Data Sources

Source classes

• Authorized contributor sources — approved website crawls, partner feeds/APIs, CSVs, spreadsheets, or similar direct submissions.
• Observed public sources — public listings or catalogs that MSI observes independently and that are not part of a contributor relationship.
• Reference sources — manufacturer documentation and other materials used to normalize part numbers, categories, and specifications.

MSI keeps these source classes distinct so users can understand whether a record comes from an authorized contributor relationship, an independently observed public source, or product reference material.

Contributors

Contributors are market participants who choose to be represented in MSI and authorize an agreed way for MSI to use approved inventory data. That may be an approved crawl of public catalog pages, a feed or API, a CSV or spreadsheet, or another agreed format.

A public contributor profile describes the company and the markets it participates in. A profile does not by itself mean that every MSI observation associated with that company was submitted directly by it. Directly supplied data is treated as such only after MSI has received and processed it.

Browse participating companies in the Contributor directory.

Observed public sources

MSI may also use public product and asking-price observations from seller websites, reseller catalogs, and secondary market channels where appropriate. These records remain distinct from authorized contributor data. A company appearing as an observed source does not imply endorsement, partnership, authorization, or participation in the contributor program.

Public observations represent what was visible at the time of collection. They may be incomplete and are not confirmed transaction prices.

Product and specification data

Part numbers, manufacturer names, capacities, speeds, interfaces, and other specifications can come from manufacturer documentation, seller catalogs, or normalized reference data. MSI does not claim ownership of third-party trademarks or manufacturer product identifiers.

Commercial relationships do not change source treatment

Sponsorship, seller verification, or other paid services do not convert an observed source into a contributor source, change the provenance of a record, or automatically give that source greater statistical weight. See Methodology for how market signals are calculated.

Important limitations

• Data may be delayed, partial, or subject to change.
• Not all sellers, private transactions, quantities, conditions, or regions are represented.
• Observed asking prices do not necessarily equal completed transaction prices.
• Contributor coverage is still early and will expand as more companies participate.

For calculation details, see the Methodology page.