By IvyLee Rosario
Leather, plastic and glass: these are just a few of the materials CKB Products has experimented on with personalization for their clients. Whether it is a flask or a motorcycle headband, Jason Barton, Vice President for CKB Products says they will customize it exactly to your liking. “Pretty much any product in our warehouse, if somebody calls us to say they want that item personalized, we do everything in our power to find a way to personalize it for them. And if we cannot, we will be honest with our customers and tell them it will not look good on the product or it will not work.”
CKB Products started in 1997 selling baseball cards on eBay. Now they import a lot of their products directly from China into the US to help pass savings along to their customers. They are a wholesale company, but CKB also sells to the general public. “Instead of only selling in quantities of 100 or 1,000 we sell one or two items to anyone,” said Barton. CKB Products is focusing heavily on their personalized products and offer several different methods, including laser engraving, rotary engraving, and vinyl wrapping, which is using color to engrave.
Among CKB’s hottest products are their motorcycle gear, umbrellas and their six and eight ounce stainless steel hip flasks. “We are the largest distributor of hip flasks in the US. People love to have them engraved,” said Barton. “Right now we are entering into wedding season so our hip flasks are very hot products for wedding parties. The customized hip flasks, and hip flasks in general, are by far our strongest seller.”
CKB Products prides itself on being different from any other wholesaler. In addition to selling in bulk and to individual customers, CKB also takes their customer service very seriously, said Barton. “I suppose that every company in the US says that, but we actually mean it – and make the adjustments.” The company guarantees that their prices will outbid any other company in the US for each of the products they carry. If another company is selling an item for less, CKB will adjust the prices and sell at an even lesser rate. “We have very strict standards. We are very proud of our products, we excel in customer service, and we do whatever we can to please our customers to ensure that they are getting a product they will be happy with. We pride ourselves on being able to provide the least expensive services.”
CKB is continuing to expand their personalization line and is open to new ideas from their customers. A majority of their products, said Barton, look really well with a personalized touch and if they work, then CKB will add it to the website for everyone to be able to purchase. They sometimes even have people send their own products to the company to personalize. “They make great gifts. Everybody wants to give something with a personal touch, not just the generic whatever-everyone-else-is-getting. If you get an item that you put your own personal message on or the name of the recipient, it is yours. It gives the item personality. People love that.”