# Apify Ecommerce

> Scrape e-commerce data for pricing, reviews, bestsellers, and seller discovery across 30+ platforms including Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Shopify, WooCommerce, and more. Use when user asks about product prices, competitor analysis, store scraping, tech stack detection, food delivery, real estate, or marketplace intelligence.

- Skill: `apify/apify-ecommerce` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add apify/apify-ecommerce`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/apify/apify-ecommerce/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Product & Planning
- Author: apify (https://skillmd.com/u/apify)
- Updated: 2026-09-09
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/apify/apify-ecommerce

---


# E-Commerce Cluster

Answer natural language e-commerce questions by routing to the right Apify Actor and delivering a synthesized answer via the `apify` CLI.

**CLI rules:** Always pass `--user-agent apify-awesome-skills/apify-ecommerce`, `--json` (or the relevant `--format` flag on `datasets get-items`), and `2>/dev/null`. The `--user-agent` flag is critical for telemetry — never omit it.

## Prerequisites
(No need to check it upfront)

- Apify CLI v1.5.0+ (`npm install -g apify-cli`)
- `jq` (recommended for quick extraction and filtering; `brew install jq` on macOS, `apt install jq` on Linux)
- Authentication via one of:
  - `apify login` (OAuth, opens browser)
  - `APIFY_TOKEN` env variable (e.g. `export APIFY_TOKEN=...` or `.env` file)
  - Token from [Apify Console → Settings → Integrations](https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations)

Verify auth: `apify info --user-agent apify-awesome-skills/apify-ecommerce` — should show username and userId.

## Workflow

Copy this checklist and track progress:

```
Task Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Detect intent and select Actor
- [ ] Step 2: Fetch Actor schema
- [ ] Step 3: Ask user preferences (format, result count)
- [ ] Step 4: Run the Actor and fetch results
- [ ] Step 5: Analyze results and deliver synthesized answer
```

### Step 1: Detect Intent and Select Actor

Classify the user's message into an intent, then pick the right Actor.

**Intent signals:**

| Signals in user message | Intent |
|------------------------|--------|
| price, cost, cheapest, compare prices, pricing | `pricing` |
| review, rating, sentiment, stars, feedback | `reviews` |
| bestseller, top selling, most popular, trending | `bestsellers` |
| seller, vendor, reseller, who sells | `sellers` |
| all products from, scrape store, full catalog | `store-scrape` |
| what platform, built on, tech stack, Shopify or WooCommerce | `tech-stack` |
| SEO, listing quality, product page audit | `seo-audit` |
| competitor funnel, competitor pricing, conversion elements | `competitor` |
| search intent, keyword intent, SERP intent | `search-intent` |
| match products, same product on different platforms | `product-matching` |
| restaurant, food delivery, DoorDash, UberEats, TheFork | `food-delivery` |
| enrich store, store metadata, store list | `store-enrichment` |
| event, concert, ticket, Eventbrite | `events` |
| property, real estate, house listing, Realtor | `real-estate` |
| Facebook ads, Meta ads, ad library, competitor ads | `ads-intelligence` |
| classified, Craigslist, used item for sale | `classifieds` |
| car, used car, vehicle, automotive, Webmotors | `automotive` |
| pins, inspiration, Pinterest boards, visual search, Pinterest trends | `content-discovery` |
| TikTok Shop, TikTok store, TikTok creator | `tiktok-shop` |
| website for sale, domain for sale, Flippa | `website-marketplace` |

If multiple intents are detected, ask: *"Do you want [intent A] or [intent B]?"*

**Actor routing table — always try Primary first, switch to Fallback only if it fails or returns 0 results.** The Primary actor (`apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool`) handles most intents once you feed the right input mode:

- **Have target URLs** (a listing, profile, or category page) → `detailsUrls` / `listingUrls`.
- **Have a keyword/marketplace** → `keyword` + `marketplaces` (product-details mode).
- **Broad discovery (competitor, search-intent, classifieds, automotive, real-estate, website-marketplace, events)** → use `searchEngineKeyword` (search-engine mode) or `keyword`/`detailsUrls` depending on whether you have a query or URLs.

