Should I buy or hire an exhibition stand?

Exhibiting, as we all know, can be a very costly and time-consuming exercise. But with potential big returns on that investment, it’s important to get your exhibition stand right and follow the best financial option for your company.

One of the most frequently asked questions we get here at RDW Exhibitions is whether it’s better to buy or hire an exhibition stand. So to help answer this query, we’ve discussed the basics below.

Exhibition stand hire

When you think about hiring anything, whether that be a car, dress or a holiday home, there can be a worry that this will mean you won’t receive top quality. We’ve all been there at the airport, picking up the rental car with its bashed sides and scraped wheels. But thankfully, hiring an exhibition stand from RDW Exhibitions is not like that.

We provide a wide variety of exhibition stands on a hire basis. We are experts in providing modular exhibition stands and displays for hire and these can be fully customised to your needs, company style and budget.

You don’t have to settle for standard, off-the-shelf components and colours – unless you want to, of course. Your hired exhibition stand can be as unique as you are. We even hire elements of custom built exhibition stands which we hold in stock (ex-demo pieces, for example) and these too can be customised to your styling.

Hiring an exhibition stand can be cheaper for your business if you do not exhibit regularly or do not have the facility to store the stand in between use. Many of our customers simply prefer to let us take the strain of correctly storing, cleaning, building and dismantling the stand so would rather hire it regardless.

Just because the stand is returned to us at the end of the day, does not mean you will receive a poor quality product. Our standard modular hire stock is rigorously inspected, cleaned and refurbished after each use. No poor quality displays will be leaving our offices.

If your exhibition stand components are tailored to you – be that graphics, a unique colour or finish, or bespoke showcase constructed – these too are checked, created and assembled ready for use each time. Our attention to detail is unprecedented.

If you exhibit at multiple venues throughout the year with different stand configurations, you can still hire an exhibition stand. Our modular hire stands are endlessly reconfigurable and, with our large stock of modular components, can easily be added to or reconfigured as and when required with ease. This makes it simple to organise and you pay-as-you-go for each outing, dependant on what equipment you hire from us. Just let us know where and when you will be using the stand so we can offer the best advice on any customised features you would like to incorporate to ensure they will work in different set-ups.

Buying an exhibition stand

We sell modular and custom built exhibition stands. Whatever look you want for your display, we can tailor this to suit your exact needs using either standard, customised modular or bespoke exhibition components.

Buying an exhibition stand is initially more expensive than hiring. The plus side is it could easily pay for itself with multiple uses so if you exhibit at numerous events over the year. Each subsequent outing for your exhibition stand means you may only be paying delivery, set-up and collection costs for the stand.

Buying an exhibition stand doesn’t have to break the bank though. Our custom modular exhibition stands are a great alternative to full custom build designs. Our team of exhibition stand designers (who are experts in all things modular) know how to turn our modular stand systems into stunning and bespoke exhibition stands – you would hardly know there was a modular stand underneath. The great thing about your stand being modular-based is it can be added to and reconfigured at a later date with little trouble – future-proofed, some might say.

If you purchase a complete custom built stand, that doesn’t mean it can’t be reconfigured at other venues; you just need to inform us during the design process of the intended use and sizes the stand will be required for. Our expert exhibition stand designers will then use their experience to design the best working option for you.

If you purchase your exhibition stand, you will need somewhere to store it when not in use. That’s not a problem if you have a large warehouse with plenty of space, but sadly that’s not a luxury everyone has. For an additional charge, we can provide exhibition stand storage for any stands bought from us – simply ask us for more details.

We are an exhibition stand contractor so if you choose to buy your stand from us, not only will we design and manufacture to your exacting standards, we’ll also include a delivery, set-up and breakdown cost for your stand’s use at each event. But equally, if you prefer to simply buy your exhibition stand and have your own team build on the day, that is also an option. Again, just ask our team for full details.

So is it better to buy or hire an exhibition stand?

It’s an age-old question and unfortunately, it’s a little like asking “how long is a piece of string?” The best answer we have as to whether you should buy or hire an exhibition stand is for you to call and chat with us, discuss all your requirements and our experts will advise. You have enough to organise so let us take some of the strain and help make your life as easy as possible.

Contact RDW Exhibitions on 01939 260350 for more details on buying or hiring exhibition stands.