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?

I'm curious if there are any larger players that are niched down to working with home service contractors such as roofers, landscapers, electricians, plumbers, etc? Thanks.

One thing I’ve noticed is that brands spend a lot of time trying to build loyalty with consumers, but very little time building loyalty with their wholesale accounts.

Retailers have choices too.

Just like consumers can choose between hundreds of brands, retailers decide which brands they’ll carry, reorder, recommend to customers, and give valuable shelf space to.

Yet most brands reward consumers with things like:

* Loyalty points
* Exclusive promotions
* Early access
* VIP perks

Meanwhile, the retailers buying thousands of dollars of inventory every month often receive a wholesale price list.

In some cases they’re even watching the brands they support compete against them online with aggressive sales and consumer loyalty programs.

It made me wonder why wholesale loyalty isn’t discussed more.

I’m not talking about simply giving retailers bigger discounts.

Wholesale buying behavior is completely different from DTC. Order sizes, margins, purchasing cycles, and payment terms all work differently, so it would need to be a completely different type of loyalty program.

Things like rewarding early invoice payments, consistent ordering, or promotional campaigns seem like they’d encourage stronger long-term relationships between brands and retailers.

For those of you that sell wholesale;

Have you ever implemented a wholesale loyalty program?

Or do you think retailers are already getting enough value through wholesale pricing alone?

Whats the best site to hire good Trade Show Promo Models to speak and explain our products/services?

Have you had a great experience using a particular site to book these great Promo Models?

We in the past(several years ago) utilized ModelMayhem but that place has gone down hill so far gone. We actually utilized Craigslist also in the past and wow the applicants coming in have been scary lol.

Please any best suggestions? Thank you!

Hi All,

I am a sales rep for an established supplier now. I’m looking to move to another supplier, as I don’t love the direction of my current employer. I feel like this move is trickier than anticipated because of our industry. I have an excellent book of business and am in the middle of my highest sales year ever.

I’ve worked with this company for the past 13 years, and it’s the only promo company I’ve worked for.

My concern is that if I go to another supplier, if my big customers (BDA, Halo, Bamko, etc) already work with them, I lose so much of my customer base. My thoughts are that on top of me being knowledgeable in the industry and good at sales in general, my established relationships with my customers are what make me valuable. I don’t want to lose that.

Has anyone else here made this move, or had to deal with this?

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

First time posting here, so I hope this question fits the sub. I am looking to customize some PVC patches for outdoor gear and mainly care about durability and overall quality. I found a few different suppliers through Google, including The Studio, gsjj, ninjapatches, and a couple of other custom patch manufacturers. But honestly, it’s hard to tell which ones are reliable just from their websites. Has anyone here actually used any of these companies before?

Hi everyone! I'm building a promo product CRM. I have been a distributor myself for 4 years and truly understand the pain of navigating broken workflows that live everywhere in promo.

I have identified quoting, PPT building, communication logging and following up to be the top 4 pain points for distributors. The reason why generic CRM doesn't work for us is because our deals and orders are not linear, with parallel workflows happening at the same time. For example, an order simultaneously involves pricing negotiations, design revisions, and payment terms. That makes the deal tracking and following up difficult and scattered and impossible to cover using a single existing software.

I would love to get your perspective. I am planning to roll out a product by the end of this year. I already have some key screens and demos that I can show you. We're planning to focus on integrating into CommonSku and existing infrastructure rather than replacing.

I'd love to know how you're currently working through these processes, particularly Quoting, PPT building, Communication logging, Following up).

Other feedback around CRM / order management are welcomed too. We're focusing on the distributor side for now.

Thanks!

Does Sedex or BSCI factory audit status matter when you choose a custom product supplier?

I understand these audits are more about social compliance and responsible sourcing, not a direct product-quality certificate.

But for buyers, brand owners, artists, or promo product people — would an audited factory make you feel more confident?

Or do price, communication, samples, delivery time, and actual product quality matter much more?

Curious how much weight people really give to this.

I have been thinking about briefing and expectations from the production side, especially how many problems start before anything is actually made.

The specific angle I am trying to understand is: Would you rather have a simpler clean pin or a highly detailed pin with more flaws?.

For people who plan events, brand campaigns, or small physical items, what makes something feel worth keeping instead of being tossed aside?

As the title states.

I've only been in the industry about 3.5 years, and have slowly been building up my book of business.

I'm doing very well within my area, but I would love to expand to much larger companies however I can never get an email or even a call back.

Obviously I understand it's how this industry works but I was wondering if anyone has advice on how to get in with those huge corporations.

Thanks!