Frequently Asked Questions

What's the membership fee for buyers?

Our services for buyers are absolutely free. Buyers can post unlimited RFQ or buying requirements, send unlimited inquiries, and receive unlimited quotations from suppliers without paying any fee.

I am new to PaperIndex. How do I start buying?

PaperIndex currently isn't a transactional marketplace, therefore, there is no actual buying. Buyers can either send inquiries to suppliers or post their request for quotations to receive quotations from suppliers. Getting started is easy:

• Post RFQ and to let suppliers know your sourcing needs and receive quotations.
• Browse supplier and product listings and send inquiries to suppliers.

How many suppliers can I contact each month?

Unlimited. Your access to suppliers is unlimited and unrestricted but subject to fair usage.

How many quotations can I receive each month or year in response to my RFQ?

Unlimited. There is absolutely no restriction on receiving quotations from suppliers.

Are there restrictions on replying to suppliers?

No, there are no restrictions on replying to suppliers from whom you received quotations. You don't need to pay any fee either for communicating with suppliers. You may, however, be asked to verify your business phone, office address, and/or identity.

I registered as a buyer. Can I list my company in PaperIndex Suppliers Directory?

Yes, absolutely. However, you will need to provide detailed information about your business to list your company (login required) in our Suppliers Directory.

How do I sell on PaperIndex?

PaperIndex is a lead or inquiry generation platform. It isn't a transactional marketplace, therefore, there is no actual selling. For generating business leads or inquiries, you will need to list your company (login required) in PaperIndex Suppliers Directory and provide detailed company information.

Once your company is listed in Suppliers Directory, you can start generating sales leads by:

• Adding products to your company profile and receiving inquiries from buyers looking for what you sell
• Or, by sending quotations in response to RFQ or buying requirements posted by buyers

Does PaperIndex charge any commission for selling on its website?

No. You only need to pay a fixed membership fee, should you decide to become a paid member.

Does PaperIndex provide inspection, transportation, escrow, or other services required for completing a transaction/deal?

No, we do not. Our role is limited to connecting buyers and suppliers and we currently do not provide supply chain, payment processing, or other services necessary for completing a transaction.

I would like PaperIndex to play a bigger role in the selling process by negotiating/mediating with buyers on my behalf. Can PaperIndex provide me negotiation/mediation services? I am willing to pay additional fee for this service.

PaperIndex connects suppliers with buyers and our role is limited to that. We do not negotiate or mediate on behalf of either buyers or suppliers.

I am a Basic member i.e. not a paid member yet. How many buyers can I contact on PaperIndex?

Basic members can contact (i.e. send quotations to) one buyer each month. If you would like to send more quotations to buyers each month, upgrade your membership to either Diamond or Pro.

I am a Basic member i.e. not a paid member yet . How many inquiries can I receive on PaperIndex?

There are no restrictions on number of inquiries Basic members can receive from buyers. However, Basic members can view and reply to only one buyer inquiry each month. This restriction doesn't apply to Premium members (Corporate, Diamond, and Pro) and they can reply to all buyers they receive inquiries from.

I have a dispute with a trading partner I contacted on PaperIndex. Can PaperIndex mediate?

PaperIndex is a lead generation platform. We connect buyers and suppliers and our role is limited only to that. We do not mediate between parties and if an unfortunate situation of dispute arises, we recommend you take help of professional mediation services.

I suspect a buyer or supplier I contacted on PaperIndex is dishonest and I doubt his / her intentions.

If you have reasons to doubt the intentions of your potential trading partner, we suggest you take precautions and refrain from dealing with the person or company. Please contact us with relevant details. You may also want to refer to our safe trading guidelines.

What is your policy against online fraud?

At present, when we receive reports fraud, we block the suspect’s company profile, their product and RFQ listings and terminate their membership to eliminate the possibility of repeat offences. We also maintain a blacklist of offenders to ensure that they do not gain admittance to PaperIndex at a later date. Please note that these steps are taken on suspicion of fraud, before obtaining evidence. PaperIndex does not and cannot act as a mediator in disputes between buyers and sellers. By its very nature, international fraud is difficult to prosecute effectively and resolve satisfactorily. All PaperIndex members are advised to be vigilant at all times.

I have registered my company on PaperIndex but I don't see it listed on the site.

If you have listed your company recently and it doesn't appear on PaperIndex, there can be two reasons for this:

• If you recently posted your company profile, it has been sent to our Quality Assurance team and they review each profile to make sure they are appropriate for publishing on PaperIndex. If you recently posted your company profile, it could take up to seven business days for our Quality Assurance team to review your company for listing in Suppliers Directory. If approved, your company profile will be available to buyers visiting PaperIndex.
• If your company profile was denied approval by our Quality Assurance team after a careful review, it was not published on PaperIndex. If your company profile was not approved for listing, make changes in it and resubmit the profile for our review.

