What is the Amazon Selling Partner API?
The Amazon Selling Partner API (SP-API) is the program through which software reads and manages a seller's or vendor's Amazon business data. You register as a developer first and then register an application. Its Reports API alone covers inventory, orders for fulfillment, tax information and returns, according to Amazon's Reports API documentation. [amazon] [amz-registration]
Amazon separates three kinds of applications. A private seller app serves only your own organization and you authorize it yourself. A private vendor app does the same for a vendor. A public app is authorized by other sellers or vendors through OAuth and must be listed in the Selling Partner Appstore. [amz-registration]
Who can get access to the Selling Partner API?
A seller with a professional selling account can register, and only the primary account user can complete it. Individual selling accounts are not eligible for private seller applications, though Amazon lets you upgrade to a professional plan at any time. [amz-registration]
Public developers carry extra requirements. Their website must meet Amazon's guidelines for public developers and service providers, and their app has to appear in the Appstore under the Solution Provider Portal Agreement. Both public and private applications also face authorization limits. [amz-registration]
How do you register as an SP-API developer?
You register by filling in a Developer Profile from Seller Central, under Apps and Services and then Develop Apps. The form asks for contact information, the data you need, the roles that apply to you, your use cases and your security controls. You then accept the Solution Provider Portal Agreement, the Acceptable Use Policy and the Data Protection Policy, and choose Register. [amz-register]
Amazon asks you to keep the profile under 500 words and to write it yourself instead of copying its policies. The team that owns data security should answer the security questions. Amazon then opens a case with next steps. If it asks for more information, you have five days to respond before the case closes and your access stays unchanged. [amz-registration] [amz-register]
Amazon does not publish how it decides eligibility. Its registration guide for private developers says only that it bases the decision on your profile and puts data security first. [amz-register]
Which roles unlock which Amazon data?
Roles decide which operations your application may call, and a call without the right role returns a 403 error. Amazon's roles page lists 17 roles. All 17 are open to sellers and 6 are open to vendors. Another 4 carry the Restricted label because they touch personal data, so they need extra detail on data use and security. [amz-roles]
The role names map closely to the data an analyst wants. Brand Analytics unlocks reports such as the search terms report. Finance and Accounting returns settlement reports. Inventory and Order Tracking covers aggregated order metrics from the Sales API and the active listings report, and Selling Partner Insights covers the seller performance report. [amz-roles]
Picking too few roles costs time later. To add one you update your developer profile and wait for Amazon to approve it again. After that you apply the role to your application and collect new authorizations, which produce a new refresh token. [amz-roles]
What are the SP-API rate limits?
Each SP-API operation has its own rate limit and burst limit, enforced with a token bucket. Every request spends a token and Amazon refills the bucket at a set rate per second. A request that finds the bucket empty is throttled with a 429 response. In Amazon's own example, an operation with a rate of 1 and a burst of 2 throttles the third call made within 200 milliseconds. [amz-limits]
Most limits apply per selling partner and application pair, and they are tied to the Amazon stores where that partner sells. Some operations use dynamic plans that Amazon adjusts to the seller's business metrics, so calling more often does not raise them. Amazon's rate limit guide says the x-amzn-RateLimit-Limit header may be missing and the sandbox cannot test real limits, so your code needs a back-off strategy from day one. [amz-limits]
How do reports work in the Selling Partner API?
The Reports API works in three moves: you request a report, check that processing is complete, then retrieve the document. Version 2021-06-30 of the Reports API documents nine operations, including createReport, getReport, getReportDocument and a set for schedules. It is available to sellers and vendors in the NA, EU and FE regions. [amazon]
The parser is yours to maintain. Amazon warns that it periodically adds new fields and field values to reports, and that the format of document identifiers may change. Our guide to Amazon reporting data shows how those report files become queryable tables. [amazon] [cs]
Does the Selling Partner API include advertising data?
Campaign data comes through a separate program, the Amazon Ads API, which has its own application and approval process. Amazon offers one route for partners that build tools for others and one for direct advertisers who manage their own account. The Amazon Ads API page states there are no extra Amazon Ads fees to use it. [amz-ads]
A seller who wants sales and ad spend in one view therefore runs two approvals and joins two data sets. Our comparison of the Amazon Ads API and Commerce Spine covers the advertising side in detail. [amz-ads] [cs]
Should you build on the SP-API or use a managed data layer?
Build on the SP-API when your software has to act on the account. Updating listings, sending feeds, messaging buyers or shipping orders all need an approved application that holds the matching roles. The same holds when you sell an app to other sellers through the Appstore. [amz-roles] [amz-registration]
If you mainly need to read and analyze your data, Commerce Spine skips the approval work. Access runs through Amazon's own authorization flow and you can revoke it there at any time. The first sync backfills 30 days of history, and your agent then queries a read-only API with nine documented entities, from accountPerformance to inventory and listing. See how Commerce Spine connects and the data it covers. [cs] [cs-site]
Plans are flat. Free covers one connected account with 20 requests an hour and 40 a day. Brand costs $49 a month for up to 3 accounts and Portfolio $149 for up to 12. Both allow 1,000 requests a day and a 90-day window per query. For a longer side-by-side, read Amazon SP-API vs Commerce Spine. [cs-site]
| Commerce Spine | Your own SP-API application | |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon approval | Already in place; you authorize through Amazon's own flow | Developer profile, role requests and a case review |
| Roles | Read access to the data in the warehouse | Chosen from 17 roles; a missing role returns 403 |
| Rate limits | Free: 20 requests an hour, 40 a day. Paid: 1,000 a day | Token bucket per operation, per seller and app pair |
| Date range per query | 30 days on Free, 90 days on paid plans | Reports you request, download and store yourself |
| Write access | None; the API is read-only | Feeds and updates, if you hold the roles |
| Price | $0 Free, $49 Brand, $149 Portfolio | Your own build, hosting and upkeep |
Frequently asked questions
Can an individual seller account use the Selling Partner API?
No. Amazon requires a professional selling account to build private seller applications, and individual accounts are not eligible. You can upgrade to a professional plan at any time in Seller Central. Only the primary account user can complete the developer registration, so plan for that person to fill in the profile.
How long do you have to answer Amazon during registration?
Five days. After you submit the Developer Profile, Amazon creates a case and sends updates to the admin email on file. If it asks for more information and you do not respond within five days, the case is resolved and your SP-API access stays as it was. Amazon asks you to complete every field truthfully and accurately.
What happens when an app calls an operation without the right role?
The call fails with a 403 error. To fix it you add the role to your developer profile and wait for Amazon to approve it. Then you apply the role to your application and get new authorizations, which issue a fresh refresh token that grants access to the new operations and reports.
Can Commerce Spine change my listings, prices or bids?
No. Commerce Spine tokens are read-only, so nothing it ships can change bids, listings, prices or inventory on your account. Your agent reads the data and you act on it in Seller Central or your own tools. Access runs through Amazon's authorization flow, and you can revoke it there whenever you want.
Sources
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