Trying to scrape Amazon without proxies is asking for trouble because repeated requests from a single IP quickly trigger CAPTCHA, temporary bans, and strict rate limits that break data collection. Proxies let you distribute requests across many addresses so your traffic appears to come from many different users rather than a single obvious bot, making bans far less likely.
In this post, you will learn practical steps for using proxies to scrape Amazon safely and reliably. We will explain which proxy types tend to work best, how to manage rotating and persistent sessions, and simple tactics to make your requests behave more like real browsers. Follow these guidelines and your scraping will be more stable, more accurate, and far easier to maintain.
What is Web Scraping?
Web scraping is the process of gathering information from a website and converting it into a format that is easier to analyze or use, such as a spreadsheet or an API style output. While it can be done by hand, most people rely on automated tools because they speed up the process, reduce effort, and make large-scale data collection more affordable. Automated scrapers can pull information in seconds, making them far more efficient than manual copying.
However, scraping is not always simple. Websites use different layouts, coding styles, and structures, so a scraper often needs various techniques to handle each one. People commonly use web scraping for research, marketing, price tracking, lead generation, or to resell the collected data. Even though some websites limit or discourage data extraction, the practice continues to grow as more businesses and users recognize the value of web data.
Why do you need a proxy for effective web scraping?
Website scraping refers to the automated collection of information from online pages, whether the site is well-structured or chaotic. It is carried out with the help of special software tools that visit pages, gather the needed data, and store it in a usable format. These tools can be custom-coded in languages like Python or JavaScript, or built using ready-made libraries and frameworks created for data extraction from websites. People rely on scraping for tasks such as tracking competitor activity, studying the market, comparing prices across stores, or supporting search engine research.
Scraping is far more effective when paired with proxies, as they help automated tools navigate the internet without drawing attention. By rotating IP addresses or using residential and mobile IPs, proxies make traffic appear to be genuine visitors rather than automated systems. This approach reduces the risk of being blocked and helps bypass the speed limits many websites impose on repeated requests. Imagine a marketing team gathering industry trends from many sources. With a proxy that frequently switches IP addresses, the process becomes smoother and less likely to be interrupted.
Some proxies also help overcome regional content restrictions by making it appear as though the request is coming from a different approved location. They can also provide an added layer of privacy by encrypting the user’s real location and identity. For instance, if someone in the United States wants to access a platform that only works for visitors inside China, using a proxy with a Chinese IP would allow that access.
Using Proxy Pools
Suppose you’re trying to scrape data from Amazon using a single IP address or proxy. In that case, you might be limiting your performance, crawl reliability, number of simultaneous queries, and geo-targeting options.
This fact underscores the importance of a proxy pool that efficiently distributes traffic across multiple proxies to achieve optimal data scraping results.
The following factors can influence the eventual size of the proxy pool:
- Data scraping from websites with advanced anti-bot countermeasures will necessitate a larger pool of proxies for the targeted websites.
- Making a specific number of requests every hour is highly suggested.
- You get to decide which proxy server to use between a residential IP address, a mobile device, or a datacenter.
- The reliability of the IP addresses you employ as proxies is important, regardless of whether they originate from mobile devices, datacenters, or private residences.
- How feature-rich is your proxy management software in relation to session management, throttling, proxy rotation, and other aspects?
With the increased anonymity that residential IPs are renowned for, residential proxies are “mimicking” the role of datacenters in terms of reliability. This is something that has been noticed when observing a proxy network directly connected to an Internet service provider (ISP).
Residential and mobile locations may have far higher IP quality than datacenters, which may have much lower IP quality. However, datacenter IPs outperformed the other two categories in terms of stability when tested in a typical peer-to-peer network.
Types of Proxy IPs
Option selection is available for IPs in three main categories. They are explained in detail as follows:
Residential IPs:
Residential IPs are the numerical identifiers given to individual homes. They enable the transmission of your requests over a private, encrypted network. The following section provides more information about the various types of IPs used, as residential proxies are the subject of this article.
‘datacenters IPs:
The most common proxy IPs are mentioned here, though there are many more. In datacenters, you’ll find the servers that assign these IP addresses, hence the name. As of now, datacenter IPs are the most affordable proxy IPs available.
Mobile IPs:
Mobile IPs are the private Internet Protocol addresses used by mobile devices. Since it steals another mobile user’s IP address to scrape the web, these IPs might be expensive to acquire.
