I was at my friend’s house recently to work on a project with him. I had only been there a short time when he proudly showed me his new promotional product mug.
My first reaction was “did you buy it from Geiger?” He quickly reminded me that he asked if he should, but when he told me the quantity (12), I said our quantities are usually 72 or higher. So, he went ahead and purchased a quantity of 20 from an online seller that sold smaller quantities.
I asked him what he paid for them. Of course the price was much higher than we charge per piece for a similar mug. The pricing with setup would have been nearly the same if he bought 72 from us (or any traditional distributor), as he paid for only 20 from the online company who focuses on short-run printing.
My message to you is simple: If you have clients who are ordering small quantities due to setup costs and lower minimums, be sure to help them work through the math. Even if they pay a bit more for the total order, having the extra items to promote their business is a worthwhile reason to spend a little more.
