Purchase API

Change Log

• July 2023: Shipping costs are now divided across all items in an order to support new shipping features.

Introduction

The AbeBooks Purchase API is a REST service that lets select partners place orders on AbeBooks programmatically. It works with AbeBooks Search Web Services to find the required information about the desired listings.

Note: Access to the Purchase API is limited to select partners.

First Time Setup

To get started, complete the following steps:

1. Generate your API key

Visit Manage API Keys and click "Generate New Key". This will produce a pair of keys (access key and secret key) that can be used to authenticate with the API. Multiple sets of keys can be generated and used simultaneously.

2. Save your payment information

If you don't already, make sure you have a credit card entered on the Credit Card Management page.

Visit the API Payment Methods page to generate a token for your credit card. This token is passed with each order request to indicate how you will pay for the order.

Service Details

Base URL: https://purchase.api.abebooks.com/v1

Version: 1

Schemes: HTTPS