You might have landed on this page looking for answers to questions about swag, giveaways, etc.
Other ways you can get support for your swag request:
GitLab team members can use the Unfiltered YouTube Channel to watch the following training: Swag Requests
Please use this menu to navigate:
This page outlines ways to request swag. You request merchandise must be submitted at least 4 weeks in advance of in hands date for us to be able to accommodate your request. If your request is urgent, please reach out to the merch team via merch@gitlab.com to find out if an expedited shipping option is available along with business reason for rush.
If you are looking to host a giveaway of GitLab swag, please review the GitLab Giveaways process.
merch@gitlab.com.- For larger **sticker orders** (stickers in a quantity of 100 or greater), do not go through the swag store but rather use our [Stickermule](https://www.stickermule.com/) account or ping `merch@gitlab.com`. Include address, date needed and order quantity in request.
| Deal Size, by License | Suggested Order |
|---|---|
| 50-100 | 2 shirts, 2 socks, up to 20 stickers |
| +100-250 | 2 shirts, 2 socks or mugs, up to 200 stickers |
| +250-500 | 5 shirts, 5 socks or mugs, 5 DevOps or purple pens, up to 100 stickers |
| +500-1000 | 10 shirts, 5 socks or mugs, 5 DevOps or purple pens, up to 250 stickers |
| +1000 | 1 hoodie, 20 shirts, 8 socks or mugs, pens, max 500 stickers |
The following items are currently available to be sent to customers based in the US. This restriction is in place to keep shipping costs low as we move through extra inventory.
Black Leather Power Bank, Collapsible Straw, Colored Pencils, Orange Squid Charger, Luggage Tag, notebooks, Packable Bag Baby Onesies: Baby onesies are available in the sales swag campaign can be sent to customers as needed/requested.
Every now and again, we like to celebrate a big win. And, what's more fun than to do so with a customer. For the top five deals of the year we will create custom jointly branded swag for this select group of customers. We want to give them a little extra love and delight them for joining the GitLab community.
Please open an issue in the merch project and start an issue with the custom customer swag template. Let us know top choice of items you think they might like and include their logo and colors if you have them in the issue. We will work with design to create a custom, one of a kind jointly styled swag for the customer based on their interest and industry. We will need around 6 weeks to design and produce the order. The wait is worth it! See example here.
After you create the issue, will be in touch with timelines and next steps. Design has the general bandwidth to create one design, gather one round of feedback, and implement feedback using their discretion before going to production. We are not a design agency, we will only be able to accept one round of feedback from the internal team on the swag items.
Note: Do not let the customer know this is happening unless otherwise instructed. This is meant to be a delightful surprise.
Example of custom swag item. Can you guess the customer?
There are two main giveaway options for TMRG's. You can do a one time send or do a continuous giveaway/ storage plan.
Start an issue using the bulk swag request template. Someone from the swag team will be in touch on the issue and possibly set up time to chat about the request depending on the complexity.
Note that if you do a continuous giveaway the spend will be allocated as swag is given out so you will need to budget accordingly. It costs $25 a month to host an item. Note a hoodie in men's will count as one and women's will count as another, same is true of any color variations.
The fulfillment team may be asked to support other teams at GitLab who are organizing a giveaway promotion.
Trying to organize a giveaway? Please follow the steps on the GitLab Giveaways page to start a giveaway.
Please note we have a limit on how many times one person can be the recipient of a GitLab giveaway annually. The max number of GitLab giveaway redemptions per person outside of the company is 2 per year.
We also hold the right to block swag violators and cancel their existing and future orders. This might include people who share swag codes publicly, order more times than permitted and other offenses.
This can only be used if you have admin access to Printfection. GitLab team members can use the Unfiltered YouTube Channel to watch the following training: Create a Giveaway Campaign
PO section. This is required to start your giveaway.Note: Once a redemption is complete you will have the option to cancel it from the 'Recipients & Redemption' section at the bottom of the 'Overview' page. Just use the 'Cancel' button next to the order. This cancelation option is only available until the order is processed, you'll want to review orders same-day or earlier if you want to cancel them.
This can only be used if you have admin access to Printfection. GitLab team members can use the Unfiltered YouTube Channel to watch the following trainings:
Giveaway kits in Printfection are an efficient way to create bundles of swag to send to community members because they allow you to set limits on item totals. For example, these could be utilized for Meetup organizers to place orders for a giveaway kit of t-shirts, stickers, and notebooks.
This can only be used if you have admin access to Printfection. GitLab team members can use the Unfiltered YouTube Channel to watch the following training: Generating Giveaway Links
This can only be used if you have admin access to Printfection.
Please check out this video tutorial no how to generate new giveaway links.
There are many ways to send links and document the use of giveaways. This outlines the best practices used by the fulfillment team team while supporting teams hosting giveaways
Process updates coming soon
Process updates coming soon
GitLab team members can request a merch order for an event they are speaking at or hosting by emailing the request to merch@gitlab.com.
Please use the following email template when placing a merchandise request:
Hello Merch Team,
I'd like to place the following GitLab merchandise order:
Reason for Order:
Item Name:
Size, if applicable:
Quantity:
Name for the order:
Shipping Address:
Email Address:
Phone Number:
Regards,
YOUR_NAME
- The event must be 3 or more weeks away for all swag and material requests. Rush shipping is not an option.
