How This Works, In Full
We are a matching service, not a machine shop. Most sites in this business are vague about who pays whom. This page is the whole model, written down, so you can decide whether it suits you before you send anything.
The five steps
Nothing here is automated matching against a database. A person reads the drawing.
You send an RFQ
A STEP file or PDF drawing, the material, quantity, tolerance, finish and a deadline. Three minutes of your time. Nothing is shared with anyone at this point.
We read it and decide whether we can help
We check what the part needs: machine type, axis count, part envelope, material, finishing. If nothing in the network fits, we say so rather than sending it out to see what happens.
Shops see a preview, not your file
Part type, material, size, quantity, tolerance, finish, region and deadline. No name, no company, no contact details, no drawing. Enough for a shop to judge fit and effort, nothing more.
Up to 3 shops take the request
A shop that wants it pays for it. Only then do your contact details and files go to that shop. If you asked for an NDA, the files wait until it is signed.
Shops quote you directly
You compare, negotiate and order from whoever you choose. We are not in the conversation and not in the transaction.
Where the money comes from
A business model you cannot see is a business model you should not trust. Here is ours in three lines.
- Buyers payNothing, at any stage. Not for the RFQ, not for the quotes, not on the order.
- Shops payA fee per matched request they choose to take, shown on the preview before they decide.
- We never takeA commission, a markup, a percentage of the order or a kickback from a shop.
What we will never do
The failure modes of this business are well known. These are the ones we have designed out.
- Blast your drawingYour RFQ goes to 3 shops at most, and to fewer when fewer fit. It is never posted to a public board.
- Claim to be a factoryWe do not own machines and we will not imply that we do. The shop that quotes you runs the machines.
- Name our shops publiclyShops that pay for requests do not want their customer list inferred from our website, and buyers do not want theirs inferred either.
- Sell your detailsYour contact information goes to the shops that take your request and to nobody else. No lists, no resale, no marketing partners.
- Quote a lead time we do not controlDelivery dates come from the shop. We give you a response time and that is the only date we own.
What we ask of shops
The quality of the quotes you get depends entirely on who we let in. This is the bar.
- Real capabilityMachines in daily use on 6061 and 7075, with the axis count and envelope the part needs.
- Finishing sortedAnodizing in house or a finisher they can commit to, so you buy a finished part rather than manage two vendors.
- 48 hour repliesA shop that goes quiet on a buyer stops receiving requests.
- NDAs honoredSigned when the buyer asks, before files are released.
- Honest declinesA shop that declines a part it cannot hold is worth more to you than one that quotes and misses.
Run a shop that meets that bar? Register it here.
Questions about the model
Anything not covered, email and we will answer it here.
What does it cost a buyer?
Nothing. No fee to send an RFQ, no fee to receive quotes, no commission on the order you place. Shops pay us for the matched requests they choose to take.
Do you take a cut of the order?
No. We are not in the transaction. The shop invoices you directly, you pay the shop directly and we never see the order value. Our income is the matching fee a shop pays to receive the request.
Does that mean you push me to the shop that pays most?
No, and the reason is structural. Every matched shop pays the same for a request of the same size, so we gain nothing by steering you. What we lose by matching badly is the shop, because a shop that pays for requests it cannot win stops paying.
What if no shop is a good fit?
We tell you, within 24 business hours. A clear no on day one is more useful than three quotes from shops that cannot hold your tolerance.
Can I ask you to exclude a specific shop?
Yes. Name them in the RFQ and we will not send it to them. Buyers with an existing supplier relationship do this often.
What happens to my drawing if nobody takes the request?
Nothing is shared. Files only leave us when a shop takes the request, and only to that shop. If nobody takes it, nobody sees it. Ask us to delete it and we do.