Since we have been discussing a nontrivial purchase and will be putting out an RFQ to several vendors, I figure we probably want to formalize a few things before going forward on that. Firstly, I have a list of vendors that I would call, but it is probably not the same as the ones that the staff would call. Who are our preferred vendors? Secondly, should there be a mailing list (perhaps rfq@cyberspace.org or quotes@cyberspace.org or something) that forwards to a representative of the board, the senior-most member of the technical staff and to the treasurer that we can put into our RFQ letters as the contact person (contact group) both for submissions of quotes/proposals and also so that we have a technical, executive and financial person available to answer questions posed by the vendor? This would allow for a sensible email address and would allow us to change who gets the responses without having to send errata to the vendors. Thirdly, do we have a dollar amount that is a threshold above which we must get quotes from vendors (implying below which, we can just send a local to the parts store with a check or a money order)? Lastly, should we make a standard RFQ worksheet so that whenever we need new equipment above the threshold price, we can simply fill in a few blanks and email it off, instead of having to reinvent the silly document? While writing an RFQ is not difficult, it is tedious, and I had to look over bunches of other ones from NPOs and schools. By having a worksheet that can be filled in and sent off, we would have a consistent image to the vendors and can save time in the future. If we want to alter the one I wrote into a generic worksheet, I would recommend that we add a section that says something to the effect of "Until such time as a vendor has been selected and announced, this document does not constitute a promise or other commitment to purchase the equipment listed. Once a vendor has been selected and announced, a contract for the sale of the goods at the price listed in the quote will go into effect, which will be binding upon both the vendor and Cyberspace Communications." or something like that.18 responses total.
As far as I know, we've never gone to this level of formal paperwork at Grex. I'm not sure it's a good use of your time or anyone elses to develop a lot of documents for the sake of creating a system that would change more than it would repeat.
I don't think we have a threshold for buying, either; the board considers every request. As near as I can tell, the Treasurer is out of pocket for postage.
requests for your mom
I thought staff (and treasurer) could spend up to $50 without prior board approval. This was done to allow purchases like stamps and small hardware purchases. But this discussion was years and years ago and I could be misremembering.
I'm glad you didn't mention that, Joe. We kept that junket out of the minutes for a reason. And I still think I should have been reimbursed for the suntan lotion.
So *that's* what happened to the three-year membership renewal I sent in! I knew something foul was afoot. ...or something foot was afoul. ...or something.
Re #4: Yes, I believe that's correct.
maus - I appreciate all the thinking you've done about this. Colleen is correct that we have never done more than surf the web when looking to buy new hardware, so I am not sure if we need a formal RFQ system. We only purchase new hardware once every 3 years or so. That said, if you have experience with how to use RFQ's to get good prices, then I think we're interested in hearing about it.
I have only sent out fairly informal requests. What I have seen from school and from work is that by sending out a formal request, especially for a bigger purchase, you can sometimes get a better price than the list price, and you can get it in writing, which obligate the seller to sell at that price. The reason for the better price is two-fold: firstly, the seller knows that they are bidding against someone else and so may be willing to come down in price a bit to guaranty the sale; secondly, the RFQ lets us tell something about ourself and our mission, which can influence the pricing (people get warm fuzzies from helping a non-profit whose mission sounds good). Additionally, it helps Cyberspace.org's image, as it is a formality of heavyweights, and being seen as a heavyweight causes others to deal with you differently (if someone is a badass, you treat them nice without asking them to prove it; going through the formalities that badasses do makes us look like one, which can sometimes buy us a little lower price or something).
Has anyone contacted grexer leeron, who is a retailer of hardware?
Is he? i know he was over a decade ago but...
Grex bought parts of the current hardware from Leeron.
We are still using three of the 50 computers he gave us to recycle back in around 2000, tradeins from people that got new hardware with new software on it from him. We replaced a few things like serial ports, CD-ROM drives, and battery holders in the better boards. Still have a HP II Plus laser printer from him with no paper feed problems that the newer ones all have.
Where IS Leeron these days and what's he been up to, does anyone know?
Well...I think he's hanging with Matt at UofM games per the norm...
I was at his home last summer. He's doing great. He lives just blocks from where your parents used to live, Denise.
Since he's still local, he needs to come check out some of the grex events [like the Sat. lunches] and/or come back online! Some of the other old-timers I miss, too.
You have several choices: