Updated October 2026
How a company data deal works, step by step
It runs in eight steps: check you qualify, list what you have, get a quote, review samples, sign a written offer, clean and export, get paid, and confirm deletion. Offers usually come within a few days to two weeks (Ventra says 3 to 7 days, Polyshares 1-2 weeks), and most buyers pay within 2-8 weeks of signing, from Mercor's 2-4 weeks to net 60 at Polyshares and Ventra.1,2,3
Steps 1 to 3
Before anyone sees a file
1. Check you qualify. Compare your headcount and years with each buyer's floor: Nyne says 20+ W-2 staff and 3+ years, micro1 30+ employees. 2. List what you have. Frankfurt Kurnit's seller checklist starts with involving legal, privacy, HR and comms, then inventorying the data. A one-page list of systems, years and rough volumes is enough to start. micro1 calls this a data manifest and says it takes 1-3 hours.4,5,6,7
3. Get a quote. Most ads start with a short form: micro1 and Data Specialists ask 5 questions, BDLG and the Nyne AI page ask 3. A form answer gets you a range, not an offer.8,9,10,11
Steps 4 and 5
Samples, then a written offer
4. Review samples. The buyer looks at a small, cleaned slice to see what the data is like, and you see what cleaning does to it. micro1 says the company reviews samples before release. 5. Sign a written offer. Supersoniq says it gives a written offer before anything leaves. Nyne's ads say what is included and the price are agreed before transfer.12,13,14
This is where your exclusions go in writing: folders left out, client names swapped for codes, no sale to competitors. Nyne's ads make all three promises; the agreement is where to get them in writing.15,16,17
Step 6
Cleaning and handing over
6. Clean and export. Two models exist. Mercor's ads say it connects to the tools you already use and anonymizes inside them. Your Data Value says you send the files yourself. Frankfurt Kurnit advises giving a buyer no direct system access. Cleaning is done by the buyer or a partner: Polyshares uses a third-party PII partner. micro1's video puts transfer at up to 10 engineering hours.18,19,20,21,7
Steps 7 and 8
Payment, then deletion
7. Get paid. Most buyers pay within 2-8 weeks of signing: Mercor wires in 2-4 weeks, Cognor Labs quotes 3-6 weeks, and Polyshares and Ventra pay net 30 or 60. micro1 invoices only after it accepts the data in writing. Most buyers charge sellers nothing: Mercor, Polyshares and Ventra say so, though Ventra may add fees with notice. Read your own agreement for any milestones. 8. Confirm deletion. Nyne's ads say raw files are deleted within 30 days; micro1 describes a 60-day default retention. Ask for written confirmation when it happens.1,22,2,23,24,25,3,26,27,28
FAQ
Questions, answered with sources
A list of what records you hold, in which systems, for which years. micro1's video says building one takes 1-3 hours.7
We do not answer legal questions. Ask the licensing company: their team reviews this with you before anything is signed.
Before you sign
Legal questions go to the licensing company
We do not answer legal questions. Ask the licensing company before you sign: their team reviews these with you.
Questions for this kind of business
- What happens if a record we excluded turns up in the export after signing?
- Who owns this data: the company, an estate, or someone else?
- How do CCPA, GDPR, UK GDPR and state privacy laws apply, and is de-identified data still personal information?
- Do customer, vendor or platform contracts, NDAs or API terms restrict this?
Questions for any buyer
- Is the license exclusive, and for how long?
- Can you sublicense the data, and to whom?
- Which AI labs will receive it, and will you tell us?
- How long do you keep it, and how is it deleted?
- What is your liability cap, and who indemnifies whom?
- Will the contract ban re-identification of people in the data?
- Who removes personal data, by what method, and do we approve it first?