Reseller Playbook

Run your own AI API store — you source, you price, you collect

This is the how-to-sell companion to the Reseller Tutorial. The tutorial shows the mechanics — top up, create a Client Key, hand it off. This playbook shows how to turn “people who already use an API” into recurring revenue: who to find, how to price, how to close, and what to say.

1 · What you're actually doing

You're running your own AI API store. You top up your derouter.ai balance (your wholesale cost), mint Client Keys at a price you set, and hand them to customers. Customers call the API through apikey.cloud and never see derouter.ai. You keep the margin.

Three things make this a real business, not just a referral link:

  • White-label. Your customer only ever touches apikey.cloudplus the key you gave them. They can't see — or go around — your supply.
  • Your margin, your call. You set cost → client price. The ratio is locked at key creation, and renewals reapply it automatically, so you never miscalculate or accidentally reprice.
  • Off-platform collection. How the customer pays you is entirely up to you (bank transfer, Alipay, crypto, invoice — anything). The platform never touches that money.

2 · Who to sell to

Go after people who already have an API need — don't educate from zero.

  • Solo AI-tool developers — building bots, plugins, automations; want full-spec models without running their own infra. Find them on dev communities, GitHub issues, indie-hacker groups.
  • Small overseas / startup teams — need multi-seat access, usage visibility, and a budget cap per project. Find them in startup and remote-work groups.
  • Content & design studios — need gpt-image-2 for batch image generation and want to review logs. Find them in AI-art and design communities.
  • Users in restricted regions — need a stable, reachable endpoint without juggling foreign cards. Find them in student and remote-worker groups.

3 · How to price

Pick a markup, not a discount. You set your cost and the price the client sees; margin is (client price − your cost) / client price.

your cost   client price   multiplier   margin
  $100    →    $115         1.15x       13%   thin, high-volume
  $100    →    $130         1.30x       23%   recommended starting point
  $100    →    $150         1.50x       33%   includes your onboarding + support

The multiplier is locked when you create the key.
Renewals reuse it automatically — no mental math, no accidental reprice.

Don't compete on raw unit price.What the customer is actually buying is “works out of the box + a stable endpoint + you answer questions in their language.” That's the pitch — not “cheapest per token.”

The exact create-a-key UI (cost field, client-price field, live margin preview) is walked through step by step in the Reseller Tutorial.

4 · Standard delivery flow

Your job isn't “send a key” — it's get the customer's first real request working.

  1. Top up your balance (start small, verify, then scale).
  2. Create a Client Key — set your cost + the price the client sees.
  3. Confirm the multiplier / margin, then create (it locks).
  4. Send the client their key + the Base URL (template below).
  5. Have them verify with a model list call first.
  6. Then one real call — chat or image generation.
  7. They self-check usage at apikey.cloud; when the balance runs low, you renew.

Hand-off template

Hi,

Your API key:
sk-ant-1234567890abcdef...

Base URL (OpenAI SDK):
https://api.apikey.cloud/openai/v1

For image gen / long requests, use the direct endpoint:
https://api-direct.apikey.cloud/openai/v1

Check your usage anytime:
https://apikey.cloud   (sign in with email OTP, bind the key once)

Which Base URL to give

customer scenario          Base URL                              timeout
chat / text  (<100s)       https://api.apikey.cloud/openai/v1     100s
image gen / long output    https://api-direct.apikey.cloud/...    600s

Anthropic-native (Claude Messages API) — swap /openai/v1 for /proxy/v1
Both domains are fully white-label: the customer never sees derouter.ai.

Customer integration example (OpenAI SDK)

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    api_key="sk-ant-...",                          # the key you gave them
    base_url="https://api.apikey.cloud/openai/v1",
)

# 1) verify the key + network
client.models.list()

# 2) a real chat call
r = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-5.5",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "hello"}],
)

# image generation -> use the direct endpoint (avoids the 100s cap)
img_client = OpenAI(
    api_key="sk-ant-...",
    base_url="https://api-direct.apikey.cloud/openai/v1",
)
img = img_client.images.generate(model="gpt-image-2", prompt="a cat")

Available models: Claude Opus 4.8 / Sonnet 4.6 / Haiku 4.5, GPT-5.4 / GPT-5.5, and gpt-image-2. Anything OpenAI-SDK-compatible usually just needs base_url + api_key changed. Full reference: API Integration Guide.

5 · Copy-paste scripts

30-second intro

I provide full-spec Claude & GPT API access. Change your Base URL to
api.apikey.cloud and drop in the key I give you — you can call Claude
Opus 4.8, GPT-5.5, and gpt-image-2 from one key. It's OpenAI-SDK
compatible, so usually two lines of code, and you can watch your own
usage and logs in the portal anytime.

Price pitch

Full-spec Claude/GPT, one key for every model. What you're getting is
works-out-of-the-box + a stable endpoint + support in your language —
not a pile of setup and pitfalls you have to debug yourself. Don't
compare raw per-token price; compare what it costs you to NOT ship.

Tech onboarding

If your project already uses the OpenAI SDK, it's basically two lines:
set base_url to https://api.apikey.cloud/openai/v1 and api_key to the
key I gave you. Run models.list() to confirm it's live, then make a
real request. Image gen and long outputs go to api-direct.apikey.cloud.

Troubleshooting

If a request fails, send me: the time, the model name, the endpoint,
the status code, and whether it was streaming. For image gen or any
long request, switch to https://api-direct.apikey.cloud/openai/v1
first (the default host caps at 100s and will 524).

6 · Handling objections

“Will you throttle / cut my quota?”

Quota is transparent — they see their own balance, usage and logs at apikey.cloud any time. Nothing is hidden on their side.

“Is migration a lot of work?”

Two lines — change base_url and api_key. Model names stay standard (e.g. gpt-5.5, claude-sonnet-4-6).

“My image / long requests time out.”

Those must use the direct endpoint api-direct.apikey.cloud (600s). The default host is capped at 100s and returns 524 on long calls.

“Why not just buy from the official provider?”

Full-spec, uncut models + one key for everything + you get answers in your own language. For many customers that, plus a reachable endpoint, is the whole reason to buy from you.

7 · Operating cadence

Steady deals come from a rhythm, not the occasional blast.

  • Daily: contact 5 people who already use an API; post 1 short thing (a setup tip, a cost comparison, a troubleshooting note).
  • Weekly: write up 3 real cases (what they used before, what they saved, what tripped them up); review your numbers — new keys, consumption rate, who's due to renew.

7-day kickoff

  1. Top up a small amount and create one test Client Key for yourself.
  2. Run the hand-off template end-to-end on your own machine — confirm the white-label Base URL works.
  3. Walk one real customer from key → models.list() → first real call.
  4. Get them to set up usage tracking at apikey.cloud so they self-serve.
  5. Pick your starting multiplier (1.30x is a safe default) and write your 30-second intro in your own words.
  6. Send the intro to 3 people who genuinely use an API.
  7. Log who replied; turn your most-asked question into a saved reply.

Questions? Reach us on Telegram or email support@derouter.ai.