Project record
She set the budget first, and the glitter came off to meet it
A youth hockey association with 300 skaters and a hard price ceiling. The pin got to $1.75 by changing the specification, not by discounting it.
Mite Tournament confirmed
- Quantity
- 330 pins
- Size
- 2.0"
- Pin type
- Standard pins
- Process
- Die struck soft enamel
The brief
The customer set a budget in her first message, and the glitter came off the pin to keep it.
How the design got made
- Beat 1
Opened with the constraint stated plainly: 300 skaters, two inch medals typical, under $2.00 a pin
- Beat 2
First quote came back at 1.25 inch to hit the price; she wanted the larger size
- Beat 3
Two inch at $1.75 base worked — but the proof she liked carried a green glitter, taking it to $1.85
- Beat 4
Rather than approve or drop it, she asked to see it without: 'could you have the designer send a photo without the glitter please'
- Beat 5 · pivot
Artist removed the green glitter; the pin shipped at $1.75
- Beat 6
Ordered 330 rather than 400 — enough to cover the mite tournament, not a pin more
The full account
The constraint came first
Most enquiries open with what the customer wants. This one opened with what they could afford:
"tournament — we have 300 skaters, our metals are typically 2 inches I believe, our budget is to be under the $2.00 mark per pin"
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.
Three facts in one sentence: the scale, the size they were used to, and the ceiling. Everything after that was arithmetic.
Three quotes, one afternoon
The first came back at 1.25 inch, $1.25 a pin — comfortably inside budget, but smaller than the two inches she had in mind.
quoted for this order only — quoted for that order only.
The second went to the size she wanted: 2 inch at $1.75. Still inside.
quoted for this order only — quoted for that order only.
Then the proof arrived, and the design she liked had a green glitter in it. Glitter is ten cents a colour, which took the pin to $1.85. Still technically under two dollars, but eating most of the headroom.
quoted for this order only — quoted for that order only.
What she did next
She did not ask for a discount. She asked a question:
"could you have the designer send a photo without the glitter please :)"
The artist took the green glitter off. The pin shipped at $1.75.
quoted for this order only — quoted for that order only.
The part worth copying
There are two ways to hit a budget. One is to ask the supplier to absorb the difference. The other is to change the thing you are buying until it costs what you can pay.
The second way is faster, it does not cost anyone a favour, and the customer ends up with a pin they chose rather than one they settled for. She ordered 330 — enough to cover the mite tournament, not one more.
If you are working to a number, say so in the first email. It makes the whole conversation shorter.
Specification
| Team | CYHA Thunder |
|---|---|
| Sport | Hockey |
| Quantity | 330 |
| Size | 2.0" |
| Process | die struck |
| Fill | soft enamel |
| Pin type | Standard pins |
| Banner included | No |
| Event | Mite Tournament |
| Event confirmed | Yes |
| Inquiry | 2026-01-05 |
What this price was quoted under
- $1.75 / pin2.0" · 330 pins
- $1.25 / pin1.25" · 400 pins
- $1.75 / pin2.0" · 400 pins
- $1.85 / pin2.0" · 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
- January 5, 2026
- For quantity
- 330 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
“could you have the designer send a photo without the glitter please :)”
Customer, CYHA Thunder · 2026-01-06 · on getting the pin inside her budget
Questions this order answers
Glitter is a finish, so it applies to any pin type — standard, spinner or slider alike. It is mixed into the enamel of a chosen colour rather than applied on top, so it will not rub off.
It is specified per colour: one glitter colour, or several. Commonly it lands on a single accent area — the shape of a state, a star, a puck. A 1,500-pin association order ran one glitter colour across the whole run; another design used gold glitter only on the state-shaped element.
Sourced — Multiple 2025–26 orders
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
Starting your team's pins?
This order was 330 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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