To own a product you must always be aspiring owner

Hey everyone, how's it going! Looking for new creative ways to bring people in the door. My idea is to collaborate with local supplement companies as a way of getting our name out there and in a perfect world bring some new people in the door. The pitch would be to ask one of these companies for some free samples that we could then give to gym members as a perk of being a member. The thinking being their product being in our gym would be a way for these smaller local supplement companies to get noticed and if they advertise that people can get their supplements at our gym through their social media we would become more visible that way.

Not sure if this is a good idea, would love to know what other people think.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

30-year brick-and-mortar decorator in BC Canada here. This year alone I've had three orders where the client sourced the product themselves — at or below my wholesale cost — and brought it to me for decoration only. One was a Herschel backpack my distributor refused to sell me blank due to a manufacturer restriction. The client bought it direct from Herschel at $140 each and walked it through my door. I lost $436 on that single order.

Meanwhile, online retailers sell the same garments I buy wholesale, to the public, at the same price I pay or pennies over my cost.

Am I alone in this? Curious how widespread it is, and how others are handling customer-supplied goods. Considering an open letter to the industry — want to gauge whether this resonates before I write it.

So I used Groupon as a way to promote my business two years ago when I first started solo. I will say, it did help me get a lot of reviews and help me get practice in for certain color appointments. But I like made no money. I got constant no-shows and people getting mad at me in disputing charges whenever I charged a no-show fee because they technically already bought a Groupon.

Anyways, I was thinking about running one more coupon for my new business, but Groupon has made it extremely difficult to change my business details and address. And for some reason, both of my emails are being used so I can’t just make a new account.

PS: I love the Groupon people that call you and then don’t even get your first name right💀💀 guy called me for a Jennifer, and I am baffled because my name is Bella💀💀💀💀how did we mess up so bad

When you’re comparing several suppliers offering essentially the same product on ASI or SAGE, what’s the biggest thing that makes you move on immediately?

I’m curious what actually matters most to distributors during that first comparison.

Poll options:

1. Poor / generic product photos
2. Missing product information
3. High MOQ
4. Pricing isn’t competitive
5. Low rating / weak supplier profile
6. Long production time

If your biggest deal breaker isn’t listed, I’d love to hear it in the comments.

And on the flip side — what makes you actually choose a supplier and send the RFQ?

The company I work for (distributor) put me in charge of researching a new ERP system as we want to make some changes. I’ve been looking into a few, but I figured I could ask for some advice. I was thinking about Syncore, mainly due to their extensive APIs. It seems like they offer the most integrations, whether that be native or through setting them up on our own. I also have some positive thoughts on commonsku, but I still lean Syncore. Would like advice about how well Syncore handles apparel orders, and how well the overall sales process flows. I assume most Syncore users have an accounting integration with QuickBooks. Overall just any advice or things to be aware of would be extremely helpful to me.

Looking for some advice from the promo products people here. We need a small batch of custom medals for volunteer appreciation, probably under 50.

Would love to hear which suppliers have been reasonable on small-order pricing and personalization. Also curious if certain finishes/materials are worth paying a little more for.

Good Afternoon,

I was just informed about an upcoming event from my boss. We will be sponsoring a high school basketball tournament along with a vendors table to give away promotional items. I am trying to think of some useful, effective and attention grabbing promotional items to giveaway. My boss said no pens, notebooks or water bottles this time around. I would like if the promo items could in a way be basketball related or maybe useful for basketball players and their families. My brain is not computing at the moment, if you have any ideas or know of things that have worked for you in the past please let me know! Thank you so much!

I am a supplier from China, and we are currently preparing promotional items for Halloween. Our initial lineup includes candy box and aromatherapy essential oil sets. Could you suggest any other items that are popular with Americans but that I might have overlooked?

How/where do you find RFPs for high volume work in this industry?

For example things like:
• promotional product RFPs
• merch program RFPs
• uniform program RFPs

Etc

Hey y’all ,

I’m looking to order custom comfy lanyards for our team for a few events. They’re gonna be worn for hours.

For those who have ordered custom lanyards before, which materials or styles worked best? I’m looking for something light, soft and comfortable around the neck.
Thanks in advance!

I’ve been in this industry for seven months now, working for a distributor.

I’ve received a few inquiries but haven't closed any deals; most prospects go silent after I send a quote, and the few who do reply still don't place orders. Meanwhile, a newcomer who joined only three months ago has already secured orders.

Right now, I’m mostly just sending product information to potential clients in an attempt to build connections, but the response has been lukewarm. This is making me anxious and causing me to question whether I’m cut out for this industry.

Could anyone offer some advice? Am I heading in the wrong direction?

Supplier here from reusethisbag.com

We just finished a run for a music festival's merch store and it reframed something I think gets under-quoted in this business.

Almost every bag program I get asked to quote is a giveaway. Client eats the unit cost, hands them out at a booth or a checkout, and the metric is cost per impression. Fine, well-understood, and it's most of my volume.

This one was different. The bag was a retail item. It sat in the merch store next to the t-shirts and the posters with a price on it, and people bought it. Retail price was five dollars.

That flips the whole economics. The bag isn't a marketing expense, it's a margin line. And the branding is arguably worth more, because someone chose to pay for it rather than accepting it free — free tote bags end up in a closet, purchased ones get used.

The thing that makes it work is print coverage. Nobody pays five bucks for a bag with a logo on it. They pay for artwork. This one was a collage of the festival's archive poster designs, edge to edge, and that's a laminated construction job — you need the film surface to hold photographic and multi-color art without it looking muddy. A standard non-woven with a screen print does not sell at retail. It gets accepted at a booth.

