Elje / How it works
How Elje is paid
Both sides pay Elje, and every fee is printed on every quote. You pay for the plan and the protection. Factories pay for the introduction. Nobody pays for a better ranking.
You pay the factory direct and the balance waits with a licensed escrow partner, never with Elje. Elje is paid by you for the plan and Assured, and by the factory. Every fee is on the quote.
A $60,000 factory order landed in Brisbane at October 2026 rates, middle estimate. Every line to your site is counted, including the inspection and what you pay Elje.
What you pay Elje
| Fee | Amount | What it buys |
|---|---|---|
| Landed estimate | Free | An indicative landed price per line in 3 business days, and a 20-minute call |
| Samples | $149, credited to the Project Plan | Door fronts, stone, tiles and a tap from the shortlisted factories |
| Project Plan | $990 | The vetted shortlist, firm factory quotes, a landed price per line, the timeline, and the inspector, forwarder and broker booked |
| Elje Assured | 2% of the factory order, minimum $600. On by default | Inspection booked and reported, the balance held by a licensed escrow partner until it passes, defect resolution, the certifier pack and a 2-year backstop through partners |
| Managed Order, if you choose it | Factory price plus 10%, Assured included | Elje runs the order end to end through the same partners |
What factories and partners pay Elje
| Who | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| The factory you order from | 5% of the order, and of repeat orders from the same client for 3 years | Half after your deposit, half after the balance, under a signed protection agreement |
| Freight forwarder and customs broker | A referral fee, about $400 on a typical job | When the job ships |
| Installer, if we introduce one | A referral fee, about 10% of the install | When the install is paid |
| A factory or builder who brings its own client (Elje Direct) | 0% commission | They still pay for Assured or Pro if they use them |
A $60,000 order, both sides
This is our worked example: a house's worth of kitchen, joinery, stone and wet-area fit-out. It is an estimate at October 2026 freight rates, not a real job. Real jobs replace it as they land.
| Line | Paid by | Paid to | AUD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Factory price for the goods | You | The factory: deposit direct, balance through the escrow partner | $60,000 |
| Freight, insurance, port, biosecurity, broker and delivery | You | The forwarder and broker | $6,400 |
| Duty, with a certificate of origin | You | Australian Border Force | $0 |
| Pre-shipment inspection, four factories, at cost | You | The inspection company | $1,580 |
| GST at the border | You | Australian Border Force | $6,800 |
| Project Plan | You | Elje | $990 |
| Elje Assured, 2% | You | Elje (Elje pays the escrow partner's fee from it) | $1,200 |
| You pay in total, landed to site | about $77,000 | ||
| Introduction commission, 5% | The factory | Elje | $3,000 |
| Forwarder and broker referral | The forwarder | Elje | about $400 |
| Installer referral | The installer | Elje | about $800 |
| Elje earns in total | about $6,400 |
Reading that table
- You pay Elje about $2,190 on that job: 3.6% of the goods, and only for the plan and the protection. Prices, guides and factory codes stay free.
- The factory's 5% is paid by the factory out of its price. It is shown on your quote, so you can see it.
- The same fit-out bought through local showrooms and suppliers typically runs $120,000 to $160,000. That range is our estimate until our own jobs measure it.
- The inspector's own fee is passed on at cost, with no Elje margin, and shown on the Project Plan before you commit.
- Elje never touches the $60,000. You pay the deposit to the factory, and with Assured the balance goes to a licensed escrow partner.
What we never do
- Hold your money, own the goods or hold stock.
- Take money from a factory to rank it higher. Factories pay to be audited and eligible, and the scorecard alone orders them.
- Hide a fee. Every quote shows what you pay Elje and what the factory pays Elje.
- Sell your details. They go to a factory or partner only as an introduction you agreed to.
- Call ourselves independent. We are paid by factories, and we say so.
Questions
Does the factory's commission make my price higher?
The factory pays it from its own price, and the landed price we quote you is what you pay. Because it is printed on every quote, you can compare it with the same factory's price quoted to you without us, and tell us if it is higher.
Why pay for Assured if I can order from the factory myself?
You can, and the Project Plan is still yours. Assured is what you lose if you go around us: the booked inspection, the balance held until it passes, help when something is wrong, the certifier pack and the 2-year backstop. If you decline it you sign that those are yours to arrange.
Is the $149 for samples on top?
Only if you stop there. It comes off the $990 Project Plan if you go ahead.