If you’re a newbie to buying promotional items online, you’re probably worried about trusting an e-commerce site like Branders with your hard-earned dollar. And in these hard times, I would understand why.

It’s true: There are fly-by-night e-commerce sites that don’t deliver as promised, giving others a bad rep. How, then, do you pick out the bad apples from the good ones?

Aside from reading the product reviews, you can be a more involved promotional items buyer by calling your account manager and asking for a sample. (What, you didn’t think that was possible?)

It’s easy to be misled by what you see on the Internet, so the best way to judge the quality of an item is getting an actual sample of it, which you can get for free.

See a sample before you buy. Call 877-BRANDERS and ask for one now.