Questions

Frequently asked questions

Everything we're asked most before someone connects a catalog: getting started, pricing and trials, reselling, database sync, limits, security, and support. Can't find your question here? Ask us directly.

Getting started

What exactly is Feedwyre?

Feedwyre turns a product catalog into a secure web API in a few minutes, without writing any code. That catalog can be a spreadsheet, an export from another system, or a live pull from your own database. Just set which fields people can search by and which fields come back, generate a key, and your apps can start looking products up right away. See what a product feed API actually is for the longer version.

How is this different from just hosting a file somewhere?

A static file can't be searched by field, can't control who's allowed to write to it, and can't safely handle two systems reducing the same unit of stock at once. Feedwyre adds authenticated lookups, field-level access control, and an atomic booking step that makes overselling impossible by design. And if a file really is all you need, you can still get a plain downloadable link too.

What's the difference between Query, Query & Booking, and Manage keys?

Each tier includes everything the one before it can do. Query is read-only: lookups and listings. Query & Booking can also book a sale against a consumer, safely reducing stock as it does - the right fit for a storefront or order system. Manage is full access: everything Query & Booking can do, plus creating, updating, deleting, and bulk-updating products. That's the tier for actually managing the product feed itself. Every key belongs to one feed, and you can optionally restrict it to book on behalf of just one consumer.

Can I give my team members their own login?

Yes. From the Account page's Team section, add a teammate with their own email and password and one of three roles: Owner (everything - there's exactly one, whoever registered the account), Admin (everything except billing and deleting the account), or Member (day-to-day catalog work - products, imports, bookings, consumers - but not API keys, database sync credentials, or billing). Everyone signs in at the same login page, so there's no separate portal to set up.

Can I try it for free?

Yes. Every account starts on the Starter plan with a 30-day free trial, and it comes pre-loaded with sample data so your dashboard isn't empty on day one. You don't need a card to sign up, and you don't have to pick a plan first either. When you're ready for a paid plan, choose it from the Account page and pay securely through Stripe.

What happens when my trial ends?

If you haven't upgraded by day 30, the account gets suspended - locked, but every byte of data stays put. You have 7 more days to upgrade before anything is deleted, and upgrading at any point brings a suspended account straight back to life.

Example use cases

I have a product catalog in a spreadsheet, not a database — how would I get started?

Import the spreadsheet (CSV or XLSX) straight into a new product feed from the dashboard. No database connection needed. Map your columns to fields once, then generate a Query key for read access, a Query & Booking key if your order flow just needs to record sales, or a Manage key if you need to update stock or products directly. Your apps can start calling the API within minutes. Re-import any time to merge in updates, or move to scheduled database sync later once the data has a permanent home. See database sync vs. CSV import.

I run a single online store — how would I actually use Feedwyre day to day?

Your storefront calls a Query key to list and search products and show live stock and pricing. When a shopper checks out, your order flow calls a Query & Booking key's booking endpoint, which safely reduces stock for that item right away. So the count shown to the next shopper is already correct, with no separate inventory sync step to keep in line. That key can book a sale but can't edit your catalog, so it's safe to embed in a storefront's checkout flow.

I'm a distributor selling the same catalog to several retail partners, each at a different price — how would I set this up?

Create one parent feed with your real catalog and cost prices, then a child feed per partner or tier with its own margin rule - a flat markup, or a different rule per category, on price, delivery cost, or a custom field. Each child feed gets its own API keys or download link, so every partner sees only their marked-up prices, live from the same underlying data, with nothing duplicated. See the reseller margin guide.

I sell through my own site, a marketplace, and a partner's ERP — how do I connect all three to one product feed?

Give each channel its own API key against the same feed, so a sale on any one of them books against the same shared stock count. For a channel that can't integrate an API - a marketplace's bulk-upload tool, or a partner system that only accepts a file - hand it a CSV/XLSX/JSON download link instead. It's generated from current data on request, so it's never a stale export. See the multi-channel feed guide.

My product data lives in our own SQL Server, MySQL, or PostgreSQL database — what does connecting it look like?

From the product feed's settings, enter read-only connection details and the query that selects your products, then map its columns to feed fields. Feedwyre pulls on whatever schedule you choose, from 15 minutes to daily (Business plan and above), and only ever merges what it finds. So a failed or partial sync can't delete existing products.

