Which Is More Rewarding Buying From GSA Schedule or Amazon

The gsa schedule is under constant scrutiny for their prices which claim to be fair and reasonable. Amazon has revolutionized and has built the e-commerce which is now the most preferred way the America do business.

To get the best with the festival season around, we always look for super discounts and end up comparing different platforms to get the best priced deal. This time, compare is made with the popular government procuring vehicle- gsa schedule and the giant selling platform Amazon.

To make the compare reasonable, the top 60 commercially available items were included in the list and the prices were compared on both the platforms. It was found that

• The price compare generated results which proved that the price on gsa schedule were lower from Amazon.
• Both platforms offered huge discounts, but even after the discounts, GSA pricing proved more reasonable.
• Shipping also has an edge on the GSA purchasing in terms of duration and cost.
• The small businesses clearly got an advantage in the gsa schedule as at least one small business was selling every item. They were easily given recognition and the buyer could find details about them; but in case of Amazon, knowing the status of the seller was difficult.

The above pointers definitely proved that the GSA provide items at huge discounted prices and also surpassed it as it provides recognition to the small businesses which helps them to establish themselves. This aid from the federal helps them to grow and contribute to the economy.

However, there are areas where the gsa schedule needs to improve themselves to perform better and stay ahead of its competitors.

• The studies prove that the buyers prefer Amazon than the GSA as they find it more attractive and user friendly.
• Only 10% of the buyer believes that the prices have better discount on the gsa schedule.
• Reviews to the products displayed are limited in the GSA, but Amazon provides complete review and comments on the same items. This is the area where the GSA need to emphasis on as the buying decisions are mostly based on the product reviews.
• User experience rule the buying decision and the enhanced search function are very important in the buying process.

There are 20,000 GSA contract holders which prove the potential of the government contracting clearly. These businesses gain profit from a different sector completely. The buyer also gets the benefit of procuring quality goods and services at huge discounted price.

The gsa schedule is undoubtedly the most preferred procurement vehicle for federal and its agencies. There are thousands of applicants every year to get on the schedule as it saves time and the documentation process is made short with the schedule. But, unfortunately more than 75% of the applications are rejected which means a huge loss of time and effort. The reason of rejection can be from incomplete form or inadequate documents provided along with the application which is submitted to prove the eligibility of the applicant.

It is possible to make mistakes as the form is too long and the documents required are in plenty. This is done to get the right company on the schedule to allow the federal buy form the company which provides then with the quality products and best pricing.

To avoid this, there are consulting firms which provide help and guidance to get on the schedule. They are in the federal world for long and understand how things are operational in the government market. However, they do not have any influence in the decision making process of granting the schedule, but they know the requirement of the GSA to allow the company gain the schedule.

They provide consultation for selecting the best schedule for the company’s goods and services as sometimes the item is eligible for more than one schedule. They also inform if the schedule is frozen or inactive, and save them from the hassle of application. Their services are also hired for marketing and establishing the company once the company gains the gsa schedule.