes ten minutes, and they should not be your ten minutes.
- Shipment reconciliation. Confirming that what you shipped is what Amazon checked in, and opening cases when it is not. Most FBA sellers have reimbursement money sitting unclaimed, and a VA who files those cases methodically often covers their own month.
- Product research grunt work. You define the criteria, they fill the spreadsheet, you make the buying call.
One prerequisite before any of this: write the procedure down. A VA without documented steps is a stranger improvising inside your Seller Central. Our guide to building SOPs so you can stop doing absolutely everything is the homework that makes the hire work.
What never gets handed off
- Your main Seller Central login. Ever. Add your VA through User Permissions with their own email and only the access the job requires. Two-step verification stays on your phone, not theirs.
- Anything that moves money. Bank logins, credit cards, transfers. A VA can prepare a payment run; you press the button.
- Supplier relationships. A VA can chase quotes and track purchase orders, but the person your supplier picks up the phone for should be you. That relationship is half your moat.
- Final calls on pricing and account health. Delegation is for execution. Judgment on the things that can kill the business stays with the owner.
What an Amazon VA costs in 2026
Rates have crept up but the math still works. Amazon-focused VAs in the Philippines run 5 to 20 US dollars an hour, with solid general Amazon VAs commonly landing at 6 to 12 dollars when you hire direct. Specialists cost more: PPC-focused VAs typically charge 10 to 17 dollars an hour. A full-time Philippines VA works out to roughly 1,100 to 2,200 dollars a month, and US-based assistants run 25 to 50 dollars an hour, which is why almost every FBA seller we know hires offshore.
Agency or direct is the real decision. Agencies charge more per hour but do the vetting and give you backup coverage when your VA disappears for a week. Hiring direct is cheaper on paper, but the recruiting, screening, and onboarding hours are yours, and they are not small. We hire direct, keep it simple, and pay above the market rate for people who stay. Our VA payment and compensation schedule shows the exact structure we use.
Before you add any overhead, know your real margin per unit. Our 2026 Amazon fee guide covers what Amazon already takes; a VA has to fit in what is left.
Paying a VA from Canada
If your business is a Canadian corporation, the mechanics are simple: your VA invoices you as an independent contractor, you pay in US dollars through Wise or a similar service, and you keep the invoices and a short written agreement on file. How your corporation records and deducts overseas contractor payments has a couple of wrinkles worth getting right, and that is accountant territory, so we defer to ours: Jones and Cosman handle it as part of their Amazon seller accounting work.
Frequently asked questions
What tasks should I give an Amazon virtual assistant first?
Start with customer messages, daily listing monitoring, shipment reconciliation and reimbursement cases, and product research data entry. They repeat daily, they run on written rules, and mistakes are cheap. Save judgment calls like pricing and supplier negotiation for yourself.
How much does an Amazon VA cost in 2026?
Plan on 5 to 20 dollars an hour for a Philippines-based Amazon VA, with most good generalists at 6 to 12 dollars direct and PPC specialists at 10 to 17. Full time, that is roughly 1,100 to 2,200 dollars a month. US-based VAs run 25 to 50 dollars an hour.
Should I hire through an agency or directly?
Agencies cost more per hour but handle vetting and replacements, which suits a first-time hire. Direct is cheaper and gives you a long-term relationship, but budget real time for recruiting and onboarding. Either way, the SOP you hand them matters more than where you found them.
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