What is Tradesparq? Tradesparq is the first web portal to combine the power of business networking with traditional online trade advertising and marketing. Companies on Tradesparq can post their products and services on the site for international and domestic buyers to find and send inquiries. More importantly, on Tradesparq the sellers, buyers, and service providers can also connect with each other. This connection provides several unique advantages to all parties involved in trade including real-time marketing of products and services as well as live updates on buyers and suppliers. Click on the How it Works link on the Tradesparq home page for more information or click on the Contact Us link at the bottom of the website to send us a query.

To change your email address, user name, or password simply click on the Edit Profile link in the left column of the website and select the My Info tab. From the My Info tab you will see an area called Account Information where you can change your settings.

If you would like to place a paid banner advertisement on Tradesparq please click on the Advertising link that appears at the bottom of the website. This link will explain our advertising policy, prices, and conditions. Please note that banners ads can be linked to specific keyword search terms or appear on fixed pages within the site. You may also send an email to service@tradesparq.com for more information.

Buy and Sell ads allow Tradesparq users to post hot sell deals or buy requests to the general community or only to their private connections.

You can search for buy and sell ads from other Tradesparq members by clicking on the Buy/Sell Ads link in the left column of the website and selecting the Find Ads tab or by going to your My Home Page and clicking on the Hot Deals tab.

To post a Buy/Sell ad click on the Buy/Sell Ads link in the left column of the website then select either the Post a Buy Ad or Post a Sell Ad tab. After you write your ad (and upload a picture if necessary) you can send the ad only to your connections or post it publicly for the entire Tradesparq community to view.

To remove or edit an ad that you have posted select the Manage Ads tab and click on the “remove ad” or “edit” links that appear next to ad that you want to change.

Connections are links between you and other members of the Tradesparq community. These connections are formed when a member sends a connection request to another person. If the recipient accepts the invitation then a mutual connection is made. If the recipient declines or ignores the request then no connection is made. Connecting with other members makes it easy to share information with business partners you respect and trust.

• Updates, new products, special offers, news and more information from your connections will automatically appear on your My Home Page tab. This allows you to track all the activity from your trade partners in one location.
• You can send messages to one or all of your connections. Note, however, that your email address will be invisible to your connections unless you give it to them. This allows for the type of privacy that is often necessary in international trade. Messages sent to your connections on Tradesparq will prompt an alert to their personal email account (e.g., Yahoo, Google) so they won’t miss it.

To connect with another member of Tradesparq simply click on the Request to Connect button that appears on every member’s profile or product/service offering. To delete a connection that you previously accepted, click on the Manage Connections link in the left column of the website. Next, select the My Connections tab and click on “edit” next to the profile picture of the connection you want to delete. You can then delete the connection. s

The Tradesparq chat feature allows you to chat with members of Tradesparq that you are connected to. Click on the chat button that appears at the bottom of your screen and a box will pop up showing which of your connections are online and available for chat. You can chat with up to 4 connections at the same time. You can show or hide your chat availability by adjusting your chat setting. You can only chat with members that you are connected to.

To contact Tradesparq please click on the Contact Us link that appears at the bottom of the website. Our phone and email information is available and we are happy to hear from you.

Tradesparq Events allow users to post upcoming trade shows, conferences, seminars and other events of interest to the community.

To find an event click on Events in the left column of the website and go to the Find an Event tab where you can search for and read event details. Click on the orange “join” button to receive news updates and offers related to the event and to join event discussions.

To create and post an event, click on the Create an Event tab and fill out the event details. The event notice will immediately become public and will be taken down automatically once the even has concluded. Be sure to view your event page frequently because the names of the members who have joined the event will appear on the page.

Tradesparq Groups are discussion communities covering key topics or industries. Any Tradesparq member can join or create a group.

To find a Group click on the Groups link in the left column of the website and search in the Find a Group tab. You can view the group details and join the group by clicking on the orange “join” button. Once you join a group you may participate in group discussions and will receive updates automatically on your My Home Page and in a once-a-week email alert. If you want to discontinue being a member of the group select the Manage Groups tab and click on the “leave” link that appears next to the group logo.

To create a Group click on the Groups link in the left column of the website and fill out the details in the Create a Group tab.To discontinue a Group that you started, please send an email to Tradesparq at service@tradesparq.com. We will pull the group down for you and alert the members.

By connecting with your trusted trade partners you can communicate and share information with them in a secure and productive environment. You’ll gain immediate access to the product, service and news updates that your connections post on Tradesparq. In turn, you can provide information to all of your connections by simply updating or changing your own profile.

