Handling buyer inquiries

A live listing generates two kinds of contact: messages (buyers asking questions through the listing's Messenger thread) and document access requests (buyers asking to see gated UnitVault files). How fast and how seriously you handle both is one of the strongest signals to qualified buyers that you're a serious seller.

Response time matters

The platform tracks your average response time and surfaces it on your business profile. Same goes for response rate — how many threads get a reply at all. Both stack into your seller reputation. Aim for under 24 hours on weekdays. Under 4 hours if you can.

A delayed reply on a serious inquiry usually means the deal goes to the next listing in the buyer's shortlist. There's no recovery from "they already bought something else."

What buyers usually ask

Stock patterns:

• "Can I see the inspection report / title / service history?" — they want gated UnitVault documents. Approve if their profile looks real (verified business, established account), deny if it looks unserious. See Granting and revoking access.
• "Can you ship to {country}?" — answer honestly. If you can't, point them to Haubot Logistics instead of dropping the deal.
• "Is the price negotiable?" — this is a qualifying question, not a final offer. Acknowledge, ask what their target is, get them off the price and onto the actual asset.
• "Can I inspect it before paying?" — yes. Suggest Haubot Inspect if they can't fly in. A buyer asking this is signalling seriousness.
• "Can we use escrow?" — say yes. Buyers who ask this are the ones who actually close. Direct them to SecureTrade.

Qualifying buyers

Not every inquiry deserves the same effort. Quick signals to look at on the inquirer's profile:

• Verified business profile vs unverified personal account.
• How long the account has been active, how many listings or transactions are visible.
• Location and business type — does it make sense for them to be buying this kind of asset?
• Communication quality — full sentences, specific questions, clear context. One-liners like "what's your best price?" are usually not serious.

Be polite to everyone, but invest your time in qualified inquiries. There's no rule against asking a buyer for basic context before sharing restricted documents — "I'd like to know a bit about who I'm sharing this with" is reasonable.

Document access requests

When a buyer requests access to a gated document, you get a notification. You can:

• Approve — they immediately get download access. Approval is logged in the audit trail (date, buyer, file).
• Approve with TradeCircle — grant access to everyone in a TradeCircle you control. Useful for known counterparty groups. See TradeCircle vs individual grants.
• Deny — they're notified, the request is closed.
• Ignore — the request stays open. Not recommended; either approve or deny so the buyer can move on.

You can also revoke access later. See Granting and revoking access.

Keep the deal on-platform

The temptation when a deal feels real is to take it off-platform — exchange WhatsApp numbers, switch to email. Don't. Once it's off-platform:

• You lose the audit trail of what was discussed and what was promised.
• You lose access to SecureTrade for the actual payment.
• If the deal goes wrong, there's nothing for the dispute process to look at.
• The platform can't help you when (not if) something needs intermediation.

Use the on-platform tools — Messenger for chat, SecureTrade for payment, UnitVault for documents — until the deal is genuinely closed and the asset is delivered.