Big Cartel is a well-known and user-friendly eCommerce platform built specifically for independent artists, makers, and small companies. With its clean interface and simple store setup, it’s a go-to choice for creators looking to sell online without complexity. This is a great opportunity for software developers creating eCommerce tools and services to develop an integration with Big Cartel API that will help Big Cartel sellers manage their stores more effectively.
Whether you're developing inventory management solutions, marketing automation, or multichannel sales software, understanding how to work with Big Cartel’s API is the first step to tapping into this niche but growing market. According to BuiltWith, there are more than 150,000 websites that have been constructed using Big Cartel, and about 47,000 are active. Most of its operating stores are in the United States, and thus it is one of the top eCommerce platforms to run small online businesses in the region.
In this article, we’ll explore what the Big Cartel API can do, how you can integrate your eCommerce software with it and what you should keep in mind when building reliable, effective and powerful eCommerce integrations with this niche but rapidly growing platform.
What is the Big Cartel API?
The Big Cartel API is a RESTful API which enables software developers to integrate their eCommerce software with Big Cartel stores. It offers the endpoints to retrieve and manipulate valuable store data, such as products, orders, categories, and others.
With this API, software developers can manage store data programmatically, enabling them to build and develop their eCommerce software or services that automate tasks, synchronize inventory, or enhance storefront functionality. It also uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication, ensuring secure access to a seller’s store. The API returns data in JSON, making it easy to work with in most modern programming environments.
Big Cartel API is especially useful for software developers creating tools for makers and small businesses, Big Cartel's core user base. For example, you can create inventory sync apps, custom dashboards, reporting, or marketing automation tools specific to independent sellers using the Big Cartel API.
Key Benefits of Big Cartel API
The Big Cartel API can be useful to you as a software developer creating inventory tools, shipping integrations, or data automation systems to unlock meaningful functionality in a simple and efficient manner. The following are the major advantages of utilizing the Big Cartel API in your development projects:
1. Great Fit for Niche Markets
Big Cartel’s user base includes artists, designers, musicians, and independent brands—many of whom operate without large IT teams or complex software. This is a good chance to create specific eCommerce solutions that will suit the needs of a small community of people who appreciate simplicity and freedom of creativity.
Whether it's a lightweight inventory tool, an order tracker, or a simple analytics dashboard, even small enhancements can make a big difference for Big Cartel users. Integrating with this platform allows you to support an underserved market while avoiding the intense competition found in more saturated segments.
2. OAuth2-Based Security
The Big Cartel API is secured by OAuth 2.0 authorization and only authorized applications can access data from a store. This new form of authentication enables developers to request a certain set of permissions and makes sure that the store owners remain in control of the shared data.
OAuth2 allows developers to introduce secure authentication sequences, control token lifetimes, and safely perform sensitive tasks such as order and product handling. It also gives improved user confidence and adherence to security guidelines, which is particularly relevant in developing applications that manage customer or sales data.
3. Low Competition, High Visibility
Unlike major eCommerce platforms where developer ecosystems are crowded and competitive, Big Cartel offers a relatively untapped market. Fewer third-party tools are available for its users, meaning your app or service has a better chance of standing out.
This creates a great opportunity for software developers to gain visibility, attract loyal users, and establish a presence in a niche with real demand. If you offer a tool that solves even one key problem for Big Cartel sellers, you're likely to gain traction faster than in oversaturated markets.
If you’re looking to support a growing niche of small merchants and gain a foothold in a less saturated space, Big Cartel should be on your radar.
Challenges of Big Cartel Integration
Although the Big Cartel API allows the interaction with small-scale eCommerce stores, there are also a number of limitations and challenges that should be taken into consideration by the developers before initiating integration. The following are the major challenges that software developers can encounter when using the Big Cartel API:
1. Limited API Functionality
Big Cartel’s native API provides only basic functionality that may not fully meet the needs of software providers developing complex eCommerce tools. While it does support core operations like managing products, orders, and customers, it lacks advanced capabilities such as:
- Full product variant management – although product variants exist, the API does not expose complete control or detailed inventory fields for each variant, limiting their use in external systems.
