The Trial Reality
New Catalayer accounts get a 7-day All Access Trial — full access to News, Monitor, Source Finder, Sourcing Agent, Claim Pilot preview, and Island. After 7 days, you decide what to keep.
Most trial users fail to make the most of it because they treat Catalayer as 6 separate products they should each try. The users who convert and stay long-term approach it differently — they pick 1-2 products to focus deep on during trial, then expand.
This guide is a 30-day plan to extract that full value.
Week 1 (Days 1-7): Trial Week — Focused Exploration
Day 1: Account Setup (30 min)
- Sign up (no email verification required — you're in immediately)
- Complete profile (name, country for regional defaults)
- Decide your primary use case: pick one of:
- News/Monitor for trading
- Source Finder for product sourcing
- Claim Pilot for Amazon FBA
- Multiple — rank by priority
Focus mostly on the top priority. You'll barely touch the others in week 1.
Day 2-3: Primary Product Deep Dive (3-4 hours total)
If News/Monitor:- Read [Boolean Monitor Rules](/guides/boolean-monitor-rules-patterns)
- Set up your first 2 monitors (narrow, specific)
- Let them run for 24 hours
- Read [Monitor Cold Start](/guides/monitor-cold-start-seven-day-plan)
- Install Chrome extension
- Run it on 5-10 Amazon products you're researching
- Read [Source Finder Workflow](/guides/source-finder-chrome-extension-workflow)
- Identify 2-3 potential sourcing opportunities
- Connect Amazon Seller Central (OAuth, read-only)
- Wait 24-48 hours for first audit report
- Review first batch of draft claims
Day 4: Secondary Product Try (1 hour)
Pick one more product and try it casually. E.g., if primary is Source Finder, try News briefly — set up your portfolio as a Monitor rule.
Day 5: Evaluate Signal
By day 5, you should have:
- Your primary product delivering some value (monitor alerts, sourcing matches, or claim drafts)
- Opinion on whether the output is useful vs. noise
If not useful by Day 5: check if your setup is right (often narrower rules + better filters fix it) OR accept that this product category isn't for you.
Day 6: Decide on Subscription
By Day 6, decide:
- All Access ($39.99/mo): you want to use multiple products
- Single Plus ($9.99-19.99/mo): one product clearly the value
- Free tier only: interesting but not mission-critical
- Cancel: not the right tool for you
Day 7: Trial Ends
At the end of Day 7, trial auto-downgrades to Free tier (no surprise charges).
If you've picked a plan: upgrade before trial ends to keep continuity.
Week 2 (Days 8-14): Steady-State Usage
Now using the tier you chose. Week 2 is about forming habits.
Day 8-9: Refine Rules
Review Week 1 alerts:
- Which were useful? Keep those monitors
- Which were noise? Tighten or delete rules
- What did you miss? Add a new monitor
Common Week 2 refinements:
- Add NOT filters to catch analyst noise
- Narrow ticker lists to actual holdings
- Enable/disable regions based on where your investments are
Day 10-11: Deepen Integrations
Connect Telegram → follow [Monitor + Telegram Guide](/guides/monitor-telegram-integration) → route 1-2 monitors to Telegram for after-hours alerts.
If on Mac, install Island → route 1 highest-priority monitor to desktop push → [Island setup](/guides/island-desktop-notifications-setup).
Day 12-14: First Real Action
By mid-Week 2, you should have:
- Acted on at least 1 Monitor alert (trade executed, sourcing contact made, claim submitted)
- Reviewed the outcome
- Adjusted your approach based on what happened
If you haven't acted on anything by Day 14, your rules are too conservative or your workflow isn't connecting alerts → actions.
Week 3 (Days 15-21): Expansion
Day 15-17: Add Second Product Use Case
If you started with News/Monitor, experiment with Source Finder (try one product sourcing query).
If you started with Source Finder, set up a simple News monitor for industries you source in.
The goal: discover cross-product value. E.g., News monitor for "supply chain disruption in [your product's material]" warns before your sourcing is affected.
Day 18-19: Guide Reading
Read 2-3 more guides relevant to your workflow:
- [AI News Analysis](/guides/reading-ai-news-analysis) if active with Monitor
- [1688 Sourcing](/guides/how-to-find-suppliers-on-1688) if active with Source Finder
- [Amazon Brand Registry](/guides/amazon-brand-registry-walkthrough) if scaling FBA
Each gives frameworks that the UI alone doesn't teach.
Day 20-21: Workflow Documentation (Personal)
Write down YOUR Catalayer workflow:
- What do you check at what times?
- Which monitors are critical vs. nice-to-have?
- Which alerts trigger what actions?
This takes 30 min but saves hours over months. You stop re-inventing your process.
Week 4 (Days 22-30): Optimization
Day 22-24: Quantify Value
Review your first month:
- Monitor alerts that led to profitable trades / saved trades
- Sourcing finds that became real orders
- Claim reimbursements received
Put a $ number on value received. Compare to subscription cost. If ratio > 3:1, you're in the right tier. If < 1:1, reassess.
Day 25-27: Advanced Features
Unlock features you haven't used yet:
- Saved search presets in Source Finder
- Signal Channels (follow Freelancer Sourcing or Supply Chain Alerts if relevant)
- Batch operations (bulk monitor creation, bulk claim submission)
Day 28-30: Community + Support
- Read the [Changelog](/changelog) for recent updates you missed
- Send feedback to [email protected] — what's working, what isn't
- If you're getting major value, tell a colleague — word of mouth is how most of our users arrive
30-Day Success Patterns
Users who stick around past Day 30 typically have:
- At least 3 active monitors producing useful alerts
- A weekly rhythm (regular review cadence, not sporadic logging in)
- At least one measurable outcome (trade, sourcing order, reimbursement received)
- Integrated workflow (Telegram or Island set up)
- Opinion on what's working (can articulate specific value received)
30-Day Failure Patterns
Users who cancel around Day 30 usually show:
- Too broad rules produced too much noise → felt overwhelming
- Never acted on alerts → felt theoretical
- Didn't tune based on week 1 data → stuck with bad rules
- Expected AI to replace judgment — Catalayer augments, doesn't replace
Cost Check at Day 30
On reasonable monthly usage, value typically compounds:
- Free tier: $0. 1 monitor, 5 Source Finder searches, basic news. Enough to evaluate but limited ongoing value.
- Monitor Plus ($19.99/mo): 5 monitors + Island/Telegram + advanced filtering. Break-even at about 1 material alert/month driving a $50+ action.
- Finder Plus ($9.99/mo): unlimited Source Finder searches + exports. Break-even at 1 supplier find saving $100+.
- All Access ($39.99/mo): everything. Break-even at 1-2 material outcomes/month across products.
FAQ
Q: What happens at Day 7 trial end if I don't choose a plan?A: Account auto-downgrades to Free tier. You keep: 1 monitor, basic news feed, 5 lifetime Source Finder searches, alert history. You lose: Island routing, Telegram routing, advanced filtering, AI analysis.
Q: Can I re-upgrade later after downgrading?A: Yes, anytime. Previous monitors, saved searches, and settings preserved.
Q: Do I lose my data if I cancel completely?A: Data retained 30 days after cancel (reactivation possible). After 30 days, data purged from primary systems within another 30 days. Download an export before cancelling if you want to keep it.
Q: Is there a family / team plan?A: Not yet. Enterprise / team plans in development. Individual subscriptions only today.