Vivipins Enamel Pin Factory Review!

[@JulieEbersole]

What a comprehensive video on how to get enamel pins made! So well done! Wanted to take a moment to thank you for sharing such detailed information about the process from start to actual delivery and your thoughts regarding this particular pin factory. It seems you had a quality experience and received a quality product. Again, thank you!

[@NeverDot]

Thanks! I was really happy to have the opportunity to directly look at and experience the different packaging form factors available as well.

[@CaramelSugarevil]

LOL! They’re using my pin for the kitting example...! True story: You suggested telling them what is the front and back. I forgot to give them the vertical card and ended up with the horizontal card you see there. It still looks great and vivipins is my goto!! Thanks for the video!

[@NeverDot]

I was very worried about getting that right my first time out and my first design was ambiguous, so my intermediary even clarified it with me and we found the wrong side had been identified as the front. Glad we caught that! Never trust anything's right until you confirm. Really glad you got a good final product.

[@teixeiradasilva6299]

This one was the most informative on the subject. Thank you.

[@abbyphay]

Would you find that re-ordering an old design is an easy process? As well as ordering an old design with a different color? How would you go about that?

[@ashelfishisttortle]

When I go to check out it doesn’t show me the same total as when I’m in the customization window. I haven’t followed through with purchasing anything cause of this. Do you know why?

[@Jilo-Star]

Thank You for making this video! It was incredibly informative and I got a lot out of it! ^^

[@NeverDot]

Thanks! I was really glad to have the chance to review all those different packaging formats.

[@MyaJones.]

Great video and Thank you for the step by step process

[@NeverDot]

Thanks! Always hoping to help someone.

[@alextorall]

What is the name of the color chart you need to use? Is there a way to just look up a photo of it, or do you have to use a specific program?

[@NeverDot]

You'd generally be using a Pantone chart. You can get physical Pantone books, but these are pretty expensive. Photoshop/Illustrator have Pantone colour swatches, which is what I've been using, cross-referencing with actual photos from the Pantone book my pin agent provides. You would want to connect with your pin producer to see which exact set you should use. In my case, it was the solid coated swatch.

[@Gummi_Bunnie]

Thank you this video is going to help me so much.

[@NeverDot]

That's fantastic! It helps me too, getting to see all the different packaging types. Great opportunity. I hope your pin adventures go smoothly!

[@DavitMikheilShubladze]

Thank you for video! packing options they provide is awesome!

[@NeverDot]

Thanks! There's definitely more options than I knew about. Which was really just the backing card. It's nice to have choices. :)

[@libertyhowarth3180]

Thank you, this is really helpful!

[@NeverDot]

Thanks! I'm happy if it helped! :)

[@davidestrada7672]

Hello! Thank you so much for your video. I was able to learn a lot of the process of designing and purchasing a pin model. I do have some questions: 1) I would like to order one of my designs as a pin, but i also have multiple colorways of the same design. Its simply a square with 2 letters inside. If i purchased 100 pins, Would I be able to order 30 in Gold/orange, 30 in Pink/gold and 40 in white/blue and still charged the same amount? or will i have to make an order of 100 for each colorway? 2) Do you recommend a particular website to create my own back cards? Thank you very much for your help.

[@NeverDot]

It is indeed possible to do orders with variants of colours, though the way they charge for that depends on the company. Get in touch with them to see if you can have such a split within the order without additional cost. There is usually a certain minimum. But all of them would use the same mold, which is the main cost point for a new design, so you're saving by reusing that design. I've had my backing cards created by the pin company for two different vendors so far and been quite happy with both. So you can choose to go with the pin manufacturer, which has the bonus of them pinning and bagging them for you (for a fee), or if you want a more premium type card, you can look into any one of many business card type printers.

[@Luna-xr9bv]

do the kitting cards come with it? and if so how do you design one?

[@NeverDot]

Kitting cards are an option when ordering pins that does increase the cost, but not very much. I certainly can't imagine ordering pins without them! For the design, the manufacturers can usually handle any size, so you'd just need to design the front/back for the cards in your software of choice and provide them with the final high resolution files. I typically send them in PDF format. A common size for them is business card size and the manufacturer/middle man might be able to recommend some common sizes.

[@leedelany8959]

Great informative video

[@NeverDot]

Thanks! It was great to get the opportunity to review them.

[@boycub]

Thank you so much for this !

