There are technically only two ways in which any business on the market for a set of expo/marketing display banners can pick them up – those being directly from the suppliers or via third-parties. From the largest of permanent displays to smaller and more portable pop up banner stands, it’s never been easier to pick up thousands of different products from literally hundreds of different sellers online. It’s also possible to place orders through a fair few High Street retailers, but in any and all instances the professionals only ever advise one thing:
Avoid the middlemen at all costs.
In terms of middlemen, what’s being referred to here at the third-party resellers that set up stores (usually online) and simply buy stocks in from the manufacturers themselves and sell them on. Not the end of the world you might think, and indeed a somewhat standard way of doing business, but in the age of online retail it’s just as easy and far more beneficial to go straight to the source instead.
Here’s why:
1 – Larger Range
First of all, third-party resellers can for fairly obvious reasons only ever keep a relatively limited range of banners and stands in stock at any one time. Of course, it’s possible you find something to suit, but in terms of finding that 100% perfect stand, the more there are to browse through, the better. So this is one of the reasons why going straight to the source is a better idea as with an unrivaled range of products on offer, finding the perfect product to suit becomes much easier. And what’s more, shopping this way also opens up the opportunity for custom orders and bespoke designs, which are rarely possible with third-parties.
2 – Lower Prices
In order for third-party resellers to stay in business, they will of course have little choice but to add a premium onto the price of everything they sell – this is just the way this area of the market works. More often than not it might be a small percentage, but it’s still a percentage more than you’d have to pay were you to buy direct. When you buy direct from the manufacturer or wholesaler, you gain access to the same low prices as the resellers. As such, it doesn’t make a great deal of sense at all to spend more than you have to with there being no real benefit to doing so.
3 – Faster Fulfillment
In an instance where the products being ordered should ideally be manufactured and delivered as quickly as possible, this is again a strong argument for choosing to buy direct. The reason being that when you order via a middleman, it’s a case of passing your order to them in order for it to then be passed on once again to the actual supplier. This technically makes the ordering process twice as complicated and long-winded as it needs to be, doubling the likelihood of delays and shipping issues. By contrast, when you order direct from a manufacturer or supplier, you place the order, they fill it and the boards and banners you order are with you much quicker.
4 – Better Service
Whether it’s a case of seeking advice with the banner’s design in the first place or asking a few questions further down the line, chances are that sooner or later you’ll need to speak to the supplier. When dealing directly, this means getting in touch with the relevant professionals and having your queries addressed in real time. By contrast, deal with a middleman and it might be a case of relaying your every question and query through them, which again means doubling the complexity of making what should in theory be a very simple query.
5 – Superior Quality
Last but not least, third-party middlemen will more often than not use a wide variety of suppliers in order to keep costs to an absolute minimum and minimise delivery times. Not a problem on the surface, but this also makes it extremely difficult to guarantee any kind of consistency of quality as they may use one brand today, another tomorrow and then any other number of random brands over the coming months. When you choose to buy direct on the other hand, you benefit from a single, uniform level of quality that will never change no matter what you buy or when you buy it. And as these display stands will inherently play an important role when it comes to the reputation of your business, there’s really no room for allowing second-best to creep into the equation.
