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| Frequently Asked Questions |
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| 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 interact and trade with each other. To know more about PaperIndex, please visit our about PaperIndex section. |
| I am a buyer. How can I benefit from PaperIndex services? |
| Our services help buyers contact new suppliers, compare products and services, procure quality products at lower prices, eliminate intermediaries, reduce transaction cost, and decrease sourcing time. |
| I am a supplier. How can I benefit from PaperIndex services? |
| Using PaperIndex services, suppliers can find new buyers and sell beyond their regional and national boundaries to increase sales, reduce sales and marketing expenses, improve margin, eliminate intermediaries, and decrease the selling cycle. |
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| What are the differences between Gold and Platinum membership? |
| Please see membership comparison chart for details. |
| Does PaperIndex recommend Platinum membership for all? |
| We believe that every business is uniquely positioned in the marketplace and has different marketing and promotional needs and that’s the reason we have created three types of membership – Free, Gold, and Platinum. Select a level of membership depending on your current needs and whenever you decide to become a Platinum member, you can conveniently upgrade your membership at any time. |
| I am not sure which type of paid membership should I go for – Gold or Platinum. What does PaperIndex recommend? |
| Choosing Gold or Platinum membership depends on your sales and marketing objectives. If you are interested only in generating new inquiring, finding new customers, and increasing your sales, Gold membership should be an ideal choice for you. Platinum membership is right for image-conscious businesses, who, in addition to selling, are interested in brand building and spreading marketing message to a wider set of audience on the Internet. |
| What is the difference between Gold and Platinum membership. |
| There are many and some of them are listed below: |
| a. |
Platinum members receive a priority listing above Gold members on company listing, selling leads, and search results pages. Priority listing provides more visibility to Platinum members compared to Gold members. Enhanced visibility means more buyer inquiries for Platinum suppliers than Gold members in the same product or service category. |
| b. |
Platinum members can list their company in up to 30 relevant products and services categories while Gold members can list in up to 15 categories only. |
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Platinum members can advertise their website while Gold members cannot. |
| d. |
Platinum members can post video and audio ads on their company while Gold members do not have this privilege. |
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Platinum members can upload up to 10 catalogs on their company profile while Gold members can upload a maximum of 3 catalogs. |
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| For more details on membership options, please refer to membership comparison chart. |
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Who should join as a Free member? |
| Free membership is ideal for buyers who want to use PaperIndex services for sourcing their requirements. Suppliers are
welcome to join PaperIndex as a Free member too though we recommend premium membership
for suppliers -either Gold or Platinum- to enjoy the benefits of advanced promotion
tools such as video and audio advertising. |
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| What’s the fee of PaperIndex services for buyers? |
| PaperIndex services for buyers are absolutely FREE. Free now and free forever! To buy, buyers can post unlimited buying leads, send unlimited inquiries, and receive unlimited quotations from suppliers without paying any fee. |
| I am new to PaperIndex. How do I start buying? |
| Getting started on buying is easy. There are two convenient ways to buy: |
| a. |
Post buying leads on PaperIndex to inform suppliers about your sourcing needs and receive quotation in your email inbox. |
| b. |
Browse selling leads posted on PaperIndex and send inquiries to suppliers by clicking on “Inquire Now” button that appears on each supplier’s company profile and selling leads details. |
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| How easy is it to buy on PaperIndex? |
| We have made buying hassle free on PaperIndex. We do not require buyers to fill long registration forms for either sending inquiries or posting their sourcing needs on PaperIndex. Instead, when buyers send their first inquiry or post first buying lead, we automatically provide them free PaperIndex membership for buyers. Buyers just have to choose a unique username and password while filling up the inquiry or buying lead form. The username and password can be used to login to My PaperIndex area for managing and keeping track of buying activities such as posting / editing buying leads and sending inquiries to suppliers. |
| How many suppliers can I contact each month on PaperIndex? |
| Unlimited. Your access to suppliers on PaperIndex is unlimited and unrestricted. |
| How many quotations can I receive each month in response to my buying leads? |
| Unlimited. There is absolutely no restriction on receiving quotations from suppliers. |
| Can I see the contact details of suppliers when they send me quotations? |
| Absolutely. |
| I have received quotations from suppliers. Is there any restriction on replying to suppliers? |
| No. There are no restrictions on sending replies to suppliers from whom you have received quotations. |
| I have been a buyer so far. Can I sell on PaperIndex too? |
| Yes, you can. However, before starting to sell you have to provide detailed information about your company and list it in our Suppliers Directory. |
| If you are already a buyer member and would like to list your company in our Suppliers Directory, update your company profile and submit it to our approval staff for review. Once approved, your company will be published in PaperIndex Directory and you can start selling. If you are not a member yet and would like to start selling on PaperIndex, please continue here. |
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| How do I sell on PaperIndex? |
| Selling on PaperIndex is easy. However, before you start selling, you have to list your company in PaperIndex Suppliers Directory and provide detailed company information to us. |
| Once your company is listed in Suppliers Directory, you can start selling by: |
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Posting selling leads |
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Or, by browsing buying leads and contacting buyers who want to source the products and services you sell. |
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| What is the fee for selling on PaperIndex? |
| Fee for selling on PaperIndex depends on your level of membership. While there is no fee for Free membership, annual fee for paid membership depends on the membership option you choose– Gold or Platinum. For details on membership options, please refer to our membership comparison chart. |
| Does PaperIndex charge any commission for selling on its website? |
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No. We do not charge any commission for selling products and services on PaperIndex. You can sell as much as you want (i.e. post unlimited selling leads) without having to worry about paying commission
to PaperIndex. You only need to pay a fixed membership fee once in a year, should you decide to join as a paid member.