[@timurart]

Great video, thank you! I recently had hard enamel pins made, not directly through manufacturer, but through a company that functioned as a middleman. Out of 250 pins, about 40 had dents, scratches, etc... Have to reorder now. Is this typical to have to reorder remakes at this high number? Am I expected to pay for the remakes, or is this considered part of the cost of doing business when it comes to manufacturers?

[@NeverDot]

A certain percentage of "seconds" (less than perfect pins) is expected, with that amount varying by the factory. This is part of the process of testing out different manufacturers and finding one with better results. It is indeed part of the process and refunds for minor defects is generally not covered, unless you clarified this in advance of production. I think 10% would probably be my maximum tolerance. I've been lucky though to have almost no bad pins with the small runs I've done thus far, but this varies a lot. If you're not happy, it's easy to try a different company.

[@timurart]

@@NeverDot Thank you very much! Are you still ordering from Vivi Pins, or have found someone better - both in terms of quality and cost?

[@akanerei]

Since this was posted a couple years ago I'm just wondering if you've ordered anymore pins from this manufacturer? And they're still coming out nicely? With at most a 5% error rate?

[@NeverDot]

The pandemic has put a damper on any further pin making by me, as there are no conventions to vend at. But I did have the chance to connect with someone who used them just a couple months ago. They received their order on time, with communication sometimes seeming to be slow. These factories are located in China, so those of us in the west will suffer from a full business day delay in round-trip communications. Bear this in mind when working with any factory or third-party.

[@akanerei]

@@NeverDot oh ok, thanks for the reply :) I assume the pins still come out good regardless of the slow communication

[@NeverDot]

@@akanerei I believe the order came out as expected, yes. I haven't carefully examined every single pin I received, but didn't see any malformed ones provided to me as yet. An unexpectedly high error rate should be caught by them before shipping and if not... get in communication with them, regardless of what factory you use. It's in their best interests to keep you happy for repeat orders.

[@akanerei]

@@NeverDot thank you.! This was helpful

[@AlzMarioWolfe]

Hi, is ViviPins still reliable today? Have you been using their service recently at all? I see so few reviews for them and no one talking about them in the Artist Alley groups I’m in. I really want to give them a try but I’m nervous.

[@NeverDot]

I have not created any new enamel pins since the pandemic, as there weren't any in-person events. For any manufacturer, I would always recommend doing a single design with a small or minimal run (i.e. about 100 pins) to test them out. If they aren't to your liking, you haven't lost out on too much.

[@AlzMarioWolfe]

@@NeverDot Thank you for the quick response!

[@donttouchme96]

6:30 what does qty means?

[@NeverDot]

"Qty" is short for "quantity". In that section, it's saying how many of those items you would want.

[@donttouchme96]

Never Dot oh thx!

[@Hunter_Gaming_XD]

Hey! your drawings are amazing. What's the software name?

[@NeverDot]

Thank you so much! The drawings are done in a free software called Krita!

[@SolonLove]

Love the vid.What app did you use for designing the pins?

[@NeverDot]

Krita is the drawing app I use to get my initial designs created. Then I pull the art into Illustrator to get the vector art and choose the Pantone colours.

[@SolonLove]

@@NeverDot Ohhhhh, Thank you!☺

[@debbieb3711]

You wore the same shirt the entire video...i love it 🤣😂

[@NeverDot]

I can't take it off! I--I can't take it off!

[@pindealer]

love your video this is a great guide!

[@Iuxinterior]

Trying to figure out how to make pin of Keith Richards since I cant find one anywhere lol, this is super helpful

[@NeverDot]

Thanks! That's great! You can do it!

[@maithilym4717]

Thank you this video helps alott.! Love the cute turtles!

[@NeverDot]

Thank you! They were really fun to make. Hard not to order a full rainbow of them.

[@60cmseokjin]

What app do you use to draw?

[@NeverDot]

I use Krita to draw with, which you can get from krita.org. I use Illustrator to prepare my artwork for the factory in vector form.

[@60cmseokjin]

@@NeverDot thanks!

[@Val-mi3nx]

what is your prime manufacturer for your pins?

[@NeverDot]

I've used an intermediary for a lot of my pin work, so I don't have the direct manufacturer connection. You'll have to investigate and check them out yourself through reviews and whatever other checking you can do.

[@siyumienwoen8940]

Thanks so much for the video

[@NeverDot]

No problem! It was fun to make it.

