FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - FAQs
Table of Contents
- Why should I use FocusedBuyer.com to Buy or Sell?
- What type of products, components, items, equipment or services can I buy or sell on FocusedBuyer.com?
- Is FocusedBuyer.com a Business or Consumer site?
- How is FocusedBuyer.com different from other searching, buying, selling and advertising sites?
- How is FocusedBuyer.com different from classified advertising & listing sites?
- Can I use FocusedBuyer.com to place purchase orders with and buy from my current sellers, suppliers and supply chain?
- Can I easily place a new Purchase Order which will be a repeat of a previous Purchase Order facilitated and initiated on FocusedBuyer.com?
- What are the options and alternatives for Buyers to tender payments to Sellers and Suppliers (contingent upon their acceptance of the Buyer’s choice) to settle Purchase Order financial commitments?
- Does FocusedBuyer.com offer and provide any services to buyers and suppliers and sellers?
- What does FocusedBuyer.com charge its Users to access and advantage its expert, online, professional buying & selling platform?
- How will my listing(s) reach qualified, interested ‘to make offers’ Suppliers/Sellers?
- Can quotation Offers from various Suppliers/Sellers, in response to a Buyer’s Listing, be accessed and seen by every Supplier/Seller?
- Once Buyers post their Listing, are they obligated to make a purchase?
- How long are Listings and Offers active on the site?
- How are disputes between Buyers and Supplier/Sellers managed and resolved?
- Are there opportunities to rate Buyers and Suppliers/Sellers activities and results?
- How difficult is it and how long does it take to create and post a Listing or Offer?
- What are the ways that I can contact FocusedBuyer.com?
- What are the elements of a robust Purchase-to-Pay Procurement Process?
- What are common business purchasing Competitive Disadantages and Solutions?
FAQs Initial Release January 2013; Last Update: May 2014;
- Why should I use FocusedBuyer.com to Buy or Sell?
Buyers, Sellers and Suppliers are able to find the right "each other" fast and efficiently, negotiate mutually acceptable deals and terms, issue valid, legal purchase order contracts, document respective transaction performance, and make electronic payments having extraordinarily low interchange fees all in a professional, safe, secure and an "in control" process.
You now have the opportunity to apply and deploy everyday, fundamental commercial business and consumer safeguards, protections and security for your buying and selling in the fast and efficient world of e-Commerce.
- What type of products, components, items, equipment or services can I buy or sell on FocusedBuyer.com?
Buyers, Sellers and Suppliers can buy, sell or advertise anything and everything that is legal, not banned, not embargoed, not blockaded and complies with the governing laws of the buyers' and sellers' localities, states and countries as well as all international laws.
You now have the opportunity to create an RFQ (Request for Quotation) / RFP (Request for Proposal) Listings and make QUOTATION Offers in a format that requires a few decisions and only eleven(11) fields of required information to be completed or use the More(+) checklist to detail and specify a complex sophisticated requirement.
- Is FocusedBuyer.com a Business or Consumer site?
The site facilitates Business to Business (B2B), Consumer to Consumer (C2C), and Consumer to Business (C2B) interactions and transactions. It is capable of achieving success in all of these areas because of its flexible and comprehensive design features.
- How is FocusedBuyer.com different from other searching, buying, selling and advertising sites?
Buyers search or 'pull' quotations, proposals (Offers) from local, global and/or selected Sellers and Suppliers to their very specific Listing of what it is they actually want to Buy, Rent or Lease.
Buyers no longer have to randomly and endlessly search cataloged products and services sites that are 'pushing' stuff to them that then require exhaustive filtering, reviewing and determining their appropriateness of form, fit, function, quality and price.
Sellers and Suppliers know exactly, including all relevant requirements, what buyers and consumers are looking to buy.
Advertisers can place brand or SEO advertisements matched to real buyers who are buying 24 hours a day, 7days a week and 52 weeks per year and who have identified what it is they want or need to buy, rent or lease but have not yet made the actual purchase.
