Bulk swag fundamentals

Bulk swag refers to swag items ordered in bulk or in huge quantities. And by huge quantities, we mean massive, as in typically over a hundred items.

If you’re having a hard time thinking why you’d need over a hundred swag items, picture this: you’re an HR manager of a company with 500-600 employees. With this number, coming up with something to give newly onboarded employees every time you hire them can be tedious.

That is where bulk swag comes in! Bulk swag is the ideal type of swag for organizations looking to have swag items ready to distribute at any time, anywhere.

One of the standout features of bulk swag is its streamlined production. Since items are ordered in significant quantities, they are manufactured in one production run, making it easier for your manufacturer or vendor to ensure brand consistency on each and every swag item.

And since bulk swag requires a minimum of 50 items, you can get a price discount from your chosen swag vendor or swag platform. This makes bulk swag a great option if you have the budget but still want to enjoy some discount!

Plus, ordering in bulk allows you to choose from a wider variety of products! Items like Stanley cups, stationery pens, and customized tote bags are more accessible when you buy them in bulk. So, if you’re looking for high-quality items to represent your brand, then bulk swag is the way to go.

Yet, these features are just the tip of the iceberg! The most important aspect? Warehousing, the backbone of bulk swag. Why? Well, for one, let’s face it: you can’t store hundreds or even thousands of swag items in your storage closet or office. That’s just a logistics problem waiting to happen. As such, having a warehouse gives you a secure and organized space to store your swag inventory. Two, having a warehouse allows you to distribute your swag whenever you need to. Warehousing guarantees that your swag items are always ready and accessible.

Platforms like PerkUp offer integrated local warehousing solutions that take care of everything for you—from storage to shipment. Have employees in the UK? A UK warehouse will allow you to ship swag items at a lower cost and less stress! Need to send out onboarding kits to new remote employees in Canada? Having a warehouse in Canada will ensure a smooth delivery of swag items wherever your teams are in the country.

How does bulk swag work?

Now that you understand the features of bulk swag, it’s time to dive into its process. Specifically, where should you begin if you want to order bulk swag?

As with every other business decision, the first thing you need to do is to know your audience. Or, in this case, your recipients. When opting for bulk swag, ask yourself these: ‘Who will receive my swag items?’ ‘What do I want to achieve when you give them a swag item?’ Knowing the answer to these questions is essential because gifting the wrong item to your recipient can do you more harm than good. Just imagine gifting a cheap set of pens to one of your high-value customers or investors! 

Which is brings us to step two: choosing the swag items. Once you’ve got a clear understanding of who you want to give swag to, it’s time to select the right swag. For this, you must ask: ‘What would make my recipients feel appreciated, while also showing off my brand?’ Remember, swag items aren’t just there to show your appreciation or recognition—they can also help you advertise your brand in the most organic way possible!

Now, if you have already chosen your swag items, the next thing you need to do is to ensure these items align with your brand or company values. For instance, choosing non-recyclable swag even though you’re an eco-friendly business is contradictory and might send the wrong message to your recipients. Remember that your swag items reflect you and your brand. Choose wisely!

After selecting the right items, it’s time to submit the swag design for customization. This is where your branding really comes into play. Whether it’s your logo, a tagline, or a custom design, make sure that your swag design aligns with your overall brand guidelines. Think of your swag design as an extension of your brand identity.

Once you’ve got the swag items and design, you’ll have to finalize the quantities of your swag items and place your order. But where exactly will you purchase these swag items? You actually have two options: swag vendor and swag platform. To give you a quick overview, swag vendors manufacture your bulk swag items. On the other hand, swag platforms like PerkUp are in charge of the entire swag management process. These swag platforms will handle the rest once you’ve chosen your swag items and design. They will work directly with vendors, manufacturers, and distributors, so you don’t have to worry about logistics and inventory.

Say, instead of partnering with swag platforms, you picked a swag vendor because you wish to oversee the whole swag management process yourself. What you’ll need to do afterward is get familiar with lead times, that is, the manufacturing and shipping timelines.

Typically, bulk swag takes 15 working days or 3 weeks to manufacture. Of course, if you have an extra budget, you can pay a bit more for a rushed service. Do note, however, that if there is a need for a swag mockup or proof (which you need to approve), the process can take longer.

Let’s use an example to explain this further. Imagine that you and/or your manufacturer don’t have a warehouse in a specific country like India. In this scenario, the shipping time can be one to two weeks, depending on how far away the warehouse is from the recipient country. Because of this, bulk swag items are often produced and stored close to where they will be shipped.

