When you start brainstorming ideas for the next hot board game, it’s easy to get excited and want to rush into production right away. However, it’s important to carefully consider your options when choosing a board game manufacturer since you don’t want to end up with thousands of unsold boxes if your product doesn’t do well in the market. By considering these eight factors, you can make sure that your game has the best possible chance of success in retail stores and online markets as well.
Price Grade
A good board game manufacturer should be able to provide you with a fair estimate of how much your board game will cost. You must choose a company that provides transparency about its pricing. Once you know how much it will cost try researching similar companies for price comparison. If possible, get an estimate from multiple board game manufacturers so you can compare prices and quality. You want to make sure you are getting competitive pricing on your product. Remember, you want high-quality components at a low price.
Communication
When you work with a factory, it’s vital that you can communicate easily and effectively. Language barriers can cause serious communication delays, or even missed deadlines and lost money. Make sure that any potential manufacturer is fluent in English, or at least knows some other language you understand. If you can visit their facilities first-hand, do so! That way you can ensure your project is in good hands. This means that if you have specific details about your product, such as how thick it should be or what color materials are preferred make sure to specify them. This ensures there won’t be any confusion during production. One of our most common mistakes is not understanding all of our options. We tend to think we know exactly what we want. only to find out later that our budget does not allow us to get everything we wanted.
Manufacturing Expertise
You’re going to have to rely on your manufacturer for assistance with quality control, logistics, and project management, if you’re not familiar with these elements of production, choose a factory that has experience managing projects similar in size and scope. For example, if you’re manufacturing educational games for preschoolers look for manufacturers that are well versed in creating content-rich products. The more familiar they are with their client base, industry trends, and current regulations, the better they will be able to serve your needs.
Customer Service
Sometimes the customer service ability will determine whether this board game printing company is right for you. Any type of negativity will deter you from doing business with that company. Do they take care of issues quickly? Do they respond kindly? Are they professional? These are all questions you should ask yourself before settling on a board game maker.
Packaging Costs
Some companies donat include packaging in their initial quotes, so be sure to inquire about it before proceeding. Packaging is an expensive part of manufacturing and you want your product presented as well as possible. Look at what kind of packaging they use and whether or not it best suits your product. The extra cost might be worth it if you feel that your product would benefit from the unique packaging. Just keep in mind that being unique does not always mean better. If your product doesn’t need to stand out on shelves, save yourself some money by using standard packaging. Also, make sure that whatever material you choose for your packaging will hold up over time.
Shipping
For physical products, shipping costs and how quickly your goods will arrive are extremely important. If you’re ordering from overseas, your goods will likely need to be shipped internationally, so make sure you know exactly what you’re paying for and if there are any import duties or other restrictions on shipping your products into specific countries. If your product is small enough, you might also look into using an express shipping service. In many cases, they charge by weight and not volume which can help reduce your overall shipping cost.
Prototypes
A prototype is generally considered any physical or virtual version of your product before it goes into production. The prototype can be something as simple as a drawing, but it often comes in the form of an expensive, refined mock-up that’s used to determine final design choices and functionality. So why not just start with a prototype? Prototypes are great for communication and marketing, they help you better sell your vision without getting hung up on tiny details. However, prototypes aren’t always necessary in every industry. If you need to move quickly or don’t have a lot of money to spend, there may be no point in making one.
Production Communication
Some manufacturers are great at communicating, some are not. Production communication can keep you up-to-date with all aspects of production. You should know exactly what stage of production you are in and what to expect next from your manufacturer. If there is an issue, it should be resolved immediately so that it doesn’t delay your schedule. Most manufacturers will be upfront about how long it takes them to get certain production done and ask them about their turnaround time before signing a contract.
Conclusion
The market is full of different types of board game manufacturers and every one of them has its pros and cons. When deciding on which one you want to cooperate with, these 8 factors will help you in making that decision.