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| When does the selling process start on PaperIndex? |
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Selling on PaperIndex starts with posting of selling leads. Once PaperIndex members have posted selling leads on their company profile, the leads are published on PaperIndex and become available to buyers.
Buyers searching for suppliers of a product or service find the selling leads and contact relevant suppliers.
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When does the selling process complete on PaperIndex? Or, when does PaperIndex’ role stops in the selling process?
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As soon as suppliers receive inquiries from buyers and decide to communicate with them either through email, phone or fax, PaperIndex’ role in the selling process ends there.
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| Does PaperIndex provide transportation, escrow, or other services required for completing a transaction/deal? |
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No, we do not. As stated previously, our role is limited to connecting buyers and suppliers and we do not provide supply chain, payment related, or other services necessary for completing a transaction.
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I would like PaperIndex to play a bigger role in the selling process by negotiating/mediating with buyers for me. Can PaperIndex provide me negotiation/mediation services? I am willing to pay additional fee for this service.
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PaperIndex’ connects suppliers with buyers directly and our role is limited to that. We do not negotiate or mediate on behalf of either buyers or suppliers.
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I found a buying lead on PaperIndex and I am very much interested in contacting the buyer who posted the buying lead. However, the buyer’s contact details are available only to PaperIndex members and I am not a member yet. Can PaperIndex provide me the buyer’s contact details? I will pay commission to PaperIndex once the deal is finalized.
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Buying and selling is commission-free on PaperIndex and we do not provide buyers’ (or suppliers’) contact information in exchange for commission. If you would like to contact the buyer(s),
please become a PaperIndex member now.
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| I am a Free member. How many buyers can I contact on PaperIndex? |
| Free members can contact (i.e. send quotations to) one buyer each month. If you would like to contact more buyers each month, please upgrade your membership to either Gold or Platinum. |
| I am a Free member. How many inquiries can I receive on PaperIndex? |
| There are no restrictions on number of inquiries Free members can receive on PaperIndex. However, Free members can reply to only one buyer inquiry each month. Gold and
Platinum members do not have this restriction and they can reply to all buyers from
whom they have received inquiries. |
| I am a Free member. I have received an inquiry but I can’t see the contact details of buyers? |
| Buyers’ contact details are not disclosed to Free members when they receive inquiries. However, Free members can reply to one buyer in a month from whom they have
received inquiries. |
| I am registered as a supplier. Can I buy on PaperIndex too? |
| Absolutely and without restrictions. In fact, every supplier is a buyer too and for buying on PaperIndex, there are no restrictions no matter what’s the level of your membership. Buying is FREE on PaperIndex. To start buying, you can either post buying leads and let suppliers contact you or browse selling leads and contact suppliers selling a product or service that you are looking to buy. |
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| I have a dispute with a trading partner I contacted on PaperIndex. Can PaperIndex mediate? |
| PaperIndex is an online marketplace for buyers and suppliers. We connect buyers and suppliers and our role is restricted 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 intentions of your trading partner, we suggest you take extra precautions and refrain from dealing with the person or company. Reading our safe trading guidelines may also help you deal with such situations. |
| What is PaperIndex’s policy against online fraud? |
| At present, when a user reports a case of fraud to us, we block the suspect’s company profile, their buying and selling leads and cancel 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 User Agreement provides that PaperIndex can cancel suspected/offending member's membership privileges at its own discretion. PaperIndex does not and cannot act as a mediator in disputes between buyers and sellers regarding cases of fraud. 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. |
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| 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: |
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If you posted your company profile in last 24 hours, it has been sent to our approval staff. The approval staff reviews each profile to make sure the details are appropriate for publishing on PaperIndex. If you have just posted your company profile, it can take up to 24 hours before our approval staff reviews and approves the company for publishing. Once approved, your company profile will appear on PaperIndex and will be available to buyers. |
