THE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR SERVICE
Q. What is public and private listings? When listing materials, you have to choose if you want your listing to be seen by everyone or only selected users. A private listing will only be visible for invited users. Private listings can be useful if you only want buyers/sellers you already know and trust to bid on your materials, but still benefit from the dynamic bidding process and the timesaving aspects of using Waste-Outlet.
To invite to business partners to bid on your private listing, you add their contact information to a field during the listing process, and they will receive an email with the listing.
Q. Should my listing be with limited or unlimited time? A limited listing closes automatically at a time you set when creating the listing. An unlimited listing closes when you decide it is time to close it. In this case, you have to log in and close the listing. It can be a good idea to list with unlimited time if you don’t list the material on regular basis or you are uncertain of the price to ask.
Q. Is the highest bidder the one who wins the listing? Not necessarily. There are many factors that may be considered by the listing owner when it comes to choosing whom to sell to/buy from. It is the listing owners decision and is usually based not only on the price, but also the reputation, rating and reviews of the buyer/seller. It could also be based on the location of the buyer/seller or other factors. So, even if a buyer/seller cannot offer the best price for the materials, it is possible that they could still be chosen as the one to trade with. Please be prepared for this possibility. Note: After a listing owner has received the list of bidders at the end of the listing time, they must choose whom to trade with. If they do not choose the best bidder then they are to send a brief explanation about their reason to both the highest bidder and Waste-Outlet.
Q. What if I have a question about a listing? On each listing page, there is an option for asking the seller/buyer a question, in case a bidder needs to clarify something or get more information about the specifications of that listing. Waste-Outlet requests that only relevant and legitimate questions being asked and to keep in mind that Waste-Outlet may review all questions before they are sent to the seller/buyer. All questions and answers associated with a particular listing will be posted for all other users to see, so there is not an option to submit a “private” question. Also, it is not possible nor allowed to enter email addresses or phone numbers into the question field, so please do not attempt to circumvent this feature.
Q. How does autobidding work? Autobid only works on sales listings. When you place a bid that is higher than the minimum increment necessary to be the top bidder, that bid will only apply if it is needed to outbid another bidder. This allows you to bid your top amount without having to manage your bidding moment by moment. You will only be charged the higher bid amount if necessary to override someone else’s bid because the system automatically applies a standing bid to the next increment. This protects you from “overpaying” for an auction. If your auto bid is outbidded, you can place another bid, and you can always raise your autobid.
Q. What is negative price bidding? There are some situations in which the value of the waste materials are negative, meaning that the seller must pay a buyer to accept the waste materials. In this case, a minus sign will be located in front of the amount when bidding. As bids are placed, the amount will move upwards toward zero or a positive value.
Q. I have received a bid that I want to accept, so can I stop the listing before it was supposed to end? If you made a listing with limited time and someone placed a bid on it, you must wait until the listing reaches its completion point and you cannot stop it prematurely. If no one placed a bid on it, you can close it. You are free to choose however which bidder will be the final winner of the listing from the full list that will be provided to you, even if that bidder is not the best bidder. If you made a listing with unlimited time, you will be free to close it at any time.
Q. How should I list a product´s quantity if I do not know how much material I will have available at a given time? The best option in this scenario is to give your best estimate, with a probable percentage of variability in your description. You can specify a minimum and/or maximum amount that the buyer/sellr would be bidding on and liable for if they are the winning bidder. This is an example of a situation that needs detailed information in the description of the listing and clearly outlined expectations so that the buyer can make an informed decision. It is best to only make a listing if you can estimate to a reasonable degree the amount of material that will be available, to decrease the risk of miscalculations or misunderstandings.
Q. There is no category listed for the material that I want to sell/buy. What should I do? We are happy to consider new listing categories. Please contact us at mail@waste-outlet.com and specify what your request is.