I updated my company profile but I don't see any changes in my profile.

There can be two reasons if the updated details are not appearing on your company profile:

• If you updated your company profile in last seven business days, your changes were sent to our Quality Assurance team for their review. The Quality Assurance team will review the changes made by you and if the changes are appropriate for publishing, they will be approved. The approval process typically takes about seven business days and as soon as your changes are approved, they will appear on your company profile.
• If it’s been more than seven business days since you last edited your company profile, chances are that the changes were denied approval by our Quality Assurance team after a careful review and the changes will not appear on your company profile. Please edit your company profile and resubmit it for our review.

My company is not published yet in the Suppliers Directory. Can I add products listings to my company profile?

No, only the suppliers whose companies are listed in our Suppliers Directory can add product listings to their company profile. If you are already a member but your company is not listed yet, you can create your company profile after logging in to the Dashboard area and submit it for review by our Quality Assurance team. If you are not a member yet, please join the community now.

I created a product listing but it doesn't appear on my company profile.

If you created your product listing and it doesn't appear on your company profile, there could be two reasons for this:

• If you created your product listing in the last seven business days, it might be pending review by our Quality Assurance team who review each product listing carefully to make sure they are appropriate for publishing. If approved, your product listing will be published on your company profile.
• If it’s been more than seven business days since you created your product listing, your listing may have been denied approval by our Quality Assurance team after a careful review. Once a product listing is denied approval, it is not published. Log in to your account to check if your product listing was not approved. If that's the case, please make changes in it and submit the listing again for our review.

I edited my product listings but the new details are not appearing on my company profile.

There could be two reasons if the updated listing details are not appearing on your company profile:

• If you updated your product listing in the last seven business days, your changes might be waiting to be approved by our Quality Assurance team who will review the updated listing and if your changes are appropriate for publishing, they will approve the listing. If approved, the updated details will appear on your company profile.
• If it’s been more than seven business days since you last updated your product listing, chances are that the changes in the listing were denied approval by our Quality Assurance team after a careful review. Once the changes are denied approval, they will not appear on your company profile. Log in to your account to edit your product listing and submit it again for our review.

I posted my buying requirement or RFQ but I don't see it listed on the site.

If you have posted your RFQ recently and it's not live yet, there could be two reasons for this:

• If you posted your RFQ in the last three business days, it might be pending review by our Quality Assurance team who review each RFQ carefully to make sure the details are appropriate for publishing. If approved, your RFQ will be published and will be available to suppliers.
• If it’s been more than three business days since you created your RFQ listing, your listing may have been denied approval by our Quality Assurance team after a careful review. Once an RFQ listing is denied approval, it is not published. Log in to your account to check if your RFQ listing was not approved. If that's the case, please make changes in it and submit the listing again for our review.

I edited my RFQ but the new details are not appearing on my RFQ.

There could be two reasons if the updated details are not appearing on your RFQ:

• If you updated your RFQ in the last three business days, your changes have been sent to our Quality Assurance team who review each RFQ to ensure the changes are appropriate for publishing. The review process typically takes about three business days and as soon as your edits are approved, they will appear on your RFQ.
• If it'™s been more than three business days since you edited your RFQ listing, the changes you made in your listing may have been denied approval by our Quality Assurance team after a careful review. Once your edits are denied approval, they are not published on your RFQ. Log in to your account, make changes in your RFQ again and submit it for our review.

What are the payment options available for paying membership subscription fee?

You can pay your membership subscription fee using your Paypal account or Razorpay (available only to members from India). Paypal and Razorpay will securely process payment from your credit or debit card (or bank account) and send the payment data automatically to our server. After your payment is successfully processed, your membership details will be updated in your account.

Does you store my credit/debit card information?

No, we do not. Credit and debit card payments for PaperIndex are processed by Paypal and Razorpay – third-party payment processors. PaperIndex doesn’t have access to your credit/debit card details and we do not store card details with us.

How do I renew my membership fee?

Depending on the subscription duration (yearly or monthly) opted by you, your subscription will be automatically renewed yearly or monthly by Paypal or Razopay.

How do I cancel my subscription?

If you paid your membership subscription fee using your Paypal account, you may cancel your subscription after logging in to your Paypal account. If you paid your subscription fee via Razorpay, please contact us here if you would like to cancel your subscription.

What happens after I cancel my subscription?

After you cancel your subscription, you will not be charged again and your membership will be changed to Basic Membership at the end of the paid subscription period.

My question wasn't answered / is not listed above. What should I do?

If you question wasn't answered or isn't listed above, please feel free to contact us. We will make every effort to get back to you in one business day.

What is PaperIndex?

PaperIndex is a business-to-business marketplace and trade directory for the pulp, paper, and related industries. We connect buyers and suppliers in the industry by providing them a global platform to connect, communicate and trade with each other.