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If it’s been more than 24 hours since you posted your company profile, chances are that the company profile was denied approval by our approval staff after a careful review. Once a company profile is denied approval, it is not published on PaperIndex. If your company profile was not approved for publishing on PaperIndex, please make changes and submit the profile again for review. You can make changes in your company profile in My Profiles section of My PaperIndex area. |
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| 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: |
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If you updated your company profile in last 24 hours, your changes have been sent
to our approval staff for review. The approval staff reviews the changes submitted
by you and if the changes are appropriate for publishing, the changes will be approved. The approval process typically takes about 24 hours and as soon as your changes are approved, they will appear on your company profile. |
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If it’s been more than 24 hours since you last edited your company profile, chances are that the changes in profile were denied approval by our approval staff after a careful review. Once the changes are denied approval, they will not appear on your company profile. Please re-edit your company profile and submit it again for review. You can make changes in your company profile in My Profiles section of My
PaperIndex area. |
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| I am unable to upload video / audio / catalog files my company profile. |
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Successfully uploading large size files such as video and audio depends on your Internet connection speed. If you are using a dial-up connection, uploading files will take longer and you may get disconnected frequently. Please try to upload again. If you are unable to upload files, please send your CD/DVD at the following address and we will upload the files to your company profile. |
| Address: |
PaperIndex (India) Private Limited
4BC - 317, 4B Cross 4th Main
East of NGEF, Kasturinagar
Bangalore 560016
Karnataka, India |
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| My company is not listed in PaperIndex Suppliers Directory. Can I post selling leads on PaperIndex? |
| No. Only the suppliers whose companies are listed in PaperIndex Suppliers Directory can post selling leads on PaperIndex. If you are already a member (i.e. you have
Paperindex username and password) but your company is not listed yet, you can edit
your company profile after logging in to My PaperIndex area and submit it for approval and listing on PaperIndex. If you are not a member yet, you can start here. |
| I am a Free buyer member. Do I have to be a paid member for posting selling leads? |
No. Paid membership is not required for posting selling leads on PaperIndex. If you are a free buyer member, you can post selling leads. However, your selling leads
cannot be published on PaperIndex if your company is not listed in PaperIndex Suppliers
Directory.
If you are a buyer member and your company is not yet listed in our Directory, you
can edit your company profile after logging in to My PaperIndex area and submit it for approval and listing in Suppliers Directory. |
| I posted my selling lead on PaperIndex but I don’t see it listed on the site. |
| If you have posted your selling lead recently and it doesn’t appear on PaperIndex, there can be two reasons for this: |
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If you posted your selling lead in last 24 hours, it has been sent to our approval staff. The approval staff reviews each selling lead carefully to make sure the details are appropriate for publishing on PaperIndex. If you have just posted your selling lead, it can take up to 24 hours before our approval staff reviews and approves the selling lead for publishing. Once approved, the selling lead will be published on PaperIndex and will be available to buyers. |
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If it’s been more than 24 hours since you posted your selling lead, chances are that the selling lead was denied approval by our approval staff after a careful review. Once a selling lead is denied approval, it is not published on PaperIndex. If your selling lead was not approved for publishing on PaperIndex, please make changes in it and submit the lead again for review. You can make changes in your
selling lead in My Trading Tools section of My PaperIndex area. |
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| I edited my selling lead but the new details are not appearing on my selling lead. |
| There can be two reasons if the updated details are not appearing on your selling lead: |
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If you updated your selling lead in last 24 hours, your changes have been sent to our approval staff for review. The approval staff will review the changes submitted by you and if the changes are appropriate for publishing, they will approve the changes in your selling lead. The approval process typically takes about 24 hours and as soon as the changes are approved, they will appear on your selling lead. |
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If it’s been more than 24 hours since you last edited your selling lead, chances are that the changes in selling lead were denied approval by our approval staff after a careful review. Once the changes are denied approval, they will not appear on your selling lead. Please re-edit your selling lead and submit it again for review. You can make changes in your selling lead in My Trading Tools section of My PaperIndex
area. |
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| I am not a PaperIndex member yet. Can I post buying leads? |
| Yes, you can. PaperIndex membership is not a prerequisite for posting buying leads.
