If you’re planning a plantation shutter project, you’ll probably end up asking one surprisingly difficult question:
Is this quote actually reasonable?
Most homeowners are given a final price, perhaps a large-looking discount and sometimes a deadline to place the order.
What you usually don’t see is how that figure has been put together, what has been included behind the scenes, or whether the quotation sitting next to it is actually for the same specification.
Why does this matter?
Because when you’re spending thousands on made-to-measure shutters, a small difference in what has been quoted can mean a difference of hundreds in what you ultimately pay.
After years of supplying and fitting shutters through our independent UK shutter business, we’ve seen how difficult quotations can be for homeowners to compare.
Two sets of shutters can look almost identical when they’re installed.
The quotes behind them can be anything but.
Why can plantation shutter quotes be so different?
At a basic level, three things have a big influence on the cost of shutters:
The size and complexity of your windows.
A straightforward bedroom window and a large bay window are very different projects.
The material and specification you choose.
There are several shutter materials and specifications available, with very different price points.
How your shutters are manufactured and delivered.
Lead times and delivery options can affect the final price more than many homeowners realise.
But that’s only the beginning……
Installation, frame choices, panel layouts, upgrades, warranty cover, delivery charges and the way an individual company structures its pricing can all influence the final figure.
This is why simply collecting three totals isn’t enough.
You need to know whether those three companies are actually quoting you for the same thing.
Why a big discount isn’t necessarily a bargain
Here’s a simple example.
Company A gives you this quotation:
Original price: 6,400
40% discount: 3,840
Company B quotes:
3,450
No advertised discount
Which is the better price?
Company B.
Despite Company A apparently giving you a huge 40% saving, you’re still paying 390 more.
It’s an easy trap because we’re naturally drawn to the size of the discount.
But the percentage doesn’t tell you whether the final price is competitive.
And there’s another problem.
Even if Company B is cheaper, you still don’t know whether the two quotations are genuinely comparable.
One may include something the other doesn’t.
The specifications might differ.
The delivery options may not be the same.
There are a surprising number of details worth checking before you can confidently put two shutter quotes side by side.
And most of them aren’t the things people think to ask about.
One expensive choice can be hiding in plain sight
Materials are a good example.
It’s easy to assume that choosing the most expensive shutter material throughout your home will automatically give you the best result.
It doesn’t necessarily work like that.
Different rooms can justify different choices, and there are places where paying for a premium specification makes sense – and places where it may simply increase your bill.
The problem is that unless you understand exactly what has been specified on each quotation, it’s difficult to see where that extra money is going.
Two companies can therefore quote for shutters that look very similar while pricing very different products underneath.
What cost is most often forgotten about?
Lead time.
When you’re choosing shutters, you’re probably thinking about the style, colour and how quickly you can have them fitted.
What you may not realise is that how quickly your order reaches you can affect what you’re paying for it.
Two suppliers can offer apparently similar shutters at different prices because the orders are being manufactured or transported differently.
It’s easy to miss because it isn’t always presented as a big obvious extra.
There is a very simple question worth asking before accepting the delivery option you’ve been quoted.
We include all these small detailed questions in the Shutter Savings Guide because it’s exactly the sort of small question most homeowners wouldn’t know to ask – but one that can expose an unnecessary cost for you.
What other expensive mistakes can happen before the shutters arrive?
Plantation shutters are made for your individual windows.
Once your order enters production, changing your mind – or discovering that something has been misunderstood – can become expensive very quickly.
This is why some of the most important checks happen before anything is manufactured.
Measurements matter.
Specification matters.
The details you approve matter.
And the point at which your deposit or order becomes non-refundable matters.
The difficult part is knowing what needs checking while you still have the opportunity to change it.
Most homeowners have never ordered made-to-measure shutters before.
Why would they automatically know?
Most people ask the obvious questions
“How much will they cost?”
“When can you fit them?”
“What colours do they come in?”
All perfectly reasonable questions.
But they aren’t necessarily the questions that help you work out whether you’re overpaying.
There are other things worth asking about the quotation, the specification, manufacturing, delivery and your deposit before you agree to the order.
And there is a big advantage to asking each supplier the same questions.
Suddenly, three very different-looking quotations become much easier to compare.
That’s where you start understanding what you’re actually paying for.
A lower price isn’t automatically a better deal
Let’s say you’ve collected three quotations and one is so much cheaper than the others.
Excellent.
Or is it?
It may genuinely be the best deal.
But before you sign, you want to understand why it’s cheaper.
Perhaps the company simply has lower overheads.
Perhaps they’re running a genuine promotion.
Perhaps they’re quoting a different material.
Perhaps something is included elsewhere that isn’t included here.
The point isn’t to distrust the cheapest quote.
It’s to understand it.
Because once you know exactly what you’re comparing, price becomes much more useful.
You don’t need to become a shutter expert
Nobody wants to spend weeks studying shutter manufacturing before buying window coverings.
You shouldn’t have to.
You just need a simple way of checking:
- whether your quotations are genuinely comparable
- where unnecessary costs may be sitting
- what you should ask each supplier
- what needs to be confirmed before production
- what you’re agreeing to before handing over a deposit
That’s exactly why we created The Shutter Savings Guide.
Spend $9 before you spend thousands
Our Shutter Savings Guide is a practical quote-checking toolkit designed to use before you order your shutters.
It takes the guesswork out of comparing suppliers and gives you the actual tools that we deliberately haven’t reproduced in this article.
Inside you’ll get:
- The 3-Supplier Quote Comparison Worksheet – so you can line your quotations up properly and identify differences
- The supplier question sheet – the questions worth asking each company before you commit
- Material and specification guidance – helping you understand where your money is actually going
- Lead-time and delivery checks – including the question to ask before accepting the delivery option you’ve been quoted
- Negotiation wording – simple language you can use when you’ve found a genuine price difference
- Deposit protection checks – what to establish before your order becomes non-refundable
- The pre-production checklist – the details worth checking before manufacturing starts
- The final installation check – what to look at before making the final payment
The guide costs $9 USD and takes around ten minutes to work through.
If you’re about to spend thousands on made-to-measure plantation shutters, it’s a small check to make before committing.
And if it helps you identify one unnecessary upgrade, one unexplained difference between quotations or one avoidable extra charge, it can pay for itself many times over.
Spend $9 before you spend thousands.
Prefer someone to take care of it for you?
If you’re local to East London and would rather have your shutters professionally measured, supplied and fitted, The East London Shutter Company can handle the whole project for you.
We’ll measure your windows, talk you through the options and provide a quotation for a fully fitted shutter installation.
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