I’m new to PictureFrame.com.au, how does this picture frames website work?

Our picture frames website is all about about picture frames, photo frames, poster frames,  picture framing and picture framers. broadly speaking, It offers customers two kinds of picture framing. The first is  ready-made picture frames and the second,  custom picture frames.  The site provides visitors and shoppers with information to help them decide which of these two kinds of picture frames could best suit their needs.  Of the many factors that Customers will and do consider when choosing a picture frame, in our experience, is price. It has always been and will always be,  the foremost one in people's minds. 

We will therefore construct and conduce the tenor of this post with this pre-requisite in mind and begin by stating a manufacturing and commercial fundament. Essentially,  ready-made, or of--the-shelf picture frames are one-half to three-fourths cheaper than custom picture frames.

Most ready-made picture frames are are mass-produced from industrial M.D.F. ( Medium Density Fibreboard) mouldings and fully imported from Asia where the cost labour is far more easily available and greatly cheaper .

These off-the-shelf picture frames are sold as store-take-away goods which are not customized, worked on, or serviced by picture framers. In simple words, Customers buy these picture frames directly from the importer-distributor-retailer.  Local picture framers and local manufacturing,  with all their concomitant costs are take no part in these "manufacturer-to end-user" sales and transactions.

Customers visit stores, select, buy and take home these ready-made picture frames and put their pictures, or their art,  by themselves with no custom picture framing necessary or required. Perforce, this means cheaper transactions and a lower price for the end users, the Customers. However, this is not so for custom picture frames.

These are generally made from organic materials, real wood, especially and individually milled, manufactured, finished, checked one at a time, stick-by-stick, and assembled locally by professional picture framers.  Custom picture frames are not. pre-made, store-take-away goods but rather, hand-made, bespoke products, constructed by trained, professional, picture framers.

Customers leave their artwork with picture framers who do all the tasked work for them.  Customers need only collect their finished, framed picture homes and hang them.  Custom picture framing though, costs more than off-the-shelf picture frames.  Custom picture frames tend to be better made, with more elegant mouldings, better finishes, finishing and hanging devices. Whether or not the price difference is worth  it, is a question best left for the Customers. Be that as it may, our website shows what the product prices are, and how to buy or order these.

For Ready-Made frames, certificate frames, photo frames, picture frames, poster frames and clip frames, all these are available from our Picture Frames Online Store. Prices and availability are always displayed and Customers can quickly and easily order online to buy our ready-made frames, either to be delivered or collected by customers, depending on the size of the frame.

For custom picture frames involving custom picture framing, the process is different since custom picture frames cannot be ordered or bought online. The selection of the colour of the mats, the glazing materials, the mounting. the backing and the finishing,  all require Customers' personal input, opinions feedback and instructions.

This is called a picture framing consultation and it is best conduced personally because there are  several aesthetic, technical aspects and options to be considered.  At the end of the consultation,  a custom picture framing quotation is proffered to the Customer.  Should the accepts it, a deposit is left and Invoice issued. The Customer returns 7 to 14 days later to collect the completed work and to settle the balance of the Invoice.  Generally, custom picture frames cannot be shipped and are Customer-collect only.

However, many site visitors, or Customers, do not have the time for a picture frame consultation or, more simply, they do not want to incur the cost of custom picture framing, particularly if their artwork is a common, ordinary, inexpensive, commercial  print of poster copy or reproduction.

For these Customers, our picture frames website features a special Custom Size Picture Frame Kits ordering page. Once there, Customers can order they own custom size ready-made frame which is generally faster and cheaper than personally visiting our factory to discuss and consult about especially made-to-order, custom picture frames.

In our picture frames website screenshot below of the Custom Size Picture Frame Kits order page we can see  a fairly common example on how the order form works. First a Customer enters the size of the image, or the artwork, in this case, an A4. Second, a frame is selected ( from the available thumbnails).

Third, a mat, or window mat may be chosen   ( if one is required ). Fourth,  the type of glazing, or glass and lastly,  a backing.  If a Customer does not want a particular component, this can be omitted or declined. This feature suits some Customers, such as artists for instance, who often need only the empty picture frame and glass, since they can supply and do everything else themselves, to save on costs.

The software in our picture frames website and controlling the order form, also helps Customers choose the correct frame size for their artwork.  As an example, while the 2x2 cm Raw Oak Wood frame shown in the screenshot above is suitable for an A4 or A3 size artwork size, it would not at all suit a larger size such as, say, an A0 poster frame size which is 84.1x118.0 cm .

The reason for this is the weight of the glass which is nearly always chosen to go with a frame of this size.  In these larger frames, the glass can weigh more than 10 kgs and choosing too thin a frame could result in the frame bending, springing, breaking of failing altogether, with all the dangerous and unenviable  consequences such an accident could entail.

Thus, when too small a a frame is selected if larger sizes are entered, the page will display warnings and error messages,  advising user to select a thick, bigger and stronger frame. For safety reasons,  these  prompts cannot be overridden and ineligible orders cannot be submitted.

Summarizing, kit frames are not only convenient, but also cheaper,  largely because, as in the case of most ready-made  or off-the-shelf picture frames,  the Customer fits up the picture themselves, without the need of having to  engage or  hire  the services of a custom picture framer.

Lastly, and due to probability of transit damage or Courier mishaps custom kit frames are Customer Collect only and shipping is unavailable.