Manual Quotes Explained: When a Person Prices Your Custom Request

Most custom print requests on Labelix can be priced the moment you submit them: the product, craft, area, and quantity feed a configured pricing matrix, and a quote appears without anyone touching it. But not every request fits a matrix — and for those, a person prepares the price. This article explains when that happens, what the manual path looks like from your side, and what your options are at each step.

If you have ever watched a request sit at "Quote in Progress" and wondered who is on the other end: this is what they are doing.

When a human prices your request

Three situations route a Custom Request to manual quoting:

• Free Customization requests — always. A request built from your own product images and brief has no pre-configured product behind it, so there is nothing for a matrix to look up. Every Free Customization submission is reviewed and priced by a person.
• Requests whose content needs judgment. Some combinations of requirements can only be priced after a human confirms feasibility and cost with production.
• When you ask for it. Even when an automatic price is available, the quote page offers Request Manual Quote. Use it when your request carries context a matrix cannot see — unusual quantities you want negotiated, special material requirements, or notes that should influence the price. Submitting the request needs a valid shipping address, since destination affects what the team can commit to.

What happens while you wait

After a manual quote is requested, the request shows "Quote in Progress". The team reviews the design, surfaces, notes, and attachments, and may contact you to confirm details — updates go to your login email, so watch that inbox.

When the quote is ready, its status becomes "Manual Quote Ready". A published manual quote always carries quote documents — one to five attached files (PDF, Word, or Excel) that spell out what the price covers: specifications, quantities, itemized costs, or production notes. Read them before deciding; they are the contract-shaped part of the quote.

While a manual quote is in progress, the automatic order path is blocked for that request — the two prices cannot race each other.

Accept, decline, or renegotiate

A published manual quote is an offer, not a commitment. You have three moves:

• Accept. Confirm the order and continue to payment; the request converts to an Order and enters production and delivery.
• Decline. The quote is marked rejected and the team is notified that a new quote is needed. Declining is a normal part of negotiation, not a dead end.
• Adjust and re-request. After declining, the Request Manual Quote button returns. You can update your notes or requirements and submit again; the next quote reflects the new information. Each re-request supersedes the previous round's attachments, so the team always works from your latest word.

Mind the clock on published quotes: a manual quote has a validity window, and an expired one shows "Quote Expired" — contact customer service to refresh it rather than starting over.

Manual is not slower-by-default

It is tempting to read "manual" as a delay. In practice it is the pricing mode for everything interesting: new products, negotiated volumes, special requirements. The automatic matrix handles the standard cases — how it computes them is covered in How Custom Apparel Quotes and Pricing Work — and the manual path exists precisely so that the non-standard cases get a considered answer instead of no answer. Write clear notes, attach good references, and the manual quote comes back both faster and closer to what you meant.