The pricing of scanning items is not an apples to apples comparison. You would not be willing to pay the same amount of money for a Russian Lada as you would for a Mercedes, just because both are in the category "cars". Or would you?
The same applies here - a slide scan doesn't equal a slide scan.
Most companies use the same Nikon film scanners, so there is little difference there but the huge difference lays in the quality of the results by how the slides will be prepared for scanning and what kind of post scanning enhancements, etc. are included.
Before the scanning these items MUST be done by the scanning company:
- #1 Priority - to KEEP YOUR IMAGES SAFE! (Some companies ship your images across the ocean to 3rd world countries where the safety of your images is questionable. They are irreplaceable and no amount of insurance will bring them back if they are lost)
- Removing of Slides from Trays or Carousels (many companies charge for that)
- Be available 7 days a week to answer questions (we are open 7 days a week, others close for the weekend, holidays, and have limited hours during the week)
- Cleaning of the slide (ignored by many companies)
- Visual inspection of the slide (ignored by many companies)
- Sorting by Kodachrome vs. Non-Kodachrome images (ignored by many companies BUT so extremely important for the quality of the scan)
- Keep sequence of your images per your preference (many companies charge for that)
During the scanning these items MUST be done by the scanning company:
- Scanning with Digital ICE on (many companies charge for that)
- Scanning to TIFF files and work in this lossless format (many companies charge for that)
After the scanning these items MUST be done by the scanning company:
- Tight cropping of the image (many companies do very sloppy cropping)
- Individual color correction of each image (many companies either charge for that or do it in an automatic mode)
- Individual exposure correction of each image (many companies either charge for that or do it in an automatic mode)
- Place images in folders per your instructions and name them accordingly (many companies charge for that)
- One set of discs for all images is included (some companies force you to buy a hard drive from them if you have over a certain amount of images)
These are only a few items that come to mind.
Most scanning companies are either publicly traded companies or are owned by other companies and they are therefore required to make a good profit for the owners and share holders. We are a family owned company and don't have these restrictions. We own the place, the equipment, etc. and have extremely low overhead costs. We can therefore do a lot more with your images for the same amount of money (or less) than what the other guys charge. There is no turnover of personal here as well - our experience is yours to take advantage of. You do the math!
Others try to lure you in with questionable marketing tactics, hot websites, deceiving prices, etc. That isn't our plan. Our core competency is focused on scanning, not website design or such (even though these webpages were made by us). We rather focus on doing a great and honest job with your images vs. trying to lure you in with non-value added stuff.
We love to be evaluated against the competition. You can use the following decision guide for this purpose.
The decision guide is also available as PDF file. 
You can send it to the other vendors that you evaluate and they can provide their entries.
We will gladly answer any points that the competition might bring up.
We know the term "customer service" has been overused and often it is "customer no-service". We take a lot of pride in the customer service that we provide and are eager to prove it. Contact us at 336-480-5175 or Richard.Schneitler@slideconverter.com and ask all the questions that are on your mind.
We want to ensure that you only send us something after you feel absolutely comfortable with the process.
To view samples click here.
To prepare your images for shipping click here.