Local warehousing also helps you cut down on costs. Let’s say that you decided not to avail yourself of local warehousing in the UK because you lack the budget upfront. So, you chose to just ship bound journal sets from your US warehouse to welcome your new hires. However, your supplier/swag platform informed you that doing this will make your shipping costs way higher than the item cost. Just to give you an example, the journal sets cost you $14 each but the shipping costs are estimated to be up to $30. That’s double the amount of the journal set! The discount you got from the item will just be null. That is why bulk swag and warehousing go hand-in-hand.

There’s also, of course, the need to manage your swag inventory. You’ve distributed most of the swag items you purchased, but there are still around a couple hundred swag items you have yet to give out. This brings us back to warehousing because, without the latter, you’ll have nowhere to store your swag items.

Having no idea where to store your swag items can be a headache, so remember to have a warehouse ready or make sure that your platform can handle the swag warehousing.

What are bulk swag’s benefits and purpose?

Bulk swag offers a range of advantages that can make it a great business opportunity for you and your business. Let’s take a look at these benefits that you should definitely remember.

First, bulk swag is cost-efficient, with a lower cost per item compared to On Demand swag. What does this mean? It means that you can definitely maximize your budget to ensure that each and every one of your employees can get their swag items. Add this on top of order discounts and bulk swag gives you bang for the buck!

Second, manufacturing items in bulk ensures brand consistency. While we’ve briefly tackled this earlier, it’s important for us to emphasize that bulk swag items are uniformly branded and/or designed. And this is important! Your swag items carry your brand identity, and having mismatched brand designs can put your business in a bad light.

Third, since you’ve got a lot of swag items on hand, you never have to worry about sending out swag items last minute. Have an urgent event that requires giveaways? Your stored pens and notebooks have got you covered. With bulk swag, you’re always ready for big campaigns or last-minute events.

Fourth, it’s scalable, meaning you can definitely use bulk swag to distribute items to large groups, such as entire departments or conference attendees. You need not stress over what items you can give away during trade shows anymore!

Lastly, bulk swag gives you more leeway for high-level of customization. Want to create unique designs for your tumbler? Wish to opt for higher-quality items like suitcases or backpacks? Bulk swag is the perfect solution.

Despite its benefits, bulk swag does come with some challenges. One notable downside is the upfront investment required. This is because ordering in bulk means you have to pay for a large quantity of swag items at once. Of course, there are discounts you can definitely leverage, but you must weigh the cost advantages and your budget.

You’ll also need to consider warehousing. As mentioned, bulk swag and warehousing go hand-in-hand. Finding space to store your swag items until they’re ready for distribution or shipment can add inventory management stress and costs. 

Balancing these downsides with the benefits is key to deciding if bulk swag is the right approach for your business needs.

What are the best items for bulk swag?

So, you now know the definition, process, and benefits of bulk swag. If you’re a business owner, a marketing specialist, or an HR manager, you might be convinced to buy bulk swag with all its perks. But what items should you buy in bulk?

Well, you have a lot of options for bulk swag items. But before we delve into that, take a look at these considerations you must include in your decision-making process to avoid any unwanted or incorrect swag items.

Choose bulk if…

… it’s not sized

Apparel like t-shirts, sweaters, and pants aren’t the best swag items to buy in bulk. With different body sizes and shapes, as well as varying style preferences, buying apparel in bulk might leave you with unused swag items. For a more in-depth look into why apparel is best to buy on demand, check out this helpful article.

Tumblers, office supplies, water bottles. Now, these are all fantastic swag items you should definitely buy in bulk. They will have the same sizes and models, making it easier for your manufacturer to ensure brand consistency. 

… there’s a lot you need

Have an upcoming trade event? Got new 5-10 new employees every month? Bulk swag items like giveaway pens and onboarding kits are the way to go! After all, bulk swag is great for ordering large quantities of swag items.

… you need big swag items

Manufacturing just one suitcase or duffel bag for a loyal customer may cost you more than the item itself, as the design and actual production costs can take up a lot of resources. Producing 100+ suitcases or duffel bags, however? Now, that will give you extra discounts and save you production costs.

… you need small swag items (that don’t have sizes)

Okay, so buying big items in bulk is good. But purchasing small items in bulk is also great! Think of stickers, keychains, and lanyards. These are relatively small items with no custom sizes that can be easily produced in bulk! Consistent branding and cheap costs—what more can you ask for?

