Before you start
You need to be the store owner, or a user allowed to manage API accounts, in the BigCommerce control panel. In Pricebeeper you need a confirmed email address and the owner or admin role in the account. Connections hold credentials, so other team roles can see them but not add them.
Step 1: Create a store API account in BigCommerce
Open the API accounts
In the control panel, open Settings and, under Technical, Store-level API accounts. Choose Create API account.
Name it and choose the token type
Keep the token type that creates an API token (V2/V3), and name the account Pricebeeper.
Give it read-only scopes
Set Products to read-only and Information & settings to read-only. Leave every other scope at None.
Save and copy two values
Save. BigCommerce shows the Access token and the API path, and downloads a text file with them. Copy both; the token isn't shown again.
Keep the downloaded file somewhere safe, or delete it once the connection works. You can always create a new account if the token is lost.
Step 2: Connect it in Pricebeeper
Open Connections
In Pricebeeper, go to Settings, Connections, choose Add connection and pick BigCommerce.
Fill in the access details
Paste the API path as BigCommerce shows it (it contains /stores/ and your store hash) and the Access token. There is no currency or address to fill in: Pricebeeper reads both from your store.
Choose what each sync does
Add new products brings in products that aren't in your catalog yet, each with its page address. Update unit costs uses the cost price. Use its prices as your own prices uses the price shoppers pay, with a running sale price.
Connect and test
Choose Connect and test. Pricebeeper signs in, reads the first products and shows them with their codes, barcodes, costs and prices, so you can check them before the full sync runs in the background.
What a sync changes
Each sync reads every product BigCommerce lists and finds the matching product in your catalog: first by product code (SKU), then by barcode (EAN or GTIN). A code or barcode that several of your products share matches none of them, so a duplicate never gets the wrong cost.
- Unit cost replaces the cost Pricebeeper had, when Update unit costs is on. Repricing keeps every suggestion above the margin floor it sets.
- Your own price becomes the price competitors are compared with, when Use its prices as your own prices is on.
- Codes and barcodes fill in where a product had none, which helps Pricebeeper find the exact product at other sellers.
- Products that match nothing are counted and listed on the connection, so you can see what is missing from your catalog.
Variants made from options (a size, a colour) come in as their own lines with their own SKUs, GTINs, prices and cost prices; a variant without its own cost price takes its product's. Products are added with their page address on your store's domain; variants are matched by SKU or GTIN to products already in your catalog.
A sync never deletes, renames or moves anything, and it reads only: Pricebeeper writes nothing back to your system. Approved prices reach your store only through a store you connect for repricing.
Step 3: Check the results
The connection shows when it last synced, how many products it read, added and updated, and how many it couldn't match. Sync now runs it straight away; the switch pauses it. New products wait under Products, filtered as not monitored: choose the ones to watch and attach them to a region, as the getting started guide explains.
When a sync fails
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| The login, key or token was refused | The token was deleted or mistyped. Create a new store API account and paste its token with Edit. |
| The key works but isn't allowed to read products | Set Products and Information & settings to read-only on the API account. |
| Nothing was found at that address | Copy the API path again: the store hash in it must be your store's. |
| The source asked us to slow down | Nothing: the next scheduled sync tries again. If it keeps happening, choose a weekly sync. |
| The source had an error on its side | Nothing at first: the next sync tries again. If it fails for days, check the system's status page. |
After ten failed scheduled syncs in a row a connection pauses itself, so it stops trying with details that no longer work. Fix the setting with Edit, then switch it back on.
Questions people ask
Which price does Pricebeeper take?
The price shoppers pay on your store: the sale price while one is set, otherwise the price. The price before the sale is kept as the regular price, so your own sale shows as one.
Does it work with multi-storefront and other currencies?
It reads your default storefront's catalog prices in your store's default currency, which is what most competitors are compared with. To compare prices per country, attach products to the regions you sell in, as monitoring by region explains.
How are my keys and passwords stored?
Encrypted, and never shown again, not even to you: the connection shows only a short hint. Only the account owner and team admins can add or change connections, and they are sent only to the address you entered.
Does Pricebeeper change anything in my system?
No. Connections only read. Give the access the least rights that let it read products and prices, and Pricebeeper can never change your data.
Does a connection use my plan's slots?
No. Slots are used only when you attach a product to a region to monitor it. Connections keep your catalog's codes, costs and prices current on every plan.
Related features
- 01Catalog importLoad your whole catalog from Shopify, WooCommerce, a Merchant Center feed, CSV or URLs, then choose what to monitor.
- 02RepricingRules turn competitor prices into suggested prices within your limits; you approve, and your store is updated.
- 03Barcode and exact product matchingMatch each product to its Google Shopping product and Amazon ASIN by barcode, then track the sellers of that item.
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