Project record
They needed 180. They ordered 300 and barely paid more.
A 300-pin order that shows why the minimum is almost never the right number — 67% more pins for about a quarter more money.
CA
- Quantity
- 300 pins
- Size
- 2.0"
- Pin type
- Standard pins
- Process
- Die struck soft enamel
The brief
They needed 180 pins. They ordered 300, and paid less per pin than the 180 would have cost.
How the design got made
- Beat 1
Customer opened with a hard minimum: 'Need a min. Of 180 pins, 15 per kid'
- Beat 2
Tournament date was fixed at 10 June, which set the whole schedule
- Beat 3
Ladder came back: 180 at $2.70, 250 at $2.30, 300 at $2.05
- Beat 4
Customer chose 300 - not to save money, but because the extras had a use
- Beat 5
'Gives us some extras for the coaches and players to keep one'
- Beat 6
Ordered two days later
The full account
The brief was a minimum
"Need a min. Of 180 pins, 15 per kid. Our tournament is starting June 10th."
Twelve players, fifteen pins each, a fixed date. That is a completely reasonable way to size an order, and it is almost always too small.
The ladder
| Quantity | Per pin |
|---|---|
| 180 | $2.70 |
| 250 | $2.30 |
| 300 | $2.05 |
Sixty-seven percent more pins, for a fraction more per pin. The per-pin price falls because the mould, the setup and the freight are already paid for — you are only buying metal and enamel after that.
Why they took it
Not to chase the discount:
"I think the 300 pins will do. Gives us some extras for the coaches and players to keep one."
That is the real argument for going past the minimum. Fifteen per kid covers trading. It does not cover the coaches, or the one every player keeps in a drawer for twenty years, or the ones that get lost, or the parent who wants one.
Teams that order exactly enough run out mid-tournament, and a second run means paying the setup again on a much smaller quantity — which is the most expensive way there is to buy pins.
The turnaround
Enquiry to order in four days, against a 10 June tournament, with freight flagged as unable to be late.
Why this one is here
Because "what's your minimum" is one of the most common opening questions, and the honest answer is that the minimum is a floor, not a recommendation. The arithmetic above is the reason.
Specification
| Team | Bay Area Pro |
|---|---|
| Sport | Baseball |
| Quantity | 300 |
| Size | 2.0" |
| Process | die struck |
| Fill | soft enamel |
| Pin type | Standard pins |
| Banner included | No |
| State | CA |
| Inquiry | 2026-04-20 |
What this price was quoted under
- $2.05 / pin2.0" · 300 pins
Price shown is what this order was quoted at, for this quantity, size and specification, on this date. It is not a current price list.
- Quoted on
- April 22, 2026
- For quantity
- 300 pins
- At size
- 2.0"
- Build
- die struck soft enamel
- Excludes
- delivery charge, rush fee, import tariff
The banner threshold
This order sat under the threshold, so no banner was included. At the time the line fell at 1,000 pins at 2.0 inches or larger: the size step cost $0.20 more per pin — $1.07 to $1.27 — and brought a free 3ft × 6ft banner plus 100 bonus gold-metal or blackout pins with it.
Worth checking before you commit to a quantity: the bigger pin is frequently the cheaper total order.
quoted for this order onlyAbout the prices on this page
Every figure here is taken from a real quote for a real order. That is the point of it — and also the reason it will not match what you are quoted.
- Quantity moves the price more than anything else
- Size and build are priced separately
- Turnaround changes the total
- Import tariffs apply and are disclosed on the quote
- These are historical
What the customer said
“I think the 300 pins will do. Gives us some extras for the coaches and players to keep one.”
Customer, Bay Area Pro · 2026-04-22 · on why the extras were worth buying
Questions this order answers
Tell us the in-hands date first, before anything else. Rush orders are possible and we've protected tight dates by escalating directly with the factory mid-production.
It costs more, and the fastest shipping is also the tariff-exposed shipping. Three weeks out means a $40 delivery charge plus a $75 rush fee.
Sourced — Brainerd AHA rush, November–December 2025
No. Every figure in this library is what one team was quoted for one order, on the day they asked. It is published as a record, not as a price list.
Quantity and size move it most: the break runs about $0.20 per pin for every hundred pins, and the range here goes from a 1,500-pin corporate run at 1.25 inch to a 3 inch dangler with glitter. Pin type and finish are priced per pin on top of that — a spinner was $0.65 more per pin on one order, glitter is $0.10 per pin per glitter colour.
Timing is separate again. Six weeks ahead of your date carries no delivery or rush charge; four weeks adds a $40 delivery charge; three weeks adds $40 plus a $75 rush fee. The pins are manufactured in China and are subject to US import tariffs, disclosed on the quote rather than at invoice.
For a price that applies to your order, send your quantity, size and in-hands date and we will quote it.
Sourced — Quoted ladders and fee schedule across the AP Pope, Corona Avengers and Brainerd AHA threads, 2025–2026
Starting your team's pins?
This order was 300 pins at 2.0". Send us your roster size and your event date and we will come back with a price.
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