[@skydragonarts]

I've ordered some custom pins lately (with a different manufacturer) and it's my first time doing so. Would you say that there's a decent amount of communication of the process like knowing what stage your pins are at or you can request that information and they reply soon after? I've been waiting for over a month now and I had barely any communication during the process and I've been worried since the 1 month mark. My mum put the idea of being scammed in my mind and I can't shake the feeling. >_< And what about the grade ratio? How would you compare the A grades to the B and C grades? It seems too good to have a guaranteed delivery date FOR FREE and not have lots of B grades. I'm looking for a replacement manufacturer cuz I'm not satisfied with my current one. I went with a UK manufacturer for better service and got the opposite. :\ And I feel inspired to design some more pin designs now. I bet the velour box would go great with a luxurious, limited edition pin (a future idea)!

[@NeverDot]

With any pin company, I would expect fairly quick responses to email inquires as to the general status of things. Most of my contacts occur during the design and submission phases. Once the final design is sent and the factor accepts it without problem, then it's just a waiting game until the pins are done, a photo is sent usually, and the shipment goes out. Having a guaranteed delivery date is more a reflection of this being a consistent process and them knowing how long it takes, so unless you've tried to get an extremely rush delivery, I would expect a normal quality level. That will vary by manufacturer though. Note that even though you're working with a UK company, they're likely connecting with a Chinese manufacturer to actually make the pins. Certainly do your research and try to find others that have used the same company to make sure it's legit. If concerned, start with a small order so your losses aren't too great if they turn out to be of poor quality or, as suggested, a scam.

[@skydragonarts]

@@NeverDot Thank you for the reply. I did read the website but I somehow misinterpreted the information, they are a middleman company for a Chinese factory and I didn't know that was a thing at the time of purchase. I mainly wanted to keep track of the process and make sure things are under way. After 6 weeks of production, the pins are on their way now and I was JUST about to send a complaint but they moved onto the delivery stage. I will give Vivipins a go next cuz I want to test them with a penguin design before going with the design I want to do next. They even have the 50% payment plan and another KZbinr said to only use a factory that does that and my anxiety shot through the roof. Even if I get my pins, I won't be using the middlemen again. QwQ Thank you for reading my troubles, ha ha. 😅 Please urge your upcoming artist friends to not go through what I have, the anxiousness is too high. ^ ^'

[@NeverDot]

@@skydragonarts Middlemen that are established and well known should be fine. Most of my pins were done through one and Vivipins would be my first trial with a factory directly. I do think it's great if you can get that direct factory connection though. It should open up more control and options for you, as you might request something special and sometimes they can get it done for you. Hope you can at least relax now and enjoy the final product when it arrives!

[@skydragonarts]

@@NeverDot Thank you so much for talking to me. It was an absolute roller coaster of an experience for me but the pins are close to arriving now and thankfully, I ordered tracking too so they'll be here in a day or so. Thank you for the kind words, it's really reassuring to here experience from someone who's done pin orders before. I'm really glad I had this chance to talk to you. :)

[@storiabanale]

thank you for this video !

[@NeverDot]

No problem! It was really great to be able to work with a new pin manufacturer and compare.

[@BookingCrochet97]

Are their pins made in the USA?

[@NeverDot]

Almost all pins are manufactured in China. The US companies are usually just facilitators between you and the factory. If aiming to have pins produced now, you should check to see if they are being impacted by the current quarantine efforts. I've heard that some factories have resumed processing orders.

[@ikhtiarrashid]

who is your other manufacturer?

[@NeverDot]

The first way I made pins was using an intermediary to manage the process, so I'm not privy to their manufacturer.

[@Max_Arjona]

Screw clutches are my FAVORITE clutch. Those shits never come off.

[@NeverDot]

Absolutely recommend stronger clutches if you're going to be wearing pins around outside a lot. The normal clutches are comfortable, but not particularly good at holding onto pins that are getting tugged.

[@ether91333]

thank you, very informative

[@NeverDot]

Thanks! Very happy to have been of help.

[@SvetlanaK_Sunday]

A person talks about the production of badges and shows his face MOST of the video... very interesting, yeah...

[@kurehaashiya30]

Vivipins.com customer service is bad. Do not buy with them. There quality was good but expensive. However, since the representative does not communicate or read your messages you are wasting your time.

[@NeverDot]

It's definitely good to ensure good communication. Make sure the factory/middleman understands what you need and that things are confirmed according to what's been agreed.

[@awardsgiftjie262]

Some people do business with middleman because they are worried about communication problems with factory. I have to say that there is nothing to worry about. This is the 21st century. Most enamel pin factories have professional sales representatives who are proficient in English, Spanish and other languages. If you want to contact the enamel pin factory directly, please follow here www.awardsgift.com [e-mail] instagram.com/awardsgift/