Posted on May 1, 2019 by Michael Boik

Our Thoughts on Instant Packaging Quotes

After more than eleven years in the branded D2C and ecommerce packaging business (and one of the pioneers in this industry), we’ve become very familiar with the variety of competition out there, and what differentiates us from these other companies. Many potential customers come to us wanting pricing immediately, and often speak of other websites they’ve visited where they can plug their artwork into an online template for instant packaging quotes.

While this seems in theory to be a fast and effective way of comparing pricing among potential suppliers, there are many flaws to this “quick-quoting” approach, and it’s important to understand the reasons why we don’t offer a similar model on our own site.

 

Delivering a Personalized Customer Service Experience

These online templates, though they tend to serve the “I want it now” culture where everything is a click away, they also can be very impersonal and certainly lack the hands-on approach we value and commit to every interaction we have.

If someone contacts us, it is usually with the understanding that they need more than just a quick price. We’ve actually had people sound surprised when we answer the phone, saying, “I didn’t expect to actually speak to a human being!” We take great pride in knowing we are one of the few (maybe only) companies that actually takes the time to address and respond to every inquiry personally to share our time and knowledge with you.

 

Offering Honest and Accurate Pricing

We know that price is an important part of the decision you will ultimately make for your branded packaging, but our mindset has always been centered around helping you make well-informed decisions, rather than shooting off low prices to try to get you to commit to us. We know you have options, and while we can be very cost-competitive, we don’t ever like to guess at pricing without knowing the information we need to quote something properly.

We can often estimate pricing on an initial phone call or email exchange, but we will not quote anything without knowing the specifics of the project. You can read about the information we need to give you a firm quote in this blog post. Once we do have this information, we can usually give you pricing the same day, or next day at the latest (assuming there is not interior design work needed).

 

Catching and Eliminating Potential Errors Early

We don’t want to mention any names, but people who contact us often do mention their poor experiences with other companies who quoted something initially but then the price increased soon after because of some small detail that was missed, or they later found out about some charge that wasn’t explained initially. We’ve also heard horror stories about companies that printed something upside down, or on the wrong flap, or any number of things that the software did not catch before production. This is inexcusable, and completely avoidable in most cases.

We will physically examine all artwork that is emailed to us, and our plate makers see it before quoting so that we get many pairs of eyes on it. No online software can compete with real, live experience. You want people you can trust to catch any mistakes before printing production begins.

 

Understanding the Difference Between Digital and Flexographic Printing

It’s an important distinction because many companies with click and quote software have digital printing capabilities that allows them to print just about any design you can think of. For flexographic printing, many 3 or more color designs can be problematic, and we would much prefer to look at the design and let you know what changes (if any) can be made to the design for better printability, or even a lower price.

 

Please Contact Us Today

We’re happy to walk you through an initial consultation and find a custom packaging solution that works for you. As always, if you have any questions, one of our branded packaging advisors is standing by to assist, with decades of experience behind them. Want to know more about custom packaging? Please call us today at 630-551-1700 or contact us via email at www.SalazarPackaging.com.

 

Related Posts:

 

https://salazarpackaging.com/e-commerce-custom-box-printing-and-production-faq/

https://www.globeguardproducts.com/industry-experts/custom-packaging-cost-calculator/

https://salazarpackaging.com/e-commerce-custom-box-printing-and-production-faq/

https://salazarpackaging.com/faqs-about-custom-printed-packaging-minimums/

https://www.globeguardproducts.com/industry-experts/flexographic-printing-process-five-easy-steps/

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