**Exception — skip the Primary and go straight to the Fallback** for intents the Primary genuinely can't do (different data source or specialized analysis): `tech-stack`, `seo-audit`, `store-enrichment`, `product-matching`, `ads-intelligence`, `content-discovery` (Pinterest), and `tiktok-shop`. Routing these to the Primary wastes a run and credits.

| Intent | Platform | Primary Actor | Fallback Actor |
|--------|----------|---------------|----------------|
| `pricing` | Amazon / Walmart / generic | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | — |
| `pricing` | eBay | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `ivanvs/ebay-scraper-pay-per-result` |
| `pricing` | Etsy | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `epctex/etsy-scraper` |
| `pricing` | Google Shopping | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `epctex/google-shopping-scraper` |
| `pricing` | Facebook Marketplace | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `apify/facebook-marketplace-scraper` |
| `pricing` | SHEIN | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `seamless_coffer/shein-product-scraper` |
| `pricing` | Lazada | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `fatihtahta/lazada-scraper` |
| `pricing` | Canadian Tire | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `azzouzana/canadiantire-ca-scraper` |
| `pricing` | Tesco | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `radeance/tesco-scraper` |
| `pricing` | Shopify | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `trovevault/shopify-products-scraper` |
| `pricing` | WooCommerce | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `trovevault/woocommerce-products-scraper` |
| `reviews` | Amazon / Walmart / generic | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `junglee/amazon-reviews-scraper` |
| `reviews` | Trustpilot | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `casper11515/trustpilot-reviews-scraper` |
| `reviews` | TheFork | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `jdtpnjtp/thefork-restaurant-scraper-advanced` |
| `bestsellers` | Amazon | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `junglee/amazon-bestsellers` |
| `sellers` | Amazon | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `junglee/amazon-seller-scraper` |
| `sellers` | eBay | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `ivanvs/ebay-scraper-pay-per-result` |
| `store-scrape` | Shopify | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `trovevault/shopify-products-scraper` |
| `store-scrape` | WooCommerce | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `trovevault/woocommerce-products-scraper` |
| `store-scrape` | Amazon | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `junglee/Amazon-crawler` |
| `store-scrape` | Flippa | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `scraped/flippa-scraper` |
| `tech-stack` | any | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `trovevault/e-commerce-tech-stack-detector` |
| `seo-audit` | any | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `trovevault/product-listing-seo-auditor` |
| `competitor` | any | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `trovevault/competitor-intelligence-scraper---funnel-pricing-conversion` |
| `search-intent` | any | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `trovevault/ai-serp-intent-extractor---search-intent-classifier` |
| `product-matching` | any | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | — |
| `store-enrichment` | any | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `trovevault/e-commerce-store-data-enricher` |
| `food-delivery` | DoorDash | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `tri_angle/doordash-store-details-scraper` |
| `food-delivery` | UberEats | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `e-commerce/ubereats-reviews-scraper` |
| `food-delivery` | TheFork | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `jdtpnjtp/thefork-restaurant-scraper-advanced` |
| `ads-intelligence` | Facebook / Meta | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `apify/facebook-ads-scraper` |
| `classifieds` | Craigslist | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `ivanvs/craigslist-scraper-pay-per-result` |
| `automotive` | Webmotors | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `stealth_mode/webmotors-auto-search-scraper` |
| `events` | Eventbrite | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `aitorsm/eventbrite` |
| `real-estate` | Realtor.com | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `powerai/realtor-properties-search-scraper` |
| `content-discovery` | Pinterest | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `fatihtahta/pinterest-scraper-search` |
| `tiktok-shop` | TikTok Shop | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `lemur/tiktok-shop-creators` |
| `website-marketplace` | Flippa | `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` | `scraped/flippa-scraper` |

**Escalation — if both Primary and Fallback fail or return 0 results**, discover a current alternative live instead of guessing an ID:

```bash
# Find relevant, well-rated, pay-per-event Actors for the platform/intent.
# Keep the default relevance sort — `--sort-by popularity` surfaces generic
# big-name scrapers over the platform you actually asked for.
apify actors search "PLATFORM or INTENT keywords" \
  --pricing-model PAY_PER_EVENT --limit 10 --json \
  --user-agent apify-awesome-skills/apify-ecommerce 2>/dev/null \
  | jq '[.items[]
      | select(.stats.totalUsers > 100 and .actorReviewRating > 4.5)
      | {id: (.username + "/" + .name), users: .stats.totalUsers,
         rating: (.actorReviewRating | (. * 100 | round / 100)),
         pricing: .currentPricingInfo.pricingModel}]'
```

Pick the top match. Before running it, confirm it requests only **limited permissions** (check the Actor's Store page / README — prefer Actors that don't require full account access). If the `PAY_PER_EVENT` filter returns nothing, drop the `--pricing-model` flag and re-run, keeping the ≥100-users and ≥4.5-rating bar.

