Limiting the Cost of Your Order: International Edition

Everyone Wants to Pinch a Penny, or Two Pence

Getting something custom made is a kind of thrill that can be difficult to duplicate. You pour so much of yourself and your creativity into the project with the knowledge that once it’s completed, you’ll get something that’s truly one-of-a-kind. Getting something that’s truly unique, however, doesn’t tend to come cheap. One of the things we’re conscious of here at Signature Coins is how high a price tag on custom coins is capable of getting. 

Unlike most companies, there are a number of steps that we take to try and keep the cost down for our customers. Indeed, we even inform our customers of the steps they can take in designing their coins to keep the order cost down. For our international customers, however, that process can look a little different. To those ends, we’ve put together a quick rundown of ways to limit the cost of your order when getting coins outside the U.S. 

A Question of Shipping

One of our claims to fame is that we offer free shipping to all customers within the continental U.S. While that’s great for our U.S. customers, for our international customers, that deal doesn’t really do them any good. One problem with this is that shipping internationally is also far more expensive than shipping domestically even without the free shipping consideration. This doesn’t mean, however, that our international customers can’t also find ways to save on shipping. 

The best plan for saving money on shipping is something that our repeat customers with the Chilean Navy have made use of on almost all of their orders. Roughly 177 countries have embassy buildings in the Washington D.C. area alone. The ingenious plan enacted by the Chilean Navy is to have their coin orders shipped to a representative within their Naval Mission in D.C. instead of directly to their base in Chile.
For all of our international customers, we recommend trying to find a trusted individual in the States who can receive and forward along their orders. It might add a little time to the delivery, but it will save money in the long run. Even customers in Canada or Central America should look into this option because, while those countries are a lot closer to the U.S., shipping to them can still be more expensive. If there’s an option to remove shipping fees from your order, why not take it?

A Question of Design

When it comes to designing your challenge coin, the method of keeping costs down is generally the same as it is with other customers. For a quick rundown of design choices to keep the cost of your coins down, follow these general rules:

• Go Small — Bigger coins cost more money. If your design can fit into a 1.5” coin as opposed to a 2.5”, choose the smaller option. 
• Limit Your Colors — We offer up to seven colors on either side of your coin without increasing the price per coin. Coins with color on one side instead of two have a lower unit price, and coins with no color, just plating, have an even lower unit price. 
• Bypass Costly Upgrades — There are five plating options that can make your coins look great without increasing the unit price. Likewise, while 3D coins and coins with glow-in-the-dark or translucent enamel are really cool, they will add to the cost of your order.
• Consider Ordering More Coins — It seems counterintuitive, but as the number of coins you order increases, the unit price (price per coin) decreases. Also, at the 300 quantity, mold and setup fees are waived. This suggestion depends completely on your budget because while it might make the final price tag of your order a little higher, you will be getting a lot more for your money than you will if you order fewer coins. 

Not all of these steps have to be taken together on one order to have a positive outcome. Mixing and matching to get the best design for your needs will always be the best way to go, but staying within these guidelines will keep the cost on your order reasonably lower. 

A Customer First Perspective

Most companies are more interested in upselling their customers on all the different bells and whistles possible in their products. Their focus is placed solely on the bottom line, and they work hard to line their own pockets as much as possible. 

At Signature Coins, we understand that the nature of our product is such that the customer has to come first. The coins we create are designed by you, created to be given to your team and intended to have a special meaning to them. We’re simply here to bring your plan and vision to life. As such, we keep our focus on creating the best experience for our customers that we can. That means working with you to help you save money and still get a great product whenever we can. 

If you have any questions about your order and how you might be able to shave a little money off of it, don’t hesitate to ask our sales team, they’re always willing to help and suggest changes that will get you the best coin at the lowest price.