FAQs

Material Bank is the world's largest marketplace in the architecture and design industry, providing the fastest and most powerful way to discover and sample materials. The platform powers complex searches across hundreds of brands in seconds. Samples ordered by midnight (ET) are delivered in a single box by 10:30 AM the next day — always free for design professionals.

Yes, Material Bank is 100% free for approved members. Architects, designers, and specifiers can discover materials, utilize powerful tools, and request samples for overnight delivery at no cost. We are not a "freemium" service and do not ask for a credit card at any time.

Design professionals interested in joining Material Bank must register on our website. An approval process will follow registration to verify a designer's status as a qualifying architect, interior designer, or trade professional. To expedite the process, register with your company name, website, and professional email address. Registering with a public domain email address (such as Gmail, Yahoo, etc.), or a shared company email address (such as info@, designer@, etc.) will delay the approval process.

Material Bank significantly improves the sustainability of the design industry by reducing the number of inbound packages to firms by over 70%. Samples across multiple brands are aggregated into a single box, eliminating unnecessary shipments and reducing waste. Through our sample return program, Material Bank reclaims and reuses more architecture and design samples than any other company in the world.

Similar to other sophisticated search tools, Material Bank's search results are determined by smart algorithms that match your query against our diverse product catalog. Unlike other search tools, Material Bank's search is unbiased. Brand Partners do not pay for ranking or placement, and materials displayed are those that most closely match your search request, not materials paid for you to see.

Ask a Material Expert is a free service created to help busy designers get their work done faster. Our team of experts are available to assist with finding a material, answering material-related questions, or providing recommendations.

Use the "Ask a Material Expert" feature to let us help you find what you need. If you are searching for a particular brand that is not yet available on Material Bank, let us know by contacting us at support@materialbank.com.

In some instances, limitations do exist for order quantities and access to certain materials. We ask our members to sample responsibly to protect both the environment and our Brand Partners from the negative impact of unneeded sampling. We work hard to ensure that all members have access to materials for their areas of specialty and project needs. If you are not able to order a material due to site restrictions, please contact us at assist@materialbank.com.

Visit the Order History page and select the Cancel button next to your recent order. Because every order is shipped overnight, you must cancel an order within 15 minutes. If you miss the window to cancel online, please contact us at support@materialbank.com or send a message via the "Help?" button at the lower right-hand corner of your screen, and our team will work to resolve the matter.actu

Yes. When you receive your sample order, the brand is notified of your order details and contact information to be used for follow up. This helps design professionals and brands easily connect on project needs.

While you can place orders on Material Bank for library needs, we recommend that you contact a Brand Rep for these requests. By doing so, they will be able to provide you consultation and support based upon your firm's areas of specialization and needs. If you do not have an assigned Brand Rep for the brand you are interested in, please contact support@materialbank.com, and we will arrange an introduction for you.

While our experts work to ensure Material Bank's data is complete and accurate, we do collect data from third-party sources as part of our research process. We strongly encourage you to perform your due diligence before making critical project decisions, and we suggest that you speak directly to your Brand Rep to verify product details before purchasing.

Returning samples is easier than ever. Material Bank encourages sample returns for all unneeded samples received from Material Bank or our Brand Partners. Samples can be returned to our Logistics Hub at no cost and are processed with the goal of reuse. Learn more about our sample return program.

Yes, Material Bank is now available to design professionals based in Canada.

From the navigation bar, the Brands menu will display which are available and ship sample orders to Canada. This can also be done by running a search and applying the "Ships to Canada" filter.

Yes, if you are based in Canada, your Rep Directory view will automatically default to show Brand Reps that support the Canadian market. To help find the best Brand Rep for your project, you can refine the directory listing by province.

No, pricing on the Material Bank website is currently in US dollars. Use the relative pricing scale ($-$$$$$) for each material to determine a material's approximate price range as it relates to its category.

Yes, Material Bank ships all orders via FedEx Priority Overnight. In Canada, FedEx Priority Overnight arrives the following business day by 12:30 PM.

No, FedEx Priority Overnight allows Material Bank to ship orders to all Canadian businesses and residential addresses. We do not currently ship to P.O. boxes (in the US or Canada).

Material Bank has become the preferred source for designers and architects to search and sample materials. The platform connects Brand Partners with 65,000 (and growing) vetted design professionals who are actively working on projects in the United States and Canada. Learn more about joining Material Bank by visiting our Become A Brand Partner page.

