New quote request✓ Ready to price
Custom requests outside your catalog
Quote these separately. They aren’t in the estimate.
HOW A QUOTE SHOWROOM WORKS
From “how much?” to ready to price.
Follow one custom dining table from the first inquiry to the maker’s inbox. The maker builds the furniture. Montera builds the way it gets ordered.
STEP 1 / TODAY
The inquiry a maker gets now.
A buyer wants a table but doesn’t know what the maker needs to know. Every missing detail costs another email.
Buyer · Mon 9:14Hi! How much for a big walnut table? Needs to seat 8.
Maker · Mon 4:40Thanks for reaching out. Would that be 180 or 220 cm long? And which leg style?
Buyer · Tue 8:02220 I think. What leg options are there?
Maker · Tue 5:15Tapered timber or a steel frame. Where would we deliver?
Buyer · Thu 7:51Steel, to Denver. Actually, what would oak cost instead?
- Messages
- 5
- Days
- 4
- Quote ready
- No
The wood choice is still open, and nobody has confirmed the quantity. The maker is still answering questions instead of pricing a table.
An illustrative thread. How often this happens at a real maker is the thing a pilot measures.
STEP 2 / MONTERA SETUP
We turn the price sheet into a showroom.
This is the paid setup. The maker sends what they already have, we clean it up, and the maker approves it before anything goes live.
What the maker sends
| Field Table | Price |
|---|---|
| Base, 180 cm, oak, tapered legs | $1,850 |
| 160 cm | −$150 |
| 220 cm | +$400 |
| Walnut | +$250 |
| Ash | +$100 |
| Steel frame legs | +$200 |
| Lead time | 8–10 wks |
Often a spreadsheet, a PDF or an email. Sometimes it only exists in the owner’s head.
What Montera builds from it
- 4 option groupsTimber, length, legs, quantity
- Pricing rulesBase price plus each option, so the estimate always matches the sheet
- CompatibilityOnly offer combinations the shop can build
- Describe-it boxBuyers type what they want; it’s matched to your options, and anything else is flagged for you to quote
- Request formAsks for delivery location and contact details every time
- Maker sign-offThe maker checks every price before launch
$1,500 pilot for one product family. The target is about 15 hours of setup. That price is a proposal and hasn’t been tested.
STEP 3 / THE BUYER
The buyer designs their table and asks for a quote.
This is what goes on the maker’s website. Try it: describe the table in your own words, or pick the options yourself, then send the request. Every detail the maker needs is asked once, up front.
STEP 4 / THE MAKER
The maker gets everything at once.
No back-and-forth before pricing. The maker checks the details, confirms the final quote and builds the table.
- Messages
- 1
- Days
- 0
- Quote ready
- Yes
Compare step 1: 5 messages over 4 days, and still not ready to price. The maker still sets the final price; the showroom never promises a build or a delivery date.
Custom requests also show the maker what buyers ask for that isn’t on the menu yet. Over many requests, that’s demand data for the next option to add.
Open the showroom on its own