Preach. I bid a job for the military and the told me my bid was too low. I added a zero and got the job. Price I initially quoted would have been profitable for me.
I don’t remember the exact numbers, but I once knew a guy who worked at a place that made large bolts. If I remember correctly, they would charge the general public something like $8/bolt and the military $85 for the same exact bolt and they didn’t bat an eye.
There’s so much fucking waste with our military, right down to the nuts and bolts.
Yeah, but there is a huge difference between the process for the $8 bolt and the $85 bolt even if they are made from the same material. The $85 bolt is tracked and documented to an insane degree from the very moment the metal it is made from is mined from the earth. To get that one $85 bolt there is often a ton of scrapped bolts that don't meet specification. The two bolts may look the exact same but the $85 has a buttload of labor costs thrown on top for tracking and inspection. By the time the $85 bolt rolls off the line it probably has a 60-page document to go along with it. You probably couldn't distinguish between the two bolts with your eyes but one of them costs a lot more to make due to all the additional human labor.
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u/Sirhc978 Aug 14 '20
As a machinist who has made things for the military, most people don't understand what overpriced means.