- Advanced inventory tracking – inventory can be tracked on a basic level, but there is no support for multi-location stock, movement logs, or low-stock automation.
- Bulk operations – API does not support batch creation or updates of products, orders, or inventory, requiring developers to make individual requests for each item.
- Real-time synchronization via webhooks – webhook support exists but requires a registered OAuth application and additional setup, which may complicate integration for third-party software.
These limitations often require additional logic, manual workarounds, or the use of a unified integration solution to deliver scalable and efficient functionality across multiple Big Cartel stores.
2. Limited Documentation and Community Support
Compared to platforms with robust developer ecosystems, Big Cartel’s developer documentation is minimal, and the community is small. You may face:
- Few code examples or SDKs;
- Sparse troubleshooting resources;
- Slow discovery of undocumented edge cases.
This lack of ecosystem support can slow down development and increase integration costs.
3. API Access Restrictions
The Big Cartel API is only available to stores on paid plans or apps that are specifically approved by Big Cartel. This creates two challenges:
- Developers can’t test or use the API freely without access;
- Not all store owners can use apps that require API connectivity.
These restrictions can reduce your app’s potential reach and make onboarding more complicated.
4. Merchant Size Constraints
Big Cartel is intentionally minimal. It supports up to 500 products per store, and most merchants have simple business models. While this aligns well with the platform’s target audience, it limits the use cases for software integrations. This means:
- API users must design apps for smaller datasets;
- There's limited demand for high-volume or enterprise-grade functionality.
As a result, eCommerce integrations may have lower complexity—but also a smaller market and monetization potential.
How API2Cart Helps to Develop Big Cartel API Integration?
Big Cartel integration can be challenging due to its limited API functionality, lack of real-time webhooks, and restricted access. As a software developer working on tools to automate eCommerce, such as shipping software, inventory sync, or order management systems, you can find yourself spending a lot of time and effort working with each platform individually through its API. That is where API2Cart comes in.
API2Cart provides a single, unified API that allows to integrate your eCommerce software with Big Cartel and 60+ other eCommerce platforms and marketplaces, including Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Wix, OpenCart, PrestaShop, and others, at once through one API. Instead of building separate integrations for each, you can use API2Cart’s standardized methods to access and manage store data from all platforms at once.
API2Cart also offers 100+ API methods that enable software developers to manage products, orders, and customers from Big Cartel stores in a consistent and efficient way.
Here is the response structure of order.list method:
{
"return_code": 0,
"return_message": "string",
"pagination": {
"previous": "string",
"next": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"result": {
"orders_count": 0,
"order": [
{
"id": "string",
"order_id": "string",
"basket_id": "string",
"channel_id": "string",
"customer": {
"id": "string",
"email": "string",
"first_name": "string",
"last_name": "string",
"phone": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"create_at": {
"value": "string",
"format": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"currency": {
"id": "string",
"name": "string",
"iso3": "string",
"symbol_left": "string",
"symbol_right": "string",
"rate": 0,
"avail": true,
"default": true,
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"shipping_address": {
"id": "string",
"type": "string",
"first_name": "string",
"last_name": "string",
"postcode": "string",
"address1": "string",
"address2": "string",
"phone": "string",
"phone_mobile": "string",
"city": "string",
"country": {
"code2": "string",
"code3": "string",
"name": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"state": {
"code": "string",
"name": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"company": "string",
"fax": "string",
"website": "string",
"gender": "string",
"region": "string",
"default": true,
"tax_id": "string",
"identification_number": "string",
"alias": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"billing_address": {
"id": "string",
"type": "string",
"first_name": "string",
"last_name": "string",
"postcode": "string",
"address1": "string",
"address2": "string",
"phone": "string",
"phone_mobile": "string",
"city": "string",
"country": {
"code2": "string",
"code3": "string",
"name": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"state": {
"code": "string",
"name": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"company": "string",
