Samples !

[bigj2552]

any of you guys who sell sub products ( phone cases mainly ) draft up a sample first for customer ?

we do this but we are finding more and more of our time getting used by this.....A LOT !
Yes we water mark them just in case they pull a fly one and send it to someone else...Naughty Naughty :rolleyes:

just wondering if anyone else does this(sample) and does it take more and more of your time doing it.....

[pisquee]

If it's for proofing the artwork/print quality then we just use the aluminium insert, rather than a whole made up unit.

[bigj2552]

If it's for proofing the artwork/print quality then we just use the aluminium insert, rather than a whole made up unit.

sorry, i didn't mean "physical" samples, i meant samples by email of the case they are gonna be buying with there pic on it .:redface:

and yes the tech(pro) term is proofing artwork lol -

[viccar]

Mock ups .....For one off's, I dont, unless they ask, If it was for a big order then i would.

Ive had people buy one, then come back with a larger order.

Samples......So if they enquire about a larger order and want to see the product, i ask them to buy one and then ill deduct that off the price if they give me a order over xx amount.

[mrs maggot]

for a lot of people water marks are not an issue unless very well done, as they simply photoshop them - and yes as for samples same as Viccar they pay full price and then its discounted from the order

[purpledragon]

As above really we do mock ups if asked for but like you sayn it does add extra time. People come into this trade and think its nice n easy get picture priont press send simples then as trade builds up its little things like this that start impacting on your business and turn around times, we've all done it to begin with

[John G]

As a rule I try not to email artwork proofs as like BigJ has said, it takes time to design etc - and time isn't free.
If I receive an enquiry for a large order then I'd do a design proof but send as a low res PDF with security added to the PDF so they cannot edit/print.
They could still use this I suppose but if they take the time to do this they have the capabilities to design it themselves.

Only other time I do emailed design proofs is if I get a deposit.

Cheers John

[JMugs]

I don't unless I know the source is an established large order customer. Otherwise they pay full price for the first one then deduct it on the main order.
One offs for individuals ... no.

Janners

[bigj2552]

thank you for all reply's....very interesting indeed.

so basically if we get a pic in that poor quality, then fire our proof to customer to show how bad its gonna look on there case, give them the chance to upload another, or refund if they dont want to. - otherwise if picture they send is good, just print and get it away

not so much with your own web site guys, but with ebay its tender hooks over there to say the least - if you fire out a crap ( i got an email from ebay forum police yesterday for using that word lol - unreal !:rolleyes: )picture on phone case, and if the customers wants to be a complete idiot about it, as in, red mark and mark down your DSR'S without even contacting us first, this can very quickly lead to - well, bye bye for selling.
but like i said, we are now finding it very, very time consuming indeed the busier it gets :rolleyes:

[John G]

otherwise if picture they send is good, just print and get it away

Sorry BigJ, I mis-understood. If they have paid, I always send a proof and never make and despatch an item before receiving their artwork approval.
If the photo is crap, don't bother designing, just say your photo is pixelated and unprintable, please supply a better image.

Cheers John