Terms of service

1. Who we are and what these terms cover

These terms govern the provision of research services by Sams Smith Traders, registered in England & Wales under company number 14556468, whose contact address for these purposes is support@smith-traders.support. They apply to every brief we are commissioned to carry out and to any information pack we deliver, unless we have agreed different terms in writing with you.

2. Nature of our services — research only

We supply research, comparison and information. That is the whole of what we sell. Our services are not trade agency, procurement agency, intermediation, importing, exporting, distribution, commercial representation or any other form of transactional service, and nothing in these terms, on this website or in any pack we deliver should be read as creating such a relationship.

Specifically, we do not act as your agent, we do not conclude contracts on your behalf, we do not take title to any goods, we do not purchase goods on your behalf, we do not make payments on your behalf, we do not hold client funds, and we do not negotiate commercial terms on your behalf. Any agreement you reach with a third party is made directly between you and that third party. We are not a party to it, we take no commission on it and we accept no liability arising out of it.

3. No guarantee of supplier performance

Information about supply channels, sellers, manufacturers and platforms is compiled from published sources at a point in time. It describes what was published and when it was read; it does not describe what a third party will actually do. We give no guarantee, warranty or assurance as to any third party’s production capacity, product quality, quality control in practice, conformance with stated specifications, delivery reliability, lead-time accuracy, service history, financial standing, certification validity or willingness to honour published terms.

Any decision to place an order, make a payment, exchange samples or commit to volumes is yours alone and must follow your own verification of the party you choose. We are not liable for the acts, omissions, insolvency, delay or non-performance of any third party, nor for any loss of profit, opportunity, goodwill or anticipated margin arising from a decision informed by our research.

4. What we will do

We will agree written criteria before searching. We will use multiple independent sources for every material claim. We will record the date each source was consulted. We will label single-source figures as unverified and surface contradictions rather than averaging them away. We will not present a research finding as a legal, tax, customs or compliance opinion, and we will not state a conclusion that the sources do not support.

5. Your responsibilities

You agree to describe your requirements accurately, to tell us about any fixed specification or regulatory constraint you are aware of, and to make your own commercial decisions. You are responsible for verifying any party you choose to transact with, for satisfying yourself as to product safety and compliance, and for handling your own payments, shipping arrangements and import obligations.

6. Scope, fees and payment

The band, deliverables, number of sources and return date are confirmed in writing before work begins. Fees are stated exclusive of VAT where VAT applies. Published band figures are indicative starting points for a single scoping round; a wider brief is quoted separately after scoping. Once work has started, fees for research already carried out are not refundable, because the deliverable is the work itself rather than a physical item that can be returned.

7. Point-in-time information

Prices, minimum order quantities, lead times, availability and published terms change without notice. Every pack records the date each source was consulted, and you should treat all figures as accurate only as at that date. We have no obligation to monitor sources after delivery, though we will re-check a specific item on request.

8. Confidentiality

We keep your brief and your commercial detail confidential and do not disclose them to third parties, except where we are required to by law or where you ask us to in writing. We do not publish client briefs or use them as marketing material. Confidentiality obligations do not extend to information that is already public, or that we can show we held independently.

9. Intellectual property

On payment in full, you may use the information pack internally and in the ordinary course of your business. Ownership of the compiled arrangement, our method notes and our working templates remains with us. You must not resell the pack as a research product, present it as your own research output, or supply it to a competing research provider.

10. Liability

Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited. Subject to that, our total liability arising out of or in connection with a brief is limited to the fee paid for that brief, and we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, loss of opportunity or loss of anticipated savings.

11. Data protection

We handle personal data in accordance with our privacy notice, which forms part of these terms. In outline: we hold the minimum needed to answer an enquiry and deliver a brief, we do not sell or rent personal data, and you can request access, correction or erasure at any time.

12. Governing law and changes

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction. If we change these terms we will update this page and revise the date below. Terms in force when a brief was commissioned continue to apply to that brief.

Last reviewed: September 2026.