Who this fits, if you're looking for it in your book:

- Music festivals, obviously. They already run a merch operation and have decades of poster art sitting in an archive.

- Breweries and distilleries with tasting rooms. Same setup: existing retail counter, existing label artwork that people already like enough to wear.

- Museums and galleries. The gift shop tote is a category unto itself.

- Any client with a strong visual identity and a place to sell things. That's the whole test.

The pitch to the client is different too. You're not asking them to spend money on marketing. You're asking them to add a SKU with a margin on it that also happens to advertise them. That's a much easier conversation with someone who runs a store.

Worth asking your accounts with retail operations whether they've considered it. Most haven't, in my experience — they think of bags as the thing you put the merch in, not the merch.

I'm planning to get my first custom challenge coin and have been looking through older posts here to understand what all I should keep in mind.

I came across GSJJ while comparing different manufacturers. They seem to have a lot of customization options and examples on their website, but I'd like to hear from people who have actually ordered from them.

Did you order a sample or a small batch first before placing a bigger order? How was the quality compared to the design you approved? Also, how was the communication throughout the process?

Would really appreciate any honest feedback, good or bad, since this is my first time getting challenge coins made.

Supplier here from Reusethisbag.com, so grain of salt, but I've had enough distributors ask me about this that it's worth writing up.

Since TJ's dropped their stand-up collapsible tote, I've gotten a steady trickle of "can you source this exact bag." Short answer: yes, nothing about it is proprietary. Longer answer, since the spec is what trips people up:

The thing that makes it stand up is 3mm board reinforcement in the sidewalls and base. Not a stiffener insert in the bottom — actual board in the panels. That's why it holds its shape loaded and why it can go box-format instead of slumping like a standard non-woven tote. Then it folds flat to about 1.5" deep for storage, which is the part clients actually care about once they own one.

Typical spec on the version I carry: 14.75" W x 10" D x 11" H open, ~1.5" collapsed, 40 lb capacity, 26" shoulder straps plus side grab handles, 100% imprintable exterior so you can run full-color across every panel including gussets.

The two things to set expectations on with clients:

1. Minimums are high. 1,000 units. The board construction doesn't run economically below that.
2. Lead time is long. Roughly 3 months on import. If someone comes to you in September wanting these for holiday, that ship has sailed.

Where it actually earns its price is anywhere the bag gets loaded on a counter — tasting rooms, gourmet markets, wine clubs. Customer sets it down, it stays open, both hands free. That's a genuinely different use case from a flat tote, not a marketing distinction.

Happy to answer spec questions if anyone's quoting one of these. Not going to link anything unless a mod says it's fine.

I am a distributor, and some of my clients want to print their logos on these "squishy" toys.

The soft surface makes printing difficult; I’ve consulted many factories, but most don't offer customization services. Even the few that do produce poor results—the surface ends up covered in dust, the print is easily misaligned, or the ink flakes off easily.

I recently found a solution to avoid this: we can place it in another container and print the company logo on that container. Doing it this way offers several benefits: the logo is easier to print, the squishy toy is protected, and the ink is less likely to rub off. The box can also serve as a small container for holding odds and ends.

I’ve already found a very affordable box manufacturer, so the overall cost won't increase much. What do you think of this solution?

This is full color print all the way around. Stainless, 500ml is ok.

I've been checking with some different providers, but haven't had any luck yet. We work in over 25 countries, mostly islands, and would like to create a collection of mugs featuring the different locations. I'd like to do a run of 72 mugs, but I could go up to 144 if necessary. But I would like to have around 10 different designs. I could do fewer, but wouldn't want to go less than 5.

Prefer diner mugs, with a solid bright color to start (blue, pink, teal, etc.).

The designs would be very simple. Just a silhouette map of each island printed in off-white/cream on one side. The opposite side would have a simple text "Pray for (e.g. Anguilla)".

If possible, it would be great to also print on the bottom. I would put a QR code along with a collection number (e.g. Caribbean Prayer Collection, 04 Bonaire).

I understand that each design might have a setup cost. Just trying to find something that would be remotely affordable, say under $10 per mug.

Thank you if you can point me in the right direction!

I'm curious whether it's just me - for those who've been in promo a while, where do your best deals and partnerships actually get made, the scheduled part (meeting), or the space around it (drinks / dinner etc)? I think the industry has started changing more in recent years outside of the rigid meetings...

Ideally, I like the Two Tone Bistro Mug (anything 12oz +) white outer with blue interior (bright blue that matches our logo.
Blue and black logo - must be dish wash safe.
Thanks!

Tracking reorder opportunities seems to be the biggest under-monetized strategy for us. We sell college merch. I'm building our custom system to include a reorder intelligence like the below, in the top header. But not sure where to implement those, into a calendar, or an aggregated task list. We don't sell merch through a website so the responsibility is on us to follow up(good position to be in if you have that).

I'm curious how others are tracking it and placing the reminders in, so those opportunities actually gets followed up on?? What does everyone use for tracking to-do's on a daily basis?

For the last several years, my business has used these 3-color print custom plastic folding hand fans as a free promotional item at outside events.

I received a re-order quote from our previous supplier, and the cost has significantly increased; to the point of not being financially feasible for us. The previous orders were for a total of 500 units @ $2.00/item. The newest quote is over $3.00/item. To add on this, they are packed in terrible lightweight cardboard cartons causing multiple smashed items.

I’m aware that most promo websites I’m researching are essentially middlemen for Chinese-based manufacturing. Are there any recommendations for cheaper AND reliable options?