… it requires fancy customization

Imagine seeing the perfect green shade for a reusable tumbler you want to gift to your environmentally-conscious clients but can’t find the right shade on your swag vendor or platform’s website. Bulk swag is the solution for this! If you wish to use a very specific color for your swag items, then it’s best to choose bulk swag. Other high levels of customization, referred to as ‘bespoke,’ where you have distinct preferences or demands for your swag items, are also recommended to produce in bulk.

These considerations show that it’s not just the swag items that dictate whether it’s good for bulk or on demand. Often, your own customization needs and preferences, as well as the items’ costs, can play a huge role in its suitability for bulk swag.

Now, as for the items, we’ve listed most of them when discussing the considerations. To summarize, here are the top items we recommend you buy in bulk: water bottles, coffee mugs, tumblers, stickers, keychains, lanyards, office supplies, backpacks, tote bags, and suitcases.

What are the differences between bulk swag and On Demand swag?

So, we’ve mentioned bulk swag and On Demand swag a couple of times already. At this point, you might wonder, what are the pros and cons of the two? And how are they different from each other? Well, let’s find out!

As previously discussed, bulk swag requires a minimum of 50 orders. This type of swag is easier to manufacture with consistent decoration during one production run. If you have recurring events or large campaigns planned, bulk swag is also the perfect solution for you. Last-minute or surprise events? Having bulk swag stored in a warehouse will also save you the stress of sourcing swag items at the last minute.

On the other hand, On Demand swag is a type of swag that only requires a minimum of 1 order. That’s right, just one! It’s perfect for employee recognition or one-time events as it allows you to customize your swag items depending on your recipient or specific need. With On Demand swag, you also only pay for what you need. For example, you wish to gift your employee of 20 years. Since you only have one team member with this milestone, you’ll only need to buy one swag item. That’s when you should choose On Demand: buy swag only when you need it.

On Demand swag also helps you save costs on warehousing and avoid stresses caused by excessive swag inventory. Plus, since it’s a 1-unit order minimum, it’s very sustainable and cost-efficient if you’re on a budget. Should you need to try out new swag ideas for your employees, clients, partners, or investors, On Demand swag is also the way to go!

One notable overlap between bulk swag and On Demand swag is the swag store. A swag store is a centralized platform where your employees, customers, partners, and investors can choose from a selection of swag items. With bulk swag, you can pre-stock your swag store with high-demand items for easier distribution. Meanwhile, On Demand swag will allow you to fulfill swag orders when they come in, which is perfect for one-off orders or apparel items. Together, both bulk swag and On Demand swag ensure that your swag store can cater to diverse recipient needs while still maintaining brand consistency and convenience.

When to use bulk swag? And who uses it?

You might wonder when exactly you can use a hundred or more swag items. So, we came up with the following scenarios to help you understand when it’s best to use bulk swag. Just take note that this isn’t an exhaustive list, and there are many other times when you can use bulk swag!

For each scenario, you’ll have to put yourself in the shoes of a business professional, so keep an open mind!

Scenario 1: Marketing Events

Picture this: You’re a marketing manager who’s gearing up for a large-scale trade show or conference where your company has a booth. You wish to draw attention and leave a lasting impression on the attendees. How to do this? Through bulk swag items like tote bags or water bottles. With bulk swag, you’ll have swag for everyone who stops by.

Scenario 2: Team Offsites

You're an HR manager, and your company is hosting a multi-day team retreat. What better way to set the tone than by providing everyone with matching t-shirts and travelwear? Bulk swag can boost your team’s spirit and also take away the stress of thinking about event souvenirs.

Scenario 3: Loyal Client Gifts

As a long-time business owner, you owe everything to your clients, especially those who’ve been with you since you started your business. To show appreciation, you can choose bulk swag items like premium drinkware or bespoke bags. This way, you can customize swag items without the worry of personalizing them for each customer.

Scenario 4: New Hire Swag

Your company is getting bigger and your departments hire 5 to 10 new employees every month. You wish to continue a long-standing tradition of welcoming your employees with custom onboarding kits. What do you get? Bulk swag items like notebooks, pens, and mugs, of course! And if you want these items to be kitted in a specific way, say for example in neatly packed boxes with a personal welcome note, bulk swag can make that happen.

When it comes to large-scale swag needs, bulk swag is the ultimate choice. From cost savings to streamlined production and brand consistency, ordering in bulk checks all the boxes if you’re aiming to maximize value while maintaining quality. 

At PerkUp, we take bulk swag a step further. As a global swag platform, we don’t just handle the logistics—we make it effortless. Whether you’re sending bulk swag to your teams across the country or around the world, we make the process easy. Check out how we make the difference in bulk swag solutions.