Our Procedure: Protecting Buyers and Sellers

SupTop LLC · Houston, Texas · Last updated: October 25, 2026

Physical commodity trade attracts fraud. Fake sellers, unrealistic prices and requests for fees or bank instruments are common. This page explains how SupTop LLC works, so that buyers and sellers know what to expect and what we will never ask.

1. Access on request

Offer sheets and transaction forms are not open to the public. Access is granted company by company, after verification.

1Request accessYou tell us who you are: company, registration number, country, website, role (buyer, seller or intermediary) and beneficial owner. No document is uploaded at this stage.
2We verifyWe check your company against official registries and public data, and screen the company, its owners and its domain against sanctions lists (OFAC, UN, EU, UK). The depth of the checks depends on the size and type of the transaction.
3Private accessApproved companies receive private access to the offer sheets and to the ICPO and NCNDA + IMFPA forms. Access can be withdrawn at any time.
4Documents, securelyPassport copies, bank comfort letters, proofs of funds and signed agreements travel only through an electronic signature platform (DocuSign, SignNow, Adobe Sign) or an encrypted channel.

2. Anonymous offers (SCO): what they are, and what they are not

  • An anonymous Soft Corporate Offer (SCO) is an indicative technical sheet. The identities of the seller, the broker and the source stay undisclosed at this stage, to protect their commercial relationships.
  • An SCO is not a binding offer, and it is not necessarily an exclusive mandate. It becomes actionable only after the parties have signed the NCNDA and IMFPA, the buyer has issued its ICPO, and the seller has confirmed the terms in writing.
  • Only written documents count. Statements made in a video meeting or a call are not commitments, and quantities, prices and availability can change until a contract is signed by the buyer and the seller.

3. What we never do, and what we always do

We never

  • Ask any buyer or seller for an advance fee: no registration, processing, legal, insurance, courier or access fee.
  • Ask anyone to pay into a personal account or a third-party account.
  • Sell, lease, rent or hold bank instruments (SBLC, bank guarantees, proofs of funds) for anyone. Instruments are issued by the buyer's bank in favor of the seller, under the transaction contract, and verified bank to bank.
  • Ask you to change bank details by e-mail alone.
  • Pressure you to act within hours.

We always

  • Identify the buyer before sharing any offer sheet.
  • Tell you clearly what a document is: an anonymous indicative sheet (SCO), a confirmation from the supplier, or a signed contract.
  • Explain every price in writing: benchmark, differential, delivery basis and payment terms.
  • Provide the documents that prove the product, such as a product passport and an inspection report, before any payment is released.
  • Earn a commission only on completed transactions, under a written agreement, paid by the payor bank from the transaction proceeds under the IMFPA.
  • Mark every document we generate with a SUPTOP.US reference that we can confirm on request.

4. How to read a price

Scammers often use a very low price to attract buyers and then ask for a bank instrument or a fee. A price is credible only if it can be explained. Every price we communicate is expressed as a formula and explained in writing to verified parties.

ElementWhat it means
BenchmarkThe public reference the price is built on: for example Platts, ICE Brent, Argus, LME or Henry Hub.
DifferentialThe premium or discount to the benchmark. It reflects quality, volume, contract length, loading or discharge port, and payment security.
Delivery basisFOB, CIF or another Incoterm. The same product has a different price at the loading port and at the destination.
Payment termsA letter of credit at sight, a standby letter of credit or another instrument changes the cost of financing and the risk, and therefore the price.

If a discount to the benchmark is larger than these elements can justify, treat the offer as suspicious, whoever makes it, including us. Ask for the written explanation and compare it with public market data.

5. Protection for the buyer

  • Your identity is verified before you see our offers. The seller's identity is disclosed after the NCNDA is signed, as is standard practice, and every offer stays indicative until the seller confirms it in writing.
  • Quality and quantity are verified by an independent inspector (for example SGS or Saybolt) at the loading or discharge port.
  • Payment is made against documents and inspection, through bank instruments issued by your bank in favor of the seller, under the sale contract signed directly between buyer and seller.
  • SupTop is not a party to the sale contract and never receives the purchase price.

6. Protection for the seller

  • The buyer is identified (company, beneficial owners, bank) before the seller is introduced.
  • The authenticity of the buyer's bank instrument is confirmed bank to bank, never through an intermediary.
  • Cargo is released only against the payment security agreed in the sale contract.
  • The seller's identity stays confidential until the NCNDA is signed, and the NCNDA protects the seller's commercial relationships.

7. Warning signs, for every party

A price far below the market benchmark with no documented reason (volume, term, quality, logistics, payment security).
A request for money, or for a bank instrument to be leased or deposited, before any contract or inspection.
A seller who never appears: a chain of unnamed intermediaries, each asking for a new document.
Refusal to complete KYC, or documents that do not match the official company registry.
Payment instructions to a personal account, to a different company, or changed at the last minute by e-mail.
Documents that look edited (laboratory reports, bank letters, tank storage receipts) or come from free e-mail addresses.
Urgency: “last tank”, “offer expires today”, “allocation will be lost”.

If you see one of these signs in a deal that mentions SupTop, stop and write to us at [email protected].

8. Our documents and how to verify them

  • Forms sent through this site are e-mailed as PDF documents carrying a SUPTOP.US watermark and a unique reference (ST-date-code). Passport and bank account numbers are masked in the copy sent to the sender.
  • A document is an official SupTop LLC document only if the reference is confirmed by SupTop LLC. To verify one, write to [email protected] with the reference. We keep records of the references we issue so that we can confirm them.
  • Agreements are signed through an electronic signature platform. Nothing sent from our forms is a signed contract.
  • Passport details are used only for KYC and compliance checks, as described in our Privacy Policy.

9. Check us as well

SupTop LLC is registered in Texas, USA, at 2401 Fountain View Dr. Ste 464, Houston, TX 77057. We encourage every counterparty to verify our registration with the Texas Secretary of State and to contact us only through [email protected]. SupTop LLC is an intermediary: it is not a broker-dealer, refinery, carrier or bank, and does not take title to the goods.

Request access

Tell us who you are and what you buy or sell. We reply within one business day.

Request access

This page describes our standard procedure and is not legal advice. Each transaction is governed by the written agreements signed by the parties.