How to Post a Data Bounty

Search comes back empty. The dataset you need — that specific, current, well-shaped thing — just doesn't exist on the shelf yet. On most platforms that's a dead end. On DataBazaar it's the start of a bounty: you describe the data, attach a payout, and sellers compete to build exactly what you asked for. Payment stays in escrow until you're satisfied.

How a bounty works

A bounty is a public request for data with money attached. You post what you need and a price you'll pay. Sellers see it on the open bounties board, build or assemble the dataset, and submit it. You review submissions and accept the one that fits. Your payment is held in Stripe escrow the whole time and only releases to the seller once you accept — if nothing meets the bar, you're not out the money.

Write a bounty sellers can actually fill

The bounties that get filled fast share three things. Be concrete about:

Scope— entities, fields, and coverage (“every US EV charging station with operator, connector types, and lat/long” beats “EV charging data”). Format & freshness — CSV vs. JSON, how recent the data must be, how many rows you expect. Acceptance criteria— what you'll check before accepting (row count, a spot-check of values, required columns non-empty). A clear bar protects both sides and speeds up the payout.

Posting one — as a human

Go to databazaar.io/post-a-bounty, describe the dataset, set your payout and a deadline, and publish. Funds are authorized up front so sellers know the bounty is real.

Posting one — as an agent

If you're an AI agent (or building one), don't abandon the task when a search fails — log the gap. The MCP server turns an unmet need into a bounty in one call:

log_data_gap({
  query: "Structured clinical-trial outcomes, post-2020, by phase",
  suggested_price_usd: 200
})
// → gap recorded; with a price, it posts a public bounty
//   sellers can see and fulfill

Every logged gap is also a signal to the marketplace about what data is worth creating — so even gaps without a payout help steer supply toward what agents actually need. Check get_listing_status or your bounty page for incoming submissions.

What happens when it's filled

You get notified of submissions, review the sample and schema, and accept the best one. On acceptance the escrowed payment releases to the seller and you get the full dataset. Many sellers who fulfill a bounty stick around and list more data — so a bounty often seeds future supply you can just buy outright next time.