> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.apostra.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Sponsored buyers

> Manage seller-scoped buyer accounts — approve, suspend, and reactivate their ability to transact

A **sponsored buyer** is a buyer account scoped to your organization's
storefront. The account discovers and transacts only against your inventory
and never sees the wider marketplace. The operator may use that account for
one or more advertisers (brand care of operator); the sponsored status gates
the account, not an individual advertiser identity.

<Warning>
  Shareable buyer invite links are retired. You cannot create a new sponsored
  buyer through a join link. Direct buyers to your verified storefront or
  Discovery instead. The operations below remain available for sponsorships
  that already exist; there is no replacement targeted-invitation API.
</Warning>

In the seller UI, find buyers in **Advertisers**: each is an External
advertiser row, and the **Needs you** filter shows a pending row as **awaiting
you**. This portable Page remains the Account drawer's and in-chat surface for
the sponsored-buyer operations below; it is not a standalone rail destination.
Each sponsored buyer carries a `status` that gates whether it can transact and
a seller-selected `posture` that fixes its billing path. You move status as you
onboard, pause, and resume buyers; the buyer cannot override billing.

All examples use the storefront base URL:

```
https://api.apostra.com/api/v2/storefront
```

Authenticate every request with `Authorization: Bearer $SCOPE3_API_KEY`. Results are scoped to your seller account context — you can only see and manage buyers your organization sponsors.

## Status lifecycle

A sponsored buyer moves through three states. The status is the transaction gate: only an `active` buyer can create or edit media buys against your storefront.

| Status      | Meaning                            | Can transact? |
| ----------- | ---------------------------------- | ------------- |
| `pending`   | Provisioned; awaiting your review. | No            |
| `active`    | Approved and able to transact.     | Yes           |
| `suspended` | Paused by you.                     | No            |

Allowed transitions:

* **`pending → active`** — [Approve](/v2/storefront/sponsored-buyers/tasks/approve-sponsored-buyer) a buyer awaiting review.
* **`pending` or `active → suspended`** — [Suspend](/v2/storefront/sponsored-buyers/tasks/suspend-sponsored-buyer) a buyer to pause new transactions.
* **`suspended → active`** — [Reactivate](/v2/storefront/sponsored-buyers/tasks/reactivate-sponsored-buyer) a suspended buyer.

<Note>
  Suspending a buyer blocks **new** media buys and edits. It does not pause in-flight delivery on media buys that are already running.
</Note>

## Key concepts

* **Scope is enforced, not advisory.** A sponsored buyer is confined to your storefront at every read and write path — discovery, product details, and media-buy creation. They cannot pin or transact against any other storefront.
* **Billing posture.** `prepay` is Apostra-cleared
  (`BillingParty=agent`); `credit` is seller direct-billed
  (`BillingParty=operator`). The posture is fixed at provisioning time and
  remains under seller governance.
* **Funding boundaries stay unchanged.** `prepay` uses the existing
  invoice/deposit media-funding mechanisms and does not automate media funding
  through the platform-fee card rail. `credit` does not create an Apostra credit
  line; the seller invoices the operator directly.
* **Buyer identity.** `buyerName` is the buyer's company/display name from their account record. It is `null` when not yet resolvable.

## Task reference

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="List sponsored buyers" href="/v2/storefront/sponsored-buyers/tasks/list-sponsored-buyers" icon="list">
    Every buyer your organization sponsors
  </Card>

  <Card title="Approve sponsored buyer" href="/v2/storefront/sponsored-buyers/tasks/approve-sponsored-buyer" icon="circle-check">
    Admit a pending buyer
  </Card>

  <Card title="Suspend sponsored buyer" href="/v2/storefront/sponsored-buyers/tasks/suspend-sponsored-buyer" icon="circle-pause">
    Pause an active buyer
  </Card>

  <Card title="Reactivate sponsored buyer" href="/v2/storefront/sponsored-buyers/tasks/reactivate-sponsored-buyer" icon="rotate-right">
    Resume a suspended buyer
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="All sponsored-buyer tasks" href="/v2/storefront/sponsored-buyers/tasks" icon="list-check">
    Every operation in one place
  </Card>

  <Card title="Storefront onboarding" href="/v2/setup/storefront-onboarding" icon="store">
    End-to-end seller setup
  </Card>

  <Card title="Errors" href="/v2/reference/errors" icon="triangle-exclamation">
    Shared error contract
  </Card>
</CardGroup>