Sunday, December 5th, 2010
If you’re working to a limited budget and you need to buy some USB memory sticks printed with your logo or brand on then its useful to know a few things that will help keep your costs down whilst at the same time making sure you don’t buy a load of cheap and nasty rubbish that is just going to fail and reflect badly on your brand or company.
Branded USB Memory sticks, also commonly referred to as USB Flash Drives, pen drives, thumb drives, and data sticks are growing in popularity all the time. Every day its seems that more and more companies are selling them and there is now a huge range of models and styles to choose from so just how do you make sure you are getting the best product and the best price.
USB Twister Flash Drives
Here’s a list of useful tips on how to secure the best deal from your supplier(s) for branded USB memory sticks:
- Time = money. If you know you’ve got to buy branded USB memory sticks then allow at least two weeks to source them and ideally factor a few extra days in to be on the safe side. If you do this you will give your supplier enough time to get your order manufactured, data-loaded and printed at the factories in China where costs are lower. If you leave things too late you’ll have to find a local supplier that holds blank, unprinted stock of USB memory sticks and is able to get them printed and data-loaded for you in the UK.UK labour and print costs are significantly higher than in China so expect to pay a premium for any “rush” or last minute service. Premiums for “rush” or last minute orders can be avoided by simply planning ahead.
- Choose the most popular model – The cheapest USB memory sticks tend to be those that are the most popular and at the moment this is the Twister USB Flash Drive. It’s a perennial favourite because it’s small, portable, has no cap to lose, comes in a wide range of colours and it takes print well. Because it is produced in such high volume it tends to be the cheapest model available so if money is an issue make sure you ask for prices on the Twister Usb Flash Drive.
- Don’t pay for memory you don’t need – USB memory sticks come in a wide range of memory sizes starting at 64MB and going all the way up to a whopping 32GB! The trick with a promotional USB memory stick is to give away something that has enough memory to carry any data you want to load onto it and has enough memory to make it useful to the recipient. Don’t go overboard though and pay for lots of memory that won’t get used – the most popular memory sizes at the moment for promotional USB sticks are 1GB and 2GB.Smaller memory sizes like 64MB and 128MB are still available but they are only pennies less than a 1GB drive and they’re so small they don’t encourage repeat usage which means less exposure for the brand that is printed on them. Only use very small capacity sticks if your are happy for them to be thrown away after the initial use.
- Buy a reasonable number – don’t expect a cheap price for your branded USB flash drives if you only order a handful of them. There are several fixed costs involved in the manufacture and supply of printed USB drives including print set up, printing, proofing, data-loading and freight and these costs need to be amortised across every USB stick that you order. Consequently most suppliers won’t quote for less than 50 pieces but you only start to get real economies of scale if you are buying 100+ pieces.if you have other projects at a later date that you might need USB drives for then where possible try and order for these at the same time – its cheaper to get two separate logo’s printed on a single order than it is placing two orders.
- Buy from a reputable supplier that can supply meaningful warranties. One of the dangers buying on price is that you quality of product, level of supplier service and warranty can be ignored. This is dangerous territory particularly as you’re buying something that has your brand printed on it. Unfortunately there a re some unscrupulous suppliers in the market that will offer fantastic prices but make sure the prices are for new, grade A flash chips and that they come with a warranty that is handled locally. Its tempting to buy from overseas suppliers but consider how you’ll deal with failures and any other issues (delays, poor print, no data loaded) if anything goes wrong.
- Keep and eye on the currency exchange rates. All USB flash drives are manufactured in China and your suppliers will buy them from the factory in US dollars. Consequently if you are looking to buy branded USB flash drives at a time when your local currency is weak against the dollar then expect prices to be high. Whilst you can’t be expected to turn into a currency dealer over-night it is useful to understand that this one dynamic can have a huge bearing on the price you’ll pay. So, if you do buy your USB flash drives once or twice a year try and choose a time when currency prices are in your favour.
Tags: branded, budget, cheap, cheapest, Flash drives, Memory Sticks, printed, usb
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Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
Advertising and marketing budgets have been hit hard over the last couple of years and whilst there are glimmers of the economy recovering its still early days and consequentially purse strings are still pulled relatively tight. That said businesses can’t afford to stand still and the need to advertise and promote your business and products is still of paramount importance but, where hard cash is being spent its critical that you squeeze as much as possible from your budget.
