Frequently asked questions

Rothern is a B2B sourcing marketplace that brings buyer and supplier companies together in one account. Companies publish product showcases, post buying requests, collect sealed-bid quotes and turn the winning quote into an order. The same company account works on both the buying and sales side; there is no need to open two accounts.

No. Using Rothern is currently free of charge. The platform does not intermediate the value of goods and services between companies and does not carry money; trade runs directly between the parties. The payment steps on the order screen are notifications the parties make to each other.

From every country except the United States and countries under comprehensive sanctions (Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba). The document set depends on the country: most countries provide a company registration certificate, a tax registration certificate and the authorized person's ID or passport; in China the 营业执照 (business license) carries registration, tax and representative details in one document, so no separate tax certificate is required.

Yes, quotes are collected as sealed bids. Suppliers can never see each other's quotes, and the NUMBER of quotes is not published either. Only the company that posted the request sees the quotes it receives. A submitted quote cannot be edited or withdrawn — if the buyer eliminates it, the supplier can submit a new version.

In a buying request, “who is buying” is direct competitive intelligence: a company looking for 40 tons of steel pipe reveals its production plan. That is why public request pages do not show the buyer's name, logo or profile link. What is visible is attributes, not identity: city, country, industry, activity type and the “Verified buyer” badge. The buyer's identity is disclosed to the other party during the quote process.

You can quote on a request from a company that invited you or is connected to you without document verification — the buyer already knows you. Quoting on a public request from a company that doesn't know you requires company verification; since the platform is what brings you in, the platform vouches for you.

Yes. As soon as you sign up you can create a company profile, appear in the directory and publish up to 50 products; company verification and the “Verified” badge are free as well. What verification adds is standing out, not being visible: priority ranking in the directory, unlimited products, product documents and video, and access to public requests.

A price can take three forms: a fixed price, tiered pricing by quantity, or “price on request”. The third is not missing data but the seller's deliberate choice, and the platform does not penalize it — otherwise sellers would type an unreal price just to fill the field. Prices exclude VAT and are the seller's declaration.

It means the company's documents covering its trade registry, tax and authorized-person details were reviewed and accepted by Rothern. Verification is done by a person without exception; there is no automatic approval path. The badge concerns the company's identity — it is not a statement about product or service quality.

A four-level international category tree (segment / family / class / commodity) is used; the source is Ariba's UNSPSC-based catalog. Requests and products are opened with at least a third-level code, so buyer and supplier match in the same language.

No. The account works immediately after email verification and a short setup step. Admin approval is only needed for document verification (KYC), and even that is required only where the platform vouches for you rather than for every action: quoting on a public request, publishing a request and awarding.

Yes. Users are invited to the company account and each person's permissions are set separately in a permission table: buying, sales, approval and administration. Every person who acts on the buying or sales side uses a “seat”; the number of seats increases once the company is verified. People who only view or approve do not use a seat.

Rothern is the data controller under Turkish data protection law (KVKK). The notice and privacy policy are in the agreements section at the bottom of the site; you can send requests to kvkk@rothern.com. You choose which fields of the company profile are public; contact details are shown only to registered members, not to visitors.