Is Your Stone RFQ Ready to Publish?

Make readiness your publishing threshold

A useful natural stone request does more than name the material you want. It tells suppliers what to price, which conditions to assume, and where they need to explain their proposal. Before publishing, ask whether independent suppliers would read your request and understand the same purchasing requirement. If they would need to guess about essential details, the request needs another pass before it goes live.

MarbleMap is a commission-free, sealed-bid B2B request-to-offer marketplace for natural stone, operated by Fusapp OÜ. Suppliers cannot see one another's offers, while buyers can see all offers submitted to their requests. Your published scope therefore becomes the shared foundation for comparison. Clear requirements do not guarantee offers or savings, but they help you recognize when proposals are based on different assumptions.

The first offer is an important threshold: a published request can be edited until that offer arrives, then editing locks. “We will finish the details once we see the offers” is not a sound approach to essential requirements. If the material, quantity, or delivery destination could still change, resolve those points first. When preparing a request on MarbleMap , treat the final review as a scope check, not simply a proofreading exercise.

Describe stone that suppliers can actually price

Your title should identify the requirement quickly. The description should supply the details a commercial stone name cannot convey alone: stone type, intended use, product format, dimensions, thickness, finish, and appearance expectations. Cut-to-size flooring and slabs intended for further fabrication need different descriptions. Explaining the application provides useful context, although it does not replace confirming the material's suitability for your specific project.

Appearance deserves particular attention. Terms such as “consistent color” or “light veining” can mean different things to different people. Explain acceptable natural variation and any matching requirements. If you reference an image, say whether it illustrates the overall tone, surface finish, or vein direction. Make clear whether the reference represents a mandatory condition or simply a visual preference that can accommodate alternatives.

Separate requirements from preferences, and define the boundaries for acceptable substitutions. Identify any documents you need and the material they must relate to. Supplier profiles, portfolios, and certificates are signals to examine, not independent proof of a specific order's origin, quality, or delivery. If physical samples matter, buyer and supplier may arrange them independently; do not assume a built-in sample ordering or tracking workflow.

Read quantity and unit as a single statement

A quantity is meaningful only alongside its selected unit. If you intend to buy by area but publish a weight-based requirement, you change the basis of the quotation. Read each product line as a complete purchasing statement: which product, how much, and measured in what? Repeat that check across every line rather than assuming the unit selected for one item is appropriate for the rest.

MarbleMap uses units selected from a list rather than free-text entries. MTK means square meter, MTQ cubic meter, KGM kilogram, TNE metric tonne, and H87 piece. You can search the unit selector by name, symbol, or code, so memorizing codes is unnecessary. Standardized selection avoids inconsistent spellings of the same measurement, but choosing the right code still leaves you responsible for describing the corresponding scope.

For pieces, specify the dimensions being counted. For an area-based requirement, state the thickness. Clarify whether the quantity represents the installation requirement or the amount you intend to purchase, including any cutting allowance you have chosen. If you invite an alternative measured in another unit, establish the basis for conversion. Unspoken assumptions about area, volume, and weight can make apparently similar offers difficult to compare.

Separate delivery requirements from offer timing

Explain where the stone must go and what delivery needs to include. Identify the destination and relevant access or unloading constraints. If you specify a delivery term, include its associated place. Make responsibilities for transport, packing, loading, and unloading explicit rather than relying on “delivery included.” Suppliers should not have to infer which activities you expect them to price or arrange.

Check the selected pricing currency as well. Offers may differ in additional charges, delivery terms, and payment conditions, so the headline amount is only part of the comparison. A lower price is not an assessment of material quality or supplier reliability. Payment does not pass through MarbleMap, and the platform does not provide escrow. Buyer and supplier agree the payment arrangements separately, alongside the specific material, documents, quantity, and shipment conditions.

Keep the offer deadline distinct from the requested delivery date. One governs the quotation window; the other describes your purchasing schedule. Allow room in your own process for technical review, document checks, and internal decisions. If the project schedule remains provisional, identify which dates are targets and which are mandatory instead of leaving suppliers to interpret an unexplained deadline.

Publish only after the final scope check

Read the request as someone unfamiliar with the project. Does the title match the description? Do the product lines reflect the full requirement? Are units, dates, and delivery conditions consistent? Resolve any pending decision that could change what suppliers price. A minor wording preference should not be treated like an unanswered question about the product being purchased.

Pre-offer web chat is available on the request: entitled sellers can start threads, and buyers can reply to existing threads. This does not require a completed deal; contact details opening after a deal is a separate rule. Chat can clarify questions, but it is not a substitute for editing essential requirements before the first offer locks the request.

Finally, distinguish closing from canceling. To stop collecting offers after offers have arrived, use Close in the request's More actions menu in My Demands. Cancellation is for abandoning the purchase and cannot be reversed. Duplicate (new demand) can copy existing content into a fresh draft if you need to prepare again. Once the scope is clear, create your purchasing request on MarbleMap . Buyers can start free, with paid Pro and Business plans also available.