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Business free-bees

N

notjustair

Well-known Member
I am browning sausage for spaghetti. I opened the drawer to get my favorite spoons to cook with. I have two that are identical. They are stainless and have wooden handles and are perfect for browning meat. Both of them faintly say "Collingwood Grain" on them - they were giveaways when the elevator used to give us merchandise.

I know the seed company hats and jackets, but what are some of your favorite "swag" that you have gotten from companies?
 
I guess I"m a simple man, because I don"t really care for anything but a hat here and there. Of course the little magnetic or sticky back calendars are great to put on the dash of the truck.
 
Back in the 1950s and 1960s the local elevators and creameries used to give away pottery bowls and cream pitchers.
Those free bees are now worth quite a bit.
At the local auctions they go for around $100. each.
Brian
 
Got a really nice Baldor Electric Motors jacket a few years back.

Don't know how or where this man came from, but one day he showed up where I worked, O.B. Macaroni Co., a 100 year old pasta factory.

He was a photographer working for Baldor, wanted to know if we had any Baldor motors in our plant, and could he photograph them for their calender.

At first I thought he was scamming me to get in to sell something, but he was on the level. We had some old motors, but he wanted the new ones, so we looked around, made a list, and he had several brand new motors and a VFD drive delivered! FREE!

I installed them, he came back and spent a week photographing them. We made the cover of the calendar that year, several inside pics, some posters, etc. I'm thinking that was around 08 or 09?

Then a few weeks later he dropped off my new jacket, still a nice jacket. Guys at the supply house wanted to know where it came from, said they don't even get those!
 
When I was growing up in the 50s a lot of companies passed out useable premiums. Everything from coffee mugs for a gas fill up, to dinnerware packed inside laundry detergent. A small box might have a cup or saucer in it, the larger boxes would have dinner plates. I have one light green coffee mug that came in a box of detergent, and a mug from a gasoline give away. Just remembered two more mugs from a now defunct radio station.
 

I know a fellow who is a very successful contractor, although I would not want to be successful in the manner that he does it. He was proudly showing off his new little Sterling dump truck, and at the time we were both on the fire dept. So I got an idea and I asked my friend who is a truck salesman if he could get me a Sterling jacket. Well, he did, and when I wore it to the next fire dept. meeting, the contractor was obviously jealous. He didn't say anything, but his reaction was priceless.
 
I got a little spatula (pancake turner) at a Federal Land Bank annual meeting about 30 years ago- Loved that thing- it was just the right size and balance, and we used it all the time, til it finally wore out a few years ago. FLB and PCA used to give out stuff at their annual meetings. Now, they don't even have annual meetings, much less give out stuff.
 
Seems like the most popular thing to do is have an open house with lots of fattening foods.
So, I treasure the good, usable items I have gotten- a miniature pair of vice grips, pair of leather gloves, and mostly, a high quality hooded, zippered, jacket.
 
I'm inclined to NOT buy stuff from companies that give out huge amounts of swag. Freebies aren't free. The cost of buying and customizing all that stuff has to come from the product they're selling...

Same goes for huge amounts of advertising. Think of how much better DR equipment would be if they cut their advertising budget in half and put that money into product development...

That said, I wear a Supersweet Feeds vest quite a bit and I've never bought Supersweet Feeds! Had it 15 years now and it's getting pretty careworn. Time to find another place to give me one!
 
The saucepan strainers the John Deere dealership handed out are great. From Van Wall, they fit the saucepan and strain whatever you"re cooking. They"re over twenty years old and still work fine.
 
About 20 years ago at some coop meeting a seed dealer had a drawing for a planter full of seed. When the winner's name was read, several of us snickered because the winner had just bought a very large planter with big boxes before they were common in our area.

The seed guy tried to weasel out of it because it was nearly a whole pallet of seed but eventually honored his word.

From then on, the winner got, at most, EIGHT BAGS OF SEED!!!!!!

I like getting caps as I send half of them to a cousin in a large city in another state. He enjoys not having to buy caps and has all of these caps that nobody else in his area has. He sends some local beer along when one of them visits. It is a win-win for both of us.
 
I got a nice grease gun as a door prize at a tractor dealers' spring open house one year. Lots and lots of yard sticks, calenders, and fridge magnets.

And just in case you think companies are spending a lot on the little stuff, go to Oriental Trading Co. and check out the deals. Companies, church groups, birthday parties, they've got you covered.
Oriental Trading Co.
 
(quoted from post at 19:49:45 02/02/14) I am browning sausage for spaghetti. I opened the drawer to get my favorite spoons to cook with. I have two that are identical. They are stainless and have wooden handles and are perfect for browning meat. Both of them faintly say "Collingwood Grain" on them - they were giveaways when the elevator used to give us merchandise.

I know the seed company hats and jackets, but what are some of your favorite "swag" that you have gotten from companies?
Click to expand...

It's been close to 50 years ago when they put those rubber cups (glasses) in bags of milk replacer. As a kid it was always fun to open a new bag. Those cups were some of our "fine china" back on the farm....probably still a few in the cupboard.
 
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