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Not a fit when

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Every listing includes notAFitWhen. Use it to tell an agent when your product isn't a good fit for a buyer. The field is required and must contain 40 to 1000 characters.

Agents receive this field in every search result and product record. They read it before recommending your product to a buyer.

Why an honest answer paysLink to this section

A poor product match can lead to refunds, extra support work, and buyers who don't return. State every known limit and disqualifier so agents can spot a mismatch before recommending your product.

Writing more text won't raise your ranking score, because ranking doesn't use the prose. Ranking inputs explains how not_a_fit_when is scored. Ranking also uses limits and integrations. If a number corresponds to a limit key, include it in limits too.

The four disqualifier typesLink to this section

Ask yourself about all four. Name each one with the words the catalog uses: the category, the integration, or the limit key.

  1. Runtime and platform. Which runtime, database engine, operating system, cloud, or region does the product not support?
  2. Scale ceilings. At which number of seats, requests per month, or GB of storage does the product stop? Which plan holds that ceiling?
  3. Compliance and certification. Which certification, audit report, signed agreement, or data residency rule does the product not meet?
  4. Missing features by plan. Which feature exists only on a higher plan? Which feature does no plan carry?

Good examplesLink to this section

A good answer is specific and testable. It names a runtime, a number, a missing certification, or a plan limit. Three short sentences read better than two long ones.

CategoryExample
Managed PostgresNot a fit if your application uses MySQL: this product only supports Managed Postgres. The starter plan is limited to 100 GB of storage. All plans are limited to 10 seats.
Log managementNot a fit if you need a signed HIPAA business associate agreement: this product has no healthcare certification. Data retention is limited to 30 days on all plans. The team plan is limited to 20 seats.
Transactional emailNot a fit if you need more than 2 million emails per month: that's the limit on the top plan. This product doesn't support SMS or push messages. All plans are limited to 5 seats.
AuthenticationNot a fit if you need SAML single sign-on without an enterprise plan, or EU data residency. Only the enterprise plan includes SAML. User records aren't stored in the EU. Monthly active users are limited to 10,000.

Weak answersLink to this section

Weak answerWhy it failsA better answer
It is not a fit for everyone.Vague and under 40 characters, so it fails validation.Not a fit if you need more than 50 seats on the team plan. Storage is limited to 200 GB.
Nothing. The product is the fastest managed Postgres on the market.It sells the product instead of stating a limit.Not a fit if you need a read replica in a second region: every plan runs in one region. The top plan is limited to 2 TB of storage.
Not a fit when the buyer wants something else.Vague. It names no runtime, number, certification, or plan limit.Not a fit if you need more than 10 million requests per month: that's the limit on the top plan.

A reviewer rejects an answer that is vague, that sells the product, or that claims the product fits every buyer.

The rules the validator appliesLink to this section

  • The field is required. A listing with no notAFitWhen fails with the required rule.
  • The value holds 40 to 1000 characters after a trim. A shorter value fails with too_short, and a longer value fails with max.
  • At the publish, Metzia strips content that a model must not read. If the removals shorten the field below 40 characters, the publish fails with shortened_below_floor.
  • A field that needs more removals than the bound fails with too_many_removals.
  • Metzia scores the text for prompt injection. A hostile score fails with injection_flagged.

validateListing runs the first two rules on your machine. Metzia runs the other three when you publish.

Write one in five minutesLink to this section

  1. Open the plan table of your product. Write down the ceiling of the entry plan for seats, storage, and requests.
  2. Name the runtime, the engine, or the operating system that the product does not support.
  3. Name one certification or one signed agreement that the product does not hold.
  4. Name one feature that only a higher plan carries.
  5. Write three sentences from the notes. Each sentence names one disqualifier, with its number when it has one.
  6. Read the sentences aloud. Delete every word that sells the product.

Updated 2026-09-23