#24: eBay frees up its APIs

November 14, 2005 By

We’re in the middle of a new war for getting developer’s attention. Any API that tries to limit developers, or charge for its use, is just going to have slower growth than ones that are freely available.

 eBay got that today and launched a developer challenge.

Filed Under: Blog Tips, Web
  • Ron M.

    Heh.. the conflict between open/closed APIs sounds a lot like the conflict between open/closed source.

  • Ron M.

    Heh.. the conflict between open/closed APIs sounds a lot like the conflict between open/closed source.

  • anon

    “You could win $5,000, or many other great prizes. “. Cheap, cheap, cheap.

  • anon

    “You could win $5,000, or many other great prizes. “. Cheap, cheap, cheap.

  • http://www.michaelmcderment.com/ Michael McDerment

    huge amounts of DATA + great API’s =’s successful strategy.

    For leading internet companies freeing large amounts of data and inciting development seem to be the corner stones for success. Closed API’s? That seems like an obstacle in the way of developers…that sounds like something that will only hold you back.

    DION made a nice post about Amazon doing similar things here:

    http://web2.wsj2.com/microsoft_gets_disrupted.htm

    The long tail no longer applies to products, it now applies to services. I wrote a lenth piece about that here:

    http://michaelmcderment.com/article/Web2ChroniclesVolumeOne.html

  • http://www.michaelmcderment.com/ Michael McDerment

    huge amounts of DATA + great API’s =’s successful strategy.

    For leading internet companies freeing large amounts of data and inciting development seem to be the corner stones for success. Closed API’s? That seems like an obstacle in the way of developers…that sounds like something that will only hold you back.

    DION made a nice post about Amazon doing similar things here:

    http://web2.wsj2.com/microsoft_gets_disrupted.htm

    The long tail no longer applies to products, it now applies to services. I wrote a lenth piece about that here:

    http://michaelmcderment.com/article/Web2ChroniclesVolumeOne.html

  • http://www.vixen.com/blog Morgan Schweers, CyberFOX!

    Greetings,
    Yeah, my users emailed me about this one today; it’s amazing how my users can keep me more on top of the news than almost any other news source.

    But seriously…Wow. eBay’s API is backed to a VERY rich data store, and the potential applications (and not just for direct commerce) are amazing. They also upped their call limits to 1.5 Million/day instead of per month, which it used to be. (Yes, there are still call limits, which is understandable.)

    The one API they haven’t opened up is bidding, and if you use the API, they forbid scraping, so you still can’t write an app that bids (which mine does).

    It’s a great move, no qualifications.

  • http://www.vixen.com/blog Morgan Schweers, CyberFOX!

    Greetings,
    Yeah, my users emailed me about this one today; it’s amazing how my users can keep me more on top of the news than almost any other news source.

    But seriously…Wow. eBay’s API is backed to a VERY rich data store, and the potential applications (and not just for direct commerce) are amazing. They also upped their call limits to 1.5 Million/day instead of per month, which it used to be. (Yes, there are still call limits, which is understandable.)

    The one API they haven’t opened up is bidding, and if you use the API, they forbid scraping, so you still can’t write an app that bids (which mine does).

    It’s a great move, no qualifications.

  • http://morningcoffee.cjb.net/ women

    it’s also true that such “developer challenge” is cheaper than extending company’s software development team

  • http://morningcoffee.cjb.net/ women

    it’s also true that such “developer challenge” is cheaper than extending company’s software development team

  • Pingback: Adam Trachtenberg » Blog Archive » Opening up eBay one free API call at a time

  • http://rogeliochoy.blogspot.com/ Ro

    Morgan,

    eBay actually does offer an API call for placing bids remotely on the eBay site (it’s used for wireless and off-Internet apps). There is, however, a legal addendum with it, given the sensitivity around its use. Ping me if you want to take a look.

  • http://rogeliochoy.blogspot.com Ro

    Morgan,

    eBay actually does offer an API call for placing bids remotely on the eBay site (it’s used for wireless and off-Internet apps). There is, however, a legal addendum with it, given the sensitivity around its use. Ping me if you want to take a look.

  • Pingback: Starting a Web 2.0 Company » Blog Archive » RE: #24: eBay frees up its APIs

  • Pingback: Alex Barnett blog : eBay APIs: Innovation without barriers

  • Pingback: Michael McDerment Blog » Blog Archive » The Long Tail of Web Services and Henry Ford

  • http://www.auctionsearchkit.co.uk/ auctionsearchkit

    Here’s a new eBay / Google Maps mashup, just released:

    http://www.auctionsearchkit.co.uk

    It combines an eBay search engine and Google Maps to provide a visual result to your search for eBay items. Ideal if you are a pictures person.

  • http://www.auctionsearchkit.co.uk auctionsearchkit

    Here’s a new eBay / Google Maps mashup, just released:

    http://www.auctionsearchkit.co.uk

    It combines an eBay search engine and Google Maps to provide a visual result to your search for eBay items. Ideal if you are a pictures person.