What buyers see

Read time: 5 minutes. Who it's for: Buyers requesting a quote, and merchants who want a clear page to forward to a buyer so they know what to expect.

This walkthrough follows a quote from a buyer's point of view - requesting it, getting the email, reviewing the proposal, and deciding what to do. If you're a merchant, you can forward this article to a buyer who's new to the process. There's nothing to install: everything happens on the store and in the buyer's email.

How do I request a quote?

You start on the store, on a product (or in the cart) where the merchant offers quotes:

Open the product page. If the item is quote-eligible, you'll see a Request a quote button alongside (or instead of) Add to cart.
Select it and fill in the short quote form - quantities, any notes, and your contact details.
Submit. You'll see a confirmation that your request was sent. You don't need an account to do this, unless the merchant limits quotes to signed-in customers.

That's all you do up front. The merchant now prepares a proposal - your pricing for the items you asked about.

What email will I get?

When the merchant sends your proposal, you'll get an email letting you know it's ready. A few things to expect:

The email names the quote (a reference number and the store) and gives you a way to open it - a link or a sign-in prompt.
The email won't show prices in its body. Pricing lives in the proposal itself, which you open to review. This is intentional and keeps your pricing private.
If you don't see the email, check your spam or junk folder and search for the store's name.

Where do I review the proposal?

Where you land depends on the store's setup. Both surfaces show the same proposal and offer the same actions - only the look differs.

The Buyer portal (legacy customer accounts, or guests)

If the store uses legacy customer accounts, or you requested as a guest, you'll review your quote in QuotWay's Buyer portal:

Open the link in your email. It takes you to the portal page for your quote.
To confirm it's you, the portal emails a short access code to the same address. Enter it to open the quote.
The code is valid for 1 hour. If it expires, ask for a fresh one right from the portal and re-enter it.

The in-account extension (new customer accounts)

If the store uses new customer accounts, your quote appears inside your store account:

Open the email and sign in to your store account in the same browser.
You'll find your quotes in your account - QuotWay adds a quotes view there.
Review and act on the proposal without leaving your account.

If you started as a guest and later want your quotes inside your account, you can claim them - the store verifies it's you with a one-time passcode. See Guest quotes and account claim.

What can I do with a proposal?

Once the proposal is open, you have three choices:

Accept - agree to the proposal as offered. Accepting the whole proposal moves the quote to an accepted state, and the merchant turns it into a Shopify order you can pay for. On some stores, accepting may need a sign-off from your own organization first; if so, you'll see the quote held for approval until that clears.
Counter - propose different terms. You can suggest your own prices on the lines you want to negotiate and send it back. The merchant reviews your counter and replies with an updated proposal. You can go back and forth until you both agree.
Decline - turn the proposal down. You can decline if it doesn't work for you. The merchant is notified.

You can also message the merchant from the same place if you have a question before deciding.

What happens after I accept?

After you accept, the merchant converts your quote into a standard Shopify order. You then pay through Shopify - either from an invoice the merchant emails you, or by completing checkout - exactly as you would for any normal order. There's no separate QuotWay payment step.

A few good things to know

You don't need an account to request or review a quote - guests get a secure email link instead.
Access codes and links are tied to your email, so keep an eye on the inbox you used.
You can always go back and counter if a proposal isn't quite right - negotiating is the point.

Buyer portal vs customer account - the two places you might review a quote.
Guest quotes and account claim - requesting as a guest and claiming a quote into an account.
Proposals and versions - how proposals and counters work behind the scenes.