Are you looking for a classic promotional item to give away at events, send to a big-name prospect, gift to employees or keep at your brick-and-mortar location for visitors? How much can you expect to pay per pen, and what features should you include to get it just right in appearance, performance and price?
At Integra, we’ve answered this question hundreds of times for customers in vastly diverse industries. We know every budget and vision differs from the next. You probably want to get a good idea of the factors that affect pricing first and foremost.
You might have a specific pen style in mind or have no idea where to even start. In either case, this blog post was written with you in mind. We’ll teach you about some of the most prominent, popular pens out there with examples. You’ll also get to see a price breakdown of what we would consider low-, mid- and high-tier pens, so that you can find the right fit for your budget and goals.
You may not know exactly what specs to choose or precisely what the bottom line will be since features and prices vary so drastically within promotional pen sales. You will, however, be able to narrow your focus to the category and style of pen that works best for you, and from there, the selection process gets a lot more fun!
1. Promotional Pens in the Lowest Price Range
Here are some of the common characteristics of pens at the lowest price point:
- Material: Plastic
- Activation: Click, cap or twist
- Branding: Single-color
- Number of impressions: One
- Impression location: Barrel or clip
- Impression method: Screen printing
- Price range: As low as $0.30 to $0.50 per pen, on average
Let’s say you’re going to an expo or job fair, and you want to make sure you keep lots of pens in stock for passersby. Events like these can net hundreds or even thousands of visitors, some of whom will be quality prospects, but many of whom you’ll never hear from again. That’s just the nature of the beast. You attend these events to find those among the crowd you think you’d best serve — and more importantly, to make sure they find you…and preferably remember you!
So first, we set the bait, and everybody knows that the bait at a high-volume event with lots of quickly moving foot traffic is loot. Swag. Merch. Call it what you will, but most tables keep a stock of classic, popular promotional items to give away to anyone who wants the goods, and pens certainly belong on the list.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking plastic pens can’t look and feel high-quality. Options like the BIC Clic Stick have been around for ages and tend to perform well for years. If you’d like to add Pantone colors to get the branding just right, you can do so for just $10.00 per color mixing. Other ways to get a little more mileage out of your design options without a huge boost in cost include selecting barrel, clip and tip colors, printing your logo with multiple colors
But you want to keep costs as low as possible, because again, you could be serving a huge crowd. Consider ordering in bulk, as the more you order, the lower your unit prices (other than shipping) will be.
2. Promotional Pens in the Medium Price Range
Common characteristics in the medium price range include:
- Material: Plastic or metal
- Activation: Click or twist
- Branding: Single-color
- Number of impressions: One
- Impression location: Barrel or clip
- Impression method: Laser engraving or screen printing
- Features: Laser light, stylus, double stylus, multi-tool
- Packaging: Poly bagging (roughly $0.06 extra per pen) or black velour sleeves (roughly $0.55 extra per pen)
- Price range: From $0.70 to $2.00 per pen, on average
You could go with a mid-tier pen for your promotional events if you have a larger budget for the project or expect to see a smaller crowd. Metal pens often have a higher perceived value, and you can choose a suede finish to give a soft, high-quality feel to them.
In each one of these categories, you should keep your lead time in mind. The smaller the time frame, the fewer options you’ll have, and the more likely your prices will rise. To get an estimate of your project timeline from Integra, try our timeline calculator below.
The features you can find in this price range could form a list a mile long. They’ll give your pen extra usability and, if you choose wisely, boost brand memory. Plus, no one wants to lose a pen with fun, nifty little features!
You’ll still enjoy lower per-unit prices with a bulk order of mid-tier pens. Metal pens are a highly popular option, and fortunately, that doesn’t always skyrocket the prices.
3. Promotional Pens in the High Price Range
Some of the common pen characteristics you’ll find in the high price range include:
- Style: Executive
- Material: Metal
- Activation: Click or twist
- Branding: Single-color
- Number of impressions: One to two
- Impression location: Barrel or clip
- Impression method: Laser engraving
- Packaging: Black velour sleeves (roughly $0.55 extra per pen) or velvet-lined gift box (roughly $0.90 extra per pen)
- Packaging options: One to two pens each
- Price range: Anywhere from $3 to $15 per package, on average
Let’s say you have a loyal customer who orders on a recurring basis from your business. Or maybe you’re trying to get a high-value prospect to sign on the dotted line. Or perhaps the goal is to spoil your employees with high-quality branded pens.
If you have an event coming up and want to impress the most interested parties, you can avoid common promotional mistakes by ordering just a few of these high-tier pens and keeping them out of public reach. When a valuable prospect stops by to chat with you or check out your business, give them a gift box with a pen they’ll love. You may even get a chance to schedule a follow-up!
Whatever the goal, you’ll want to explore executive-style pens to really send a message of value and quality. Most clients we’ve worked with wouldn’t want to bulk order these high-cost pens, but there’s a time and a place for them, so keep them in mind as an option.
Personalize Pens Within Your Ideal Price Range
Truly, the options are endless. You might be the type of person who feels overwhelmed when the selection pool gets too large, and that’s a great opportunity to shop based on budget rather than browsing a full catalog.
Plenty of the selections listed above can be mixed and matched with varying effects on final price, so you really can make your pens your own by deciding which factors are must-haves, which are nice-to-haves and which you’d like to sidestep altogether.
If you’re looking for other promotional products to pair with your pens, or even wondering about the cost of printing your company literature for an event, check out Integra’s pricing page for some ranges on the products we offer.
And if you’d like to get started with a personalized pen presentation from a specialist who will learn your goals and budget first, reach out to an Integra representative below to get started.
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