P Bisset

Per FAR part 2, Commercially Available Off-the-shelf (1) Means any item of supply (including construction material) that is– (i) A commercial product (as defined in paragraph (1) of the definition of “commercial product” in this section); (ii) Sold in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace; and (iii) Offered to the Government, under a contract or subcontract at any tier, without modification, in the same form in which it is sold in the commercial marketplace; I am interested in understanding: 1) What constitutes “substantial quantities”? How much is enough? 2)What does “without modification” mean when some products are routinely customized in the marketplace? Pulling on that thread, what if a component of the COTS item goes obsolete and is replaced by another commercial component. Does that qualify as a modification?