Requests for Quotes: The Funny Ones

By John R. Hall

EqualFooting.com, an industry website featured previously in The News, reports some interesting requests over the Internet. The B2B online marketplace aims to put smaller business on an “equal footing” with large companies in the areas of purchasing, financing, and shipping.

Given the chance to place a request for quote (RFQ) on EqualFooting.com, small manufacturing and construction businesses have asked for the usual things: generators, tools, sombreros, Mozzarella cheese, and a baseball hat with dreadlocks attached.

No, this is not a misprint. Those were some of the RFQs that EqualFooting.com has received.

Its members submit RFQs for items not found in the online catalog or when they are looking for volume discounts or special offers from a supplier. It’s obvious that EqualFooting members have enough confidence in finding what they want that they have dispersed a little humor into their RFQs.

“The members have great imaginations,” said Kristen Rudzki of the ProMarc Agency, agency for Equal-Footing.com.

Here are some of the unusual items (besides the ones mentioned) for which they have requested quotes:

20 Jacuzzis;

100 Palm Pilots;

Motor for an M-41 tank;

2,000 yards of Mexican yarn;

20 baseball bats;

500 bales of hay;

Rebuilt engine for a 91 Dodge Ram; and

Waterproof cover for a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

EqualFooting was able to fulfill two of these requests: the Palm Pilots and the Jacuzzis.

“I believe all of the requests were serious,” said George Evanko, Account Group supervisor for The ProMarc Agency. “This information came to light thanks to a random comment from an employee at the Customer Care Center who mentioned some of the weird requests they were receiving.”

Publication date: 09/25/2000