GUIDES
Ecommerce operations guides
These ecommerce operations guides cover the work of running an Amazon, Walmart or Shopify store in 2026: what it costs, what the platforms charge, how account health is measured, how to keep stock straight across channels and how to choose help. Every guide shows when it was last checked, and every number has a source and a date.
Start with the guide that matches your problem this week. If you are deciding whether to hand off the work, start with the cost guide.
Featured: what outsourcing ecommerce operations costs
Ecommerce operations outsourcing cost: the 2026 guide. A virtual assistant, a marketplace agency, an in-house manager and a managed operations team, priced by revenue band with a source on every figure. It covers fee models, what happens to a percentage fee when revenue doubles, hidden costs and 12 contract clauses to read before you sign. Our own prices are in it too.
Amazon guides
The Amazon guides cover the rules and fees that changed most in 2026, with Amazon's own announcements as the source wherever one exists.
What Amazon's Account Health Rating measures and the targets that matter: order defect rate under 1%, pre-fulfillment cancellation rate under 2.5% and late shipment rate under 4%. What to do when the rating drops.
Amazon low-inventory-level feeWhen the fee applies (only when both your 30-day and 90-day historical days of supply are below 28 days), who is exempt and how to plan stock so you stay clear of it.
Amazon FBA fees 2026Every 2026 FBA fee change with its date and source, from the average $0.08 a unit increase on Jan 15, 2026 to the 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge from Apr 17, 2026.
Alexa for Shopping for sellersAlexa for Shopping, which brings Rufus and Alexa+ together (Amazon, May 13, 2026), the 75-character title rule from Jul 27, 2026, Sponsored Prompts and a 12-point catalog checklist.
Walmart guides
The Walmart guides are built on Walmart Marketplace Learn, with the update date of each Walmart page shown in the guide.
Requirements, the application step by step, referral fees by category, WFS, the eight performance standards, New-Seller Savings and a first-90-days checklist.
Walmart item unpublishedWhy Walmart unpublished your item, what each reason code means (including "Reasonable Price Not Satisfied") and how to republish, with a weekly prevention routine.
Walmart seller performance standardsAll eight standards with their thresholds, as updated by Walmart on Jul 28, 2026. Also what to do when you miss one.
Walmart WFS feesFulfillment from $3.45 a unit, storage by season and the long-term storage fees that apply from Jun 30, 2026, with worked examples.
Shopify guides
Shopify guides are being written now. Until they are published, the free Shopify learning guide covers plans, payments, checkout, apps and automation step by step, and our Shopify store management page explains how we run Shopify operations.
Ecommerce operations guides across channels
These guides cover the work that sits between channels: stock that two channels share and the 3PL bill that serves all of them. It is the work most likely to have no clear owner.
How to keep one stock number across Amazon, Walmart, Shopify and your 3PL: stock models, a buffer formula with a worked example, SKU and bundle mapping and a weekly reconciliation checklist.
3PL invoice auditHow to audit a 3PL invoice line by line in eight steps, the 12 most common billing errors, the 2026 USPS dimensional weight change and a free checklist and dispute template.
WFS vs FBAWhat Walmart Fulfillment Services and Fulfillment by Amazon each cost in 2026, and when to use which.
Choosing help
If you are deciding who should do the work, these guides help you compare options on facts rather than sales calls.
The full cost comparison by revenue band and fee model.
A disclosed buyer's guide to ecommerce operations agenciesTen providers scored on a published rubric: prices, terms, scope, access, response times and reviews. We wrote it, so we do not rank ourselves.
How to choose a managed store serviceTwelve questions to ask before you sign with anyone who will run a store for you.
Compare optionsVA vs agency vs operations team, in-house vs outsourced and how to vet a store provider, side by side.
Recent rule changes
The platforms change rules every month. The seller rule tracker logs each Amazon, Walmart and Shopify change with its date and source. The three most recent changes covered in these guides:
- Jul 28, 2026, Walmart.
Seller performance standards page updated; Walmart lists eight standards. See the performance standards guide.
- Jul 27, 2026, Amazon.
Titles in every category except media must be 75 characters or less, with a new 125-character Item Highlights field. See the Alexa for Shopping guide.
- Jul 12, 2026, USPS.
Dimensional weight factor changed to 139 for parcels over 1 cubic foot, which affects 3PL postage. See the 3PL invoice audit guide.
More free resources
Guides are one part of what we publish. The free operations calculators price the in-house vs outsourced decision, reorder points, storage fees and the cost of operational mistakes. The glossary defines the terms these guides use. The Learning Center teaches Amazon, Walmart, Shopify and AI automation step by step, free and without sign-up.
Who writes these guides?
Our operations team writes them from hands-on operations work: inventory, listings, account health, fees, 3PLs and channel rules. Every guide is reviewed before publishing and again on its review date. Our editorial policy explains how we research, source, review and correct what we publish.
How do you check the facts?
Every platform fact is checked against the platform's own source where one exists: Amazon Seller Central and Amazon announcements, Walmart Marketplace Learn and Shopify's Help Center and pricing pages. Each number carries its source and date. Vendor figures are labeled as vendor estimates, and anything we cannot verify is left out.
How often are the guides updated?
Each guide shows its next scheduled review date, usually every three months, and is updated sooner when a platform changes a rule or fee it covers. The update date on the guide changes only when the content changes, and the seller rule tracker logs every change we act on.
Are the guides free?
Yes. Every guide, calculator and checklist download is free and ungated: no sign-up, no email required. Where a guide mentions our own services, it says so plainly and shows our published price, so you can compare it with the alternatives in the same guide.
Where should I start?
If you are already selling and want to know what to fix first, start with the guide for your biggest problem this week. If you are deciding whether to hand off operations, start with the cost guide. If you are not selling yet, start with how to sell on Walmart or our free Launch Readiness Check.
Do the guides cover Shopify?
Partly, for now. The inventory sync, 3PL audit and cost guides all treat Shopify as one of your channels, with Shopify's own pricing and settings where they matter. Shopify-only guides are being written. Until they publish, the free Shopify learning guide covers plans, payments, checkout, apps and automation, and every Shopify fact in it is sourced to Shopify's Help Center or pricing page.
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