Q. Can I make changes to my listing? Only if it has not been published yet. There is a “save for editing” option that you can use while composing your listing. However, once the listing has been published, regardless if it has bids or not, there is no option for editing it. If there have been no bids, you have the option to delete your listing. If you notice a critical mistake in your listing after it has been published and the listing has received bids, you will need to contact us by email at mail@waste-outlet.com and explain the situation. If necessary, we will remove the listing and allow you to edit and restart it.
Q. Why might a listing be suspended? Occasionally we will temporarily suspend a listing if someone has reported a concern or issue with it. If after investigating the situation we deem that there is no problem, then we will re-instate the listing as quickly as possible. If you need to report an issue with someone’s listing, please email us at mail@waste-outlet.com and provide the details of your concern.
Q. Am I allowed to retract my bid? Bid retraction is not generally allowed. If you have made a mistake or typo in your bid or have another legitimate reason to need a retraction, please provide a detailed explanation to us and we will consider your request on a case-by-case basis.
Q. Will Waste-Outlet refund my auction fees if a buyer does not complete a transaction? In a situation such as this, it is possible that we will issue a refund. Please email us promptly at mail@waste-outlet.com and give us the details of this potential breach of contract on the part of the buyer, as we may need to cancel their account, per our terms of use.
Q. What should I do if I don’t receive any bids?
First consider potential causes of not receiving any bids, such as (but not limited to) the following: Is your minimum start bid price too high/low for the materials you are offering? You need to stay competitive. Was your listing time period too short? Give your potential audience plenty of time to bid. Is there a sufficient market for your material? Research the uses and need for your product. Is your description too vague? Make certain that potential buyers/sellers have enough pertinent information. Are your trade instructions too restrictive? Ensure that potential buyers/sellers have adequate time/place schedules. Consider using unlimited time for your listing, where you decide when it is the right time to close the listing. Secondly, feel free to re-list any auction that does not receive any bids. Simply go to the section in your profile that says “My Auctions” and click on the “Copy” button to reload your previous auction listing. You can then edit any details, if necessary, and choose a new starting time and duration.
Q. When making a listing, what information do I need to provide?
Keep in mind that potential buyers/sellers will want as much pertinent information as possible when making the decision to bid. There are no strict rules as to what you have to write in the description field, however, the more information you offer, the more likely it is that you will attract more bids and receive fewer questions. Think about what type of information a buyer/seller might want. Describe the material in easy-to-understand language and include the quality, quantity and potential uses, as well as elements concerning the logistics important for the trade, such as location, trade restrictions, shipping instructions, etc.
Q. What is my CSR and why is it important? Your CSR — Corporate Social Responsibility — is a visible portion of your Waste Outlet profile that asks important questions regarding your company’s ethical practices. This allows other users to consider your impact in terms of environmental, social, and economical issues, and how your company views human rights in its practice. It is to your company’s advantage to be able to honestly fill out the CSR form with positive and affirming answers, as many companies use this information to decide with whom they want to trade. CSR information is only available for users with Gold membership. Check out our video tutorial on how to use CSR on our scrap marketplace platform.
Q. What is an alert? This is an automated email alert system to let you know when listings are posted with specific materials that you have indicated an interest in. You can set up these alerts by going to the “My Account” section and clicking on “Alerts.” You will be prompted to select the product criteria that interests you. You can delete the set criteria again at any time. Then when new auctions are listed that match your criteria, you will receive an email alert. Alerts function is only available if you have Gold membership.
Q. What is the watchlist? This is a handy feature to allow you to easily keep track of listings that you are potentially interested in. On each listings’ bidding page, you will see the option to add it to your “watchlist.” Then on your user dashboard, these auctions will be displayed together for you to easily and quickly reference them.
Q. What is the directory for? In the directory, you can search and find all companies that are registered on waste-outlet and also the provided contact information of registered companies, such as telephone number, e-mail, Linkedin, webpage, etc…Simply go to the “Directory” menu tab and click on it. After that, you will be redirected to the list of registered companies that passed our verification steps.
For complete guidelines on this subject, please view our video tutorial.
Note! Not all the companies have the same contact information provided, as they might have entered only its phone number and email addresses, but not website links or other similar information. Directory is only available if you have Gold membership.
