Project record
"Artwork is wrong, needs to be 1.5 inch."
Four sizes quoted at one quantity — and a wrong-size artwork caught at the purchase order, before the mould was cut.
DeWitt · MI
- Quantity
- 150 pins
- Size
- 1.5"
- Pin type
- Standard pins
- Process
- Die struck soft enamel
The brief
The size ladder is not a straight line — and a wrong-size artwork was caught before the mould was cut.
How the design got made
- Beat 1
Four sizes quoted at 150 pins: 1.5" $2.50, 1.75" $2.62, 2.0" $2.75, 2.25" $3.25
- Beat 2
The first three steps cost about twelve cents each; the fourth costs fifty
- Beat 3
Customer chose 1.5 inch
- Beat 4
The factory order went out carrying 2.0 inch artwork and was caught: ARTWORK IS WRONG NEEDS TO BE 1.5"
- Beat 5
Corrected before tooling
- Beat 6
Customer later checked the invoice wording to be sure the pins were the 24-25 season, not 2025
The full account
The ladder is not a straight line
Four sizes, all quoted at 150 pins:
| Size | Per pin | Step |
|---|---|---|
| 1.5" | $2.50 | — |
| 1.75" | $2.62 | +12¢ |
| 2.0" | $2.75 | +13¢ |
| 2.25" | $3.25 | +50¢ |
Three small steps and then a cliff. Moving up from 1.5 to 2 inches — a third bigger — costs a quarter. Going one more step, to 2.25, costs four times as much again.
Anyone assuming size scales smoothly would take the wrong lesson from the first three rows. Ask for the ladder at your actual quantity rather than estimating from one price, because the expensive step is rarely where you'd guess.
They took 1.5 inch.
The catch
The purchase order went to the factory carrying 2.0 inch artwork, which is not what was agreed. It was caught and corrected on the order itself, in capitals:
ARTWORK IS WRONG NEEDS TO BE 1.5"
That is worth recording precisely because it is unglamorous. Errors happen in every supply chain; what matters is where in the process they get caught. Here it was caught at the purchase order, before tooling — which costs nothing but a corrected email.
The same error caught after the moulds are cut is a new mould, a new lead time, and a conversation nobody enjoys.
The season-year question
After paying, the customer noticed something on the invoice:
"check that the pins we're getting are the 24-25 ones. I noticed after I paid the invoice said 2025pins. Can you confirm that for me, please?"
A good catch, and a common confusion. A hockey season spans two calendar years, so "2025" is ambiguous in a way "24-25" is not. The pin has a year on it and it needs to be the right one — that is the whole point of a season pin.
What went in
150 pins at 1.5 inch, die struck soft enamel, two butterfly clutches with rubber backs. Flagged super super rush, ordered the day after quoting.
Why this one is here
For the uneven ladder, and for the correction. Both are ordinary; both cost real money when they go unnoticed.
Specification
| Team | Lansing Spartans |
|---|---|
| Sport | Hockey |
| Quantity | 150 |
| Size | 1.5" |
| Process | die struck |
| Fill | soft enamel |
| Pin type | Standard pins |
| Banner included | No |
| City | DeWitt |
| State | MI |
| Inquiry | 2024-09-30 |
What this price was quoted under
- $2.50 / pin1.5" · 150 pins
- $2.62 / pin1.75" · 150 pins
- $2.75 / pin2.0" · 150 pins
- $3.25 / pin2.25" · 150 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
- September 30, 2024
- For quantity
- 150 pins
- At size
- 1.5"
- 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
“check that the pins we're getting are the 24-25 ones. I noticed after I paid the invoice said 2025pins. Can you confirm that for me, please?”
Customer, Lansing Spartans · 2024-09-30 · on checking the season year before production
Questions this order answers
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
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 150 pins at 1.5". Send us your roster size and your event date and we will come back with a price.
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