What You Can Do
So just what can you access through the API? Just about any action or information you can access through the Amazon web site as HTML is also available in the API as XML. In fact, studying the components of the API will provide further insight into the sorts of things Amazon offers on their site. For example:
- Product Description Information
This includes all of the data that goes along with any product: its type (book, DVD, lawn mower, etc.), sales rank, manufacturer, and any special information like track listings for CDs or special features for DVDs.
- Product Sales Information
This is data that Amazon offers related to selling the product. This includes their sales price, its current sales rank at Amazon, images of the product, whether or not the product is in stock, the manufacturer’s price, and anything else related to sales information.
- Searching
Just as you can perform advanced searches for items on Amazon’s site, you can do the same through their API. Product searches can be performed by keyword, subject area, author, director, actor, etc. You can also search Amazon features like Wish Lists, Listmania! lists, and Marketplace items and sellers.
- Reviews
User-submitted reviews and ratings for any given product.
- Related Items
A list of similar products for any given product.
This information mirrors exactly what is on the Amazon web site, but it’s available in a machine-readable format so that it’s easy to use in different ways.
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