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Discussions About Price | |
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By Anonymous
on Tuesday, June 19, 2001 - 06:28 am:
I work in an office where we buy
commodity type items in large quantities and we are having a
debate about source selection discussions. One person has said
that it's okay to tell one offeror that another offeror has
proposed a price that's "approximately five percent" lower and
to ask whether the offeror can do better than that. Others are
saying that its "wrong" to do that, "unfair," "bad practice,"
"not the proper use of discussions," etc. One KO says that
everybody had a chance to propose a competitive price and we
should not use discussions just to give some offerors a chance
to propose a better price. She says we should only use
discussions to disclose deficiencies and weaknesses and that
unless a price is unreasonable we shouldn't try to get a better
price. By MikeW on Tuesday, June 19, 2001 - 08:27 am: I disagree with the KO who said
that we shouldn't try to get a better price - I think price
negotiations are essential to proper negotiations; however, I
don't think the way you are trying to accomplish it is
allowable, UNLESS, you get the other offerors' permission. By
saying a competitor's price is "approximately 5% lower" without
getting the permission of that competitor, you are violating the
spirit, and probably the letter of the law. You are doing this
in two ways. FAR 15.306 states, in part, that Government
personnel involved in the acquisition shall not engage in
conduct that favors one offeror over another, or reveals an
offeror's price without that offeror's permission. By Anon2U on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 07:28 pm: In RFPs with trade offs and discussions are needed - I have always thought that if all else is equal between two competitors except the price, then the one that is losing must be made aware that his "weakness" is the price. Then he has a chance to improve on the final proposal revision. But I have been known to not think the same as those with more experience. By Eric Ottinger on Friday, June 22, 2001 - 11:42 am: Anon2U, By Anon2U on Friday, June 22, 2001 - 07:59 pm: Thats what we did, my example was flawed. By Eric Ottinger on Thursday, July 05, 2001 - 04:57 pm: See: SOS Interpreting, Ltd.,No.
B-287477.2, May 16, 2001 By Anonymous on Thursday, July 05, 2001 - 10:11 pm: Okay, so the GAO says you don't have to discuss price. But I don't care what the GAO says in that regard. My question was whether it's unfair or bad practice to negotiate for a lower price. By formerfed on Friday, July 06, 2001 - 07:14 am: Eric's comment above about not encouraging less than a realistic price is good advice. Sure, you can always try and negotiate a lower price, and use a variety of means to get there including some that aren't so proper. However, it's also important to remember our jobs involve more than getting the lowest possible price on a given deal. The long term existence of a base of good suppliers is vital to our country's defense, research, health, and other needs. Companies flourish by making fair profits on the work they do, and that's where we as professionals come into the act. We should decide what a fair price is for each offeror individually and deal with each uniquely. In some cases, a higher price may not be out of line based on what is offered. Just stick with Eric's words. |