How to Choose a Custom Lapel Pin Company

Maybe on the surface level, it doesn’t seem like choosing a lapel pin company is a life or death decision. Well, because it’s not. What it is though is about getting the best value for your hard earned money or being a responsible purchaser for your company. So what should you be looking out for when deciding on a company to buy your custom pins from? What questions should you be asking before approving your order? We at Pincious are here to help!

Turnaround Time

Getting your lapel pins on time is likely going to be the make or break determining factor for the majority of people. We found that many of our customers have some sort of deadline they are working with and finding that one company who can deliver on time is the most important requirement. When looking at the overall turnaround time, we as a lapel pin company, break it down into phases.

1. 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.
2.  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.
3. 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. 

Pricing

It goes without saying that we all want the lowest priced option at the highest quality but there are certain things in life that it doesn’t necessarily apply. Buying a custom pin indeed has costs that need to be covered and yes a pin company, like any other company, requires profit to operate and continue to do business. Does that mean you have to pay sky-high prices just because something is being made custom, just for you? In our niche, the pin niche, you can get the best of both worlds. 

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.

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.

Customer Service

One of the things you cannot sacrifice, regardless of the criteria, is customer service especially when dealing with an entirely custom product like most lapel pins are. When you are interacting with a company, be conscience of how they explain their processes to you. Examples being, when you can expect them to complete your quote, design and the order itself. Are they offering free revisions to your custom pin design? If not, why and what are they charging you? Is the company quick to reply to your emails and answers the phone when you call? These are all signs of what your post-purchase experience might be like with that pin company.