Common Mistakes MSMEs Make While Registering on GeM

MSMEs have real structural advantages on GeM — but they also tend to make a specific, repeatable set of mistakes that undercut those advantages.

The biggest one: registering without first completing (or correctly linking) Udyam registration, which quietly forfeits EMD exemption and purchase preference eligibility that would otherwise apply.

Close behind: treating registration as the finish line rather than the start, and not following through with catalog listing, active bid monitoring, or prompt buyer query responses — all of which matter more to actually winning business than registration itself.

A third common pattern: underpricing early bids just to win something, without accounting for the full cost of fulfillment — a strategy that can trigger price reasonability flags and isn't sustainable even when it works.

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