How to choose a B2B marketplace
Nine questions that separate marketplaces by what they actually do — who verifies whom, who owns the lead, who takes a cut, and what happens when it fails.
B2B platforms describe themselves in nearly identical language. The differences that matter are structural, and they are visible if you ask the right questions.
This guide is written by Bidancer, so treat the framing as interested. The questions are still the right ones, and several of them have answers we would rather you asked about our competitors.
1. Who is verified, and how?
Ask specifically: is verification mandatory to transact, or a badge some listings carry? Are both sides verified, or only sellers? Is a document collected, or checked against the issuing register?
"Verified supplier" on many platforms means someone uploaded a GST certificate once. That is a claim, not a fact. See GSTIN verification.
2. Who does a lead go to?
The critical question. When you express interest, does it reach the one business you chose, or is it distributed to everyone who bought that category?
Distributed leads are the core economics of directory marketplaces: the same enquiry is sold several times, and the buyer receives calls from businesses they never contacted. Neither side usually likes it; it is simply what the revenue model requires.
3. When do contact details become visible?
Before or after the other side agrees to engage? If your phone number is visible to anyone who pays for access, you are the product being sold.
4. What does the platform earn from, exactly?
Follow the money, because it predicts behaviour:
| Model | Platform earns from | What it optimises for |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Access to leads | Lead volume, not quality |
| Advertising | Placement | Whoever pays most, ranked highest |
| Commission | Order value | Keeping the transaction on-platform |
| Goods margin | The goods themselves | Being your counterparty, not your venue |
| Per engagement | Interactions that happen | Engagements that both sides accept |
None is illegitimate. But a platform earning from lead volume will send you volume, and a platform earning a margin on goods is a party to your trade, not a neutral venue for it.
5. Is the platform a counterparty or a venue?
Do you contract with the supplier, or with the platform? Full-stack players buy and resell, which brings real benefits — single invoice, one accountable party, managed logistics — and one real cost: you cannot see or negotiate with the actual producer, and the spread is invisible.
Neither is wrong. But you should know which one you are using.
6. Can visibility be bought?
If ranking is for sale, search results are advertising. That is a legitimate business model, and it means the top result is the highest bidder rather than the best fit.
7. What happens when an engagement fails?
The most revealing question, and the one most platforms have no answer to. If you pay for a lead and the supplier never responds:
- Is there a response commitment at all?
- Is there any refund mechanism?
- Does the failure affect the supplier's standing on the platform?
Most platforms take the fee and move on, because their revenue is the introduction. See response score.
8. Who owns the relationship and the record?
If you leave the platform, do you keep your transaction history, your counterparty relationships and your reputation? A brokerage or consultant model often means the intermediary owns the relationship you paid to build.
9. Does it cover what your business actually does?
Many platforms handle one motion well — product catalogs, or tenders, or events — and you end up running three tools with three verified identities and three sets of records.
A short scorecard
| Question | Weak answer | Strong answer |
|---|---|---|
| Verification | Optional badge, seller-side | Mandatory both sides, checked at source |
| Lead routing | Distributed to subscribers | One chosen counterparty |
| Contact privacy | Visible on payment | Private until acceptance |
| Revenue model | Subscription for access | Charged per accepted engagement |
| Platform role | Counterparty | Neutral venue |
| Paid ranking | Yes | No |
| Failure handling | None | Refund plus reputational consequence |
| Record ownership | Platform or broker | Your business |
Where Bidancer sits
Verification is mandatory on both sides before anyone can transact. An enquiry reaches one chosen business and contact details are revealed only on acceptance. Ranking is not for sale. The platform takes no margin on the trade and is not a party to it. Charging is per engagement from a ledgered wallet, and an accepted enquiry that goes stale within 7 working days is refundable, with repeated failures reflected in the business's response score.
The honest trade-offs: Bidancer is newer, so the network is smaller than the large directories; it does not carry inventory, so there is no single-invoice consolidated supply; and it does not aggregate government tender notices, so public-sector discovery still needs an alert service.
If you want to see the argument made against specific competitors rather than in the abstract, the comparisons are more direct than this page is.