Good quotes lose on small things
A supply quote rarely loses because the product was wrong. It loses because a unit of issue did not match, a part number was off by one suffix, a delivery date was left at the supplier's default, or a certificate was never filled in. Federal buyers can move fast on these buys, and a quote that needs interpretation is a quote they can pass over.
This guide walks through how a request for quotations works under the current rules, where these buys are posted, and the technical details that knock out otherwise competitive quotes.
How simplified acquisition works now
The FAR Overhaul rewrote the rules for buying commercial products and services into Part 12, with simplified procedures for noncommercial buys in Part 13. Agencies have been putting that text in place through class deviations, so read the provisions in your own solicitation, since an agency may still be working from earlier language.
The numbers that matter are these. The simplified acquisition threshold is $350,000 and the micro-purchase threshold is $15,000, both effective October 1, 2025. For commercial buys, the model text directs contracting officers to issue a request for quotations followed by a purchase order for acquisitions valued up to $9 million. At or below the simplified acquisition threshold, the contracting officer may solicit quotations directly from suppliers, generally from at least three sources.
A quotation is not an offer
The legal effect of a quote surprises many suppliers. The model text says plainly that neither a quotation nor the purchase order issued in response to it forms a binding contract. The purchase order is the government's offer to you to buy on specified terms. A binding contract is formed when you accept that offer, either in writing or by substantial performance.
In practice, that means you should read the purchase order when it arrives, compare it line by line with your quote and raise any difference before you ship. Shipping is acceptance. And some solicitations ask for an offer rather than a quote, in which case the commercial instructions may hold your prices firm for 60 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers, unless another period is stated. Check which one you are being asked for.
The forms you will see
The model text tells contracting officers to use Standard Form 1449, Solicitation/Contract/Order for Commercial Products and Commercial Services, or Standard Form 18, Request for Quotations, or a similar agency form or automated format. On a solicitation issued on a 1449, the schedule of supplies lists line items, quantities and units, and attachments or addenda add the terms.
When a solicitation uses the commercial instructions, offers must include at minimum the solicitation number, the offeror's name, address and telephone number, the Unique Entity Identifier, the information needed for evaluation, the responses to any provisions that collect information not already in SAM.gov, and a statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions and provisions. Do not skip that last item, and do not bury an exception in a footnote.
Where the buys are posted
Federal supply buys reach the market through several channels. A company that watches only one misses most of them.
| Channel | What it is | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| SAM.gov | The Governmentwide point of entry for federal business opportunities | The model text says RFQs are normally posted here. Set saved searches by product code and NAICS |
| DLA DIBBS | The Defense Logistics Agency's Internet Bid Board System, where most of its RFQs are quoted | Enter price and delivery by line item, and choose the correct bid type |
| GSA eBuy | GSA's online RFQ tool for Federal Supply Schedule and other GSA vehicles | Open to Schedule holders under the listed Special Item Numbers. GSA says to check daily, since email notice is not guaranteed |
Register before you need to quote. The standard provision requires an active SAM.gov registration when you submit an offer or quotation and at the time of award, and DLA and GSA have their own account setups on top of that.
Part numbers and DIBBS bid types
DLA buys are unforgiving about part numbers. On DIBBS, Bid Without Exception means your quote is in exact compliance with the solicitation. DLA's guidance says a superseding or previously approved part number, or a correction to a CAGE code and part number cited in the solicitation, does not count as an exception. Offering a manufacturer and part number that is not listed in the solicitation is an Alternate Bid.
Know the consequence. DLA's master solicitation for automated buys says only quotes in exact compliance and submitted as Bid Without Exception are considered for automated award, and a Bid With Exception precludes one. For items where only approved sources are solicited, DLA says a supplier must be the approved source or show a current contractual relationship with it. Getting a new source approved usually takes longer than the buy allows.
