The 5 Reasons You Know You’ve Found the Best Enamel Pin Company

Whenever I’m in the market to buy something, I find myself spending hours on my phone searching companies who may supply the product but I really don’t know anything about them but there are certain criteria that I look for to help ensure my money goes to a reputable company and in turn I receive a high quality product.

Those criteria are:

• Pricing
• Turnaround Time and Shipping
• Quality
• Customer Service

It’s no different from buying custom enamel pins. These four pieces of information can take you far in making sure you get the best bang for your buck and the quality and turnaround time that allows you to put your custom pins to use ASAP! So let’s go over these criteria in the scope of a lapel pin company.

1. Pricing

We have been trained since birth that the idea of something custom comes with incredible costs. It makes sense though. If a product is designed from the ground up just for you, exactly to your specifications and only needing a few weeks to deliver than then it must costs an “arm and a leg.” That still rings true in many industries but in the custom pin world, pins can be quite affordable.

When you search the internet for pin companies and compare pricing amongst them, you’ll see trends of costs being only cents in difference. That can’t be coincidence but regardless of what it really is we here at Pincious make sure to have the most affordable prices by creating great relationships with our suppliers and contractors.

So how do you know you are paying a fair cost for your custom pin order? Keep in mind these tips when reviewing your custom pin quotes:

• Shop around and get multiple quotes from a wide range of companies. You’ll find many of these pin companies do not advertise their pricing, unlike us here at Pincious.com.
• Ask your suppliers what materials their pins will be made from. Is it an iron pin? Or a brass based enamel pin? 
• Sometimes shipping and handling is free at most pin companies but there are a few that do not offer that same courtesy on follow up orders so be sure to know what a company’s shipping policy is on future orders.
• Find out about any possible hidden fees such as a setup fee, die fee or mold fee.
• Thickness of a pin can vary but they should be at least 1.2mm in thickness. Ask how thick your order will be made at.

2. Turnaround Time

Like many of our customers you’re probably on a deadline or at least need your custom pins relatively quickly. Knowing just how long it takes to make and then deliver your order of pins is one of the most important factors customers like this need to find out. So beyond asking a custom pin company what their turn around time is, let’s break down what generally compromises the time table for a custom pin:

• Design:  The time to create a digital mock up (a proof as the industry calls it) depends on the complexity of the pin. Something relatively easy can be finished in an hour where a very intricate design may take many hours. You’ll also have to find out how busy the company is, in terms of requests they are processing through. If they are inundated with customers, there could be a backlog of artwork requests which might negatively affect your overall turnaround time.
• Manufacturing: One of the important questions to ask upfront, of your pin company, is how long does it take to make a pin. Be sure the company is aware of your design details or has asked you how complex your design is as it can determine the real manufacturing time instead of a general answer they might give you.
• Delivery: Once your pins are finished, they’ll need to be shipped to you. That time can be affected by domestic and international holidays, manufacturing load, shipping destination and shipping method. 

3. Quality

When it comes to custom lapel pins, quality starts with a great design. This isn’t marketing talk, its human nature. Whenever you merely look at something, you start analyzing if its attractive to the eye, is it made of quality materials, is it constructed well. This discernment assures that you get the quality you deserve because of the hard earned money used to buy it. What determines a quality design though? Quality artists of course. The pin company you choose should hopefully have experienced and creative artists. They are the ones actually making your pin design and if a company prides themselves with making great pins, they must have artists to complement that claim.

The quality of the pins would be determined by the materials the company uses and the craftsmanship of their workers. Find out what base metal your company is using and ask them to describe the process they apply the colors to the pins they make. Most every pin is made by hand so there is bound to be some manufacturing defects with any batch of pins. You might not see them because they are weeded out during Quality Control but if they do happen to make it to you, its helpful to understand the policies the company has in place to assure your satisfaction.

4. Customer Service

The ability to determine a company’s customer service quality is actually pretty straight forward. Just like in any other business transaction you would have, be it with a waiter at a restaurant or a salesperson at a car dealership, you look for speed and accuracy in responding to your questions along with the willingness for the company representative to stand by their service and products. When dealing with a custom pin company, you should bring the same expectations of customer service to the interaction. If you’re pin salesperson is replying quickly with upfront information with a clear understanding of the process of designing and making a pin, you’re halfway to finding out if this is the pin company for you. Here are some questions that can help you with coming to a conclusion about their customer service:

• I’m needing help with a custom pin design, but I’m tossing around a couple different designs in my head. Can you provide multiple pin designs for me?
• If I have a problem with my order, what is the policy of your pin company in remedying any possible issues?
• Can I order just a few pins? Perhaps, something like 5 pins?