The rules governing GSA schedules are set out in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 8.4. They can be accessed at: http://www.arnet.gov/far/farqueryframe.html

Key aspects of the GSA schedule regulations from a sales perspective are:

* GSA determines the price of items under schedule contracts prior to contract award and considers them to be fair and reasonable.

* Orders from individual federal agencies are considered to be placed using full and open competition.

        Federal buyers need not: Seek further competition.

                                           Consider small business programs.

* Federal buyers place orders by using GSA Advantage or by reviewing the price lists of at least three schedule contractors.

* Buyers are encouraged to seek further price reductions when an order exceeds the maximum order threshold stated in the GSA schedule contract.

* Vendors are not required to extend price reductions made under a specific GSA schedule order to other federal agencies ordering under the vendor's contract.

In a nutshell, the regulations say the competition took place when the vendor negotiated its schedule prices. This makes buying quick and easy for the federal buyer and closing a deal a dream for the seller.

Learn more about GSA Schedules; attend Fedmarket.com's one-day GSA Schedules seminar, held monthly at The Federal Sales Academy, in Bethesda, Maryland.  Visit http://www.fedmarket.com/seminars/gsa-schedules.shtml for seminar details.