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Comment by ISL | Hacker News Reader

These sentences in your copy set me up to expect a framing solution that would let me frame a poster in a nice frame for ~$40: "A handful came from Fab.com, there was a Ray Lamontagne concert poster I picked up after a show, and several others I had purchased on and offline. Not one had cost over $40."

I felt let down that the minimum cost for framing 24x36 prints was then $109+.

It's a nifty idea, and the custom-framing market is at least partially ready to disrupted by a well-executed internet outfit. Good luck!

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24x36 frame with foam core backing and U/V protective lens cover for just a hair under $55 ($51.05 if you monkey with the settings right, $70-ish if you want all the bells and whistles): http://www.wholesaleposterframes.com/product_info2.php

Now... That website is ugly and hard to use. I wish it wasn't, but their product is great and by far the cheapest I've found that's not junk. I've order 15 frames since I discovered them a few years back, and they're great. The frames arrive incredibly well packed. They do require assembly, but it only takes about 10 minutes to go from unpacked to wall once you've done the first one or two.

You should also note that they are metal frames (they own the factory), but they have a wide variety of finishes and are very high quality. No wood options, though.

No affiliation, just sharing the link.

Thanks for the feedback! Price-wise, there is almost no way a wooden frame of that size with a framers-grade acrylic could ever get down to that size. Cost of the wood alone is ~$0.30 per linear inch.

For me, I think it's wonderful that you can get a great print or poster for $40. That problem has been solved. But you can tell a cheap frame from a quality one every time.

Maybe what I need to overcome my cheapness is a new perspective. From my perspective, the frame is utilitarian. It's just there to hold the goods, which are what is mounted. I don't want it to look shitty, any more than I want my door knob to look shitty, but it amounts to basically the same thing. It feels "off" to pay more or as much for a frame as I do for what goes in it.

And, yet, unlike a doorknob, sometimes you want a frame to have a custom size.

I came to post almost exactly the same thing as the OP - 40 bucks was the anchor and yet the first click lead me to ... No pricing and the second to over 60 bucks.

You anchored at 40 - and surely the frame is less than the artwork.

Can I suggest a bottom "entry level" solution - it might not work but have cheap(ish) standard sized frames and adjust the inner piece of off white card that goes inside.

I have two kids and would love to swap their work in and out on a weekly basis - different sized card to cover things up seems great.

That just doesn't sit right. It is like if you had to pay significantly more for a belt than for the pants they are holding up.

I get sticker shock every time I go to buy a nice poster, print, or art piece at what seems like a very reasonable price and then see the cost triple or quadruple when I add the frame and shipping.

It is like having on a dapper outfit, stepping out but then your outdoor jacket looks bad. A jacket compliments an outfit, like how a frame compliments art.

So why does it have to be wood? Could you perhaps offer an OPTION to instead use plastic or metal or whatever's in the cheaper frames they sell at Target/Walmart, only custom-sized?

Maybe YOU "can tell a cheap frame from a quality one every time" but I can't. I've never chosen to develop that expertise. Frames all kind of look the same to me, except that a few styles of wooden ones look needlessly gaudy/ornate/expensive. To me, the purpose of the frame is to FRAME - it's not art, just a square one puts AROUND art to protect and separate it. I care what color that square is and what size it is, but what MATERIAL it's made of...not so much.

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