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

# Master products

> The shared catalog, why products aren't seller-owned, and submission attribution.

In this document, you'll learn how Mercur models products as a single shared
catalog rather than per-seller listings.

## Product

A product is a **master product** in a catalog shared by the whole marketplace,
represented by Medusa's native `Product` data model (table `product`, id prefix
`prod`). Products carry the usual commerce fields such as `title`, `handle`,
`description`, `status`, variants, options, and images, and are **not owned by
any store**. Creating a product adds it to the shared catalog. Multiple stores
can then sell the same master product.

```ts theme={null}
const { result } = await createProductsWorkflow(container).run({
  input: {
    products: [
      {
        title: "Aeron Chair",
        status: "proposed",
        seller_ids: ["sel_123"],
      },
    ],
    created_by: "usr_123",
  },
})
```

<Note>
  A store never sells a bare master product directly. It sells against one by
  creating an [offer](/platform/offer/overview). The offer carries the store's
  own SKU, price, inventory, and shipping profile, while the master product
  holds the shared catalog data everyone shares.
</Note>

## Attribution, not ownership

Because the catalog is shared, the creator of a product does **not** own it.
When a store submits a new product, Mercur records the submission as an immutable
audit entry (a `PRODUCT_ADD` action in the product-change pipeline) so you know
who proposed it. That attribution is for review and history only. Once
published, the product belongs to the shared catalog like any other.

<Tip>
  Attribution is recorded automatically by `createProductsWorkflow` through its
  `created_by` input. You don't manage it by hand. See the
  [status lifecycle](/platform/catalog/concepts/status-lifecycle) for how a
  submission becomes a published catalog product.
</Tip>