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Ask HN: What do you do with all your unused tech "swag"?

I’ve moved jobs a few times in the last few years, and have accumulated quite a bit of tech…junk We’re talking too many water bottles, socks that dont fit, luggage tag holders, etc I’m sure I’m not the only one with the “box of unused tech swag” and throwing it all away feels like a waste. Has anyone found a good way to put all this to use?

starkparker 1y ago
No. They are by definition useless. When I start at a company, I ask if there's a swag opt-out, and if they don't offer one I lobby for it. When I get swag I didn't request or want, I refuse the package or ship it back. I'm happy to accept shirts or hats when I'm in a visibly customer-facing role or for an event, but the rest of the swag is pure and instant waste, and it makes me like the company less. I get why much of it is done the way it's done (minimum order sizes, quantity discounts, contract reqs, as comp bonuses thrown in with customer/event swag orders) but I don't want that shit in my house.
JohnFen 1y ago
Before I learned my lesson and stopped accepting swag (except t-shirts which are always useful), I had a similar accumulation. Eventually, I just donated it all to the local equivalent of Goodwill. I was given a bunch of swag when I started my current job, and just left it in the corner of my cube. When I move on, I'll leave it behind right where it is.
apothegm 1y ago
Buy nothing groups, curb alerts, thrift stores.
cinntaile 1y ago
Try to sell it on craigslist?
Motanachristian 1y ago
[dead]
silentpuck 1y ago
I usually just give it to someone who needs it. It's amazing how even a “useless” item can become useful in the right hands.
entrepy123 1y ago
If it's a great swag item from a unicorn that you were at early enough to feel special about, you could frame it and put it up on the wall to look back fondly on.
iExploder 1y ago
what is the point of swag anyway, why do companies waste money on these useless items?
- JohnFen 1y ago
  Because it takes advantage of a well-known human tendency to think more kindly of people who have given you a gift. It's a variation of the truth that your customers will tend to think better of your products if they get something unexpected and free along with the product, even if that thing is of low or no actual value.
  - iExploder 1y ago
    people who don't enjoy clutter and waste must be still outliers then
    - JohnFen 1y ago
      It generally works even when the recipient doesn't actually want the thing. It's a manipulation tactic that leverages a couple of aspects of human behavior that allows for societies to function. Sadly.
  - TristanBall 1y ago
    While this true enough, an ironic side effect of my attending a couple of rounds of sales related negotiation training ( compulsory for everyone at that company ), was to really highlight how calculatingly manipulative this is. I mean, we kinda all know that anyway, but somehow it reinforced it enough that I know find it actively distasteful. Even the classic sales approach of buying coffee or a meal feels creepy know, but I've had to relearn to accept it because it's just so hard to fight every time. When I tell people, the normal response is encredulous "but it's free?". It's really really not, the costs just aren't immediately financial. (Gifts outside corporate life are generally fine, an actual human wanting to "manipulate" me into liking them more is generally expressing some level of affection. A corporation cannot do that) Every know and again I get something funny enough that it gets me anyway.. I'm very fond of my all blue Rubic's cube from ibm for example, and I've got a few unbranded water bottles around the place. Anything else I can't politely refuse just gets binned as soon as I can do so without a fuss.
getwiththeprog 1y ago
Surely the era of plastic water bottles should come to an end?
devonnull 1y ago
If I'm not using it, I usually give it away. The only things I've kept from conferences/events that I've attended are a couple of metal water bottles, a flash drive or three, and a bottle opener.
sloaken 1y ago
I am selective in what I grab. When I see something, I run through a list of end destinations: My desk, my home, my wife, my kids, neighbor kids. Otherwise pass. Well unless its a bottle of water. But I do like toys I can use to relax my brain at work.
al_borland 1y ago
I’ve given some of the water bottles to my nephews. I was never going to use them, and now it looks they get a lot of use. They seem to be their go-to water bottles now.
palata 1y ago
> throwing it all away feels like a waste. Swag is waste anyway. If you give it away, the only difference is that somebody else will throw it away (and you may feel better).
31carmichael 1y ago
Throw it away, and don't collect free things in the future. Pay for things you want or need.
austin-cheney 1y ago
Most of my tech swag is backpacks and coffee mugs. I have a closet with a stack of unused backpacks I am not willing to give away. I am still using an Orbitz branded backpack from a decade ago.
runjake 1y ago
I usually give them to my kids. For clothing, hats, etc I dedicate them to painting/yard work/etc throwaway clothes. They're usually made of the cheapest fabrics anyway.

