This DIY Developer Guide for OnBuy outlines the steps to building secure, scalable, and efficient custom integrations. OnBuy is a rapidly growing online marketplace offering a robust RESTful API to connect product listings, inventory management, order processing, and pricing updates.

Whether you’re syncing inventory levels, automating order fulfillment, or managing pricing, mastering OnBuy integrations ensures streamlined eCommerce operations and better marketplace performance.

Prerequisites for OnBuy Integrations

• OnBuy Seller Account and API Credentials (Consumer Key and Secret)
• Familiarity with:
  • REST APIs
  • OAuth 2.0 Authentication
  • JSON data formatting
• Tools: Postman, OnBuy API Documentation, SDKs (Python, Node.js, PHP)

Step 1: Authentication for OnBuy Integrations

OnBuy APIs use OAuth 2.0 for secure authentication.

OAuth 2.0 Token Request Example:

POST https://api.onbuy.com/v2/oauth/token
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

grant_type=client_credentials&client_id=YourConsumerKey&client_secret=YourConsumerSecret

The Access Token received must be included in the Authorization header for API requests.

Step 2: Endpoint Discovery and Data Mapping for OnBuy Integrations

Common API Resources:

• Product Listings
• Inventory Management
• Orders and Shipments
• Pricing Updates
• Categories and Attributes

Process:

• Explore OnBuy’s API documentation thoroughly.
• Map external system fields carefully to OnBuy product, order, and shipment fields.

Important considerations:

• Required vs. optional fields
• Handling SKU variations and marketplace-specific attributes
• Formatting for quantities, pricing, and weight dimensions

Step 3: Building Integration Flows for OnBuy

Integration Patterns:

• Inbound (to OnBuy): POST or PUT for listing products, updating inventory, and submitting tracking details
• Outbound (from OnBuy): GET for retrieving orders, shipments, and catalog information

Example: Updating Inventory:

PUT /v2/products/{product_id}/stock
{
  "stock": 50
}

Example: Fetching New Orders:

GET /v2/orders?status=awaiting_dispatch

Step 4: Error Handling and Pagination for OnBuy Integrations

Error Handling:

• Capture HTTP status codes and detailed OnBuy error responses.
• Implement retries for 429 (rate limiting) and temporary 5xx server errors.

Pagination:

• Use page and per_page parameters when retrieving large datasets.

Example:

GET /v2/orders?page=2&per_page=50

Step 5: Testing and Validation for OnBuy Integrations

• Use Postman or custom scripts to test API endpoints.
• Validate product upload accuracy, order data consistency, and inventory syncs.
• Simulate bulk updates to test integration performance under load.

Step 6: Deployment and Security of OnBuy Integrations

• Deploy on secure cloud services (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Manage API credentials securely using a vault service
• Enforce HTTPS/TLS encryption for all communications
• Implement detailed transaction logging and monitoring

Step 7: Maintenance and Monitoring for OnBuy Integrations

• Monitor OnBuy API updates and changes in endpoint behavior
• Set real-time alerts for API failures or connection timeouts
• Track API success rates, response times, and performance metrics

Optional Enhancements for OnBuy Integrations

• Middleware orchestration using tools like Zapier, Boomi, or Celigo
• Admin dashboards for monitoring orders, inventory, and pricing
• Webhook listeners (if available) for real-time order updates
• Custom audit reporting for operational and compliance tracking

Summary

Mastering OnBuy integrations allows businesses to automate key eCommerce processes, optimize product visibility, and improve fulfillment efficiency. This DIY Developer Guide for OnBuy provides a step-by-step plan to create secure, scalable, and high-performance custom integrations.

---