What a bid set distribution really costs: 8 bidders, 40 sheets, shipped to 8 addresses
A bid distribution is the order where the sheet price stops being the main number. You’re printing hundreds of sheets, yes, but you’re also boxing them into separate sets, labeling each, shipping to a list of addresses, and confirming each one landed before the pre-bid meeting. This post prices the whole thing.
The job
- 40 ARCH D sheets per set, black-and-white on 20# bond
- 8 sets — one per bidder
- Each set stapled
- Each set shipped to a different GC’s office (8 addresses)
- Optional: a 150-page letter-size project manual, coil-bound, with each set
Printing and finishing at East Coast Blueprints
| Line | Math | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 320 ARCH D sheets | 320 × $2.00 | $640.00 |
| Volume discount | 10% (over 25 sheets) | −$64.00 |
| Stapling | 8 sets × $0.50 | $4.00 |
| Print total | $580.00 |
Shipping to eight addresses
On the order page you choose Multiple addresses, enter the eight offices, and set one set per address. The first address is free because the order clears $100; each additional address is $15 on UPS Ground.
| Line | Math | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| First address | free over $100 | $0.00 |
| 7 additional addresses | 7 × $15 | $105.00 |
| Delivered total, drawings only | $685.00 |
Every address gets its own tracking number and a packing slip listing exactly what’s in that box, so when a bidder calls to say they didn’t get it, you have the UPS scan.
Adding the project manual
| Line | Math | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1,200 letter pages | 1,200 × $0.10 | $120.00 |
| Volume discount | 10% | −$12.00 |
| Coil binding | 8 × $6.00 | $48.00 |
| Manuals | $156.00 | |
| Delivered total, drawings + manuals, 8 addresses | $841.00 |
The manuals go in the same box as each drawing set. No extra shipping.
The same job elsewhere
| Print (320 sheets) | Stapling | Shipping 8 boxes | Your labor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Coast Blueprints | $576.00 | $4.00 | $105.00 | none — enter 8 addresses at checkout |
| FedEx Office | $2,236.80 | quoted | you pack and ship 8 tubes (~$15–$25 each UPS) | 2–3 hours |
| Staples | $1,440.00 | quoted | same | 2–3 hours |
| Plans4Less | $560.00 | check site | 8 × carrier rate at checkout | none |
Plans4Less is $16 under us on print and also offers multi-location shipping, so on paper it’s the closest comparison; the difference will come down to their per-address carrier rate versus our flat $15, and the cutoff (noon ET here, 11 AM published there). Run both.
The big-box numbers speak for themselves, but the row that matters is the last one. Someone at your firm spends an afternoon collating eight sets, finding eight tubes, printing eight labels, and driving to a UPS Store. At any reasonable billing rate, that afternoon costs more than our entire shipping line.
Two things people forget
The archive copies. Most firms want two or three extra sets — one for the office, one for the owner, one for the file. Add them as a ninth “address” (your own office) with three sets, and they ride the volume discount with the rest.
The addendum. There’s almost always one. Save the file to your account at checkout; when Addendum 1 goes out, reorder the affected sheets to the same eight addresses in about two minutes.
More on the bid set printing service, and twenty-one worked pricing examples on the pricing questions page.
Ready to print?
Order by noon ET, ships same day. ARCH D from $2.00/sheet. Free UPS over $100.
Start an order Request a quote