"fax": "string",
"website": "string",
"gender": "string",
"region": "string",
"default": true,
"tax_id": "string",
"identification_number": "string",
"alias": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"payment_method": {
"name": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"shipping_method": {
"name": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"shipping_methods": [
{
"name": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
}
],
"status": {
"id": "string",
"name": "string",
"history": [
{
"id": "string",
"name": "string",
"modified_time": {
"value": "string",
"format": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"notify": true,
"comment": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
}
],
"refund_info": {
"shipping": 0,
"fee": 0,
"tax": 0,
"total_refunded": 0,
"time": {
"value": "string",
"format": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"comment": "string",
"refunded_items": [
{
"product_id": "string",
"variant_id": "string",
"order_product_id": "string",
"qty": 0,
"refund": 0,
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
}
],
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"totals": {
"total": 0,
"subtotal": 0,
"shipping": 0,
"tax": 0,
"discount": 0,
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"total": {
"subtotal_ex_tax": 0,
"wrapping_ex_tax": 0,
"shipping_ex_tax": 0,
"total_discount": 0,
"total_tax": 0,
"total": 0,
"total_paid": 0,
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"discounts": [
{
"code": "string",
"value": 0,
"type": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
}
],
"order_products": [
{
"product_id": "string",
"order_product_id": "string",
"model": "string",
"name": "string",
"price": 0,
"price_inc_tax": 0,
"quantity": 0,
"discount_amount": 0,
"total_price": 0,
"tax_percent": 0,
"tax_value": 0,
"tax_value_after_discount": 0,
"options": [
{
"option_id": "string",
"name": "string",
"value": "string",
"price": 0,
"weight": 0,
"type": "string",
"product_option_value_id": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
}
],
"variant_id": "string",
"weight_unit": "string",
"weight": 0,
"barcode": "string",
"parent_order_product_id": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
}
],
"bundles": [
{
"product_id": "string",
"order_product_id": "string",
"model": "string",
"name": "string",
"price": 0,
"price_inc_tax": 0,
"quantity": 0,
"discount_amount": 0,
"total_price": 0,
"tax_percent": 0,
"tax_value": 0,
"tax_value_after_discount": 0,
"options": [
{
"option_id": "string",
"name": "string",
"value": "string",
"price": 0,
"weight": 0,
"type": "string",
"product_option_value_id": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
}
],
"variant_id": "string",
"weight_unit": "string",
"weight": 0,
"barcode": "string",
"parent_order_product_id": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
}
],
"modified_at": {
"value": "string",
"format": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"finished_time": {
"value": "string",
"format": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"comment": "string",
"store_id": "string",
"warehouses_ids": [
"string"
],
"refunds": [
{
"id": "string",
"shipping": 0,
"fee": 0,
"tax": 0,
"total": 0,
"modified_time": {
"value": "string",
"format": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"comment": "string",
"items": [
{
"product_id": "string",
"variant_id": "string",
"order_product_id": "string",
"qty": 0,
"refund": 0,
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
}
],
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
}
],
"gift_message": "string",
"order_details_url": "string",
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
}
],
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
},
"additional_fields": {},
"custom_fields": {}
}
If you're building SaaS solutions for eCommerce merchants, eCommerce integration with Big Cartel can introduce bottlenecks of speed, stability, and scalability. API2Cart will assist you in overcoming those challenges by offering a stable, standardized, and scalable integration layer, not only to Big Cartel, but to all the major eCommerce platforms.
By using API2Cart, software developers can focus on building features and delivering value, instead of managing complex platform-specific integrations. If you have any questions, you can book a FREE demo and contact our managers.
Sign up for API2Cart and get a 14-day free trial to explore seamless eCommerce integration with 60+ eCommerce platforms and marketplaces. Start and see how effortlessly you can connect your eCommerce software with multiple stores through a single API.
Conclusion
The Big Cartel API allows developers to integrate their eCommerce software with an expanding network of independent artists and small online retailers. It is not as feature-rich as larger eCommerce platforms, but is a highly prospective platform to build tools that will assist in basic store management, including product management, order processing, and shop customization.
