Five Checks Before Sending a Promotional Merchandise Quote

The moment before you send a promotional merchandise quote is the moment it becomes your commitment. A price that looked right when you last checked the supplier catalog may not match today's costs. A decoration method you assumed was standard might need confirming. And the margin that looked healthy when you quoted the main item can shrink once run charges, kitting, and delivery are properly accounted for. Five minutes of checking before you hit send is worth considerably more than three days of explaining after the order is placed.

Check the Supplier Pricing Is Current

Promotional merchandise supplier pricing moves more often than distributors expect. Setup fees, run charges, and unit costs all change - sometimes quarterly, sometimes without advance notice. If your quote is based on rates carried forward from a previous order or pulled from a catalog that hasn't been updated recently, you may be locking in a price that no longer reflects your actual cost.

Before sending, pull the live price for each line item. Confirm the setup fee and run charge are still accurate for the decoration method and quantity specified. If you store supplier rates in a system, check when those rates were last updated. A quote built on stale pricing is a margin problem waiting to happen - and it becomes your problem the moment the order is confirmed.

Confirm the Decoration Method and PMS Colour

Not every decoration method works on every product, and not every product can reproduce every colour accurately. Embroidery, screen printing, digital transfer, and laser engraving each have different limitations based on material, size, and the number of colours in the logo. A quote that specifies screen printing on a product better suited to embroidery creates a production problem - and a potential dispute over additional cost.

Before sending, check that the decoration method you've quoted matches what the product and the client's branding actually require. Verify whether the client's PMS colour can be reproduced accurately with the specified method, or whether a closest match applies. If you're quoting a colour-critical order and haven't confirmed this with the supplier, flag it. A brief note in the quote is better than an awkward conversation after production.

Establish the Artwork Situation

Artwork delays are one of the most consistent reasons promotional merchandise orders run late. Quotes that leave artwork requirements unresolved create friction from the first step of the order. Before sending, confirm whether the client has vector artwork available - specifically an AI or EPS file. If they only have a JPEG, PNG, or screenshot of their logo, that needs to be addressed in the quote.

Orders that reach the supplier with unusable artwork files often require a redraw charge that wasn't in the original quote. That charge either erodes your margin or becomes a conversation with the client about additional cost - neither outcome is ideal. A clear note in the quote about artwork requirements sets expectations early and removes a common delay from the production process.

Include All Fulfilment Costs

The unit price and decoration cost are only part of the total. Promotional merchandise quotes frequently lose margin when carriage, kitting, or multi-address delivery are omitted or underestimated. These costs are easy to miss when you're focused on the product lines, and easy to dispute if the client wasn't told about them upfront.

Before sending, check whether the order involves split delivery to multiple locations, and whether your carriage cost covers all drops. If the order requires kitting - assembling multiple items into a single pack - include the per-unit kitting charge. If any packaging is specified (branded boxes, tissue paper, inserts), make sure that cost appears in the quote. The items that look small individually are usually the ones that create margin problems when the final cost is reconciled.

Run the Margin Check One More Time

Once all costs are confirmed, run the calculation. Add up supplier costs, decoration fees, setup charges, carriage, and any kitting or packaging costs, then check the total against your quoted sell price. A quote that looked like a 35% margin when you built it may have dropped considerably once the actual run charges came through and delivery was properly costed.

Running a final margin check before sending - rather than after you've won the order - keeps your numbers honest and gives you the option to adjust before you're committed. The alternative is discovering the problem during fulfilment, when there's no straightforward way to fix it.

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None of these checks take long once they become routine. The distributor who sends a quote knowing the supplier pricing is current, the decoration method is confirmed, the artwork situation is understood, and the fulfilment costs are included, is in a far stronger position than one who wins the order first and then finds the gaps. Quote accuracy isn't about slowing down - it's about making every quote you send one you can deliver on.

• Promotional Product Quoting Software: Why Accuracy MattersGPPPN · accessed 2026-06-19
• 9 Common Promotional Product Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemPromotion Products · accessed 2026-06-19

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