MerchButler Resources — guides, calculators, and playbooks for buying merch in bulk
Retreat Swag That Does Not End Up in a Drawer
The branded tote-and-water-bottle combo has been the default retreat gift for so long that nobody bothers to justify it anymore. It's cheap, it ships easily, and the vendor has a template ready. It also ends up in the back of a closet…
Trade Show SwagSaaS Conference Swag, By Event: Dreamforce, SaaStr, HumanX
Generic conference swag is basically expensive landfill. The companies that consistently run out of items before noon on day two aren't ordering more stuff, they're ordering the right stuff for that specific event, with a distribution…
Swag SpotlightsStanley Flowstate Spring Bottle 20oz: A Swag Spotlight
There is a version of company swag that lives in a drawer and a version that gets used every single day. The Stanley Flowstate Spring Bottle lands firmly in the second category, which makes it worth a serious look if you are buying branded…
Nonprofit Gala Favors That Don't Feel Cheap
Gala favors are the place a nonprofit budget gets undermined the fastest. The committee picks favors three weeks before the event, the budget gets squeezed at the venue contract, and the result is a $3 logo trinket on every place setting…
Sustainable Swag: What's Real, What's Greenwashing
"Eco-friendly" on a swag spec sheet means almost nothing. The promotional products industry has noticed that buyers want sustainable options and has responded by relabeling existing items with green-flavored adjectives. Real sustainability…
How to Collect T-Shirt Sizes from a Group
The problem is not that people do not know their size. The problem is that you sent the form in a Slack channel five days ago and the people who matter most to you have not opened it. Now it is Wednesday, the order locks Friday, and you…
How to Run a Walk-a-Thon (A 6-Week Playbook)
A walk-a-thon is the easiest "5K-shaped" fundraiser in the playbook. There is no chip timing. There is no permitting drama. The course is a parking lot or a school field. And the per-walker gross is often higher than a 5K because the…
Recycled Cotton vs Organic Cotton vs RPET: What Each Is, What Each Costs
The three materials your sustainable-swag vendor will most often offer are organic cotton, recycled cotton, and RPET (recycled polyester from PET bottles). They are not interchangeable. Each comes from a different process, performs…
Inclusive Sizing for Org Swag
Inclusive sizing for org swag is talked about a lot and explained badly. Most "inclusive sizing" content online is either a corporate-policy abstraction or a fashion-retailer's marketing page. Org buyers need a working reference. Here it…
Conference Swag Bag Ideas (with Per-Attendee Cost Math)
The swag bag at a conference is a different problem than the booth swag in the exhibit hall. As the conference organizer, you are buying for every attendee, not just the people who stop at a booth. The economics shift accordingly. What…
How to Plan an Onboarding Kit (Role × Remote × Budget)
The onboarding kit is the new hire's first physical interaction with the company. It sets a tone. The kits that land badly do too much (a 12-item box of branded keychains that says "we have a swag budget") or too little (a generic tee and…
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