Seventy-nine cents a pin.

The cheapest pin here, and why

$0.79. One inch, die struck, soft enamel, nickel plated, a thousand of them.

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.

Nothing else in this library comes close, and the reason is worth understanding because it is the whole of pin pricing in one line: the two things that make a pin expensive are size and small quantity, and this order minimises both.

A pin order has fixed costs — the mould, the freight — and variable costs, which are metal and enamel. At 200 pins the mould is a real share of the bill. At a thousand it has almost vanished into the per-pin rate. And at one inch there is very little metal to pay for.

Go the other way — 2.5 inch at 200 pins — and the same order is roughly four times the unit price.

A club bought it, not a parent

Most orders in this library come from a team manager or a parent organising one roster. This one came from the club board, for the whole organisation:

"The Board approved the purchase of 1,000 of proof D2 (the one with the hockey net background) @ $0.79 each. Are you able to invoice the Club or do you need a credit card?"

quoted for this order only — quoted for that order only.

That changes the shape of the order. A board approves a specific proof at a specific price, wants an invoice rather than a card, and copies the treasurer. The design has to work for every age group in the club rather than one team's season, which is why it is the club identity on a hockey-net background rather than a roster and a year.

One inch, one clutch

A detail that only shows at this size: these carry a single butterfly clutch rather than two. Two clutches stop a large pin rotating on a jersey. At one inch there is not enough pin to rotate, and the second clutch is just cost.

Black, orange and white — club colours, no glitter, no spinner, no upgrades.

Ordered the day after approval

Quote form on 18 October, board approval on the 24th, ordered on the 25th, delivered mid-November.

Why this one is here

Because "how do we get the price down" is the most common question there is, and this is the honest answer in one order. Go smaller, and go bigger on quantity. A club buying once for everyone beats eight teams buying separately, every time.