There are three different ways to categorize proxies: public, shared, and dedicated. Anyone can utilize a public or open proxy server, making them insecure. Here is a rundown of what’s happening. This will result in your IP addresses being blocked very quickly. Utilizing a dedicated proxy is the most effective way to achieve high-quality performance while using a larger proxy pool.
Using Proxies for Amazon product scraping
It is not uncommon for Amazon to provide inaccurate information when an IP address is reported. Your data will be inaccurate in the end if your scraping is compromised and an IP address is found. Ultimately, you can lose a lot of time and money if you don’t figure out how to fix this.
You might be able to avoid problems like these by using residential proxies with your web scraping program. Identifying and connecting residential IP addresses to bot operations is considerably more challenging. A datacenter proxy can quickly and easily restrict your IP address by associating it with the datacenter.
In addition, if you choose the residential option, you can choose the exact location and perform any type of geo-targeted scraping. One example is the availability of region-specific data, such as shipping costs and other relevant details.
You must remember the following details:
- If you want top-notch scraping results, you need to take user-agent management seriously.
- Make sure that scraping and proxy servers do not cause you any trouble.
- To stay undetected while crawling Amazon, try varying the delays.
A more efficient way to retrieve Amazon orders.
With a dynamic network that delivers further scalability and faster proxy speeds, Bright Data offers a premium proxy solution.
An efficient and safe way to start scraping Amazon is to use a service that provides rotating residential IP addresses from around the world.
What should you look for when selecting a proxy?
Choosing the right proxy setup is just as important as understanding the different proxy types available. A good place to start is by looking at a few key factors, such as speed, level of anonymity, pricing, and how often the IPs rotate. Faster proxies help you collect data quickly, and strong anonymity keeps your scraper under the radar when facing Amazon’s advanced bot protection. If you plan to scrape at scale, you will benefit from proxies that switch IPs regularly so your requests look more natural and less repetitive.
It is best to avoid free proxies. They are usually slow, unstable, and shared by many users simultaneously. Some even track your activity or bundle harmful software with their tools. Paid options are a safer investment since they provide better performance, private or dedicated IPs, and stronger security, which is crucial when dealing with Amazon’s strict systems.
For dependable Amazon scraping, it is wise to choose a reputable proxy provider. Well-known names such as Decodo, Oxylabs, Webshare, and other established services offer features specifically designed for scraping, including stable IP pools, high uptime, and support for handling CAPTCHA and rate limits more smoothly.
Configuring a proxy for scraping Amazon.
Setting up your scraper properly is just as important as choosing a strong proxy. The good news is that most scraping tools make proxy integration simple. In Python, you can add proxy details directly to your request. Scrapy lets you place them in middleware, and Selenium lets you include them in browser settings.
Getting started with Decodo’s proxies only takes a moment. After you purchase a plan in your dashboard, open the Proxy setup area to view and personalize your endpoint. If you pick Python from the list of languages, you will see a ready-made code example that shows exactly how to connect using Requests with your proxy login details.
For browser-based scraping or when using tools like Puppeteer or Selenium that mimic real user actions, you can apply proxies through browser extensions or at the time the browser launches. This works well on pages that rely heavily on JavaScript or when you want to simulate a natural browsing experience. Decodo also offers free extensions for Chrome and Firefox so you can manage and switch proxies without leaving your browser.
To avoid being flagged, make your scraper look as human as possible. Change user agents often, include natural pauses between actions, and consider using a headless browser that runs quietly in the background. Clear your cookies and cache regularly, and add small behaviors, such as scrolling or clicking, to make your activity appear more organic.
Always begin with a small test run to check that everything is working correctly. Review the data you collect to ensure it is complete and accurate. A scraper that feels natural to the website is far less likely to attract unwanted attention.
If you would like an easier option, consider using a scraping API that already includes automatic proxy rotation, CAPTCHA handling, and protection against request limits. An all-in-one tool like our Amazon scraper provides clean and structured data with clear documentation, so you can plug it into your project without hassle.
Conclusion
Amazon makes scraping difficult with powerful anti-bot systems, but it is doable with the right approach. Use rotating residential proxies to spread requests across many IPs, build a reliable CAPTCHA-handling flow, and program your scraper to behave like a real user with varied timing and user agents. Avoid free proxies since they are slow and easy to detect. When you combine these tactics, you can collect accurate product data without constantly being blocked, giving your business a practical edge.
Also, Read:
