Ventra vs Polyshares: use a broker or sell to the buyer?

Ventra's case is that several buyers beat one. It says it brings your data to multiple labs and lab partners, shows you the best offer, not the first one, and negotiates price and terms. What that costs you is less clear, because its terms say no fee now, may add fees and may be paid by buyers, and on our call it described a broker fee with no percentage. Get the number, and who pays it, in writing.^2,10,18,1

Polyshares' case is simplicity. It says you deal with Polyshares and nobody else, and that the number it quotes is the number you receive because no agent takes a cut. It is also open that it is not working on your behalf, since it is buying. In our view any buyer wants to pay less, and a broker paid by buyers has its own pull, so a second offer from anywhere is the check on both.^3,19

A law, accounting, finance or healthcare company can rule out Ventra today and look at Polyshares, which says those are among what it wants. A construction, trades, manufacturing or logistics company of 30 to 49 people can fit Ventra's stated bar, though field crews who don't log in to a system don't count, and sits under the 50+ Polyshares asks brokers for, though its homepage says the length and detail of the record matter more than headcount, so ask.^{8,9,15,26,12,27,14,28}

Both quote about 30 to 60 days to payment, but Ventra counts from signing and Polyshares from approved, anonymized and delivered data, so Polyshares' clock starts later. Compare the date each gives you for your own records.^16,17

With Ventra, ask who signs with you, since its site says you agree terms directly with the buyer and it told us Ventra Holdings LLC was formed to sign these agreements. Its terms say delivered data may not be deletable and that it isn't responsible for what a third party does with it. They also describe a browser extension that reads page content in open tabs, which may include names, emails and messages, so have your IT person read that section first.^2,24,29,30

With Polyshares, read the exclusivity line first. Exclusive is its default, and each of the four deals it lists, such as a $300,000 general contractor and a $275,000 solar company, is described as a perpetual exclusive license, while its standard wording says a defined term. It says it does not disclose which labs take which data, and its handling page describes listings in a buyer portal, each with a code in place of your name, while its homepage says no listing, so ask what that portal is.^{20,21,31,32,33}

We work with both Ventra and Polyshares. The quiz sends you to whichever fits your company, and nothing stops you asking each for a number before you decide.