Manage Automations

Price automations on MercadoLibre are essential tools for sellers who want to keep their products competitive and maximize their profit margins. These tools allow product prices to be adjusted dynamically and strategically in response to different market variables. Below are the functionalities available to manage automations.

Get Available Rules for an Item

For a specific item, you can retrieve the list of available rules that can be used for price automation by making a GET request to the resource /marketplace/items/{itemId}/prices/automate/rules.

Rules

rule_id	Title	Description
“INT_EXT”	Best price inside and outside Mercado Libre	Your price will adjust to the lowest price among similar listings on Mercado Libre and others outside the site.
“INT”	Price to win on Mercado Libre	Your price will adjust to the lowest price among similar listings on Mercado Libre.

Preconditions to obtain the available rules for an item

• It must be queried on an existing item
• The item must be eligible for automation

Request:

curl -X GET -H 'Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN' https://api.mercadolibre.com/marketplace/items/$ITEM_ID/prices/automate/rules

Example:

curl -X GET -H 'Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN' https://api.mercadolibre.com/marketplace/items/MLM2245313004/prices/automate/rules

Response:

{
    "item_id": "MLM2245313004",
    "rules": [
        {
            "rule_id": "INT",
            "title": "Price to win on Mercado Libre",
            "description": "Your price will be adjusted by comparing the price and selling conditions of same listings on Mercado Libre and other marketplaces."
        },
        {
            "rule_id": "INT_EXT",
            "title": "Best price on Mercado Libre and off the site",
            "description": "Your price will be adjusted by comparing the price and selling conditions of same listings on Mercado Libre and other marketplaces."
        }
    ]
}

Response fields

The response of a GET to the resource /marketplace/items/$ITEM_ID/prices/automate/rules will provide the following parameters:

• item_id: Item identifier
• rules: List of rules available for an item. Currently it can only be INT_EXT and INT
  • rule_id: Automation rule.

Possible errors when obtaining the available rules

When obtaining the available rules for an item, you may encounter the following errors. It is crucial that you understand the cause of each one and know how to correct them in order to efficiently manage the situation. Here is the information you need to identify and resolve these issues.

Item not found:

{
    "error": "item_not_found",
    "message" : "Item with id [MLA123456] not found",
    "status": 404,
    "cause": []
}

User not authorized:

{
    "error": "user_not_authorized",
    "message": "User is not allowed to automate items",
    "status": 412,
    "cause": []
}

Item cannot be automated:

{
    "error": "item_not_automatizable",
    "message" : "Item with id [MLA123456] has no rules available",
    "status": 412,
    "cause": []
}

The established strategy cannot be processed:

{
    "error": "unprocessable_get_strategies",
    "message" : "Error calling retrieve item strategies service",
    "status": 422,
    "cause": []
}

Unauthorized:

{
    "code": "unauthorized",
    "message": "invalid access token"
}

Assign a new price automation

To assign a new price automation, you need to perform a POST request to the resource /marketplace/items/$ITEM_ID/prices/automate.

Preconditions to assign an automation

• The rule must be applied to an existing item
• It must necessarily have a minimum price
• Prices cannot be absurd (Maximum and Minimum)
• It must meet the creation conditions

Request:

curl -X POST -H 'Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN'
{
  "rule_id" : "INT_EXT", 
  "min_price": 100,
  "max_price": 1000
}

https://api.mercadolibre.com/marketplace/items/$ITEM_ID/prices/automate

Example:

curl -X POST -H 'Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN'
{
  "rule_id" : "INT_EXT", 
  "min_price": 100,
  "max_price": 1000
}
https://api.mercadolibre.com/marketplace/items/MLM2245313004/prices/automate

Response:

{
    "status": "ACTIVE",
    "item_id": "MLM2245313004",
    "item_rule": {
        "rule_id": "INT_EXT",
        "title": "Best price on Mercado Libre and off the site",
        "description": "Your price will be adjusted by comparing the price and selling conditions of same listings on Mercado Libre and other marketplaces."
    },
    "min_price": 100,
    "max_price": 1000
}

Response fields

The response of a POST to the resource pricing-automation /marketplace/items/$ITEM_ID/prices/automate will provide the following parameters

• item_id: Item identifier
• status: Automation status, possible statuses:
  • ACTIVE
  • PAUSED
• item_rule: Automation rule, currently the only rules available are:
• rule_id: Automation rule.
• “INT_EXT” (Internal and external competition simultaneously).
• “INT” (Internal competition only; if it is a catalog item, only that type of listing will be considered).
• title: Name of the selected rule. The only one available is “Price to win sales”.
• description: Description of the selected rule.
• min_price: Minimum price set for the automation.
• max_price: Maximum price set for the automation.

