Why do the FedBid Terms of Use prohibit offline bids?
The guiding principles of federal procurement appear in Part 1 of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). Among those principles are requirements that the Federal Acquisition System and the team members within that system operate with “integrity, fairness, and openness” (FAR 1.102(b)(3); 1.102-2(c)(1)) and “ensure that contractors receive impartial, fair, and equitable treatment” (FAR 1.602-2(b)). Applying these principles in a long line of bid protest decisions, GAO has established as fundamental to competitive procurements that offerors must be treated equally and given a common basis for the submission and evaluation of proposals. (Union Carbide Corporation, 55 Comp. Gen. 802 (1976); Host International, Inc., B-187529, May 17, 1977, 7-1 CPD 346; COHU, Inc., 57 Comp. Gen. 759 (1978); Federal Data Corporation, 60 Comp. Gen. 584 (1981); E.C. Campbell, Inc., B-222197, 86-1 CPD 565). With respect to procurements conducted through reverse auctions, in particular, GAO has noted the impo
