Detailed Business Buyer FAQs

Welcome to the Buyer FAQs section. This section provides quick answers to the most commonly asked questions and is not intended to provide a complete online tutorial. Should you desire a detailed demonstration of the FedBid marketplace or additional information that is not contained in this section, please contact us directly at ClientServices@FedBid.com. The questions addressed are:

Skip Jump Links

What is FedBid?
Who uses FedBid for buying?
When would I use the FedBid Marketplace?
How does FedBid assist with "Spot Buying"?
How does FedBid drive competitive pricing?
How does "lead/lag" move the market?
How do I set a baseline for calculating savings?
What is a Buy?
How long does a Buy last?
What is an “Option Buy”?
How do I Award an Option in an Option Buys?
What if I don’t like the items offered in the Bids?
What training is available to Buyers?
How do I register as a Buyer?
How do I sign in?
How do I create a Buy?
Can I add an attachment?
Is there a way for Sellers to include sales tax with their Bids?
Can I modify a Buy?
How do I accept a Bid?
Can I solicit Partial Bids?
Does FedBid safeguard proprietary information?
Why do the FedBid Terms of Use prohibit offline bids?
What should I do if I recieve an offline bid that may provide best value?
How does FedBid address issues relating to Conflicts of Interest?

What is FedBid?

FedBid is a multi-billion dollar online marketplace where government and business buyers can access a managed, global network of qualified sellers at the touch of a button. The FedBid buyer-powered marketplace utilizes a reverse auction model that connects buyers with the most competitive sellers of commodity goods and simple services. To date, thousands of public sector and commercial Buyers have used FedBid to increase efficiency, drive competition, and save hundreds of millions of dollars.

Who uses FedBid for buying?

FedBid is a highly effective solution for all Buyers, including commercial business organizations across all industries as well as federal, state, and local government, and associated prime contractors.

When would I use the FedBid Marketplace?

The FedBid Marketplace can maximize any organization’s buying power, regardless of size—delivering double digit savings and reducing internal procurement costs. The simplified process saves time and money, and dramatically reduces the administrative challenges of managing large-scale commodity and spot Buys. Typical FedBid-able Buys include:

“Spot Buy” common goods and basic services
Requirements not covered by corporate contracts
Goods and services from $3000 to $150,000+
Highly competitive goods and services
Requirements that are well defined

FedBid resources are always available to provide recommendations regarding use of the marketplace. Our Buyer Support Team can be reached at BuyerSupport@FedBid.com.

How does FedBid assist with "Spot Buying"?

FedBid enables effective, efficient and transparent spot buying for goods and services that are off-contract, one-time, unplanned, and “urgent” purchases. By using FedBid, Buyers are easily able to conduct, manage and report spot buys in a single location. FedBid gives Buyers the confidence to take control of their buying, which in turn, allows them to free up time to build real value for their organizations. FedBid provides a risk-free opportunity for Buyers, with no upfront costs, and no obligation to buy.

How does FedBid drive competitive pricing?

During the Buy competition, Sellers have the opportunity to submit a single Bid or multiple Bids that decrease in price. On FedBid, Sellers do NOT see competitors’ names or prices but do see a Bid Status of either LEAD or LAG, depending on their Bid Price. Think of this competitive bidding process as an auction in reverse.

How does "lead/lag" move the market?

Once a Bid is received by the FedBid system, the Seller submitting that Bid will see either LEAD or LAG. LEAD means that a Bid is in the lead position at a specific moment in time during the Buy process; LAG means that a Bid is not in the lead position at a specific moment in time during the Buy process and that it may be lagging to competitor Bids and/or an Active Target Price (ATP).

Sellers place real time bids quickly and efficiently (auto-rebid), maximizing competition while reducing cost of sales ‘Lead/Lag’ indicator provides immediate competition information to encourage strategic rebidding. This creates a dynamic pricing environment for spot buy goods and services that encourages active rebidding at lower prices.

Sellers are impacted by different economic conditions at different times resulting in scenarios where they may want to break into a new market, have reduced overhead, need to eliminate excess inventory, have idle capacity or just need cash resulting in the buyer receiving marginally priced items or services.

How do I set a baseline for calculating savings?

The Active Target Price, set by the Buyer, is based on a Buyer’s market research quote or current published pricing based on market research conducted prior to posting onto the FedBid Marketplace. The bids that are submitted by Sellers on FedBid can be compared on the marketplace against the Active Target Price. Additionally, FedBid provides comprehensive reporting that can be customized to meet your organization's savings definition.

What is a Buy?