Possible errors when assigning an automation

When assigning a new automation, you may encounter the following errors. It is crucial that you understand the cause of each one and know how to correct them in order to efficiently manage the situation. Here is the information you need to identify and resolve these issues.

Field rule_id without value:

{
    "error": "argument_not_valid",
    "message": "rule_id must not be null",
    "status": 400,
    "cause": [
        {
            "code": "rule_id_not_null",
            "message": "Rule identifier is required"
        }
    ]
}

Item not found:

{
    "error": "item_not_found",
    "message" : "Item with id [MLA123456] not found",
    "status": 404
}

User not authorized:

{
    "error": "user_not_authorized",
    "message": "User is not allowed to automate items",
    "status": 412
}

Automation already created:

{
    "error": "automation_already_created",
    "message" : "Automation already created",
    "status": 412
}

Automation not allowed:

{
   "error": "automation_operation_not_allowed",
   "message" : "Cannot perform [assign automation] for item with id [MLA123456]",
   "status": 412
}

Unable to process the established rule:

{
     "error": "unprocessable_set_rule",
     "message" : "Error calling rule assignment service",
     "status": 422
}

Unauthorized

{
    "code": "unauthorized",
    "message": "invalid access token"
}

Retrieve Existing Price Automation of a particular item

To obtain the price automation for an item, you need to query the resource /marketplace/items/$ITEM_ID/prices/automate.

Preconditions to obtain an automation

• It must correspond to an existing item
• It must be an already assigned automation
• It must meet the retrieval conditions

Request:

curl -X GET -H 'Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN' 
https://api.mercadolibre.com/marketplace/items/$ITEM_ID/prices/automate

Example:

curl -X GET -H 'Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN' 
https://api.mercadolibre.com/marketplace/items/MLM2245313004/prices/automate

Response:

{
   "status": "ACTIVE",
   "item_id": "MLM2245313004",
   "item_rule": {
       "rule_id": "INT_EXT",
       "title": "Best price on Mercado Libre and off the site",
       "description": "Your price will be adjusted by comparing the price and selling conditions of same listings on Mercado Libre and other marketplaces."
   },
   "min_price": 100,
   "max_price": 1000
}

Response fields

The response of a GET to the resource /marketplace/items/$ITEM_ID/prices/automate will provide the following parameters:

• item_id: Item identifier
• status: Automation status, possible statuses:
  • ACTIVE
  • PAUSED
• item_rule:
  • rule_id: Automation rule.
• min_price: Minimum price set for the automation.
• max_price: Maximum price set for the automation.

Possible errors when obtaining an automation

When consulting an automation, you may encounter the following errors. It is crucial that you understand the cause of each one and know how to correct them in order to efficiently manage the situation. Here is the information you need to identify and resolve these issues.

Item not found:

{
    "error": "item_not_found",
    "message" :"Item with id [MLA123456] not found",
    "status": 404,
    "cause": []
}

Automation not found:

{
    "error": "automation_not_found",
    "message" : "Automation not found for item with id [MLA123456]",
    "status": 404,
    "cause": []
}

User not authorized:

{
    "error": "user_not_authorized",
    "message": "User is not allowed to automate items",
    "status": 412,
    "cause": []
}

Automation not allowed:

{
   "error": "automation_operation_not_allowed",
   "message" : "Cannot perform [get automation] for item with id [MLA123456]",
   "status": 412,
   "cause": []
}

Unable to process the established rule:

{
     "error": "unprocessable_get_rule",
     "message" : "Error calling rule assignment service",
     "status": 422
}

Unauthorized:

{
    "code": "unauthorized",
    "message": "invalid access token"
}

Update Price Automation

To update a price automation rule for an item that is already assigned, you need to perform a PUT request to the resource /marketplace/items/{itemId}/prices/automate.

