Getting Bids

For large purchases that will be paid for with school funds, most school systems require that two or three written bids be obtained before the purchase is made.

A bid is simply a written price quotation. It generally doesn't have to be in any certain format; it is just a written document from a business stating what the business' price will be for a particular item. It serves as proof that you are spending the school's money wisely by getting several prices before making a large purchase.

For very large purchases, school districts sometimes require "sealed" bids. That means that the bid is mailed to the district office and left sealed in its envelope until the set bid opening time. At the agreed opening time all bids are opened together. However, for most of the instruments you'll be buying, you won't need sealed bids.

Your Amro rep can usually fill out a bid for the instruments you are interested in. If he can't do it while he's at the school, he'll have it sent to you. You can also call the in-store reps and ask them to do it for you.

A bid states what these instruments would cost the school if the order is placed within 30 days. The price is based on the cost of the instrument to Amro at the time of the bid; after 30 days if the cost to Amro changes, the school's price would also change, requiring a new bid for your files. The bid doesn't require you to make a purchase. You are free to purchase any, all, or none of the instruments you get bids on. Therefore, if you would like to have silver concert tubas but suspect only enough money will be available for lacquer horns, you could ask to have both silver and lacquer horns on the bid. You can also ask for price estimates in advance of the bid to get an idea of what your budget will allow.

If you want an exact brand and model instrument, you should specify it when asking for bids. Although the stores you ask to bid might quote a price on an "equal" instrument, you are the ultimate judge of what's equal. You aren't required to buy the lowest priced instrument if you feel the instrument isn't really equal.

Since instruments sold to schools are discounted substantially and involve little profit to a store, some music stores won't write bids for schools unless they are doing the rental business at the school. Some other stores might agree on the phone to send a bid and then never get around to it. If you have trouble getting the required number of bids, Amro can usually tell you which other stores are reliable and will be willing to provide you with bids.