Compare · vs a Shopify agency
A Shopify agency vs ScaleWise VA
Most Shopify agencies build and leave: a project, a launch, a handover, then a ticket queue. We build the store and stay to run it, so the listings, the inbox, the inventory and the fixes are handled by the people who already know how the store was put together.
The short version
A build agency is paid for the launch. We are paid for the store: new builds, redesigns, custom apps and integrations, and then the daily work after launch, the listings, the inbox, the inventory, the fixes and the ads, by one team, month after month.
When to choose us
Use ScaleWise VA when
- The store is built and the problem is running it: the catalogue, the orders, the returns, the support inbox.
- You want the same people on the store next month and the month after, not a project team that rolls off.
- The fixes are small and constant: a collection rule, a metafield, a Flow, a broken app setting, a price change across 400 SKUs.
- You want ads and email run alongside the operations by the people who also know the catalogue.
Side by side
Shopify agency and ScaleWise VA, point by point.
| What it is about | Shopify agency | ScaleWise VA |
|---|---|---|
| The unit of work | A project with a scope, a timeline and a handover. Retainers exist but are priced from developer day rates. | Both: scoped projects (a new store, a redesign, a migration, a custom app) and a month of operations scoped in hours to your volume. |
| Who does the work | Designers, developers, a project manager, an account lead, priced at senior day rates for every task. | Developers for the build work, and Shopify operators for the daily work: catalogue, support, inventory and ads, each task priced for what it is. |
| After launch | A support period, then a change request process. Small jobs queue behind big ones. | There is no after launch. The daily work is the engagement. |
| Custom development | Apps, checkout, integrations, complex theme work. | Custom Shopify apps, integrations with your ERP, 3PL or CRM, theme work, Flow and metafields. The code and the repository are yours. |
| Pricing | Quoted per project or per retainer; rarely printed, and varies too widely by agency and market to summarise honestly here. | Hourly VA tiers from $4 to $8 an hour on the Hire pages; retainers scoped from a discovery call. |
| Proof | A portfolio of launches, usually silent about what happened to the store afterwards. | 15 case studies about building and running stores: what the engagement was, what we did, what changed. |
| Ending it | The project ends by design. Retainers by notice. | Two weeks' notice. Procedures stay with you. |
A worked example
The month after the launch
A brand pays an agency for a redesign. The launch is good. Then the real work arrives: 60 new products a month to list properly, a returns queue, an inbox that fills on Sundays, a Flow that stopped tagging orders, an app that needs its settings changed after an update. The agency will do all of it, at developer rates, through a ticket queue, behind the other client's launch.
With ScaleWise VA there is no handover gap: the team that built or took over the store is the team that lists the products, clears the inbox and fixes the Flow, at a price that fits each job.
Questions
Questions people ask.
Can you replace our agency?
Yes. We take on builds and redesigns as scoped projects and run the store day to day after, so one team covers both.
Do you do redesigns, migrations and custom builds?
Yes, as scoped projects: the Mistfall redesign and the Sassy Setup build are in the case studies, and custom apps and integrations are on our apps page.
Will you work with our existing agency?
Yes. We can take over the daily running alongside them, and pick up the development too when you are ready.
How is a Shopify operations team different from a virtual assistant?
A VA is a person; an operations team is the person plus the procedures, the cover, the monitoring and the specialists behind them. The Hire a VA pages are the entry point; the retainer is the team.
Where the figures come from
- Our project work: the Mistfall and Sassy Setup case studies and the apps page on this site. Hourly tiers: the Hire a VA pages.
- Agency pricing is deliberately not quoted: no single figure would be true across markets, and printing one would be the kind of claim this site has removed elsewhere.
Prices and terms on other companies' pages change. If one of these has, tell us at hello@scalewiseva.com and we will correct it.
Not sure which one you are?
Tell us what the store is and what is eating your week, and a written quote follows the call. The hourly tiers are on the Hire a VA pages and the engagement models on Pricing.
“For the first time I am confident my Shopify store is in the right hands.”
Rex M., United States · Fiverr, repeat client
