[LAblondeGPhi]

It is my understanding that signing your Pref Card essentially IS signing your bid (in advance). This is why it is so strongly emphasized that by ranking the houses on your Pref Card, you ARE accepting bids and binding yourself to bids from these chapters.

I believe the confusion comes from the language of "receives a bid" in "If a potential member receives a bid under the preference system". There is a difference between receiving a bid in COB (which must afterward be accepted and signed by the PNM) and receiving a bid during Formal Recruitment, which has already been pre-signed by the PNM (on her Pref Card).

Basically, signing a bid is signing a bid. Same rules apply, the process of signing is just a little different.