Project record
A dollar a pin, riding on half an inch.
1,400 pins for Cooperstown, quoted at two sizes side by side so the customer could see exactly what the extra half inch costs.
El Segundo · CA · South Bay, Los AngelesCooperstown confirmed
- Quantity
- 1,400 pins
- Size
- 2.0"
- Pin type
- Standard pins
The brief
Fourteen hundred pins for Cooperstown, and a dollar a pin riding on half an inch.
How the design got made
- Beat 1
Came in through the quote form from El Segundo with Cooperstown already decided
- Beat 2
Quoted at two inch and two and a half inch, same quantity, so the difference was visible
- Beat 3
The half inch cost a full dollar per pin at that quantity
- Beat 4
Chose two inch and ordered 1,400
The full account
The question everyone asks, answered properly
Should we go two inch or two and a half?
It gets asked on nearly every order, and the honest answer is that it depends entirely on quantity — because size is priced per pin, so at volume a small step compounds into a large number.
This team came in through the quote form from El Segundo, in the South Bay, with Cooperstown already decided and a quantity already in mind. So rather than recommend a size, the quote came back with both, at the same quantity:
| Size | Quantity | Per pin |
|---|---|---|
| 2.0" | 1,400 | $1.30 |
| 2.5" | 1,400 | $2.30 |
A dollar a pin. At 1,400 pins, half an inch nearly doubles the unit price.
Why that happens
A pin is priced on the metal and enamel it takes, and area grows faster than width. Going from two inches to two and a half is a 25% increase in diameter but roughly a 56% increase in surface. Add the larger mould, the heavier plating and the extra weight in freight, and the per-pin cost moves a long way.
At 200 pins, a dollar of difference is a rounding error against the mould fee. At 1,400 it is the largest single decision in the order.
They chose two inch
Seeing both numbers side by side made it a five-second decision rather than a negotiation. Two inch, 1,400 pins, for Cooperstown.
The upgrade they passed on
There was an add-on discussed and declined, and the customer was refreshingly direct about why:
"expensive. I didn't budget for them but they sound neat!"
That is worth recording because it is the most common reason an upgrade does not happen, and it has nothing to do with whether the upgrade is good. The budget was set before the options were seen. A team that wants spinners or glow should know they exist before they decide what to spend.
Why this one is here
Because "which size should we get" has no universal answer, and the only useful response is to price both at your actual quantity and look at the two numbers together. This order is what that looks like.
Specification
| Team | Beach City Prospects |
|---|---|
| Sport | Baseball |
| Quantity | 1,400 |
| Size | 2.0" |
| Pin type | Standard pins |
| Banner included | No |
| Event | Cooperstown |
| Event confirmed | Yes |
| City | El Segundo |
| State | CA |
| Region | South Bay, Los Angeles |
| Inquiry | 2026-05-19 |
What this price was quoted under
- $1.30 / pin2.0" · 1,400 pins
- $2.30 / pin2.5" · 1,400 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
- May 24, 2026
- For quantity
- 1,400 pins
- At size
- 2.0"
- 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
“expensive. I didn't budget for them but they sound neat!”
Customer, Beach City Prospects · 2026-05-20 · on an upgrade that did not make the final order
Questions this order answers
Pins are trading currency there, not souvenirs, and the difference between a pin that gets traded and one that doesn't is size and finish. Two inches is the floor.
Not every player relies on the team's pin. One parent came to us specifically because their team's supplied pins, in their words, 'aren't really sought-after' — and had a single-player pin made for their kid instead.
Build in time. Rosters change between ordering and travelling; more than one design has needed a number pulled late because a player left the program before the trip.
Sourced — Two confirmed Cooperstown orders, 2026 season
Two inches or larger is the working floor for tournament trading — smaller pins get passed over. Sizes run from 2 inches up to 6.
One little league's four orders across three years show the migration in practice: they started at 1.25 inches and moved to 2.0. Larger sizes also unlock the banner threshold, which is why the bigger pin often costs less in total.
Sourced — Sizing guidance across multiple orders; Northern Virginia little league, 2022–2026
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
Heading to Cooperstown?
This order was 1,400 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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