Buying promotional bags

Bags of all kinds are one of the leading promotional items today. Messenger bags, backpacks, tote bags, and duffel bags all have wide-ranging appeal and are easily imprinted with your company logo to create a long-lasting reminder of your business. Other options include insulated lunch bags and computer bags.

You’ll almost always purchase your promotional bags from a distributor. Most distributors work with multiple manufacturers to offer a range of bags (and other promotional products) that will appeal to any client. They can also help you plan your campaign, from choosing the bags to distribution.

Although you may be choosing a distributor to create a specific promotional bag, chances are that if you’re satisfied with the work they do, you’ll go back to them for future promotional products of other kinds. Therefore, it’s a good idea to run your evaluation as though you are choosing a long-term partner for your business. Some key considerations:

• Turnaround time. The vendor should be responsive throughout the process of creating your items. They should deliver your items when they’re promised. And you may want to ask what capabilities they have for rushing a job if necessary.
• Professional service. Customer service reps should be well trained and able to offer assistance and advice as you organize your promotion.
• Product quality. While the distributors don’t actually make the bags, they should guarantee the quality of the items and the imprinting.

As with any bulk order, your per-item price for promotional bags gets lower as your quantity increases. These discounts are tiered at pre-set levels, so be sure to ask what quantity you’d need to order to get the next price break: you can always distribute a few more bags. Some distributors also get better discounts from manufacturers based on their overall volume. You can expect to pay $3 to $10 each for basic totes, insulated bags, and duffel bags, or $12 to $45 for backpacks and computer bags. Deluxe promotional bags – leather briefcases or rolling backpacks – can run $50 to $80 or more.