Reselling & channels

Can I resell the same catalog at a different price?

Yes. Child feeds come with every plan, including the free trial. A child feed reads a parent feed's products live and applies your own markup, either flat or per category, to price, delivery cost, or a custom field, before handing them back. Nothing gets duplicated, and each child feed has its own keys and consumers. See the reseller margin guide.

Do my partners need to integrate an API to use a child feed?

No. Every product feed, including a child feed, can hand out a secured CSV/XLSX/JSON download link instead of, or alongside, an API key. It's scoped to one partner, can be revoked on its own, and serves that partner's marked-up prices exactly like the API would - just with nothing for them to build. See it worked through in the multi-format download case study.

Can I stop overselling across multiple sales channels?

Yes, that's exactly what atomic stock booking does. Point your website, app, and marketplace listings at the same product feed, each with their own API key, and every booking reduces one shared stock count in a single step. Two channels trying to sell the last unit at the same moment can't both succeed. See the atomic stock booking guide or the multi-store case study.

Can I download my catalog as a file instead of only querying the API?

Yes. Any product feed can generate an on-demand CSV, XLSX, or JSON download link from its current data, whether or not you also use the API. It's the right fit for a marketplace's bulk-upload tool, a one-off spreadsheet review, or a partner whose systems only accept a file. More on when each shape makes sense in our multi-channel feed guide.

Is Feedwyre a PIM (product information management) tool?

Not exactly. A PIM is built for enriching and centralizing product content across many people and workflows. Feedwyre does something narrower: get an existing catalog live as a searchable, bookable API fast, with database sync and margin-based reselling built in. If you already run a PIM, Feedwyre is a natural place to point its export. See PIM vs. product feed API for the fuller comparison.

Sync & security

What databases can I sync from?

SQL Server, MySQL, and PostgreSQL, on a schedule from 15 minutes to daily, on Business plan and above. Sync only ever merges - it's never allowed to delete, even if a query briefly returns fewer rows than expected. See database sync vs. CSV import for how to choose between the two.

What happens if my database sync fails?

We record the failure against that product feed: the error, the last successful sync time, and the row count from the last attempt. But nothing gets removed or rolled back. Your existing product data stays exactly as it was after the last successful sync, and the next scheduled attempt tries again automatically.

Is my data secure?

Passwords are hashed and never stored in plain text. Database-sync credentials are encrypted at rest. API keys are stored only as a one-way hash. Team access is role-based - an Admin or Member teammate only gets the access their role allows, and a role change or removal takes effect on their very next request. Public-facing forms, like Contact, are protected against automated abuse too. You can review your account's activity log and permanently delete your own account and its data whenever you want. See our privacy policy for the full detail.

Does Feedwyre depend on my own website or servers being up?

No. A product feed is queried independently of your own infrastructure. Your storefront being down doesn't stop the API from answering, and the API being briefly unreachable doesn't touch your source data either. Database sync is a one-way scheduled pull, not a live connection that has to stay up between syncs.

Limits & billing

Is there a limit on how many API requests I can make?

Each plan has a requests-per-minute budget, shared across all of your API keys combined. A request over the limit gets a 429 response with a Retry-After header, and it doesn't count against your monthly query usage. A rejected attempt is never billed as a call. Full detail in API rate limits explained.

What happens if I go over my plan's product, feed, or usage limits?

Whatever action would push you over the limit - adding one more product than your plan allows, say - just gets rejected up front with a clear error. Nothing about your existing data changes. Upgrade your plan from the Account page any time to raise the ceiling.

Can I cancel any time?

Yes. Billing is self-service through Stripe's own portal, reachable from your Account page. No phone call or support ticket needed.

How do I change my plan or payment details?

From your Account page. Upgrading or downgrading goes through Stripe's secure checkout, and payment details, invoices, and cancellation all live in Stripe's own self-service billing portal. Your card number never touches Feedwyre's own servers.

Support

How do I contact support, and is my email address exposed anywhere?

Use the contact form. It delivers straight to our support inbox without ever printing an email address on the page, which keeps it off the scraped-address lists that drive a lot of spam.

Still have a question?

Ask us directly, or just start a trial and see how it behaves against your own catalog.