Paying to bid: is this trend coming soon to an industry near you? (Photo & Digital Processing).

Photo Marketing, November, 2002 by Kruger, Jennifer Barr

It is becoming a common practice in the automotive industry for print buyers to require pro labs and other print suppliers to bid on jobs through an online, fee-based bidding service. Could this become the way most large buyers of printing services choose a supplier in the future? If it works well for automotive manufacturers, it may. Two Detroit-area pro labs recently shared their experiences with fee-based bidding services.

Bob Koehler, president, and owner of Tri-Color Photographic Inc., Royal Oak, Mich. (www.printcafe.com), Pittsburgh, Pa. GM also began requiring jobs go through its ad agencies, which in the Detroit market are Campbell-Ewald and McCann-Ericson, to get bids via the service.