+- MacResource (https://forums.macresource.com)
+-- Forum: My Category (https://forums.macresource.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=1)
+--- Forum: Tips and Deals (https://forums.macresource.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=3)
+--- Thread: Anyone bought thumb drives in bulk with logo on for promotion? (/showthread.php?tid=166718)
Pages:
1
2
Anyone bought thumb drives in bulk with logo on for promotion? - (vikm) - 04-28-2014
Convinced my friend to get away from burning his stuff to dc/dvd for clients. He's on board with the thumb drives and is (indirectly) looking for suggested place to buy. Thanks for inout in advance.
Re: Anyone bought thumb drives in bulk with logo on for promotion? - dmann - 04-28-2014
Where are you located? Do you have a promotional products person you work with already? I'll let you know the factories you can trust (and in the interest of full disclosure, I rep a promotional flash drive company with a great reputation, but we can't sell to you directly.)
Most of what you see online will be through a promotional product company but I'll be happy to refer you to someone in your area if you need.
DM
Re: Anyone bought thumb drives in bulk with logo on for promotion? - TheTominator - 04-28-2014
Unlike USB flash drives, CDs/DVDs have the virtue that once they leave your control, they can't be contaminated by viruses prior to their being used.
Just food for thought since people love to find someone to blame and the promotional USB drives have that inviting logo on them.
Re: Anyone bought thumb drives in bulk with logo on for promotion? - dmann - 04-28-2014
Not sure what kind of info will be on the drives, but many of them can be passcode enabled. Extra charge, of course, but it is available in the promo world.
DM
Re: Anyone bought thumb drives in bulk with logo on for promotion? - jdc - 04-28-2014
I usually take those flash drives, reformat them and use them for personal stuff.
How about pre-printed CD/DVDs? Depending on volume, you can have them done or even buy a $100 inkjet and print them yourself...
http://www.meritline.com/dvd-r-inkjet-printable-media---c-7532.aspx
http://www.discmakers.com/products/bulk.asp
Re: Anyone bought thumb drives in bulk with logo on for promotion? - (vikm) - 04-28-2014
Thanks for the input. He has a product manufactured that he includes a couple of assembly/instructional videos with. He's just gonna dump them onto the drives maybe with a document or two. The bonus was that after they use the info, then they will likely reformat the drives or use them for persona stuff and maybe gain some additional advertising if people use them around others or share them (as opposed to a one off burned cd/dvd).
He's in Flagstaff, AZ if that makes a difference. He has searched online and found some suppliers but thought I'd ask here. I have no idea what kind of quantity he's looking at, but it won't be huge. It's a niche item in his industry. Like maybe (purely a guess) 50 or so to start? No idea.
Thanks again
Re: Anyone bought thumb drives in bulk with logo on for promotion? - jdc - 04-28-2014
If hes already googled it then he should have costs figured out -- but with such a small qty you are probably talking $6 eachish for even a small 256 MB drive. $300 easy.
Re: Anyone bought thumb drives in bulk with logo on for promotion? - dmann - 04-29-2014
Most companies have a 100 piece minimum. If he is only looking for 25-50, it might actually be cheaper to buy them retail and have a local pad printer put his company name on them.
For a 100 qty buy of 2GB drives from the line I rep, the cost per drive is running between $7.50 and $9.00 depending on the drive style. There is a $56.25 set up charge for imprinting.
If you look at places like Branders or 4Imprint, they are the promotional product companies I referred to. They all buy from the same suppliers (like the company I rep) and resell to customers like you. It's the way the promotional industry is structured. If you look at a company like Leeds (leedsworld.com) they are supplier company, not one I rep, and they supply companies like Branders and 4Imprint. The prices on the Leeds website are the suggested retail and they will not sell to you direct.
It's a somewhat antiquated way of doing business, but keep in mind that these companies stand behind the products they sell and represent. If the drives fail, they'll honor the warranties. Too many companies out there won't and I know this because my customers come back to me to save the day when their customers think they have saved a buck or two by going direct. Companies that are part of the promotional products industry will often have an ASI, PPAI, UPIC or SAGE identifying number or logo on the website.
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
DM
Re: Anyone bought thumb drives in bulk with logo on for promotion? - (vikm) - 04-29-2014
Thankee :-)
Re: Anyone bought thumb drives in bulk with logo on for promotion? - onthedownlow - 04-29-2014
I've used FlashBay before, and they were great quality and the price was comparable, but cheaper, than other places I checked into. If you are ordering drives with a logo (which most would), they have a minimum order quantity of only 25 units. When I last used them (in 2012), there were no origination/setup charges and screen printing included up to 4 spot colors. They charged me a $19 delivery fee, but that was fine as I received the drives in just a few days.
http://www.flashbay.com/
I still have my pricing list (PM me, if needed), and the prices obviously varied with quantity ordered, but the minimum 25 quantity prices basically ranged from $7-$8.50 for a 1GB drive (depending on model - there was a wood model that was around $10, but I won't include that in the range). They had sizes up to 32GB. Remember though, this was two years ago, so I would imagine the prices are cheaper, or are probably the same, but the storage size is larger starting out (2GB minimum, instead of the 1GB I had in 2012).
For comparison (from dmann's pricing), the 100 unit minimum for a 2GB drive, back in 2012 from Flashbay was between $5.68 to $6.50 (most of the drive models were $5.68 per unit).
You can request a demo/sample kit and they'll send you within the next day or two, basically, a pop-out briefcase sort of thing that has all of their flash drive offerings in it (free to keep), although just blanks (no actual storage inside). Great for showing and seeing which one you'd want to get or if others are interested. Many other companies offer the same style of drives, so when anybody asks me for a recommendation, I just pull these out and ask people what they'd prefer.
The rep I worked with was Marcus Quincy (probably just randomly assigned when I requested a quote) and he was very helpful and no pressure, but would follow-up from time to time. I am pretty sure he is still there, as I have received email from him recently asking if I might need drives for anything. I've received just a couple emails like that a year from him, and I don't mind it - reminds me of them and their service that I will use again, eventually.
I have no affiliation with this company, nor know anybody that works for them. I was just a regular customer, but would recommend.
Here is a site that has an average 9.9/10 satisfaction rate with them (2700+ reviews!): http://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.flashbay.com
(the first review, right now, even notes they "overnighted a nice sample pack of the drives they sold." - so they still do that)