starkparker 1y ago

No. They are by definition useless. When I start at a company, I ask if there's a swag opt-out, and if they don't offer one I lobby for it. When I get swag I didn't request or want, I refuse the package or ship it back. I'm happy to accept shirts or hats when I'm in a visibly customer-facing role or for an event, but the rest of the swag is pure and instant waste, and it makes me like the company less. I get why much of it is done the way it's done (minimum order sizes, quantity discounts, contract reqs, as comp bonuses thrown in with customer/event swag orders) but I don't want that shit in my house.

JohnFen 1y ago

Before I learned my lesson and stopped accepting swag (except t-shirts which are always useful), I had a similar accumulation. Eventually, I just donated it all to the local equivalent of Goodwill. I was given a bunch of swag when I started my current job, and just left it in the corner of my cube. When I move on, I'll leave it behind right where it is.

apothegm 1y ago

Buy nothing groups, curb alerts, thrift stores.

cinntaile 1y ago

Try to sell it on craigslist?

Motanachristian 1y ago

[dead]

silentpuck 1y ago

I usually just give it to someone who needs it. It's amazing how even a “useless” item can become useful in the right hands.

entrepy123 1y ago

If it's a great swag item from a unicorn that you were at early enough to feel special about, you could frame it and put it up on the wall to look back fondly on.

iExploder 1y ago

what is the point of swag anyway, why do companies waste money on these useless items?

JohnFen 1y ago
Because it takes advantage of a well-known human tendency to think more kindly of people who have given you a gift. It's a variation of the truth that your customers will tend to think better of your products if they get something unexpected and free along with the product, even if that thing is of low or no actual value.
- iExploder 1y ago
  people who don't enjoy clutter and waste must be still outliers then
  - JohnFen 1y ago
    It generally works even when the recipient doesn't actually want the thing. It's a manipulation tactic that leverages a couple of aspects of human behavior that allows for societies to function. Sadly.
- TristanBall 1y ago
  While this true enough, an ironic side effect of my attending a couple of rounds of sales related negotiation training ( compulsory for everyone at that company ), was to really highlight how calculatingly manipulative this is. I mean, we kinda all know that anyway, but somehow it reinforced it enough that I know find it actively distasteful. Even the classic sales approach of buying coffee or a meal feels creepy know, but I've had to relearn to accept it because it's just so hard to fight every time. When I tell people, the normal response is encredulous "but it's free?". It's really really not, the costs just aren't immediately financial. (Gifts outside corporate life are generally fine, an actual human wanting to "manipulate" me into liking them more is generally expressing some level of affection. A corporation cannot do that) Every know and again I get something funny enough that it gets me anyway.. I'm very fond of my all blue Rubic's cube from ibm for example, and I've got a few unbranded water bottles around the place. Anything else I can't politely refuse just gets binned as soon as I can do so without a fuss.

getwiththeprog 1y ago

Surely the era of plastic water bottles should come to an end?

devonnull 1y ago

If I'm not using it, I usually give it away. The only things I've kept from conferences/events that I've attended are a couple of metal water bottles, a flash drive or three, and a bottle opener.

sloaken 1y ago

I am selective in what I grab. When I see something, I run through a list of end destinations: My desk, my home, my wife, my kids, neighbor kids. Otherwise pass. Well unless its a bottle of water. But I do like toys I can use to relax my brain at work.

al_borland 1y ago

I’ve given some of the water bottles to my nephews. I was never going to use them, and now it looks they get a lot of use. They seem to be their go-to water bottles now.

palata 1y ago

> throwing it all away feels like a waste. Swag is waste anyway. If you give it away, the only difference is that somebody else will throw it away (and you may feel better).

31carmichael 1y ago

Throw it away, and don't collect free things in the future. Pay for things you want or need.

austin-cheney 1y ago

Most of my tech swag is backpacks and coffee mugs. I have a closet with a stack of unused backpacks I am not willing to give away. I am still using an Orbitz branded backpack from a decade ago.

runjake 1y ago

I usually give them to my kids. For clothing, hats, etc I dedicate them to painting/yard work/etc throwaway clothes. They're usually made of the cheapest fabrics anyway.