WHAT IS “CUSTOM”?

If you wanted to buy a new car, would you have one custom built or go to a car dealership? It probably depends on what you want or need. Most people will choose their car from a dealer in their community. First a sales person will find out what models they are most interested in. Then they will try to determine whether the buyer wants the basic engine or an upgraded performance package. Next is the preference on color. Does the buyer want cloth or leather seats, enhanced audio system, GPS? Dealers try to stock cars with combinations of options to match the most common requests. If you are willing to wait a few weeks, a dealer will even place an order with the factory to deliver a car that has exactly the combination you choose from their options list. So, if you do this have you bought a custom built car? Most people recognize that this is not really what “custom” means.

If you were looking for an automobile that was truly unique, or built to accommodate special or specific needs, you may not find exactly what you want at a dealership. But there are specialists who can create exclusive cars that you can’t buy from a traditional dealer. These custom builders are not limited to using parts from a single manufacturer, and they may need to fabricate some of the components themselves. But the end result is a totally unique product made just for the person having it built. This may cost a bit more because the work is done individually rather than on an assembly line. But the added cost may not be as much as you imagine because the builder can take a budget into account in the design and you generally work directly with the people actually creating the product without a huge organization of managers, salespeople, accountants, legal specialists, administrative personnel, and executives to support.

Now, consider picture framing. A number of hobby and craft dealerships have highly promoted and advertised picture framing departments. Their service consists of first picking one of their own company’s frame styles, then selecting colors from their line of mats. The customer is suggested options from a list according to the store’s selling strategy, and taught to the sales person during their “certified framer” training. An order is transmitted to the company’s remote framing factory where materials are cut to size and sent back to the store several weeks later for a local employee to assemble for the customer. The process is as close to a mass production assembly line as anything used in automobile production. Yet craft stores place a premium price on this product by calling it “custom framing”.  In fact, their stated price is much higher than any true custom framing gallery would ever charge for a similar product or design. But they regularly advertise 60%, and recently 60% plus an extra 10% off, to create the illusion that they are offering an incredible deal. In fact, this impressive sounding discount puts their prices just about at the same level with what is charged for the same quality materials by local framing shops and galleries that specialize in actual custom picture framing.

So what should you look for to determine if the framer you are considering is really a “custom” framer? Talk with the designer you are working with. Rather than just selling frames from one manufacturer, a custom framer will carry styles from a number of frame makers and they will vary in quality, composition and design. A custom framer will offer options beyond picking colors from existing samples including things like full wrapped fabric mats, mosaic inlays, hand wrapped liners, French lines and panels, closed corner frames, and many other true custom options. Find out if the work will all be done locally and by whom. Ask what kind of unique work the shop specializes in. Most important, ask how the price of a project is determined. Custom framing does not have a retail price because it is, well, custom. There is a cost for the materials and the equipment needed to do the work, there is time involved in doing the project, and there should be a reasonable amount of profit. These should determine a reasonable stated price. If a discount is given to a customer, that amount results in a lower profit for the shop. Any store that is regularly advertising 60% or 70% off is not honestly calculating a fair price for their product, especially if it is “custom”.  

The author of this article owns FASTFRAME of Lakeville, a custom framing shop that has been recognized with 18 regional and International framing awards.