How Much Should I Pay for a Pop Up Gazebo?

Warning: This is trick question!

Buying a a marquee tent, aka pop up gazebo is an exhausting process, what with the numerous options in sizes, colours, and features available in the market presently. It’s like buying a smartphone. You can get a phone that everyone is buying, simply because it’s trending, or you can actually think why you needed a smartphone in the first place, decide on the merits and demerits of different sets, shortlist one of them, and then go on to buy it. Similarly, cheaper tents are usually inexpensive, but a heavy duty gazebo will set you back by thousand or two grands, if you factor in branding and printing as well.

So, How Much are Marquee Tents Anyways?

Well, you can go ahead and quote a random figure as a promotional gazebo’s price, because there’s no single, correct answer. Buying a pop up gazebo is just one of those things where you get what you pay for. So, while a low-quality tent will probably cost no more than $700, a premium heavy duty gazebo with custom branding will be steeply priced.

Okay, fair enough. But, this still doesn’t answer my question.

Because, you’re not asking the right question.

A gazebo’s price is not only determined by its size. It’s also affected by several other factors that play a pivotal role in your tent buying experience. Let’s look at these.

What Should I Look for When Buying a Marquee Tent?

We’ve created this succinct four-point checklist for you to find out if a folding gazebo is right for you. Factor in these questions to find if a pop-up gazebo is worth its price tag:

1. What is the Strength and Durability of My Marquee Tent?

Umm…it should be strong, duh! This is obvious. The next question, though, is tough.

How strong?

There is a vast range available from low-grade canopies suited for recreational purposes and going all the way up to heavy-duty, professional grade marquees with numerous options in between.

Recreational tents are lightweight with a steel frame that can be installed quickly. These are available on most sport stores and are perfect for house parties, leisure, and recreational activities. You can buy a 3m × 3m pop-up gazebo with custom printing in this category.

Professional grade tents, on the other hand, sport sturdy aluminium bodies with commercial aluminium connectors, adjustable roof tensions, all-weather roof fabrics, and advanced branding options. A medium range frame in this category can cost somewhere between $600-$1,000 at the very least. The pricing varies with your branding requirements.

For businesses and marketers planning an aggressive branding exercise through roadshows, exhibitions, and networking events, a commercial heavy-duty promotional gazebo is the right answer. These tents are extremely resilient, long-lasting, and all-weatherproof. With customised branding, these babies will set you back by over $1,500.

2. How Soon Do I Need My Pop-up?

Most high-quality gazebos will need around 15 days to be manufactured, printed, shipped, and delivered. Imported tents that are ordered internationally usually take longer to be delivered for obvious reasons – they’re shipped from greater distances. But, they are slightly cheaper than their local counterparts, as the labour costs are significantly low.

On the other hand, shorter production time is offered for branded gazebo, NZ-wise by local suppliers who stock frames from overseas but provide in-house printing and branding. They do away with the custom time and shipping with premium quality, but they can be expensive comparatively.

3. What About Branding?

The only reason why marketers prefer an outdoor tent is because of its versatile branding capabilities, and unsurprisingly, this is the only factor that considerably affects the tent’s final prices. Printing is cost-intensive, as every business has it’s unique requirements.

The cheapest option is spot printing where only certain parts of the tent are printed, usually with the business logo or event details. This graphic is emblazoned separately on the canopy fabric and is not very durable. After regular exposure to the elements, it starts peeling off. Spot printing is only recommended for low-budget events, with limited channels for a business to gain exposure.

Most clients prefer edge-to-edge printing, which is done using dye sublimation or digital printing. This kind of printing essentially entails transferring the artwork inside the canopy fabric. Sublimation is a chemical process that changes a solid into gas directly, without passing through the liquid stage. Sublimation printing transfers the desired artwork onto the canopy fabric from the solid to gaseous state. This is achieved through special dyes that print the mirror work of the image and content on to transfer paper which is placed on the fabric under a heat press. The press then transforms the solid print into gaseous state, permeating the fabric pores and allowing the gas to enter inside. Once the fabric cools off, these pores are closed and the ink returns to its normal state – becoming one with the fabric.

Dye sublimation printing is indiscernible as opposed to spot printing, where you can feel the difference between printed and non-printed areas. Dye sublimated prints are fade-resistant, richer, and more vibrant to onlookers and bystanders.

By now, you’d have understood that sublimation printing, by its sheer virtue, is costlier than spot printing.

4. Do You Provide Customised Packages with My Heavy Duty Gazebo?

Most gazebo manufacturing companies offer customised packages. These usually bundle two or more services together. For instance, you might get a set of pull-up banners free with your pop up gazebo if you avail edge-to-edge custom printing. Customised packages are usually economical, for you get several services in the cost of a single product. Sellers promote these packages during holiday season, so be on the lookout for one right now!

Bonus: How good is your sales support?

The website and business looks promising, but if they fail to answer your questions or resolve your queries in time, don’t even think twice before looking for a better partner. After all, you can never put a price on how well a business serves you. A good pre-, and post-sales support can make or break a business, and you must always go for a vendor that understands your business’ demands clearly and offers practical solutions for handling these requirements. Couple of pointers that make a business stand out are:

• They know the process inside out. The sales support must be genuinely knowledgeable and not just read superficially out of a script.
• They offer handy tips without any obligations.
• Their warranty and exchange process is easy to understand and implement.
• They are proactive, offer ready support, and quick redressal to grievances.

It’s always better to pick up the phone and talk to the sales experts, rather than just mailing to and fro. If you can, try visiting the store once. Do check out the online reviews and ratings to gain further insights.

6. Finally, how much should I spend on a marquee tent?

Well, in our experience, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Buying a pop-up gazebo is a serious business. Not only will you risk your team’s life underneath a cheap tent, but also your guests’. Hastily built, low-quality tents always stand out and it’s your business that will take the ultimate hit on its reputation. So, think and decide – would you buy a premium quality, expensive, heavy-duty gazebo as a one-time investment or a cheap, unsteady shelter every two years?

And when you do decide that a resilient promotional gazebo is right for you, call Extreme Marquees. We’d love to hear from you! You can also browse through our collection of branded gazebo, NZ-wise, online.