You now have the opportunity to create RFQ/RFP Listings, Make Offers and go to Purchase Order Contract without paying any transaction fees whatsoever.
- How is FocusedBuyer.com different from classified advertising & listing sites?
Buyers, Sellers and Suppliers are registered site Users. They are committed to safe, secure, honest and ethical trading transactions using our professional and completely turnkey procurement (requirements, sourcing, purchases and payments) process. It is so much more than classifieds which generally are nothing more than meet, greet, go-it-alone and take your chances.
- Can I use FocusedBuyer.com to place purchase orders with and buy from my current sellers, suppliers and supply chain?
YES!If you and the chosen Supplier/Seller are both Registered Users and you have all the necessary information to create a Purchase Order (such as a seller or supplier written or verbal quotation that has been negotiated and/or accepted by you or a past purchase order transaction record), you can issue and place a purchase order by following the steps outlined in the User Guide section covering Directed Listings and Purchase Order issuance.
- Can I easily place a new Purchase Order which will be a repeat of a previous Purchase Order facilitated and initiated on FocusedBuyer.com?
YES! The site captures and retains all information and data entered for Listings, Offers, Purchase Orders and Payments. The site is designed to be extremely flexible, easy to use, safe, thorough, user friendly and adaptable to the users' needs and imagination within the world of buying and selling. By entering a previous Purchase Order number or a description or a part number, the system will populate a new Listing with the last relevant Purchase Order information and data. Users can then proceed to create a new, updated RFQ/RFP Listing or proceed to create and issue a new Purchase Order.
- What are the options and alternatives for Buyers to tender payments to Sellers and Suppliers (contingent upon their acceptance of the Buyer's choice) to settle Purchase Order financial commitments?
(i) Any form of check (personal, business, bank, money order, etc.) can be used to settle payment obligations.
(ii) Any form of credit (all major credit cards, debit cards, purchasing/procurement cards, letters of credit, etc.) can be used to settle payment obligations
(iii) Any form of online payment (Pay Pal, Bill Me Later, Google Checkout, etc.) can be used to settle payment obligations
Note: Be aware that buyer payment problems and failed or fraudulent purchase transaction protection coverage for the aforementioned checks, credit cards and online payment solutions rests entirely and solely with and between the initiating institution, business or bank and the buyer who selected along with the seller or supplier who agreed to the method and form of payment.
(iv) Our Precious®Payment Solution (a PreciousPayment LLC business which is an online, fully electronic and paperless payment process) can be used to settle payment obligations with full financial safety and security while helping to ensure the actual purchase transaction is accomplished to the complete satisfaction of the contracted parties... Personalized Business & Consumer Protection for both Buyers and Suppliers/Sellers has finally arrived in the trading world
Precious®Payment Benefits:
a) Precious®Payment ensures that money required to complete the settlement of the Purchase Order financial obligation is available subject to satisfactory contract performance by both buyer and supplier/seller.
b) Precious®Payment ensures that both buyer and supplier/seller have complete line item Purchase Order transaction history, data and details of exactly what and how much was purchased.
c) Precious®Payment ensures that neither the buyer nor the supplier/seller can be responsible for a fraudulent transaction where money has exchanged hands prior to the Purchase Order Contract being satisfied by and for both the buyer and supplier/seller.
d) Precious®Payment encourages bargaining in good faith, fair dealings and ultimate Purchase Order requirements satisfaction.
e) Precious®Payment in addition to helping prevent fraud, helps prevent identity theft, embezzlement, crime and other illegal buy/sell activity.
f) Precious®Payment creates visibility to financial obligations including accounts payable and accounts receivable.
g) Precious®Payment allows for gifting that retains original value without expiration, limitations or restrictions and is not subject to provider default.
h) Precious®Payment reduces the need for dispute resolution and the risk of loss of transaction funds.
i) Precious®Payment allows for data capture and low cost transmittals to easily comply with any IRS 1099 rules and buyer obligations for yearly purchases with any given supplier.
