In our September 24–25, 2026 check, 25 of the 78 readable quote or contact forms on inspected US spring-maker websites had no visible upload button. That is about 32% of the readable forms, not 32% of all US spring makers. We checked for an upload control, not whether uploads work or whether a business loses inquiries. Buyers may also send drawings by email.
How we checked
We started from the Spring Manufacturers Institute's public member directory. The saved directory snapshot listed 165 members, 153 of them in the US; 143 US entries contained a website address. Our inspection records cover 117 distinct website hostnames selected from that snapshot. This was not a random sample or a complete census of every listed website.
On September 24 and 25, 2026, we opened each website and followed its "request a quote" link, or its contact page when there was no quote link. We recorded whether the form had a file upload. Forms recorded without one were reviewed a second time by screenshot. The other 39 records were not included in the readable-form denominator: 27 had no form we could read, nine visits failed, and three were excluded on recheck, including one Canadian company.
| Recorded outcome | Websites |
|---|---|
| Readable form with an upload control | 53 |
| Readable form without an upload control | 25 |
| No form we could read | 27 |
| Visit failed | 9 |
| Excluded on recheck | 3 |
| Total inspected records | 117 |
We counted the upload button only. We did not test whether uploads work, measure how quickly anyone replies, or count lost enquiries. Several shops without an upload button ask for drawings by email instead, which works for buyers who read the page first.
Three details worth copying
The best forms did more than add an upload button. These three are worth borrowing for any made-to-order part.
A photo next to a ruler counts
W.B. Jones Spring's form says: "Upload a print, picture of the spring next to a ruler, or sketch that will help us provide an accurate quote." It also states the accepted file types and the size limit. Buyers without a print still have a way to start. See the form.
Four quantities in one request
Precision Coil Spring's quote form has four quantity boxes. A buyer can ask for prices at 100, 500, 1,000 and 5,000 in the same request instead of sending four. See the form.
Yearly volume and program length
Automatic Spring Products asks for estimated annual usage and program life in years. Those two answers shape the price and the tooling decision, and asking once saves asking later. See the form.
Check your own form in five minutes
- Open your quote form on your phone and try to attach a PDF and a photo.
- Check that the form says which file types and sizes you accept.
- Accept a photo or sketch, not only a CAD file.
- Offer an email address for large or confidential files.
- Send yourself a test request and confirm the file arrives with it.
Our free supplier quote-request template lists the seven answers a quote form should collect, with a filled example.
We don't name the shops without an upload button or publish the individual inspection records. That limits independent replication of our aggregate count. The results describe the selected, readable forms on two days in September 2026; missing and excluded forms are not counted as having no upload. This is not an estimate for every US manufacturer.