### Step 2: Fetch Actor Schema

Fetch the Actor summary, input schema, and README:

```bash
# Summary (title, description, pricing, stats)
apify actors info "ACTOR_ID" --user-agent apify-awesome-skills/apify-ecommerce --json 2>/dev/null

# Input schema — use --input WITHOUT --json to get the clean schema directly.
# (Adding --json returns the full ~250 KB actor object instead, with the schema
#  buried as an escaped string under .taggedBuilds.latest.build.inputSchema.)
apify actors info "ACTOR_ID" --user-agent apify-awesome-skills/apify-ecommerce --input 2>/dev/null

# README (capabilities, examples, gotchas)
apify actors info "ACTOR_ID" --user-agent apify-awesome-skills/apify-ecommerce --readme 2>/dev/null
```

Replace `ACTOR_ID` with the selected Actor (e.g., `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool`).

**Primary actor input cheat-sheet.** `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` is mode-driven — pick fields by intent (always set the matching `max…Results` cap):

| Intent | Minimal input |
|--------|---------------|
| `pricing` (keyword) | `{"keyword": "wireless earbuds", "marketplaces": ["www.amazon.com"], "maxProductResults": 50}` |
| `pricing` (specific URLs) | `{"detailsUrls": [{"url": "https://…"}], "maxProductResults": 50}` |
| `store-scrape` (category) | `{"listingUrls": [{"url": "https://…/category"}], "maxProductResults": 500}` |
| `reviews` | `{"keywordReviews": "echo dot", "marketplacesReviews": ["www.amazon.com"], "sortReview": "Most recent", "maxReviewResults": 200}` |
| `sellers` | `{"sellerUrls": [{"url": "https://…"}], "maxSellerResults": 50}` |
| `pricing` (Google Shopping) | `{"searchEngineKeyword": "ps5", "countryCode": "us", "maxSearchEngineResults": 50}` |
| `food-delivery` | `{"keywordDelivery": "pizza", "marketplacesDelivery": ["www.doordash.com"], "addressDelivery": "New York, NY", "maxDeliveryResults": 50}` |

For any other actor (or fields not listed), fetch the schema with the `--input` command above.

### Step 3: Ask User Preferences

Before running, ask:
1. **Output format**:
   - **Quick answer** (default) — synthesized answer in chat, no file saved
   - **CSV** — full export saved to disk
   - **JSON** — full export saved to disk
2. **Result count** — suggest defaults by intent:

| Intent | Default |
|--------|---------|
| `pricing` | 50 products |
| `reviews` | 200 reviews |
| `bestsellers` | 100 items |
| `sellers` | 50 sellers |
| `store-scrape` | all (unlimited) |
| `food-delivery` | 50 restaurants |
| all others | 20–50 |

**Cost safety**: Always set a sensible result limit in the Actor input. For the Primary actor the cap field is **mode-specific** — `maxProductResults`, `maxReviewResults`, `maxSellerResults`, `maxSearchEngineResults`, or `maxDeliveryResults` (there is no single `maxResults`). For Fallback actors, use whatever the schema exposes (`maxResults`, `resultsLimit`, `maxItems`, `maxCrawledPages`, etc.). Default to the per-intent values above unless the user explicitly asks for more. Warn the user before running large scrapes (1000+ results) as they consume more Apify credits.

### Step 4: Run the Actor and Fetch Results

Two steps: run the Actor (blocks until done), then fetch dataset items in the requested format.

**Run the Actor** — returns run metadata as JSON; extract `defaultDatasetId` for the next step:

```bash
apify actors call "ACTOR_ID" -i 'JSON_INPUT' \
  --user-agent apify-awesome-skills/apify-ecommerce --json 2>/dev/null
```

From the output use `.id` (run ID), `.status` (should be `SUCCEEDED`), and `.defaultDatasetId`.

**Fetch results** — pick the variant based on the user's preference:

```bash
# Quick answer: total count + fields + top 5 in chat (no file)
apify datasets info DATASET_ID --json \
  --user-agent apify-awesome-skills/apify-ecommerce 2>/dev/null \
  | jq '{itemCount, fields, consoleUrl}'
apify datasets get-items DATASET_ID --limit 5 \
  --user-agent apify-awesome-skills/apify-ecommerce --format json 2>/dev/null

# CSV file
apify datasets get-items DATASET_ID \
  --user-agent apify-awesome-skills/apify-ecommerce --format csv 2>/dev/null > YYYY-MM-DD_OUTPUT_FILE.csv

# JSON file
apify datasets get-items DATASET_ID \
  --user-agent apify-awesome-skills/apify-ecommerce --format json 2>/dev/null > YYYY-MM-DD_OUTPUT_FILE.json
```

Other `--format` options: `jsonl`, `xlsx`, `xml`, `rss`, `html`. Use `--offset N` to paginate large datasets.