j) Precious®Payment can also be used to pay invoices and bills generated outside of the FocusedBuyer.com process.
k) Precious®Payment USA electronic funds transfer interchange fees and charges between buyers and suppliers/sellers are substantially less than the cost of other credit payment instruments.
l) Precious®Payment when used in combination with FocusedBuyer.com is an excellent, efficient, safe, secure and lower cost alternative to Purchasing Cards, Procurement Cards and P-Cards mostly used for buying MRO & O (Maintenance, Repair, Operating Supplies/Services and equipment and Office Supplies/Services and equipment) at larger companies and corporations.
m) Precious®Payment funds are deposited in, transacted through and FDIC insured by a major bank brand and financially healthy bank located in the Northeast of the USA.
- Does FocusedBuyer.com offer and provide any services to buyers and suppliers and sellers?
YES! We offer an 'a la carte' menu of interesting, important and professional services for both buyers and suppliers/sellers. To view a list of Buyer services click Buyer Services. To view a list of Supplier/Seller services click Seller Services.
If one of the listed services interests you and you would like to learn more about the specific service details and pricing, please forward a description of what you need the service to accomplish for you as well as an idea of the magnitude of volume involved and send it to services@focusedbuyer.com for an individual response and commercial proposal.
- What does FocusedBuyer.com charge its Users to access and advantage its expert, online, professional buying & selling platform?
>No Charge ever and always free for small & medium sized business buyers and all consumer buyers for up to 2GB of disk storage space. For each additional increment of 1GB of disk storage above 2GB's, a monthly charge (based on projected usage parameters) starting at $1.99 plus taxes and any required regulatory fees will be communicated to the User for contract approval and ongoing customer billing.
Large corporations and international conglomerates that have an interest in accessing and using FocusedBuyer.com and Precious®Payment for purchasing activities including but not limited to cost gathering to support their customers' inquiries; buying capital equipment and services; buying indirect supplies and services; expanding diversity purchases and reporting; facilitating better management and control of decentralized, multi-operational buying efforts; accumulating and mining item history and spend data; or transacting other purchases outside of their current ERP/MRP systems are granted access and use, upon registration, to a reviewable six (6) month trial period after which a 'Charter Member' annual subscription charge, determined by projected usage and server capacity, is required. Unique customization tailored for your business purchasing and financial needs, including electronic interfaces to your existing software package or platform is also available on a project by project fee basis. For more information, contact us at info@focusedbuyer.com.
>Never a contracting transaction fee for our customers' purchases or sales efforts, regardless of revenue amounts, number of employees or the individual or total amount contracted that is facilitated by and through the Web Site.
>Suppliers and Sellers are asked to pay a nominal, yearly subscription charge, after a free 6-month trial period, for up to 2GB of disk storage space. For each additional increment of 1GB of disk storage above 2GB's, a monthly charge (based on projected usage parameters) starting at $1.99 plus taxes and any required regulatory fees will be communicated to the User for contract approval and ongoing customer billing.
- For large sized businesses, companies and corporations (greater than 200 employees), a specific subscription proposal will be created by FocusedBuyer LLC for your commercial consideration.
- For medium sized businesses, organizations and other entities (greater than 100 but less than 200 employees) that are selling and have an IRS EIN number, the annual non-prorated charge is $79.95 plus any taxes or regulatory fees required to be collected.
- For small sized businesses, organizations and other entities (less than 100 employees) that are selling and have an IRS EIN number, the annual non-prorated charge is $59.95 plus any taxes or regulatory fees required to be collected.
- For micro sized businesses, organizations and other entities (less than 10 employees) that are selling and have an IRS EIN number, the annual non-prorated charge is $39.95 plus any taxes or regulatory fees required to be collected.
- For sole proprietors and consumer sellers or any other entities not required to have an IRS EIN number, the annual non-prorated charge is $29.95 plus any taxes or regulatory fees required to be collected.
