For most schools in America, a ton of money isnt always readily available. Budgets are kept tight and every dollar is accounted for, because school administrators and taxpayers want to know what money is going towards and how students are benefiting from each dollar spent. Therefore, when it comes to furnishing school classrooms and providing instructional equipment for teachers, schools must do their best to find the lowest prices for the furniture they need.
Like many other programs and organizations that receive government funding, schools often solicit bids for the school furniture they need. Then, distributors who can meet the furniture needs of schools can submit bids. Typically, the lowest bids are accepted, as long as the furniture needs are met and the quality of furniture is adequate.
Here are a few tips for how schools can create bid proposals that will ensure the lowest prices possible for school furniture:
1.Be Specific
The first thing you need to do to create an aggressive bid that distributors are going to want to bid on is to define what your school needs. Understand that buying in bulk ensures lower prices and saves on shipping costs. Therefore, if you need 100 school chairs, then order 100. Be specific about the varying heights of the chairs, and weights, styles, etc. if applicable. For example:
Chairs
90 chairs 15 max 10lbs
213 chairs 12 max 10lbs
45 chairs 18 max 10lbs
31 chairs 17 max 10lbs
2.Dont Be Picky
If your school can afford to be picky, then go for it. Sometimes all a school needs is 200 black 15 Virco Manufacturing chairs. But, if your school isnt particular about the brand or style of chairs, then it can save a little bit of money, because many distributors offer lower prices for furniture that isnt the most popular. For example, there are number of unique chair colors that arent as popular as the standard red, black, or blue.
3.Give Bidders a Heads Up
Most schools keep a Bid Calendar that lets everybody know when the schools are going to release bids for certain items. For example, in March, a school might release a bid for office supplies, like envelopes and printer paper, and in April the same school might put out a bid for dairy products, like milk and ice cream, for school lunches.
Having a Bid Calendar gives potential bidders a heads up of when your school is going to accept bids for particular items and it gives them time to come up with bids at the lowest possible prices. This helps schools out because schools want to pay the least amount of money possible for school furniture and it helps distributors because distributors want schools to accept their bids.
4.Include Shipping in the Bid
When youre trying to save money, you dont want any surprise costs. Therefore, schools should include the cost of shipping in their bids. This way, schools can know what they will be expected to pay for furniture and how much it costs to ship it all.
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Take a look at school furniture and instructional equipment for teachers on School Outlets website today. Our store carries a variety of top quality school furniture brands and offers customers unbeatable prices. Call us at 877-398-6449 or fill out our online contact form with questions or comments.