How to Send Us an RFQ or Bid Invitation
Send your request for quote, bid invitation, solicitation or co-op package to one address and a human reads it. You get a written acknowledgement inside three business days that names the person handling it, tells you whether we intend to bid, and lists anything still missing.
Email [email protected] See what to send
MAD Monkey Media LLC, Dallas, Texas. Latino owned. We work in English and Español.
Who this page is for
You are a purchasing agent, an office manager, a marketing lead, a general contractor, a school district or co-op buyer, or anyone who needs a written price on printed goods and the work around them. You already know roughly what you want. You need a number you can put in a file, defend to a committee, and buy against.
This page tells you exactly what to send us, what we do with it, how fast, and what you get back.
One address: [email protected]
Everything inbound goes there. Quote requests, formal solicitations, invitations to bid, addenda, questions, co-op and district packages, and re-bids on work you have already run with us. You do not need an account and you do not need a portal login.
What to send
Send whatever you have. A photograph of a sign you want matched is a legitimate RFQ. The list below is what lets us price without a second round of questions, so the more of it you include, the faster the number comes back.
The item
- What it is, in your own words
- Size or dimensions, flat and finished
- Material, stock or substrate if you care
- Color, sides printed, finishing
- Any sample, photo or link to something similar
The numbers
- Quantity, and the alternates you want priced
- Whether this repeats, and how often
- Date you need it in hand, not the date you need to order
- Delivery address, or pickup
- A budget range if you have one
The artwork
- Print ready files if you have them, vector preferred
- A rough sketch or a photo if you do not
- Brand colors, fonts or a style guide
- Say so if you need us to design it, we will price that separately
The paperwork, if any
- Solicitation or bid number, and the issuing entity
- Question deadline and bid due date and time
- Submission method, portal, email or sealed physical
- Required forms, insurance limits, bonding
- Co-op or contract vehicle you intend to buy through
Files too large for email. Send a link instead. Any share link works, including Drive, Dropbox, WeTransfer or your own portal. Do not compress artwork to fit an attachment limit, it costs us print quality and costs you a reprint.
What happens after you hit send
- Same day Your request is logged It lands in the bids desk, gets a reference number, and stays on one email thread so nothing is lost between people. Reply to that thread for anything about the same job.
- Within 3 business days You get a written acknowledgement Not an autoresponder. A real reply that names who is handling it, states whether we intend to bid, gives you a realistic date for the number, and lists anything we still need from you. If we are not going to bid, we tell you then rather than going quiet.
- Varies by job We price it Straightforward reprints and catalogue items are usually same week. Anything involving a custom substrate, a partner mill, installation, or a formal solicitation package takes longer, and the acknowledgement will have told you how long.
- On the date we gave you You receive the bid In writing, itemized, dated, with a validity period. See the next section for exactly what is inside it.
- Your call You accept, negotiate, or pass Accepting is a reply in writing. We then confirm artwork, send a proof where a proof applies, and give you a production and delivery schedule. Nothing goes to press before you approve the proof.
On deadlines we cannot meet. If your bid is due in 48 hours and the package needs a week of pricing, we say so in the acknowledgement instead of submitting something we cannot stand behind. A late no is worse for you than an early one.
What a bid from us contains
Every bid we issue has the same skeleton, so you can compare ours against anyone else’s line by line.