Instead, when you fill the form to post your first buying lead, we provide you free
PaperIndex membership for buyers. Therefore, as soon as you post your first buying lead on PaperIndex, you become a free buyer member too. |
| When I posted my buying lead, I was given free PaperIndex membership for buyers.
Can I post selling leads too? |
| Yes, you can. However, before posting selling leads, you will have to provide detailed company information and list your company in PaperIndex Suppliers Directory. If your company is not listed in PaperIndex Directory, your selling leads cannot be
published on PaperIndex. |
| I posted my buying lead on PaperIndex but I don't see it listed on the site. |
| If you have posted your buying lead recently and it doesn’t appear on PaperIndex, there can be two reasons for this: |
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If you posted your buying lead in last 24 hours, it has been sent to our approval staff. The approval staff reviews each buying lead carefully to make sure the details are appropriate for publishing on PaperIndex. If you have just posted your buying lead, it can take up to 24 hours before our approval staff reviews and approves the buying lead for publishing. Once approved, the buying lead will be published on PaperIndex and will be available to buyers. |
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If it’s been more than 24 hours since you posted your buying lead, chances are that
the buying lead was denied approval by our approval staff after a careful review.
Once a buying lead is denied approval, it is not published on PaperIndex. If your
buying lead was not approved for publishing on PaperIndex, please make changes and
submit the lead again for review. You can make changes in your buying lead in My
Trading Tools section of My PaperIndex area. |
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| I edited my buying lead but the new details are not appearing on my buying lead. |
| There can be two reasons if the updated details are not appearing on your buying lead: |
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If you updated your buying lead in last 24 hours, your changes have been sent to our approval staff for review. The approval staff reviews the changes submitted by you and if the changes are appropriate for publishing, they will approve the changes in your buying lead. The approval process typically takes about 24 hours and as soon as your updates are approved, they will appear on your buying lead. |
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If it’s been more than 24 hours since you last edited your buying lead, chances are that the changes in buying lead were denied approval by our approval staff after a careful review. Once the changes are denied approval, they will not appear on your buying lead. Please re-edit your buying lead and submit it again for review. You can make changes in your buying lead in My Trading Tools section of My PaperIndex
area. |
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| What are the payment options available for paying PaperIndex membership fee? |
| You can pay your membership fee using your credit or debit card or by sending wire (telegraphic) transfer to us. If you choose to pay by credit/debit card, you will be taken to PayPal website for making payment. Once the payment is processed, you
will be redirected to PaperIndex website and your membership will be instantly activated. The whole process is secure, quick, and easy. |
| Does PaperIndex store my credit/debit card information? |
| No, we do not. Credit and debit card payments for PaperIndex are processed by PayPal – a third party payment processor. PaperIndex doesn’t have access to your credit/debit card details and we do not store card details with us. |
| What is PayPal? I have never heard about it. |
| PayPal, owned by eBay, is a global online payment system. PayPal is a convenient, easy-to-use, and secure way for individuals and businesses to send and receive money online for goods, services, charitable donations, and so forth. To know about PayPal, please visit PayPal Help Center. |
| Why does PaperIndex recommend that members pay their membership fee using PayPal? |
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Credit/debit card payments using PayPal are instantaneous and you start enjoying the benefits of paid membership right away. If you choose to pay by wire transfer instead, you may have to wait for up to 10 days before we receive your payment and activate (or upgrade) your membership. Additionally, payments using PayPal are less expensive too, as banks charge a service fee for wiring funds while PayPal doesn't charge any fee from you for making payment to PaperIndex. |
| I opted wire transfer payment method while signing up for PaperIndex membership.
My membership is still not active (or has not been upgraded yet). |
| If you choose to pay you membership fee by wire transfer, your membership is activated after we receive your payment. Wire transfer payments can take up to 7 to 10 business days for us to receive and process. Once we receive your payment, we update your account and enable the paid membership features. |
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| 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 within 24 hours. |
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