Introducing, PromoPepper.

Ah, promotional products.

Some call it swag. Others, merch.

But I dare you to call it useless, free sh*t you get at walkable conventions.

Okay, sometimes it is that.

It’s branded pens, notebooks, water bottles, totes, headphones, speakers, calendars, sunglasses, apparel, hats, calendars, umbrellas, towels, chargers, hand sanitizer, coasters, stickers, blankets, wrapped food and drink, magnets, phone accessories…the list goes on and on.

Some items are useful. Others aren’t. Looking at you, USB flash drive.

Aside from conventions, you can get them from job fairs, workplaces, grocery stores, music festivals, theme parks, sporting events, and even charity drives. Again, this list goes on too.

The promotional product industry is a behemoth. A $26.3 billion behemoth in fact, according to Behoe Inc.

And we’ve all taken part in this industry with or without knowing it. Whether we’re in the group of people who sell the stuff. Or in the group of people who have received the stuff. Some of it is useful, and some of it…well, not.

But, the industry is fragmented. I think everyone knows that.

The ordering process still garners the same endless questions. Are there shipping or setup fees? Do I get a sample first? Is there a return policy? What are your minimums?

There are the already-huge new kids, SwagUp.com and Swag.com, doing things their way by going direct-to-the-consumer (ooh, ahh). Then there’s the already-established, Halo.com and American Solutions for Business, leading the industry by doing what they’ve always done. The industry has a lot to it, some good, some bad.

Regardless of where you stand, there’s no denying there’s a lot to uncover.

And we want to be the ones to uncover it.