| Section | What is in it |
|---|---|
| Header | Our legal name, MAD Monkey Media LLC, the date, our reference number, and your solicitation or PO number if you gave us one. |
| Scope | A restatement of what we understood you to be asking for. Read this first. If our restatement is wrong, the price is wrong. |
| Line items | Each deliverable priced on its own line with quantity and unit price. Setup, plates, screens, dies and tooling are their own lines, never buried in the unit price. |
| Quantity breaks | Where volume changes the price, we show the next break or two so you can see what ordering more would do. |
| Freight and delivery | Stated separately, with the destination and the method. Pickup in Dallas is always offered as an alternative. |
| Artwork and proofs | What we need from you, what we will supply, whether design time is included or quoted separately, and the proof step. |
| Lead time | Production days after artwork approval, plus transit. We separate the two so a missed approval does not silently eat your delivery date. |
| Assumptions and exclusions | Everything we assumed in order to price it, and everything the number does not cover. This is the section that prevents arguments later. |
| Validity | How long the price holds. Thirty days unless the item is on a volatile material, in which case we say so and shorten it. |
| Terms | Payment terms, deposit if any, and acceptance instructions. |
What a bid from us will never contain
- A price with no stated assumptions behind it
- Setup or tooling hidden inside a unit price
- A lead time that quietly assumes artwork is already approved
- An open ended number with no validity date
How to submit
By email, preferred
Send to [email protected]. Put the job or the solicitation number in the subject line. Attach or link your documents. That is the whole process.
This is a monitored intake address, not an autoresponder box, and it is the address to use for addenda and questions on an open solicitation as well.
Through your own portal
If your organization requires us to respond inside a procurement portal, email us the invitation and the portal name first. We register, complete your vendor forms, and respond inside your system.
Tell us the portal early. Vendor registration and document review can take longer than the pricing does.
Through a co-op or contract vehicle
If you buy through a purchasing cooperative or an existing contract vehicle, say which one in your first message. It changes how the response has to be formatted and, often, the pricing basis.
Just want a fast number
For common catalogue items you can self serve. Try the instant print quote tool or browse the shop. Use the bids desk when the job is custom, large, recurring, or formal.
What we bid on
Printed goods and the design and marketing work around them.
- Business cards, stationery, letterhead, presentation folders
- Banners, vinyl, mesh and retractable
- Signage, yard signs, coroplast, rigid substrate, acrylic and wayfinding
- Custom apparel, screen print, DTF and embroidery, including staff and spirit wear
- Promotional products and branded merchandise
- Wide format, posters, stickers, decals and labels
- Design, web and marketing services attached to any of the above
If it is printed, decorated or branded and it is not on that list, ask anyway. We would rather tell you no than have you not ask.
Common questions
How fast will I hear back?
A written acknowledgement inside three business days of your request arriving. That acknowledgement tells you whether we intend to bid and when the priced response will follow. The priced response itself depends on the job and the date is always stated up front.
Is there a minimum order?
No blanket minimum. Some individual items carry their own minimum run because of how they are produced, and where one applies the bid states it on the line.
Do you charge for a quote?
No. Quoting is free, including formal bid responses. Design work is quoted separately and only starts once you approve it.
How long is your pricing good for?
Thirty days by default. On items tied to a volatile material or a partner mill quote we shorten that and say so on the bid.
Can you match a competitor’s quote?
Send it and we will tell you honestly. Sometimes the specs are not the same job, and we will point out where they differ before talking about price. We will not quote below what it costs us to produce your work properly.
Do you work with schools, districts and government buyers?
Yes. Send the solicitation to the bids desk with the issuing entity, the bid number, the due date and the submission method. Tell us your co-op or contract vehicle if you have one.
What if my artwork is not print ready?
Send what you have. We will tell you what it needs, and quote the artwork preparation separately so you can decide whether to have us do it or fix it in house.
Can I get a sample first?
Usually yes, and on larger or recurring jobs we would rather you did. Ask in your first message so we can include it in the schedule.
Do you bill or invoice on net terms?
Terms are stated on the bid. Established accounts, districts and government buyers are the usual case for net terms. Ask and we will address it in the response.
I sent something and heard nothing. What now?
Reply on the same thread, or write to the bids desk again with the original subject line. If three business days have passed with no acknowledgement, something went wrong on our side and we want to know.
Send your RFQ, bid invitation or solicitation to
Start an RFQ Other ways to reach us
MAD Monkey Media LLC, Dallas, Texas. A Latino owned business. We work in English and Español, se habla español.