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Cheap Business Cards -
Do You Get What You Pay For?
In any purchase, there's usually a trade-off between price and quality, and your goal is to find the best combination of cheap (low price) while not being cheap (low quality.) Cheap business cards can be found, but it's not as easy as you might think, because it's so hard to compare "apples to apples" as far as quality goes. Some cheap business cards are printed on glossy, UV-coated, 14 pt stock - a much better deal than business cards that may cost the same but that are printed on much flimsier paper.
As with all business marketing pieces, your reputation is at stake when you hand out a business card - so you want the best possible quality for the lowest possible price. You don't need to spend lots of money. In fact, there are fewer business card printers - companies who actually have the equipment to print and manufacture business cards - than you might think. There are many dealers for relatively few actual printers. And dealer markup varies considerably.
Elsewhere on this site I explain the business card printer reviews that I did - I encourage you to visit that page after reading this one; it will lay out for you very clearly the differences between the most popular online business card printers.
Cheap Business Cards - "How-to"
Here are a few ways to lower costs when ordering business cards.
- Order in bulk. Yes, the initial outlay is higher, but the per-card cost is lower.
- Print generic business cards. By that I mean don't personalize if you don't have to - is it essential that a person's name be on the card, or can everyone in the company (or in a particular department) use the same card? If you leave the back of the card blank, you can usually write a person's name on it (if the card isn't coated.)
- Order business cards from a company that offers full-color business card backgrounds (templates) as part of the purchase price. These beautiful, professional graphics add value and appeal to a business card but you don't have to pay for graphic design work.
- Turn business cards into "mini-brochures" by using the back side. Again, this adds costs, but it increases the marketing value of the business card so that you need fewer other marketing materials. Here are some ideas for using business card backs.
Whatever you do, when you're looking for cheap business cards, avoid making your own business cards on your home computer or ordering cards that have an ad on the back! Either practice seriously diminishes your credibility, because it looks as if you're not serious about your business. You may think people don't care, but they do (they just don't say anything to your face.)
Click here for characteristics of professional business cards and card printers.
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