Most shutter companies price shutters by the square foot plus any options. While this seems straight forward, and an accurate means to compare pricing across companies, it can be misleading. For instance, what is included in the square foot price? Is the measure included? Installation? Custom paint or stain?
And the most dishonest practice... how the shutter opening is measured. The opening is from the drywall or casing return top to bottom and side to side. If the measure is 60" x 48" you have 20 sf. However, in an effort to keep their advertised square foot charges low, some companies add a couple inches in the length and width for the frames. A couple inches may not seem like much, but it adds up quickly. For instance:
A 60" x 48" opening with 2 inches added to each side for framing now becomes 64 (2 inches added to the top and 2 inches added to the bottom) x 52 (2 inches added to each side). The new square footage is now 23.
So... a company advertising $19.99 per square foot and adding on to the measure is charging $461 for the shutter (they should be charging $399.80!). A company selling for $22.99 per square foot and measuring honestly is actually charging less, $459.88.
Okay, $461 versus $459.88 is not much, but do you want to do business with a company that has to deceive customers to win business? Honesty has value. Now imagine if the company sell shutters for $19.99 is also adding for the measure or install... The only way to compare companies is by the quality of the product they offer, pricing transparency, their business reputations, and the total price for an identical quote.