To connect with other members of the Tradesparq community simply click on the Request to Connect button that appears on every member’s profile or product/service offering. You can find suitable trade partners on Tradesparq in several areas: from My Home Page click on the Find Products, Find Buyers, or Find Services tabs to locate trade partners in your category of interest; from Manage Connections click on the Find New Connections tab; or, you can always use the search button that appears on the top of the website.

To invite your business partners from outside Tradesparq.com to join Tradesparq, click on the Manage Connections link in the left column. Once on Manage Connections, click on the Import Connections tab. You will see a box where you can enter the email address(es) for those you want to invite. You can add a personal message to the invitation if you wish.

An even simpler way to invite business partners is from your personal email account address book. From the Import Connections tab simply fill out your email details and the names and email addresses from your address book will appear. You can then select individual names or send an invitation to the entire list.

Messages can be sent to any member of Tradesparq even without being connected to that member. You can send a message by viewing another member’s profile and clicking on the “send message” button. You can also send messages using the “send message” feature that appears on another member’s product or service profile. Messages will be received in the other member’s Inbox. Note that sending a message is not a request to connect with that member

To send a message to members you are already connected to, click on the Inbox link in the left column and create a new message.

A personal photo or logo can be uploaded to your Profile page during the Create Profile process or by clicking on the Edit Profile link in the left column. Photos must be in .jpg or .gif format and must not exceed 200kb in size.

Product photos can be uploaded up to 10 photos at a time during the Create Profile process or by clicking on Edit Profile and choosing the Sell Products and Services tab. When uploading several photos at one time, the total cumulative size of the photos must not exceed 5mb.

Product photos can be attached to messages but only if they have first been uploaded to your Profile. Photos will not be accepted if they contain obscenity, offensive or copyrighted material, are not of the account user or exceed the size limit.

Your profile is one of the most important features of Tradesparq. The information you put in your profile is seen by prospective trade partners, used by those persons to decide whether or not to connect with you, and can also be found on search engines such as Google and Yahoo (provided you choose to allow that feature). Your profile information also helps Tradesparq send relevant information to your My Home Page, such as suggestions connections, products, and services. Having a fully completed Tradesparq profile will greatly enhance the benefits you receive from the site.

Each Tradesparq member has a public and private profile. The public profile can be seen by any other member of Tradesparq and includes your company information, the products or services you sell, or the products or services you are interested in purchasing. Note that your email address does NOT appear for others to view.

The private profile is only available to those Tradesparq members you are connected to. The private profile contains all the information that is in your public profile plus lists the people you are connected to (unless you choose to hide the connection: see Connections above).

Your Profile can be changed at any time by clicking on the Edit Profile link in the left column of the website and choosing the appropriate tab that you want to edit. The Main tab allows you to change basic information about you and your company. From this tab you can even upload your company brochure in several file formats including .pdf, .doc, and .exl. This tab also allows you to change your account information including Tradesparq name, password, and email address.

The Sell Products & Services tab allows you to upload product pictures of items that you would like buyers on Tradesparq to see. By clicking on the empty photo square you can upload a product picture and product specifications. Product pictures must be in .jpg or .gif format and must not exceed 200kb each. You can upload up to 10 pictures at one time provided they don’t exceed 10MB. Product specifications can be copied directly into the specification box. You can also attach product specifications in .pdf, .doc, and .exl.

The Buy Products Info tab allows you to identify the products or services that you are sourcing for. By filling out this information you will be able to receive automatic alerts on any new products or services posted in the categories that you selected. These alerts will appear in your My Home Page. Suppliers and service providers will also be able to search for buyers by category.

The Share Your Profile tab allows you to invite your current trade partners from your listed contacts in popular webmail services like Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail. This easy to use feature means that you can have your trade network up and running within minutes.

Rerferences are used by Tradesparq members to verify their qualifications as a good trade partner. References appear on your public and private profile and can be obtained from any other Tradesparq member that you are connected to.

To ask for a reference from one of your connections click on the References link in the left column of the website then select the “Ask for a Reference” tab. From this tab you can choose from your list of connections and write a reference request. The request will then be sent to the other Tradesparq member. The reference request will also appear in the Sent portion of your Inbox for your records.

If your connection agrees to write you a reference you will receive it in your Inbox. A reminder that you have a reference will also appear on your My Home Page. Once a reference is received you can choose to place it publicly on your Profile. To do this, go to the Manage My References tab and click the “status” link. This will change the reference from “hidden” to “posted”. You can hide or delete the reference from this tab as well.

Some of your connections may choose to request a reference from you. When this happens you will receive a reference request in your Inbox and also an alert on your My Home Page. You can choose to write a reference or delete the reference request. If you do write a reference, be aware that it may appear on your connection’s My Profile page with your name next to the reference. You cannot take back a reference after you have written it.