---
title: "Merchant of record: plain-language definition | Am I Ready for Agents?"
description: "Merchant of record: The business legally selling the item, responsible for payment, refunds and customer service. Dated and sourced."
canonical: https://amireadyforagents.com/glossary/merchant-of-record
site: "Am I Ready for Agents?"
last_updated: 2026-11-04
section: "Glossary"
---

# Merchant of record: plain-language definition | Am I Ready for Agents?

> Merchant of record: The business legally selling the item, responsible for payment, refunds and customer service. Dated and sourced.

Source: https://amireadyforagents.com/glossary/merchant-of-record
Site: Am I Ready for Agents?
Last reviewed: 2026-11-04

# Merchant of record

## In short

The merchant of record decides who owes the customer refunds and service, and in most agent checkouts it stays you. Whether an agent may complete a purchase is the next stop after Merchant of record. Compare it with Agentic checkout and Buy for Me. OpenAI's commerce docs say OpenAI is not the merchant of record under the Agentic Commerce Protocol.

## Definition

The business legally selling the item, responsible for payment, refunds and customer service. In most agent checkouts it stays the merchant.

## A dated example

-   Read 4 Nov 2026
    
    OpenAI's commerce docs say OpenAI is not the merchant of record under the Agentic Commerce Protocol.
    
    [OpenAI commerce docs: key concepts](https://developers.openai.com/commerce/guides/key-concepts), read 4 Nov 2026
    

## Where it matters

It decides who owes the customer refunds and service, and in most agent checkouts it stays you.

-   [Whether an agent may complete a purchase](https://amireadyforagents.com/decisions/agent-completes-purchase)
-   [Agent payments and fraud rules](https://amireadyforagents.com/university/agent-payments-and-fraud-rules)

## Related terms

-   [Agentic checkout](https://amireadyforagents.com/glossary/agentic-checkout)A purchase completed inside an AI assistant or by an agent, with the merchant still selling the item.
-   [Buy for Me](https://amireadyforagents.com/glossary/buy-for-me)Amazon's feature that completes a purchase of an eligible product on another retailer's site for the customer.

## Sources

1.  [OpenAI commerce docs: key concepts](https://developers.openai.com/commerce/guides/key-concepts) (developers.openai.com/commerce/guides/key-concepts), read 4 Nov 2026.

Last reviewed 4 November 2026

Reviewed 4 November 2026. [1 source](#sources), each with the day it was read.