DIBBS has some mechanics worth learning. DLA says the return date on an RFQ is not a firm closing date, that quotes may be revised until award, and that direct entry on the website avoids the transmission delays that can affect electronic data interchange. Quote early anyway. A buyer can award as soon as they have what they need.
Brand name or equal
When a solicitation names a brand, read whether it says "or equal." If it does, you can offer a different manufacturer's product, but the burden is on you to show it meets the salient characteristics listed. Quote the listed characteristics back with your product's corresponding data, and attach the cut sheet.
If no equal is allowed, offer the named item or do not quote. If you think the brand restriction is unjustified, raise it with the contracting officer before the close, in writing. The rules require agencies to document decisions that restrict competition, including brand-name descriptions without allowing for equal products.
Buy American and Trade Agreements
Country of origin is the question that most often trips up distributors. Buy American restricts purchases of supplies that are not domestic end products, and it uses a two-part test for manufactured items: manufactured in the United States, and meeting a domestic content test. Under the current text, the cost of domestic components must exceed 65 percent of the cost of all components for items delivered in calendar years 2024 through 2028, rising to 75 percent for items delivered starting in 2029. That content test is waived for commercially available off-the-shelf items, except products consisting wholly or predominantly of iron or steel.
A price preference comes with it. When Buy American applies and a domestic offer is not the low offer, the contracting officer tests reasonableness by adding 20 percent to the low offer if the lowest domestic offer is from a large business, or 30 percent if it is from a small business. A small business manufacturing in the United States is still subject to the content test.
Trade Agreements work differently. Where the acquisition is covered by the Trade Agreements, the Buy American restrictions do not apply, and the test becomes substantial transformation in a designated country. Check which clause and certificate your solicitation uses: Buy American certificates and Trade Agreements certificates ask different questions, and a certificate completed from memory can be wrong. Ask your supplier for the country of origin in writing, on each item.
Delivery, freight and units
Under the model text, prices for commercial buys are evaluated inclusive of transportation charges from the shipping point to the delivery destination. A quote that looks cheap on a free-on-board origin basis may lose to a higher unit price delivered. Read the delivery term, and price the freight into the number the buyer compares.
Match the delivery date to what the solicitation requires, and check your supplier's actual lead time before you promise it. Match the unit of issue exactly: each, box, case or dozen. A case price entered against an each line is an expensive mistake if the buyer accepts it, and a disqualifying one if the buyer will not.
A supply quote rarely loses because the product was wrong.
How quotes get evaluated
Evaluation is deliberately simple. For most commercial buys the model text says factors need not be more detailed than technical capability, price and past performance. The contracting officer has broad discretion in how quotations are evaluated and is not bound by the procedures in Parts 14 or 15. The solicitation must tell you the basis for award.
- Quoting a substitute without marking it as an alternate
- Entering a suffix on the part number that does not match the listed item
- Missing a required certificate because the supplier was slow to answer
- Ignoring an amendment that changed quantity, delivery point or date
- Letting your SAM.gov registration lapse
- Promising delivery your supplier cannot meet
- Read the entire solicitation and every attachment before pricing
- Confirm the part number, CAGE code, unit of issue and quantity line by line
- Get country of origin and lead time from the supplier in writing
- Build the delivered price, including freight and packaging requirements
- Complete every certificate and representation the solicitation asks for
- Save the confirmation and the exact file you submitted
Frequently asked questions
$350,000, effective October 1, 2025, with a micro-purchase threshold of $15,000. Different figures apply to certain contingency and emergency situations, so check the definition if your buy falls under one.
Under the model text, a quotation does not form a binding contract. The government's purchase order is its offer, and a contract forms when you accept it in writing or perform. If the solicitation asks for an offer, different rules can apply.
Generally yes. The standard provision requires an active registration when you submit an offer or quotation and at the time of award. There are limited exceptions for some actions, such as certain small buys overseas.
When the solicitation allows it. Identify the product clearly and show that it meets each salient characteristic listed. Where only a named item is allowed, an alternate is unlikely to be considered.