>Purchase Order Contract payment settlement(s) from a Buyer to a Supplier within the USA, or Seller facilitated by our fully electronic and secure Precious®Payment process, will incur a combined payment handling and interchange fee of 1% or less of the actual transaction amount providing the amount is equal to $50 or more. For transaction amounts that are less than $50, the combined payment handling and interchange charge per transaction is a flat fee of $1.00
Our customers will note that our fee of 1% or less is substantially better than other forms of debit/credit payment (1.5% to 3.5% fee range) settlement charges.
International payment settlement options, including wire transfers, are available on a prevailing cost basis plus 10%.
- How will my listing(s) reach qualified, interested "to make offers" Suppliers/Sellers?
A Buyer's completed RFI/RFQ/RFP Listing when posted as 'Public' will be open for any Supplier/Seller in the world, who has access to the Internet, to find your Listing through keyword searches or by directly logging onto FocusedBuyer.com and after they are registered, offer a quotation to you. Please note, a Buyer has the capability, through our special filtering process, to screen out offers for reasons important to them including but not limited to minimizing the number of responses they will accept for their review. These filters will be outlined within the listing.
The Buyer's Listing can be 'Private' but 'Directed' to only those Suppliers/Sellers from which the Buyer wants to allow a quotation offer to them. In this choice, only these Suppliers/Sellers will have access to the Listing.
The Buyer can also post the Listing as 'Public' and 'Directed' which allows the posting to be open for anyone in the world to offer a quotation but at the same time specifically notifies a specific Supplier/Seller or group of Suppliers/Sellers that a Buyer is looking to buy, rent or lease something and the Listing is now posted.
The Buyer's Listing can also be posted with notice that a signed NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) is required. A limited content Listing can be posted as 'Public' or 'Directed' or both and then requires potential Suppliers/Sellers to complete an online NDA prior to the Buyer sending them a 'Private' and 'Directed' "complete in content and requirements" Listing.
FocusedBuyer.com will use various marketing and advertising content and channels to help ensure that potential Suppliers/Sellers are aware of FocusedBuyer.com, its Listings and its advantages.
Buyers can assist and expedite the Supplier/Seller awareness of their Listings by notifying all of them you intend to use this new, exciting online process to make your future purchases and then asking the current, important Supplier/Seller base to please become registered users of FocusedBuyer.com.
- Can quotation Offers from various Suppliers/Sellers, in response to a Buyer's Listing, be accessed and seen by every Supplier/Seller?
NO. The offers are only accessible for review by the Buyer of record for their Listing of record. No other Buyers, Suppliers/Sellers or other parties have access to your offers.
FocusedBuyer.com is not a ‘reverse auction’ bidding site.
FocusedBuyer.com IS a searching, buying, supplying, selling, paying and advertising (trading) platform that seeks to introduce the right buyer to the right supplier/seller that provides a competitive value and best total cost and where the mutual cost of executing transactions and the payment of interchange fees is driven as close to zero as possible.
The Business Buyer, the Consumer Buyer and the Supplier/Seller now have the ability and the secure communication channel within the website to professionally and confidentially reach out to, dialog with, negotiate with and come to terms and agreement with the other party of their choice that best meets their technical, commercial, economic, quality, environmental, delivery and other important requirements of a purchase or sale.
- Once Buyers post their Listing, are they obligated to make a purchase?
NO. Buyers are often searching for information to help them decide what to purchase and which Suppliers/Sellers are available to supply the product or service. In this instance, the Buyer has posted either an RFI (Request for Information) Listing or an RFQ/RFP (Request for Quote/Request for Proposal) Listing where their interest is in gathering commercial information so as to be able to assemble and subsequently make their own Offer to one of their potential customers. We encourage Buyers to identify, within their posted RFQ/RFP Listing, whether or not the Listing is an actual buy/purchase for them at this time or if it is for support of their business sales and marketing efforts. Suppliers/Sellers who continuously support Buyers, in any of these circumstances, with commercial and technical input often have an enhanced opportunity to eventually earn business from the Buyers.