When it comes to buying promotional USB flash drives there are several factors that you should consider because they will help you to get the best possible “bang for buck”:
- Don’t pay for unnecessary memory – USB flash drives are available in a wide range of sizes starting from 32MB all the way up to 64GB. Popular USB flash drive sizes are 1Gb – 2GB and these are normally ample for any corporate gifts or promotional give-aways. If you buy USB flash drives larger than this then the costs start to rise quite substantially. Similarly if you buy flash drives smaller than 1GB the price reduction is relatively small but more importantly the likelihood of the flash drive being used on an on-going basis is dramatically reduced. Without on-going use you don’t get the benefit of your brand being continually recalled or promoted.
Tags: Branded USB, budget, cheapest, drives, flash, Printed USB, promotional, Promotional USB, usb
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Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
If you’ve only got a relatively small budget for branded USB memory sticks and you want to know how far you can stretch it then there are some steps you can take to maximise your spend. There are also some pitfalls to be aware of when trying to “trim” costs so that you don’t end up with poorly finished sticks that are prone to failure.
Things to do to ensure you are getting value for money and that you don’t overspend unnecessarily include:
- Shop around. There are lots of companies offering to supply branded USB memory sticks these days so make sure you get at least a couple of quotes and make sure you get a fully inclusive price. Its perfectly acceptable for the actual carriage costs to get the sticks to you to be quoted separately but all other set-up costs, origination costs, data-loading costs etc. should be factored into the unit price when you are making comparisons.
- Don’t pay for lots of unnecessary memory. USB memory sticks come in various memory sizes starting at 64MB and going all the way up to 32GB. The most popular memory size for a promotional USB stick is between 512MB and 2GB. USB memory sticks of this size are large enough to carry your companies brochures, sales material and media files as well as being large enough for the recipient to use for the storage of their own data.
If you are looking purely at “lowest cost” promotion giveaways then think about using a 64MB or 128MB stick. These will be the cheapest options. The downside is the usable memory on them won’t make them that attractive to the user because they’ll fill them pretty quickly but they still have a reasonably high perceived value and they’re useful for distributing your own information.
- Printing is expensive and consequently the more colours you want printed on the USB memory stick the more expensive it’s going to be. It’s worth considering reducing complex logo’s with lots of colours to a single or two-colour version. Single or two colour prints still look great you just need to be more careful about choosing a body colour for the memory stick that works with the logo.
- Don’t leave it to last minute to orders your branded USB memory sticks otherwise you’ll have to buy locally held and locally printed stock. Many USB suppliers will hold some local stock but you’ll have far less choice in terms of style and memory size and you’ll pay significantly more to get them printed locally rather than during the manufacturing process at the factory. A lead-time of around 10-14 days should be ample.
- Stick to the more popular factory designs like the Twister USB flash Drive or other “classic” models. You’ll pay a premium for wood, metal and custom USB flash drives.
USB Memory Stick
In your search for value you should also be on the lookout for the following:
- Companies that offer a price that simply looks “too good to be true”. If one company’s price is significantly cheaper than the other quotes you’ve been given then it’s worth double-checking that you are not being offered Grade B (re-cycled) flash modules. It not uncommon for these to be passed off as “new” by some less reputable companies. The USB memory sticks will look and feel the same as the genuine article but Grade B chips are notoriously unreliable and tend to be very slow at transferring data.
- Make sure the suppliers you’re talking to have a contact phone number and a proven track record of delivery. If things don’t arrive on time or there is a subsequent problem with your order that you need to resolve then it’s important that you are able to get hold of them. With growing amounts of business conducted over the its increasingly difficult to know just how big or small the company you are dealing with actually is. Don’t be afraid to use resources like Google Earth, Companies House and other Trade bodies to check them out.
- Be aware that the price for USB memory sticks is volatile and driven by a number of factors including the currency markets, the supply/demand for flash chips around the world and Chinese Holidays! Because of this it’s important to get any price locked down and confirmed in writing.
Branded Memory Sticks
As a general rule of thumb you should be able to buy around at least 165 USB Memory sticks that are supplied in a gift box with a 2-colour print. These will be USB sticks at the bottom end of the memory size but they should be supplied with new, Grade A flash chips and controllers.
Tags: Branded USB, budget, buy, how many, Memory Sticks, price, Printed USB, USB Flash Drives, USB Memory Sticks
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