**Tip:** for anything more than a quick peek, save the dataset to a local file first (with `> file.json` / `> file.csv`) and run further analysis from disk. `apify datasets get-items` always streams over the network, so piping it straight into `jq` re-downloads the whole thing every iteration.

**Combining with `jq` for quick extraction:**

Treat `jq` as a complement to `apify datasets get-items`, not a replacement: server-side `--limit` / `--offset` / `--format` keeps cost and bandwidth down. Use `jq` on a sample item or on a file you already saved.

```bash
# Discover real field names from one sample item (Actor outputs vary —
# use this before composing further jq queries)
apify datasets get-items DATASET_ID --limit 1 --format json \
  --user-agent apify-awesome-skills/apify-ecommerce 2>/dev/null \
  | jq '.[0]'

# Quick aggregation from a JSON file you already saved with the commands above
jq '[.[] | select(.rating != null and .rating >= 4.5)] | length' YYYY-MM-DD_OUTPUT_FILE.json
```

### Step 5: Analyze Results and Deliver Answer

After the run completes, deliver a direct synthesized answer — not a data dump:

- **Pricing:** price range, average, top 5 cheapest with URLs
- **Reviews:** average rating, top 3 positive and negative themes, recent snippets
- **Bestsellers:** top 10 by rank with name, price, rating, URL
- **Sellers:** total sellers, price range per seller, unauthorized seller flags
- **Store-scrape:** total products, category breakdown, price range, stock summary
- **Tech-stack:** platform detected, confidence level, notable plugins
- **Food delivery:** restaurant count, average rating, price tier breakdown
- **Ads intelligence:** total ads, active/inactive split, top creative formats

## Error Handling

- Auth error → run `apify login`, or set `APIFY_TOKEN` env var
- `Actor not found` → check Actor ID spelling in the routing table
- Run status `FAILED` → open the console URL (`.consoleUrl` from run metadata) for logs
- Timeout / very long run → pass `--timeout <seconds>` to `apify actors call`
- `No results` → broaden the keyword, switch to the Fallback Actor, then use the **Escalation** discovery command (under Step 1) if both fail
- `proxy is required` → add `"proxy": {"useApifyProxy": true}` to the Actor input
- `Platform not detected` → default to `apify/e-commerce-scraping-tool` with `generic` intent

## Gotchas

- **`--input --json` is a trap.** It returns the full ~250 KB actor object, not the schema. Use `apify actors info ID --input --user-agent apify-awesome-skills/apify-ecommerce 2>/dev/null` (no `--json`) for the clean schema; only dig into `.taggedBuilds.latest.build.inputSchema` if you specifically need it as JSON.
- **The Primary actor has no `maxResults` field.** Its caps are mode-specific (`maxProductResults`, `maxReviewResults`, `maxSellerResults`, `maxSearchEngineResults`, `maxDeliveryResults`). Setting `maxResults` does nothing and the run scrapes unbounded.
- **The Primary handles most intents via the right input mode** (URLs → `detailsUrls`/`listingUrls`; query → `keyword` or `searchEngineKeyword`), including competitor, search-intent, classifieds, automotive, real-estate, website-marketplace, and events. It genuinely **can't** do `tech-stack`, `seo-audit`, `store-enrichment`, `product-matching`, `ads-intelligence`, `content-discovery` (Pinterest), or `tiktok-shop` — route those straight to the Fallback.
- **`apify actors call -i` expects valid JSON on one line.** For inputs with URL arrays or quotes, write a file and pass `-i @input.json` instead of inlining — shell quoting silently corrupts complex inputs.
- **`datasets get-items` always streams over the network.** Save to a file once (`> file.json`), then run `jq` against the file — don't re-pipe the command into `jq` repeatedly or you re-download every time.
- **`apify actors search --sort-by popularity` ignores relevance.** It returns the biggest-name scrapers regardless of your query (an "etsy" search surfaces Instagram/Google Maps Actors). For escalation discovery keep the default relevance sort and filter on `stats.totalUsers`/`actorReviewRating` instead.
- **`marketplaces` values are full domain slugs**, e.g. `["www.amazon.com", "www.ebay.com"]` — not `"amazon"` or display names. Delivery mode is even narrower: `marketplacesDelivery` only accepts `["www.doordash.com", "www.instacart.com"]` (no UberEats — use the `e-commerce/ubereats-reviews-scraper` fallback for that). Always confirm accepted values from the `--input` schema's `enum` before guessing.