- How long are Listings and Offers active on the site?
Posted Listings, by site default, expire thirty (30) days from the posting date but can be overridden for a longer timeframe at the time of the posting, can be extended at any time while the Listing is active and can be recalled from an expired status and re-posted with a new timeframe. Posted Offers, by site default, expire thirty (30) days from the last date a Listing is scheduled to be valid. Offers can have longer expiration timeframes defined at the time the Offer is posted, can be withdrawn at any time, can be extended at any time while the Offer is active, can be modified or updated at any time while the Offer is active and can be recalled and re-posted at any time.
- How are disputes between Buyers and Supplier/Sellers managed and resolved?
Buyers that want to use the site to create Listings (an RFI or RFQ/RFP) so as to receive Offers from Suppliers/Sellers must be registered users. Suppliers/Sellers that want to use the site to respond to Buyers Listings with Offers must be registered users. The registration process for a Buyer or Supplier/Seller is not complete for their access and use until they have certified that they have read, understand, acknowledge and accept the site's Terms of Service & Use (TSU). As part of this TSU, a 'time is of the essence' dispute resolution process is defined and agreed to by all users which includes: a) normal discussion and negotiation steps, by the parties that created the purchase order and purchase order contract, to resolve the issue(s); b) if (a) fails, mandatory mediation by a senior executive/owner representing each party to resolve the issue(s); and if both (a) and (b) fail, mandatory, final and binding arbitration process facilitated by and rulings issued by an arbitrator of net-ARB at www.net-arb.com. The Net-Arb.com Arbitration Agreement and Rules that govern the Arbitration process can be found at www.net-arb.com/FAQ.php#Rules
- Are there opportunities to rate Buyers and Suppliers/Sellers activities and results?
YES.The Contract Performance checklist and status section of the site provides the means to monitor each party's performance during the course of a purchase order contract's execution (including important attachment documentation) and provides a specific area to provide feedback and rate the final performance of the Buyer or the Supplier/Seller. We believe this area is extremely critical to both Customer Relationship & Performance Management (CRPM) and Supplier/Seller Relationship & Performance Management (SRPM) in today's e-Commerce world.
- How difficult is it and how long does it take to create and post a Listing or Offer?
The site format has been developed to ensure the effort to accomplish either is very easy and saves time. The Buyer can have a Listing posted by completing but eleven (11) straight forward data fields and following a few simple posting directions. However, the Buyer could also define and describe (using our expert templates) and post a very complicated RFI or RFQ/RFP within whatever timeframe they want or need to obtain a clear and exacting Supplier/Seller Offer. And the more familiar the party's become with the site format, layout and flow, the easier and faster it will be for them to accomplish their efforts and goals. Responding with an Offer to a Listing by a Supplier/Seller is equally as easy and thorough.
- What are the ways that I can contact FocusedBuyer.com?
We can be reached through any of the following:
- info@focusedbuyer.com
- support@focusedbuyer.com
- services@focusedbuyer.com
- Via our Feedback Link at our Homepage
- Via any of the Site Map Live Action Links
- What are the elements of a robust Purchase-to-Pay Procurement Process?
- clearly define requirement(s)
- explore all potential methods of supply
- connect with all capable suppliers
- establish approval routines
- choose qualified sources
- create and issue enforceable contracts
- select optimum supply chain logistics
- capture & monitor supplier performance
- document and warehouse transaction data
- manage cash flow outlays
- receive invoices and pay electronically
- prevent premeditated illegalities
- leverage spend history for better future results
- continuously manage critical and key supplier relationships
- What are common business purchasing Competitive Disadvantages and Solutions?
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Common Competitive Disadvantages
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FocusedBuyer Solutions
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www.focusedbuyer.com, copyright 2013-2014, Donald C. Jean, CEO & Co-Founder |
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