Market research and acquisition planning for MAS buys

You can use your government purchase card to pay or place MAS orders of any dollar amount (subject to BPA ordering agency policy limits). GSA Advantage is a great source for market research as well as order placement of commercial-off-the-shelf products.

Acquisition planning

Market research

Effective market research ensures you identify capable MAS contractors, understand available solutions, and promote competition. Follow these steps:

1. Start with GSA eLibrary.
   • Search by special item number, or SIN, or keyword to identify which MAS contractors hold contracts covering the required products or services.
   • Review contractor catalogs and contract details to determine capabilities, scope, and contract coverage.
2. You can choose to ask for a free scope review to get a scope compatibility determination from us.
3. Use GSA Advantage to:
   • Compare product and nonlabor-based service offerings, pricing, delivery terms, and available contract vehicles.
   • Assess whether solutions are standard commercial items or customizable services.

4. Engage industry responsibly (See FAR 10.001(c) (GSA Class Deviation RFO-2025-10)).

   You should engage in constructive exchanges with industry to better understand solutions and the marketplace.

   Do ask about

   • Technical capabilities and performance standards.
   • Warranty, maintenance, and lifecycle support.
   • Risks, benefits, and industry best practices.
   • Innovative or emerging solutions.
   • Minimum information you need to make acquisition decisions.

   Do not

   • Provide an unfair competitive advantage.
   • Disclose procurement-sensitive information.
   • Violate procurement integrity rules.
   • Make overly burdensome requests.
   • For more information on market research, see the Practitioner Album: FAR Part 10 - Market Research, FAR Companion [PDF] and the Periodic Table of Acquisition Innovations (PTAI) market research section.
5. Use eBuy to post requests for information to conduct additional market research and test vendor interest in cases where your initial research reveals few capable and interested vendors. Your RFI on eBuy notifies all MAS contractors under the selected SIN, which will help you:
   • Test market interest.
   • Validate requirements.
   • Refine evaluation factors and acquisition strategy.
6. Get free market data and research support to improve acquisition outcomes using our Market Research as a Service.
7. Use Global Supply to access office supplies, tools, furniture, and much more.

Plan for pricing and competition

• Rely on pre-negotiated MAS pricing as a baseline.
• Plan for additional discounts or price reductions based on volume at the order or BPA level.
• Research pricing and Independent Government Cost Estimates.
• Research pricing on GSA Advantage and eLibrary.
• Use our Pricing Intelligence Suite to access prices paid tools, such as CALC, for labor services and to develop IGCEs.