Preconditions to update an automation

• The rule must be applied to an existing item.
• It is mandatory that it has a minimum price.
• Prices cannot be absurd (Maximum and Minimum).

Request:

curl -X PUT -H 'Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN' 
{
  "rule_id" : "INT_EXT",
  "min_price": 111,
  "max_price": 999
}
https://api.mercadolibre.com/marketplace/items/{itemId}/prices/automate

Example:

curl -X PUT -H 'Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN' 
{
  "rule_id" : "INT_EXT",
  "min_price": 111,
  "max_price": 999
}

https://api.mercadolibre.com/marketplace/items/MLM2245313004/prices/automate

Response:

{
    "status": "ACTIVE",
    "item_id": "MLM2245313004",
    "item_rule": {
        "rule_id": "INT_EXT",
        "title": "Best price on Mercado Libre and off the site",
        "description": "Your price will be adjusted by comparing the price and selling conditions of same listings on Mercado Libre and other marketplaces."
    },
    "min_price": 111,
    "max_price": 999
}

Response fields

The response of a PUT to the resource /marketplace/items/{itemId}/prices/automate will provide the following parameters:

• item_id: Item identifier
• status: Automation status, possible statuses:
  • ACTIVE
  • PAUSED
• item_rule:
  • rule_id: Automation rule.
  • title: The title of the automation rule.
  • description: A detailed description of the automation rule.
• min_price: Minimum price set for the automation.
• max_price: Maximum price set for the automation.

Possible errors when updating an automation

When updating an automation, you may encounter the following errors. It is crucial that you understand the cause of each one and know how to correct them in order to efficiently manage the situation. Here is the information you need to identify and resolve these issues.

Field rule_id without value:

{
    "error": "argument_not_valid",
    "message": "rule_id must not be null",
    "status": 400,
    "cause": [
        {
            "code": "rule_id_not_null",
            "message": "Rule identifier is required"
        }
    ]
}

Item not found:

{
    "error": "item_not_found",
    "message" : "Item with id [MLA123456] not found",
    "status": 404,
    "cause": []
}

User not authorized:

{
    "error": "user_not_authorized",
    "message": "User is not allowed to automate items",
    "status": 412,
    "cause": []
}

Automation not allowed:

{
   "error": "automation_operation_not_allowed",
   "message" : "Cannot perform [assign automation] for item with id [MLA123456]",
   "status": 412,
   "cause": []
}

Unable to process the established rule:

{
    "error": "unprocessable_set_rule",
    "message" : "Error calling rule retrieve service",
    "status": 422,
    "cause": []
}

Unauthorized:

{
    "code": "unauthorized",
    "message": "invalid access token"
}

Delete a Price Automation

To delete a price automation rule from an item that is currently assigned, a DELETE request must be made to the resource /marketplace/items/{itemId}/prices/automate.

Preconditions to delete an automation

• The rule must be deleted from an existing item
• An existing rule must be deleted

Request:

curl -X GET -H 'Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN' 
https://api.mercadolibre.com/marketplace/items/{itemId}/prices/automate

Example:

ccurl -X GET -H 'Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN' 
https://api.mercadolibre.com/marketplace/items/MLM2245313004/prices/automate

The successful response will be only a "200 - OK" with an empty return.

{}

Possible errors when deleting an automation

When deleting an automation, you may encounter the following errors. It is crucial that you understand the cause of each one and know how to correct them in order to efficiently manage the situation. Here is the information you need to identify and resolve these issues.

Item not found:

{
    "error": "item_not_found",
    "message" : "Item with id [MLA123456] not found",
    "status": 404,
    "cause": []
}

Automation not found:

{
    "error": "automation_not_found",
    "message" : "Automation not found for item with id [MLA123456]",
    "status": 404,
    "cause": []
}

User not authorized:

{
    "error": "user_not_authorized",
    "message": "User is not allowed to automate items",
    "status": 412,
    "cause": []
}

Automation not allowed:

{
   "error": "automation_operation_not_allowed",
   "message" : "Cannot perform [delete automation] for item with id [MLA123456]",
   "status": 412,
   "cause": []
}

Unable to process the established rule:

{
    "error": "unprocessable_delete_rule",
    "message" : "Error calling rule retrieve service",
    "status": 422,
    "cause": []
}

Unauthorized:

{
    "code": "unauthorized",
    "message": "invalid access token"
}