How to Order Checks Without Getting Ripped Off
Even in the age of online billpay, it’s still sometimes necessary to write a check. In our case, the check-writing ritual is most often associated with miscellaneous school expenses (PTO fund raisers, pre-paying for hot lunches, etc.) as well as things like Cub Scout expenses or sports registration. Even though we go through checks more slowly than we used to, we still run out from time to time. This begs the question of what’s the best way to re-order checks without getting ripped off?
Rule #1: Ordering checks through your bank is generally not the best way to do things. Most banks charge a premium, so you’ll end up overpaying by a huge amount.
On the flipside, you don’t want to Google your way over to a random check printing website and plug in all your banking information, as that’s a surefire way to open yourself up to the risk of identity theft. That brings us to…
Rule #2: Don’t order checks from unknown individuals/companies. This goes for both websites (no matter how slick they might look) as well as telemarketers (no matter how honest they might sound).
So if you don’t order through your bank, and you don’t order through a little known company, then what should you do? Simple, focus on reputable check printers. While I don’t have an exhaustive list of such printers, I do have some experience in this area… In the past, we have usually order checks through Current, which we originally discovered years and years ago through a circular in our Sunday paper.
A bit more digging has, however, revealed that Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart have entered the check printing business (here and here, although both sites can be accessed direct from the Wal-Mart and Sam’s homepages). Whatever your opinion of the Wal-Mart corporation, their checks are pretty darn cheap, and there’s also pretty much no chance that they’ll decide to steal your identity and drain your bank account.
Here’s a quick price comparison based on four boxes of duplicate (i.e., carbon-copy) checks:
Sam’s Club = $23.26 ($23.26 + Free Standard Shipping)
Wal-Mart = $35.44 ($27.84 + $7.60 S&H)
Current = $35.98 ($28.99 + $6.99 S&H; this is an introductory offer)
Bank of America = $63.00 ($31.50 for two boxes x 2, free S&H)
Note that Sam’s Club “Plus” members will get about 20% better pricing than they listed above.
So there you have it… You can usually save a ton by going somewhere besides your bank for your check printing needs, and you can really clean up at a place like Sam’s Club.
And while we’re on the subject of check safety, be sure to look over my check writing tips, and don’t forget to think before you write that check!
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I work for a check printing company, so I get all of my checks for free.
We also offer very competitive prices, especially if you print your checks through Microsoft Money or Quicken or a similar program.
Comment by Blaine Moore — Oct 23rd 2006 @ 10:40 amI work as a banker for a very large bank and it makes no difference to me personally whether a customer buys checks from the bank or through a 3rd party vendor. However, I always caution the customer that there are risks to ordering from an outside vendor. I recently had a customer who ordered checks from an outside vendor and had the wrong account number on the bottom of the check in the MICR line (he was missing one digit). This created a huge headache for the customer because he had already written 7 checks with the wrong account number. I guess that’s a great reason to always verify information is correct everywhere on your checks when you receive them, instead of just skimming over them as I usually do.
Comment by Ryan — Oct 23rd 2006 @ 11:14 amI agree with you, but sometimes the bank can be cheaper depending on the type of account you have with them. My bank offers free checks as long as I don’t mind them being “standard” checks imprinted with their logo.
Comment by bluntmoney — Oct 23rd 2006 @ 12:44 pmMy bank provides free checks from Clarks. They are the least expensive, blue safety, non-carbon but who cares, they’re free!
Comment by kbr9619 — Oct 23rd 2006 @ 2:26 pmI don’t understand why people with money have to pay for checks. I too work as a banker, and I have found that most banks will give you free checks for life with a certain amount of minimum balance (usually $2-10k). WaMu even offers them on their free for any joker checking accounts. (No, I don’t work for WaMu.)
I think that as more people transition to the online way of doing things checks will become free for everyone. Theres no way that the check printing business is sustainable over the long haul. (By long haul I mean at least 30+ years, so please take it easy on the flames
Comment by Tom — Oct 24th 2006 @ 1:36 amI’ve only ever ordered checks from the bank. But that’s because (so far) I’ve never lived in one place long enough to run out of checks, and no reputable shop (except the one affiliated with one’s bank) is going to print new checks with different information than what the old checks have.
At historical rates of depletion, the $23.60 I just spent on my most recent batch of new checks should last me for 5 years…which is longer than I’ve ever lived in one place before. I expect to live here indefinitely though, so no more address changes. During those 5 years, however, I’ll be getting married and so my fiancee-to-be-wife’s name will be getting added. So let’s call it 7 years before the first reorder of identical checks in my life makes third-party discount printers an available option. And let’s just assume that the reorder after we’re married costs the same as this one did.
Which means that, to cover my paper-check-writing needs for the next seven years, the total cost will be $47.20. (Actually it’ll be way more than that, because I spend more than that every year on pens to write checks with, most of which get stolen by my cow-orkers. But this thread is about the checks themselves.)
This works out to approximately 56 cents per month. If it weren’t for the planned marriage, those two check orders would cover 10 years instead, and the cost would be 39 cents per month. And that’s the rate I pay buying them through my bank’s official preferred vendor.
Certainly when those 7 years are over I’ll probably find the cheapest price I can. But frankly, at an actual current cost of 56 cents per month and a probable future cost of 39 cents per month, I don’t exactly get the feeling that NBD/FCNBD/BankOne/Chase/whoever-they-merge-with-and-change-their-name-to-next is seriously cheating me or cutting into my budget to any degree worth thinking about.
What would REALLY be nice would be a discount check printer that didn’t force me to order new checks from the bank FIRST before they’d update any of my information. But I’m given to understand that such a policy would now be against the law, so I’m not exactly hunting for it strenuously.
Comment by Matt — Oct 24th 2006 @ 3:25 amCostco has always had the best price I have found:
$20.30 for 4 boxes of duplicates
Free shipping for members
Gary
Comment by GaryP — Oct 29th 2006 @ 1:25 amI still have checks in my current check register from 2003. I use my bank’s bill pay and rarely use a paper check.
I’ve had the same 2 checking accounts for over 12 years. Although I’ve moved numerous times, I still use my checks until I empty the box. I’m always getting those donation requests that come with address labels. I just put one of these new labels over the address portion of my old (and already paid for) checks. I have yet to have a problem with them getting accepted of cashed.
Comment by WearyTraveler — Oct 29th 2006 @ 11:58 amI’m writing an article (print) about ordering checks.
Can you please email me. Sharonhr@bellsouth.net
Comment by Frugal Duchess — Nov 1st 2006 @ 12:36 pmI would like to interview you?
What about printing your own checks? I only need about 2 or 3 checks a year. I have a friend that prints his own checks, I think from Microsoft money.
Comment by Elbo Cenvari — Feb 10th 2007 @ 12:43 pmHow is the quality of the Walmart / Sam’s Club checks? Do they feel/look cheap, or ate they pretty comparable to those provided though one’s bank?
Comment by Hunter — Jul 12th 2007 @ 12:31 pmHunter: As far as I can tell, they’re indistinguishable from “name brand” checks.
I have encountered no problems ordering checks from sources other than banks. On the other hand my current bank sent checks (which I never ordered) to my former address which I discovered after a former neighbor called me. The bank was unapologetic. Another bank printed checks using my SAVINGS ACCOUNT NO.! So much for bank security and accuracy.
Comment by sandra dragon — Oct 29th 2007 @ 3:34 pm