After reading a Print Tip by special contributor Jeffrey Dickerson last November
("You Know Print Buying Is Your Passion When"), print buyer Linda Patterson suggested an idea for another column: when getting estimates from printers, do buyers share information with the competing bidders?

Linda pointed out three suggestions that Jeffrey made in his Tip:

• Give solid feedback on unsuccessful quotes.

• Do not play suppliers against each other.

• Do not reveal pricing to other suppliers.

She wrote, "What is considered solid feedback if not revealing pricing? If price was my reason for going with another printer, they can do the math if I say "your quote was 10% higher than the winning bid." I tend to be a very straight shooter: send out my specs, and go with the printer who has the best price if everything else is equal."

Simple, yes? Wait, there's more. "Other people play this game very differently," said Linda. "I've had a printer tell me he expects buyers to play printers off of each other. And I've worked with a consultant who thought he wasn't doing a good job unless he asked a printer to lower their price because we received a lower bid.

"I always thought I was working ethically, but now I wonder if I'm being a chump. What's the score here?"

First, Linda, you are NOT a chump. I applaud your ethical treatment of printers and hope that most print buyers act with the same high standards.

I asked members of the PBI LinkedIn Group* to weigh in. Here are comments from three of the respondents: Greg, Deborah and Nigel.

1. Do you give constructive feedback on unsuccessful quotes?

   "Sure," wrote Greg. "I provide a range, as in, 'you were 5 to 8% higher than your competition.' And I will provide more detailed info (your print pricing was competitive, but your bind price was high) if asked.

   Deborah said, "Assuming I have at minimum three bids, and all are apples to apples, if one is out of whack…I will try to work with the vendor to get it within the ballpark by letting them know they are way out of it in either direction. A very low quote usually scares me more than a very high one. Otherwise, there is always a reason one bid is chosen over another… Besides costs, these reasons include timing, press check location, shipping costs from local vs. out of state…any applicable sales tax in one state vs. another, and of course... customer service. At the end of the day, it's the people you work with that count the most."

   Nigel wrote that he always supplies feedback when he's asked - but this is rare.

2. Do you avoid "playing" suppliers against each other in the bidding process?

   "Yes," wrote Greg, "it's a jump ball. May the best team win. I don't go back and say, if you can match this price or beat this price you can have the job."

   Deborah had another take on this question. "Assuming I have bid with my preferred suppliers, there's no need to play games. There are, however, times when a preferred client vendor is thrown into the mix and reasons arise why it's best to keep them out of the process. At that point I do try to work with the people I have worked with before to get their bids lower without any moral or ethical line crossing. If the client chooses to pay more and go with their supplier, that is their choice, and obviously we will make it work. The client may also ask us go back to their supplier for better pricing... At that point letting them know the client is seeking better pricing has more weight than it would as a first-time customer negotiating their bid."

   "Absolutely," wrote Nigel. "Never have I played one printer against another. My personal and business reputation would be down the tubes..."

3. Do you reveal pricing to other suppliers?

   "No," says Greg. "I may tell a vendor, 'you were the high price on all three estimates, and may give other details, but I don't share specifics."

   Deborah concurred. "Never, as I personally believe that is a moral and ethical line cross. However, if my budget dictates a price cap, and my preferred suppliers are beyond that, I will give a general range that I need the quote to come in at, and if they can do it, they can do it. If they can't, then I will re-bid with all my suppliers and provide a tentative price range I can work within and hopefully someone will save the day :)."

   Nigel says he does sharing pricing but only after the bid has closed, and only with those that have bid and with whom he has a genuine relationship. The feedback assists them in their pricing models, he says, and may or may not influence the price the next time they quote.

In my experience, these opinions and practices are typical. There are exceptions, but I advise every print customer to stand by these practices. Be careful how you conduct the bidding process. Share the same information (specs, circumstances, etc.) with all of the bidding printers. If you don't intend to go back to all of them for a "second chance," tell them up front: they've got one shot to price the job for your consideration.

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