A Buy is a purchase made through FedBid using FedBid’s Reverse Auction functionality.

How long does a Buy last?

The Buyer determines the duration of the Buy, but the competition process typically lasts three to four calendar days, or it can be as short as an hour, depending on the availability of the items sought and urgency of the requirement.

What is an “Option Buy”?

An Option Buy is a type of Buy on the FedBid marketplace where a Buyer, within the Specifications of a Bid, elects to include options that a Buyer may choose to accept or exercise separately at a later date.

How do I Award an Option in an Option Buys?

In Option Buys, each base period and option period can be accepted or exercised separately, however they have to be awarded sequentially. A Buyer may only accept subsequent options from the originally Selected Seller. To accept the base period of a Bid, click the Accept button next to the line items for that base period, or the ”Accept Bid” quick link. To exercise an option, click the “Exercise” button or “Exercise Option” quick link. Once accepted or exercised, a Buyer will be required to enter the appropriate Authorization Number for that base or option.

What if I don’t like the items offered in the Bids?

FedBid is virtually risk free: You have multiple opportunities to fully specify and confirm your requirements; You can cancel the Buy at any time prior to award if you determine that the specifications need to be corrected or if the Bids are unsatisfactory; and FedBid’s Buyer Support Team will continue to support you throughout the Buy process.

What training is available to Buyers?

Instructions on how to use the FedBid system are provided through the help and training links on the marketplace. Individual and group trainings are also available for Buyers upon request. Please contact your FedBid representative or BuyerSupport@fedbid.com to schedule training.

How do I register as a Buyer?

Commercial Organization Buyers can easily register on FedBid can easily register on FedBid. The process requires the Buyer to submit i) a valid e-mail address, ii) security question and password information, iii) contact information, and iv) business affiliation.

Go to www.FedBid.com and click on the ‘Register’ button.
On the FedBid Registration page, click the ‘Register As Buyer’ button.
Complete the Buyer Registration form and click the ‘Continue’ button.
On the Confirm Registration page review all information entered. If changes need to be made, click the ‘Edit’ button. If the information is complete and correct as entered, click the ‘Submit Registration’ button.
FedBid will review the Buyer registration and will contact the Buyer in order to ensure the Buyer i) has requisite authority to perform procurement actions, and ii) is an active employee of his or her registered organization.
FedBid will then activate the Buyer account and send to the Buyer an email with a link for creating a password and security question. After creating these two items, the Buyer can begin using FedBid.

How do I sign in?

Go to www.fedbid.com and click the ‘Login’ button. In order to sign in to FedBid, all users are required to enter their email addresses and passwords in the corresponding fields on the Login page and indicate their acceptance of the FedBid Terms of Use. Please remember that email addresses and passwords are case sensitive; therefore, information must be entered exactly as it was entered during registration. Users may click the ‘Forgot password?’ link, located under the Login fields, for automated assistance.

How do I create a Buy?

Creating a Buy is fast and easy. The process takes approximately 10 minutes for the average purchase requirement. The process consists of a few simple steps:

Once signed in, click on the ‘Create New Buy’ link under the Quick Links menu.
Input Buy Description, Internal Description and Solicitation (or purchase order) Number (Internal Description and Solicitation Number are for internal use only and will not be viewed by Sellers); determine the bidding End Date and Time; choose the Contract Vehicle under which you would like to receive bid responses; select any applicable Seller Community; determine desired Set-Aside (diversity ownership) Requirements, which will dictate which Sellers are allowed to view and bid on the Buy; decide whether the Sellers should bid ‘Exact Match’ to specification, ‘Meet or Exceed’, or ‘Brand Name or Equal’; select Payment Type and click the ‘Continue’ button.
Select the desired Category and Subcategory by clicking on the appropriate link.
Add Line Items including Line Item Description, Quantity, and Unit of Measure for each; and click the ‘Continue’ button.
Define the terms of the Buy and click the ‘Continue’ button.
Set the Bid Decrement (the minimum amount by which a Seller must lower their bid in order to rebid) and input Total Target Price and choose whether or not to make it active. Add any Suggested Sellers that you would like to specifically include in the Buy (be sure to include any Seller that provided the basis for an Active Target Price). Assign a shipping address. If the desired shipping location is not in the drop down list, add the address by clicking on the ‘Manage Address Book’ button and click the ‘Continue’ button.
Confirm your information. If there is a need to edit the auction specifications, click on the ‘Edit’ button to return to previous pages; otherwise, click the ‘Post Buy’ button, and your requirement will be posted to the applicable Seller Community.

