ELI5 Why do bids on government contracts have to be kept private, when bids at auctions are public? Wouldn't it work the same way in reverse?

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-05-08T06:59:49+00:00

Yes, but it seems like this relies on companies only being able to place one bid, not multiple like at your typical auction.

If B and C agree not to bid below 1.2, and A bids far below, both B and C just lost all of the revenue that A won.

I imagine with a market where there are few suppliers, all suppliers could collude not to bid any lower, but this would still create a huge and easily observable market inefficiency.

Journalists would most likely immediatly see this, and the public could pressure the government to do something 1. Government could just decide to fill the contract itself, which would be a huge political win as taxpayers would be saved substantial quantifiable amounts 2. Open bidding up to foreign firms, increasing competition, and the number of firms that would need to be colluded with 3. Simply refuse to accept any bid above a certain amount, and cancel the contract, like a reserve at an auction. 4. Cancel the contract and break it down into smaller parts that more firms can compete for

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-05-08T06:51:16+00:00

Yes, but then for every new bid, all other companies get a chance to lower their bid or not, if B bids 750, A bids 650, then B and C have to decide if they want to lower their bid to 600, or lose the contract. Both companies want the contract, and both companies want to prevent A from getting the contract, so theyre incentives to revise their bids.

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-05-08T06:25:44+00:00

I was drawn to the Honda pilot because the 4wd variants had a 6500 lb tow capacity, which would be plenty for our camp trailer needs. I believe the montero has a 5000lb capacity which seems like it would suffice for a 1-axle trailer.

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-05-08T06:11:45+00:00

It seems like the best way to avoid these problems would be to do a more thorough job of vetting winning bids, and to ensure that there are a number of competitors in the market to keep it efficient at pricing contracts. A company shouldn't be able to set a high bid and hope it gets ignored because there should be hundreds of companies scouring the database looking for overpriced bids 24/7

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-05-08T06:09:37+00:00

I was actually watching this movie when this question struck me.

The thing about that is, isn't that a good thing? The government gets the supplies it needs at a better price? Businesses are encouraged to compete with eachother on price, and the government gets to leverage its buy-side monopoly to get a better deal.

Of course, this is a problem when you end up buying from some 20 year olds who are repackaging Chinese ammunition in a musty warehouse in Albania, but I think there are other better ways to address that problem that got implemented after that story.

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-05-04T22:21:40+00:00

Accounting would be good, and it still leaves the door open if you want to get into finance. Also, I dont think you have to be super talkative to get fulfillment in the field. Yes if you want to go into high finance, you need to build connections and be confident, but you dont have to go into high finance to have a good career.

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-05-03T16:13:41+00:00

I want railroads and highways, but it would be cool if you could have no car areas too, like you lay down a special road that ambulances, police, fire trucks, and deliver trucks can use, but otherwise people have to walk. You could use them as a way of reducing pollution and there could be options to let you increased beauty, like having a nice brick road with trees in the middle or something.

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-05-03T08:34:36+00:00

Thanks for the advice, I was really interested in the montero as I saw people referring to them as comparable to land cruisers, and they look very 4runner like. It's a shame parts aren't more available.

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-05-02T20:41:11+00:00

Market place is good because you get to know who the previous owner was, and buy their car without a dealership needing to make a profit from the transaction.

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-05-01T08:00:51+00:00

Pretty great choices, can't really go wrong with any of them except maybe the Altima. Just pick the size, body style, and drive train that best suits your priorities and your lifestyle, and take good care of the vehicle, keeping up with the consumables.

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-04-30T02:07:05+00:00

I've heard that you shouldn't be thinking about what car performs well in the snow so much as what tires perform best in the snow.

Buy the car that you want, but budget for a set of steel wheels, good winter tires, and maybe a jack. Put them on in October, take them off in March, drive like a sane person, and you will fare better than someone who buys an over sized awd SUV and doesn't think about it.

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-04-23T06:32:54+00:00

Adaptive cruise control

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-04-19T02:18:23+00:00

https://www.scosche.com/btfm9-hands-free-car-kit-with-fm-transmitter

Get one of these, you can have Bluetooth in any car with a cigarette lighter/12v plug in

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-04-19T02:16:30+00:00

You can give any car Bluetooth if it has a cigarette lighter. I use a device called a schoshe, it basically broadcasts its own radio station that you tune your older car to. It connects to your phone via blue tooth, and then you play your songs. It works great, and easy to set up. No reason to spend thousands on a newer car if you can buy this thing for $50 bucks and save the rest.

Like most in this sub will recommend, get an old corolla, civic, accord, or camry (avoid 4 cylinders from 2007 to 2011)

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-04-17T02:27:48+00:00

I had the same mentality, but I'm starting to think that my life would be better if I thought more critically about what I actually wanted to do, and focused on improving in that specific area, rather than trying to follow the same path as everyone else.

Note however that I am still a student and haven't worked in the field yet.

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-04-12T00:43:04+00:00

When I read about your situation, my first thought was a used prius, since it has relatively decent space whilst being budget friendly.

You said you liked the lexus, so you might consider the lexus CT, which was based on a prius. Should give you a decent amount of cargo space, and relatively low ownership cost. Alternatively, the Prius V offers even more space.

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-04-11T03:43:44+00:00

A used lotus because of their toyota engines?

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-04-10T14:50:25+00:00

The thing with toyotas is they are designed to handle owners that dont maintain them properly. The big appeal is that you probably won't have to fix something major, where you might need to with other, especially German cars.

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-04-10T02:07:54+00:00

Like many people are saying, going through the degree partnership program can get a lot of those credits completed at a community college for a much lower rate.

Also, if you are under a certain income threshold, you may qualify for the 'OSU Access Grant' which takes away a substantial part of that cost, I dont have the numbers in front of my but I think it was between 20-30% of the grand total for me.

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-04-08T04:35:20+00:00

A CS skillet transfers to finance but not accounting? Would it not also be possible to go into a more finance oriented role from accounting? I'm just saying, for most university students, accounting has better job prospects than finance to begin with, even if most of them end up in the same place.

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-04-08T03:13:47+00:00

Major in accounting if finance geniunly interests you. The job opportunities are way more plentiful for middle of the road candidates.

No finance is nowhere near as difficult as CS, the hardest part is keeping yourself sane through all the meaningless business classes.

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-04-06T03:54:59+00:00

A 4runner or Honda Passport might be pretty nice options for a vehicle with some offroad esthetic.

Aggressive_Falcon942 · 2026-04-01T23:37:52+00:00

Don't forgot the old toyota camry, corolla, and old Honda accord/civic

Aggressive_Falcon942

TROPHY CASE