What is the Amazon Product Advertising API? #
API stands for Application Programming Interface and is the method we use in our plugin to connect with Amazon to retrieve product information. Without a working API key that you generate from your Amazon account, our plugin cannot connect to Amazon’s servers.
What will change? #
Amazon announced that it will terminate the old Product Advertising API v4 as of March 9, 2020. The official statement can be found below:
We would like to inform you that all of your applications making calls to Amazon’s Product Advertising API version 4.0 (PA API 4.0) will need to upgrade to Amazon’s Product Advertising API version 5.0 (PA API 5.0) by March 9, 2020.
PA API 5.0 is a more simple, granular, and consistent API that enables you to quickly and easily link your content to Amazon.
You may continue to use both PA API 4.0 and PA API 5.0 without disruption through March 9, 2020. After that date, we will shut down PA API 4.0, and any application calling it will no longer be able to retrieve Amazon product information.
You can learn more about this version at https://webservices.amazon.com/paapi5/documentation/faq.html.
How will this affect your website? #
After March 9, 2020, version 3.8.14 (or older) of our plugin will no longer be able to connect to Amazon’s API which means you would not be able to add new products or update details of existing products.
You still have old AWS credentials? #
To use the new API, you must migrate your old AWS credentials. You can see how to do this in the following official guide: https://webservices.amazon.com/paapi5/documentation/migrating-your-product-advertising-api-account-from-your-aws-account.html.
Do you have an active AAWP license? #
You must have an active license, to get future updates. You can check the plugin settings or your account to know when your license expires. If your license has expired, please click here to learn about how to renew your license.
AAWP + Amazon API v5 #
Starting with version 3.9 of our plugin (Changelog), the new Amazon API is supported.
Please update the plugin immediately on all your pages. Afterward, please visit the plugin settings (tab “Amazon API”) and click on “reconnect” to check if the connection with Amazon’s new API can be established.
You can check your plugin version via “Plugins > Installed Plugins”.
Amazon emailed you regarding the use of the old API v4? #
Amazon sometimes sends an email with the following wording to its affiliates:
We have noticed that within the last 30 days at least one of your applications has accessed the PA API 4.0.
Basically, Amazon wants to tell you that there is a website somewhere that sends requests to the old API with your API keys.
However, if you receive this email from Amazon, this may have the following reasons:
- There is still an old version of AAWP installed on one of your websites
- On one of your websites, a third-party Amazon plugin (not AAWP) is active, which still accesses the old Amazon API
- Someone else is using your API keys
- Amazon sends out the emails to all affiliates by default, without any real reason 🙂
Report on the current development status #
Last update: 28th February, 2020
Bestseller (Lists) #
The new API does not yet offer the possibility to retrieve bestseller lists. According to the Amazon development team, this function will be available again in the future.
Therefore, a “normal” product search will now be performed. In the results, products highlighted by Amazon will be displayed at the top.
In order to display bestseller lists, you have to pass a search term. Passing a Browse Node ID is currently not possible with the new API.
New Releases (Lists) #
The new API does not yet offer the possibility to retrieve new releases lists. We don’t know if Amazon will implement this feature again in the future.
Therefore, a “normal” product search will now be performed and the results sorted (via the API) according to the release date.
In order to display new releases lists, you have to pass a search term. Passing a Browse Node ID is currently not possible with the new API.
Filtering & ordering products #
With version 3.10 of our plugin, we bring back the filtering and ordering of products. Please be aware that the API returns a maximum of 10 products. That’s why the attributes filter_items and order_items are limited to 10 as well.