Amazon’s Product Advertising API (PAAPI) is a powerful tool that allows developers to access Amazon product data for integration into applications or websites. However, a common challenge developers face is the frustrating “Too Many Requests” error, indicating that the API’s request rate limits have been exceeded. This error can disrupt functionality and user experience if not addressed properly.
In this post, we’ll explore the common and not-so-common reasons for this error and how you can handle it without pulling your hair out.
Surprising Reasons You Might See the “Too Many Requests” Error
While common triggers for the error revolve around rate limits, there are some lesser-known causes worth noting. Here are two scenarios where the API may return this error, even if you are playing by the rules:
1. You Just Got Verified as an Affiliate Partner
After your affiliate account is verified, the PAAPI may not be fully functional immediately. It typically takes about 48 hours for the API to activate. During this period, any attempts to use the API may result in the “Too Many Requests” error.
2. If Your Store Does Not Have Any Sales for the Past Month
Amazon rewards active affiliates, so if your store hasn’t made any sales in the last 30 days, the API might throttle your requests.
According to the Amazon PAAPI 5.0 documentation:
“Note that your account will lose access to Product Advertising API 5.0 if it has not generated referring sales for a consecutive 30-day period. If you lose access to Product Advertising API 5.0, you can continue to use other product linking tools, such as Site Stripe and generate revenue. You will regain access to Product Advertising API 5.0 within two days after your referred sales are shipped.”
If you’re neither a new affiliate nor lacking sales, but you’re still seeing the error, let’s start by understanding the rate limits for the PAAPI and how it works.
Understanding the PAAPI Rate Limits
Amazon PAAPI enforces strict rate limits to ensure fair usage across all developers. These limits are based on:
1. Transactions per second (TPS): The maximum number of requests you can send per second. One API call is considered one transaction For new affiliates, this starts at 1 TPS.
2. Transactions per day (TPD): The maximum number of requests allowed in a 24-hour period. The TDP limit for new affiliates is 8640 TPD.
As your store generates more revenue, these limits can increase. Until then, it’s essential to stay within the default thresholds.
Amazon starts you off with 1 TPS and 8640 TPD limits for the first 30 days of your usage, but these can increase as your affiliate account generates more revenue through the affiliate links. Until then, it’s essential to stay within the default thresholds.
Common Triggers for “Too Many Requests”
Besides the outliers mentioned above, here are the usual suspects:
1. Rapid-Fire Requests
Sending multiple requests too quickly without respecting the TPS limit. For instance, making more than one API call per second when your TPS is 1.
2. Exceeding Your Daily Quota
If you’re making lots of requests, you might hit your daily cap before you know it. For example, if a store has 8640 TPD, once this limit is reached, the request will be throttled.
3. Concurrency Issues
Multiple processes or threads making requests simultaneously without coordination.
4. Inefficient API Usage
Sending redundant or unnecessary requests instead of batching or caching results.
Handling the “Too Many Requests” Error
With a few adjustments, you can keep things running smoothly even when you get this error:
1. Implement Request Throttling
Use throttling mechanisms or space out your requests to ensure your requests do not exceed the TPS limit.
2. Batch and Cache Requests
Minimize the number of API calls by:
Batching: Instead of making individual requests for each ASIN, bundle multiple ASINs (Amazon Standard Identification Numbers) into a single request. PAAPI supports up to 10 ASINs per transaction, saving you valuable TPS and TPD.
Caching: Store frequently accessed data locally and refresh it periodically rather than fetching it repeatedly from the API.
Conclusion
The “Too Many Requests” error is a common hurdle for developers working with Amazon PAAPI, but it’s manageable with the right strategies. By understanding the API limits, avoiding common pitfalls, and implementing strategies like throttling, batching, and caching, you can keep your application running smoothly while staying within Amazon PAAPI’s guidelines. .………..
Working on e-commerce integration or building applications that rely on third-party APIs like Amazon PAAPI? Gurzu can help bring your vision to life! Get a free consulting call with our experts, or simply, drop us a message!
Gurzu is a software development company passionate about building software that solve real-life problems. Explore some of our awesome projects in our success stories.
