specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: BuyWhere
providerId: buywhere
created: '2026-05-16'
modified: '2026-05-16'
reconciled: false
tags:
  - E-commerce
  - Shopping
  - AI Agents
  - FinOps
  - FOCUS
  - MCP
description: >-
  FOCUS-aligned FinOps profile for BuyWhere. BuyWhere publishes a free
  agent tier (60 rpm, 1,000 calls/month) and signals live and partner
  tiers in its MCP documentation; pricing for paid tiers has not been
  published on a formal pricing page and is contact-sales. This profile
  captures the metering surface (per-key, per-tier rate limits and
  monthly quotas) and is marked unreconciled until BuyWhere publishes a
  formal commercial pricing surface.
sources:
  - https://api.buywhere.ai/
  - https://api.buywhere.ai/llms.txt
  - https://api.buywhere.ai/docs/guides/mcp
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: BuyWhere
serviceCategory: Commerce / Product Catalog
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Freemium with Contact-Sales Paid Tiers
  billingFrequency: NotPublished
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
    - Usage
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: BuyWhere Product Catalog API
  ServiceCategory: Commerce / Product Catalog
  ProviderName: BuyWhere
  PublisherName: BuyWhere
  InvoiceIssuerName: BuyWhere
  BillingCurrency: USD
meters:
  - name: api_calls
    unit: request
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - api_key_tier
      - api_key
      - operation
      - country_code
      - domain
  - name: mcp_tool_invocations
    unit: invocation
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - api_key_tier
      - api_key
      - tool
  - name: monthly_quota_consumption
    unit: request
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - api_key
      - api_key_tier
principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: |
      Track call volume per agent / API key per operation. The free tier exposes a 1,000
      calls/month ceiling, so visibility is essential to predict upgrade timing.
  - name: Allocation
    description: |
      Tag calls by agent application, MCP tool name, and country_code so usage is
      attributable when paid tiers ship. The api_key prefix (`bw_free_`, `bw_live_`,
      `bw_partner_`) is the primary cost-pool dimension.
  - name: Optimization
    description: |
      Use `compact=true` on /products/search to lower per-call processing cost; respect
      `meta.cached` to identify free cache hits; respect `Retry-After` to avoid 429-induced
      retry storms. For agentic workflows, compose multiple operations into a single MCP
      tool call (find_best_value) to amortize round-trip overhead.
  - name: Accountability
    description: |
      Designate an owner for BuyWhere usage tracking; revisit when BuyWhere publishes formal
      pricing and metering policies.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com