Q. I am not receiving any email from Waste-Outlet. Why? The most likely problem is that your email provider is routing the emails into your “junk” folder. Please add our email mail@waste-outlet.com to your “safe” sender list so that our emails will show up in your inbox.
Q. What are the fees for the services at Waste-Outlet.com? On Waste-Outlet you can choose between Basic free membership or paid Gold membership, which cost €9 per month. You can read all about the plans here. It is free to create a sale or request listing on the Website. When the listing ends a non-refundable fee equal to 0.5% of the total price of the trade (or a minimum of 14.50 Euro / 16.50 USD / 100 DKK) will apply to receive the bidders list. However, if you choose to become a golden member, you will be charged only 0,25% of the total price of the trade (or a minimum of 14.50 Euros/16.50 USD /100 DKK)
Q. Do I need to use the Escrow Service? Note, Escrow only works for sales listings and Gold members. Escrow is an important service that is offered to reduce the risk of fraud. It is not necessary for every trade, especially if you have already established a trustworthy relationship with the other party. However, it is highly recommended. The steps included in the escrow party are: First, the winning bidder sends payment to the third-party escrow agent. Secondly, the seller ships material to the buyer. Next, the buyer verifies the shipment as received and approved. Finally, the escrow agent releases the payment funds to the seller. Either the buyer or the seller can activate the escrow option. If the buyer chooses this option, then they pay for the service. If they opt-out, then the seller can choose to use and pay for it. Waste-Outlet uses third party Transpact for the Escrow service. Read more about the Escrow service here.
Q. Am I required to pay VAT (Value-Added TAX)? Because we are a Danish-registered company, we must charge VAT on all success fees for our Danish-established members. Members that are based in other countries that are part of the EU (European Union) are subject to the reverse charge in accordance with Article 44 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC and must submit VAT to their respective government. However, companies that are based in countries that are outside the European Union will not be subject to VAT. Note: When using the escrow service, companies in the EU will have VAT added to their transactions if they are trading with a company within their own country.
Q. What are the differences between Basic and Gold members?
With the Basic account you have the following advantages:
– Verification: We verify all users that register, to ensure a safe marketplace for all.
– Company Page: All companies that register will have a company page with logo, map, description and contact information.
– Company Page Visibility: Your company page will be visible to all users with a paid Gold membership.
– List materials for sale or wanted on the marketplace: All registered users can list materials for sale or wanted.
– Success fee: If you receive satisfying bids and want to access the list of bidders we charge a success fee 0.5%.
However, the golden subscription includes all the features of the basic subscription, but has additional advantage features:
– Success fee: If you receive satisfying bids and want to access the list of bidders we charge a success fee of only 0.25%.
– Search company pages: With a paid membership you can view all company pages, use the search functionality and contact directly any company.
– Alerts: Receive email alerts when the materials that you are interested in are listed.
– Rating & Review: Find information about how companies performed in previous trades.
– Directly contact any company: With a paid membership you can directly contact any seller/buyer.
– CSR profiles: Get access to the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility. This allows you to consider other companies’ impact in terms of environmental, social, and economical issues, and how these companies view human rights in its practice profiles.
– Escrow payment: Transpact.com is a third-party app that holds the funds until both parties agree on the trading.
– News add: List your news on our front page and news section
– Promotion of social media & newsletter: We will write about your company news in our social media channels and newsletter
Q. Is this a secure website? Yes, we take great care to ensure the security of your data. And Waste-Outlet uses encryption of data transfers for maximum security.
Q. Are seller and buyers identities kept private?
It is important that all parties have full disclosure of who they potentially may be trading with. For this reason, we promote candid and transparent portrayals pertaining to the identities of all companies on this site. However, only Gold members of Waste-Outlet will have access to this information which includes the rating and review profile, as well as the company page that include: Trade categories, contact details, website, logo, CSR, additional pictures and documents as well as some additional trading information we collected from you. Gold members on our platform can access and filter through the companies registered on our website. The seller’s information will only be visible on the sales listing page during an active listing when the listing has ended, the information will no longer be available. So, buyers will be able to see who each seller is and sellers will be provided a full list of all bidders and their contact information at the close of each listing, if they get the bidders list, for the purpose of choosing a winner. Keep in mind that sellers cannot see the bidders’ identities until the listing has ended, and bidders will never be able to see each other’s bid or identities. For buying request, it works the opposite.
