ARE AUSTRALIAN MADE ROLLER BLINDS CHEAP?

As I get older it seems to make more sense! Buying quality over cheap.  When it comes to something you use EVERY DAY - like a blind, it's important to make smart choices.

Australian BLIND Manufacturers have all kinds of rules;

• Rules about quality of products
• Rules about paying staff fairly with super.
• Rules about warranty and repairs and spare parts.
• Rules about paying Tax in Australia

That stuff costs money!

When you look at how cheap an off the shelf roller blind is from Spotlight or Bunnings you may want to look a bit more and check the country of origin.

Then do some maths! 

A blind for $30 must include: -

• cost of materials to make blind
• wages to make the blind
• the cost of freight to Australia
• then profit margin, and GST for the company selling in Australia

All for $30!

Are Australian made blinds cheap?

Roller blind costs are made up of: -

Components. That's the blind brackets, blind winders and blind chains.  Honestly, most are made in China these days, but there is a huge difference in price and QUALITY.   The cheaper blind components are the ones that feel cheap, light and flimsy, you can damage them with your hands. 

The quality ones are designed by engineers with patented designs. 

• Designed to withstand a hot window on a hot summers' day.
• Designed to be used every single day!  Up and down. Every single day.
• Designed to hold the weight of the blind they were made for!

Afterall isn't that what is supposed to do?

Inner Tube. The tube the Roller Blind fabric wraps around is usually made of aluminium.  The cheaper blind tubes are the ones are made of very thin aluminium.  This means they may deflect (bend) if the roller blind is too heavy.  This could cause a safety issue or simply not look great on your window.  The cheapest of roller blinds tubes use thick cardboard. Yes Cardboard! Don't let it get wet as it will definitely bend and even fall from its fixings.

Fabric!  Where do I start!  There are many quality fabrics that come from all over the world.  At Premier Shades we use fabric from:

• Australia
• United Kingdom
• South Korea
• China

However, at Premier Shades we are very conscious of good quality roller blind and vertical blind fabric.  We only buy from reputable importers, that have good warranty and honour the terms. We also look for quality certification on imported fabrics like: -

• Fire Retardant,
• Oeko-Tex Standards (means its free from harmful chemicals and safe for human use).
• Fade resistant

Cheaper roller blind fabrics don't guarantee Fire retardant, fade resistant or fabric that is free from harmful chemicals.  There are stories in the industry of fabric being made from lead and formaldehyde imported from overseas. A scary thought for some fabric sitting in a child's room on a hot summers' day. Off the shelf blinds are also often set at certain sizes. An Australian made blind can be made as wide as 3200mm wide with your choice of fabric.

So, what is a decent quality cheap Australian made blind?

Vertical blinds and Roller blinds tend to be the cheapest.  Vertical blinds will be a little cheaper by about 10%

The biggest deciding factor with a cheaper Australian made roller and vertical blinds is the fabric you choose.  Yes, it will be imported. But a quality imported fabric that has been checked for its quality.
For an additional 10-15% you will be able to get an Australian made fabric.

Ask Premier Shades about our Australian Made Gala fabric.  Available in 22 beautiful colours. We have just negotiated a great price to pass onto our customers and its now on special!

Call us on 4324 8800 or come in and see our roller blind range in our showroom at Wyoming on the Central Coast.