Frequently asked
Honest answers.
Twelve common questions. We answer in the same voice we use everywhere else — declarative, no superlatives, numbers when numbers are credibility.
Platform
Who is Honed Earth for?
Fabricators (countertop shops), suppliers (quarries, importers), distributors, trade designers (kitchen + bath, interior), architects + A&D firms. The customer relationship is between the trade — we hold the record.
Is this a Wayfair or Houzz competitor?
No. Wayfair and Houzz are homeowner-facing storefronts. Honed Earth is the working surface the trade uses behind the scenes. The homeowner never logs in.
Do you certify stone authenticity?
No. We host listings and audit-log every change. Suppliers are responsible for what they list, and we are responsible for the trail. We do not arbitrate disputes — we provide the evidence.
Listings
What does a listing have to include?
Stone type, finish, thickness, length × width, batch lot, warehouse rack, and at least one photo. Optional: stone name (specific cultivar like "Carrara Bianco"), bundle, sku, slab number. The display name on the public page coalesces stone_name → stone_type — specific cultivar wins over generic enum.
How do you prevent suppliers from listing the same slab twice?
Listings are scoped to org_id + sku, with a unique constraint. The platform refuses duplicate SKUs. If a slab gets cut and a remnant is created, it gets its own listing with parent_slab_id pointing back to the source.
Can listings be private?
Yes. Listings are private by default. They show up in your fabricators' inventories and in inquiries from your existing trade designers, but the public /slab/[id] surface only renders when your org flips the marketplace_listed flag.
Pricing & accountability
What does Pro / Business / Enterprise unlock?
Basic is free. Pro adds listing creation. Business adds marketplace publishing + the public /slab/[id] surface. Enterprise is sales-led — for fabrication chains, regional distributors, and A&D firms with multi-team workflows.
Will you ever run a discount broader than 15%?
No. It's rule six in the charter. Volume comes from trust, not promotion. A first-month welcome on a Pro plan is reasonable. A 40-percent-off launch blast is the noise of marketplaces that don't trust their own price.
What happens if a supplier goes offline?
If a supplier is offline for thirty days without a heartbeat (no logins, no listing updates), all their listings auto-private. They re-confirm the inventory on next login and the listings come back. We don't host slabs nobody is watching.
Disputes & liability
What if a slab gets damaged in shipping?
The dispute protocol kicks in. The fabricator records the damage with photos, the supplier and the platform see the same trail, and the resolution path is documented from the moment the dispute opens. The platform provides the evidence; the parties resolve.
Who owns the audit trail?
Honed Earth does. The audit trail is append-only. It cannot be edited, only added to. Sysadmin and compliance officers can read every row. Suppliers and fabricators can read every row that touches their org_id. The trail is older than any user account on the platform.
What happens to my data if I leave the platform?
On delete-account, your auth row is removed and your profile redacts. Listings you created stay in the audit trail under your org_id (the org owns the listings, not the user). Comments and notes you wrote stay in the thread under "former teammate" — the conversation history survives the user departure, which is what audit trails are for.
Still have a question?
The team reads every email at hello@honedearth.com. If your question isn't covered above, we'd rather answer it directly than write a vague twelfth FAQ entry.