Q. What do I need to know about the Rating & Review process? In order to ensure a high-quality network of valuable, honest, and credible members, each trade gives an opportunity for the buyer and the seller to rate each other on the overall impression of how the transaction went. This is a 5-star rating system, with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. Also, the parties to the trade will be prompted to write a review of the company that they interacted with so that future buyers and sellers can make better-informed decisions about who they would prefer to do business with. It is important to take your rating and reviews seriously as they can have a direct impact on how often you buy/sell, who you trade with, how much value your trades are worth, and to what degree you will have success as a member on this site. Note that all members can rate each other after a completed trade, but only Gold members can view all rating & reviews of other users.
Q. What is involved with closing my account? If you want to close your account, check to make sure that all your listings have ended and that all your trades are complete. Then contact us at mail@waste-outlet.com with your request. After we receive your request, there is a waiting period to ensure that any and all transactions associated with your account are finished and that you have no outstanding balances. During this time of waiting, you will have access to your account, but will be unable to utilize your account for the purposes of trading, including making an auction listing or bidding. You will also be unable to alter your contact information during the waiting period. If you want to cancel the closure request, you can do so only if you are still within the waiting period. We will send you a confirmation email when your account is finalized as closed. If your account has been suspended for any reason, you will be unable to close it until we have finished resolving that matter first. Note: You will not be able to reopen a closed account with an identical user ID or a previously used email address.
Q. Can I have more than one address associated with my company´s account? Yes, you can input additional addresses on the “My Profile” section, however, please keep in mind that if any address is for the purposes for trading (either buying or selling from) that you must supply an operating license document associated with that particular address.
Q. What should I do if my account has been breached? If you believe that an unauthorized person has gained access to your account, please immediately change your password and contact us at mail@waste-outlet.com with the specifics of the breach. Your password can be changed by clicking the appropriate tab in the “My Account” section.
Q. When attempting to upload a document to this site, it says that my file was too large. What should I do? Please keep in mind that our system can hold a maximum file size of 5MB, which is generally adequate for most documents. However, if your file is larger or has several pages, please upload it in sections that are within the limit of 5MB. Please make sure to name the different sections accordingly, such as Section #1, Section #2, etc., so that they are kept in the proper order.
Q. My registration on this site has been declined. May I appeal that decision, and if so, how? You may request for us to reconsider your registration if you have additional information to provide or if you believe an error has been made. Please contact us at mail@waste-outlet.com and provide an explanation of your situation. We will look into the matter and address your appeal as soon as possible.
Q. What kind of documentation is necessary to provide when registering on this site? It is important that only trustworthy companies with verifiable information register on this site. Because of this, we ask that all registrants provide copies of pertinent documentation so that we can verify credibility. You will need to furnish your company’s registration, as well as any certification and operating an import/export licenses, and the VAT number your company uses for invoicing, if applicable. If you accidentally submit a wrong document, please let us know and we will remove it. The documents can be added at signup, or later on in your User Dashboard, but must be uploaded in order to sell or buy materials on the website.
Q. Which of my submitted documents are made available to other users of the auction site? It is not the responsibility of Waste-Outlet to ensure that all provided documentation is adequate for the applicable laws in each locality or for the purposes of each company involved in a trade. Though each company is supposed to be registered in the National Waste Register of their respective countries in order to trade waste legally, there is no regulated register covering all the member countries of the EU. This means that each buyer/seller must do their own due diligence in regards to vetting the companies that they choose to trade waste with. In order to do this, it is necessary that certain documentation be made accessible for review and consideration to the users of this site, such as operating and import/export licenses, waste register records, and other certifications.