Can I add an attachment?

Yes, Buyers may attach statements-of-work (SOWs), drawings, or forms to a Buy during the Create Buy process. By clicking ‘Add Attachment’ at the bottom of the Add to Auction page, Buyers can add various document file types, including Microsoft Word (.doc), Microsoft Excel (.xls), Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt), and Adobe (.pdf). (Attachments must not exceed 30MB in size, and Buyers must be activated by FedBid to have access to this feature.)

Is there a way for Sellers to include sales tax with their Bids?

The two most straightforward ways for Buyers to communicate to Sellers to include tax with their Bids are to:

Add an additional Line Item for tax and input a quantity of “1” to your posting, AND
Add a Buy term that states, “BIDS SUBMITTED BY SELLERS IN RESPONSE TO THIS IFB MUST INCLUDE ALL APPLICABLE SALES TAX (STATE, LOCAL, OR OTHERWISE)”

Can I modify a Buy?

Yes, but only through FedBid’s Repost process. In order to maintain the integrity of the procurement process and ensure that all Sellers have access to the same information at the same time, Buyers are NOT permitted to modify a Buy once it is posted. However, Buyers may Repost a Buy, which cancels the initial Buy and creates a new one, allowing for updated specifications and/or clarifications to be communicated to the Seller community. Buyers are required to view the Buy Specifications by clicking the ‘Buy Description’ link, which will display the current Buy and provide a ‘Repost’ button on the right side of the screen. Once a Repost is submitted, FedBid will e-mail Sellers to inform them of the cancellation and Repost.

How do I accept a Bid?

To accept a Bid, simply click ‘Accept Bid’, located at the bottom of each Bid, or click the Accept Bid link in the Quick Links menu for each bid. Once accepted, you will be required to enter the appropriate Authorization Number, typically the purchase order, purchase requisition, or credit card reference number.

Can I solicit Partial Bids?

Because Reverse Auctions are price-driven, Partial Bids fundamentally interfere with Bid rankings and the dynamics of the Reverse Auction Process. Therefore, Partial Bids and IFBs permitting Partial Bids are not permitted under a Reverse Auction process and will be removed from the Web Site.

Does FedBid safeguard proprietary information?

Yes. FedBid does not disclose proprietary data to any party other than those personnel specifically authorized to receive such information or data. In addition, to ensure that the security and confidentiality of sensitive information and data is properly protected, FedBid performs background checks on all of its employees, requires all managers and employees to sign non-disclosure agreements, and employs a state of the art, secure infrastructure that prevents electronic theft or misappropriation of sensitive information.

Why do the FedBid Terms of Use prohibit offline bids?

FedBid’s prohibition of offline bids helps Buyers maintain the integrity, fairness and openness of the competitive process by enabling Buyers to conduct all procurements pursuant to uniform ground rules that treat all Sellers impartially, fairly, and equitably. In turn, Sellers have confidence that they are able to compete on

What should I do if I recieve an offline bid that may provide best value?

Immediately direct the offline bidder to submit its Bid online. With FedBid, Seller use of the online marketplace is free of charge and registering with the site takes only a few minutes, so Seller compliance hurdles are minimal. However, if the offline bidder is unable to register and submit an online Bid prior to the close of the reverse auction, the Buyer maintains the option to extend the Buy in order to enhance competition. Using FedBid, Buyers can extend a Buy for up to two (2) weeks after a Buy closes, thereby providing the Buyer with every opportunity to obtain the best value offer for its requirements.

How does FedBid address issues relating to Conflicts of Interest?

FedBid provides procurement services to Buyers and Sellers through a simple and extremely effective online Reverse Auction marketplace. FedBid does not provide any other type of service, nor does FedBid engage in any formal or informal relationship with any Seller outside of the limited contractual relationship required to provide such Seller with access to FedBid’s procurement services. Moreover, any subcontractor from which FedBid procures operational support services is prohibited from bidding in any Buy on FedBid.

FedBid warrants to the best of its knowledge and belief, that no person associated with FedBid, including any individual, subcontractor, team member, consultant, corporation, partnership, joint venture, or other business entity, has any conflict of interest that would cause FedBid to be unable or potentially unable to render impartial assistance or advice to Buyers, impair FedBid’s objectivity in providing services, give FedBid an unfair competitive advantage, or otherwise affect FedBid’s ability to perform the online procurement and payment services required by its clients. As part of FedBid’s independent audit and review, FedBid’s independent auditor evaluates for accuracy the foregoing statement, and FedBid will report any changes and/or updates to this information based upon the findings of said auditor.