Summary of UCO-1019 Virtual Bookstore Operations RFP

This is a Request for Proposals (RFP) document issued by the City University of New York (CUNY) for virtual bookstore operations serving 26 constituent institutions, including 11 senior colleges, 7 community colleges, Macaulay Honors College, and 7 graduate and professional schools. The scope encompasses the sale and distribution of textbooks, course materials, digital content, general merchandise, and related products through an accessible, user-friendly online platform integrated with CUNY institutional systems, with support provided to students, faculty, and campus administrators. The RFP requires proposals due by September 10, 2026, at 3:00 PM EST. The contract term is five years with two optional renewal periods of three years and two years, contingent on satisfactory performance. Written questions were submitted in two rounds, with deadlines of August 24 and August 28, 2026, and responses were anticipated to be posted via addenda the week of August 31, 2026. Short-listed proposers (top three plus any within ten points of the highest score) will be invited for oral presentations and product demonstrations.

Pricing follows a commission-based model with a one-time signing bonus, guaranteed annual commissions, and percentage-based commissions on course materials (estimated at $10,000,000 annually) and general merchandise sales (estimated at $1,000,000 annually), plus marketing expenditures per contract term. A 30 percent Minority and Women Business Enterprise (MWBE) contracting goal applies to the total contract value. Mandatory minimum qualifications require proposers to have at least three years of experience providing virtual bookstore operations to comparable large, multi-site educational institutions; a verifiable five-year operating history with three or more higher education clients; demonstrated financial viability; and capacity to support approximately 270,000 users with a minimum of 15,000 concurrent users. The platform must comply with PCI DSS, FACTA, ADA, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards, with demonstrated experience processing agency-based vouchers and financial assistance programs. Evaluation criteria allocate 55 points to the technical and management proposal (not exceeding 50 pages), 30 points to pricing, 5 points to diversity practices, and up to 10 points to oral presentations and product demonstrations. No incumbent has been identified for this contract.