Managing prices on OTTO: standard price, sale price, MSRP and unit price

The price fields in the OTTO Market API

In the product interface (Products V5), every variation carries a pricing block with these fields (as of October 2026):

• standardPrice – required. Amount in euros with a decimal point, for example 19.95; according to the documentation only EUR is currently supported.
• vat – required. The VAT rate included in the sales price: FULL, REDUCED or FREE. The value NONE exists in the specification but, according to OTTO, always results in a validation error.
• msrp – optional. The manufacturer's suggested retail price (UVP in German).
• sale – optional. A sale price (salePrice) with startDate and endDate in ISO 8601 format.
• normPriceInfo – the unit price for goods sold by quantity; according to the specification it must be provided "completely, or not at all".

Sale prices with start and end

A sale price doesn't need manual switching: you set salePrice, startDate and endDate, and OTTO shows the price during that period. That lets you set up promotions weeks in advance – useful before Black Week or the Christmas season. Outside the period, the standard price applies again.

How to make promotions additionally visible through OTTO's promotion formats is covered in Promotions on OTTO.

MSRP and strike-through prices: the legal side

Anyone advertising a price reduction in Germany must, under section 11 of the Preisangabenverordnung (price indication regulation), state the lowest price of the last 30 days as the reference – as the Händlerbund explains in its guide to strike-through prices. The Munich Chamber of Commerce adds that the Federal Court of Justice ruled in October 2025 that this 30-day reference price must be clearly recognisable, unambiguous and legible.

For the MSRP: it may be shown as a comparison, but it has to be current; according to the Händlerbund, advertising with an outdated recommendation can lead to a cease-and-desist letter, and case law is inconsistent. Price-fixed goods such as books get no discount. So only enter an MSRP in the msrp field that the manufacturer still actually recommends.

Unit prices for goods sold by quantity

For goods sold by weight, volume, length or area, German price regulation requires a unit price. In the API this is normPriceInfo with normAmount and normUnit (for example 1 kg) plus salesAmount and salesUnit (for example 250 g). The specification lists units such as Stk (piece), qm, kg, l, m, ml, g and Paar (pair). If one of the four fields is missing, OTTO rejects the information – complete or not at all.

Changing prices: API or Partner Connect

Send prices to POST /v5/products/prices; according to the documentation, up to 500 variations per request are allowed. Read the current state with GET /v5/products/{sku}/prices. If you have no system connected, maintain prices in OTTO Partner Connect or through a multichannel tool.

Discounts after the purchase – for example after a complaint – go through the Price Reductions interface: the reduction is credited to the customer and OTTO creates a partial refund receipt.

Price, commission and competition on the item

According to OTTO's FAQ, commission is charged on the selling price including VAT and on shipping costs; on top comes a payment fee of 2.7%. So calculate sale prices with both items – more in OTTO marketplace fees.

If several sellers offer the same variation ("competition on the item"), shoppers mainly compare price and delivery time. A price that is too high then costs not just margin but the sale of that very item.

Tracking price changes in your rankings

A price affects not only margin but, through clicks and sales, also the position in OTTO search. Note the date of every price change and watch the rankings of your most important search terms for two to three weeks afterwards – how to do that is in Measuring rankings after listing changes. MarktRank records the daily position, so you see the promotion and the ranking curve side by side.

Frequently asked questions