Material Bank is designed for small, medium, and large brands looking to grow their business. Material Bank supports brands that are interested in reaching architects and designers in both the commercial and residential space across categories such as Workplace, Healthcare, Residential, Hospitality, Education, Government, and more.

While our ultra-fast sample logistics is an essential service that we provide to our members and brands, Material Bank is a marketplace for design professionals and brands in the architecture and design industry. Material Bank connects hundreds of brands with over 65,000 vetted design professionals and provides great brand exposure.

Material Bank currently has over 65,000 members consisting of architects, designers, and corporate buyers from a wide range of industries, including real estate, government, retail, healthcare, education, and hospitality. Architecture and design firms are rapidly adopting Material Bank to discover, research, and sample materials, including many of the well-known Fortune 500 companies.

Brands interested in joining Material Bank should submit an inquiry on the Become a Brand Partner page, or contact us at sales@materialbank.com.

Visit the Rep Directory or Order History page and simply click "Contact Rep" to send a message to your assigned Brand Rep. The Brand Rep will reply to you directly via email.

Search and filter Brand Rep listings by using the search bar or selecting a letter from the ABC menu. From there, you can choose "All," "Assigned," or "Favorite."

You are automatically matched to the appropriate Brand Rep for each brand based upon the company address in your profile.  To change your Assigned Rep, go to the Rep Directory, search for your desired Brand Rep, open their profile page, and select "Set as Assigned Rep."

Assigned Reps are auto-assigned based upon your account location and might not always align with your preferences or existing relationships. We suggest reviewing your Assigned Reps in the Rep Directory to ensure you are connected to the Brand Reps you work with most frequently.

Brand Reps with active Material Bank accounts have a yellow circle around their picture. You can easily collaborate with active Brand Reps through features such as shared boards. 

Material Bank ships orders using FedEx Priority Overnight to be delivered by 10:30 AM the following business day. Please note our shipping schedule below:

• Orders placed by midnight (ET), Monday through Friday, are delivered the next business day.
• Orders placed on Saturday before 8 PM (ET) are delivered Monday morning.
• Orders placed on Saturday after 8 PM (ET) through Sunday are processed on Monday and delivered Tuesday morning.

The vast majority of items on Material Bank are in stock and ship overnight. However, if a sample is not in stock, the request will be fulfilled directly by the brand within one to five business days. Look for the blue checkmark for in-stock items or use the "Ships Overnight" filter in your search results.

Yes, Material Bank members can ship to any address, including your home, a client's office, or an alternative firm location. To modify your designated address, select the Change button next to the shipping address before you place your order or add a new address in your Address Book.

No, you are not able to change the shipping address of an order after the order has been placed. If you need to change an address, you can cancel your order within 15 minutes by selecting the Cancel button on the Order History page. After canceling, you can use the Reorder button and select the alternate address before re-submitting. If you have difficulties changing your address, please contact support@materialbank.com.

Currently, Material Bank ships within the contiguous United States and Canada.

Since all orders are shipped via FedEx Priority Overnight, Material Bank is not able to deliver to USPS post office boxes at this time.

Your tracking number can be found on the Order History page after your order has been processed. If you need your tracking number sooner, please contact us at support@materialbank.com, or through the “Help?” button. Once you have your tracking number, you can use the FedEx tracking system to receive the latest information on your delivery. Note: If the item you ordered is not in stock and is being shipped directly from a brand, please contact the brand directly for shipping details.

Material Bank' University Program (UP) works hand in hand with educators in the classroom by providing platform access to interior architecture and interior design students during their prescribed curriculum for collaboration, study, research, and easy navigation through the complexities of material and product specification.

Schools do not need to formally sign up for our University Program. UP memberships follow Material Bank’s membership model. Each student is assigned an individual account. We do not offer shared accounts between students. Educators, faculty and program directors should visit the faculty page or reach out to universityprogram@materialbank.com with any additional questions. Our program is absolutely free of charge.

Yes! Students are welcome to register for their membership utilizing the "Student/Educator" option in the registration form. For membership approval, students must register using their school-issued email.

No, the University Program is designed around curriculum study and therefore does not allow participants to sample materials. If the need for sampling presents itself, we encourage UP participants to contact Brand Partners directly via the Rep Directory for these types of requests. Bulk samples are available for participating schools. Faculty members are encouraged to inquire about our bulk sampling program through the faculty page.