- NORAM Field marketing handles all swag requests within their team. Email krogel@gitlab.com for questions.
- Community Relations email merch@ for any new swag requests. Let us know what you want, when and where you need it. We have a list of approved items with Nadel you can order from. Any new items must be approved by brand team for brand consistency - Nadel will email all final designs to brand team for approval.
- Not in Field Marketing or Community Relations? You can place small event swag orders by emailing `merch@gitlab.com`. Include the date needed, shipping address and items / volume desired. The request will be approved on the back end by the community team. All requests must be made 3 or more weeks out. You can expect a response within 5 business days.
- Paper/Print Collateral: In order to be [efficient](/handbook/values/#efficiency), we do not make custom print assets for events. We avoid printed materials because they are instantly out of date and to help support the efforts to reduce waste.
- We have an event kit with a [banner and table cloth](/images/events/GitLabPopupBoothMarch2019.pdf). Contact `events@gitlab.com` if you would like to borrow this setup. You will be shipped this set along with a return label. (please note this offering is on hold due to COVID)
- If you have any issues with your order please email `merch@gitlab.com` with your concerns.
merch@gitlab.com to get a return label created. Returns are only accommodated if you have a very large number of high value items (50+) or a reusable booth setup (banner, tablecloth, backdrop) that need to be returned. We need at least 2 business days notice to create a label and you must have a finance tag/ budget to store the item to get a label created. You will also be responsible for notifying the vendor your items are arriving, their specs if they are new and the volume they should expect.If you would like to get some GitLab swag for your group or event, email your request to merch@gitlab.com (managed by the corporate events team).
In your request include:
We will suggest swag based on your request and what is in stock. Note: It is recommended submit your request for swag at least 5 weeks in advance from your event date or we may not be able to accommodate your request due to logistics and shipping times.
Note: due to COVID shipping and in person gathering restrictions our outbound swag capacity is limited for the time being. We are taking very few bulk swag requests for the time being.
Corporate handles the creating and ordering of all new swag. All swag designs should be run past the brand team (Luke) for approval before going to production.
Corporate Events and Brand manage the merchandise store. This includes:
Shopify is our storefront vendor
https://shopify.com — Use gitlab.myshopify.com if prompted for the store address.Printfection is our main inventory vendor for general merchandise
print, manage, adminStickermule is our main inventory vendor for stickers
Other current vendor accounts include: Nadel, Panda Bear Creative, WASD Keyboards.
You can see the items we've ordered from Nadel on this Google sheet, visible to GitLab team members
When a customer visits the GitLab Store, they see available products on the front end Shopify store. Event/ Brand managers manage customer orders using Shopify's backend, and fulfills/ships orders on the Printfection backend.
All the orders received via shop.gitlab.com are automatically forwarded from Shopify to Printfection via the Printfection-Shopify Zapier integration. On Printfection, we manually process orders and fulfill shipments.
The fulfillment team has daily, weekly, and monthly tasks to complete for merchandise.
Please bear in mind the list of countries we do not do business in.
GitLab team members can use the Unfiltered YouTube Channel to watch the following trainings: CA Training, Merchandise: Daily Swag Store Tasks and Daily Merch Tasks Video tutorial
GitLab uses Shopify as a customer facing online store and backend order fulfillment. Fulfilling orders in Shopify serves to send the actual notification that an order has been processed, including the invoice for the customer.
That's all, the customers should receive their confirmations automatically.
GitLab uses Printfection as both a vendor and a warehouse. Fulfilling orders in Printfection means that Prinfection will pack and ship items to the customer.
That's all, Printfection will handle the rest.
Note: Printfection sends email confirmations to the customer when the order is placed, processed, shipping, and delivered.
Merch@ and the #swag Slack channel are the most common places that community members or GitLab team members will ask questions about swag. Use this chart to determine the best action on how to solve each inquiry.
If you are ever unsure about the status of a swag store order, please reach out to support@printfection.com via the merch@gialb.com email alias and include the order number.
| Ticket/Question Topic | Action Steps |
|---|---|
| An order was placed, but we're out of stock for that item | Send the Out of Stock Email Template to the customer from merch@gitlab.com or via slack message with a $15 discount code |
| A GitLab team member wants to send swag to a customer or community member | Share the Swag Requests Process Link |
| A GitLab team member wants to add special swag to a customer or community order | Offer our current swag requests processes, and suggest they discuss with their manager if they can purchase and expense additional items |
| Someone shares a great idea for new swag | Ask them to document their ideas and send to merch@ |
| A order from the swag store never arrived | Check the status of the order by searching both Shopify and Printfection using the user's email address. If the package was shipped at least 1 month before and as not been delivered, assume it is lost and follow the Delayed and Lost Merchandise Shipment process. If the package was shipped within one month, ask the customer to wait for 1 month before taking action. If one month has passed, share a $30 discount code. If you need additional information, email the Printfection warehouse at support@printfection.com. |
| A customer reports their swag is stuck at customs | Follow guidelines in the Customs Issues for Shipments Outside of the USA |
| Someone is wondering about when items will come back into inventory | Refer them to the most recent swag order epic or issue for the most up to date information |
| StickerMule reaches out about delivery issues with sticker order | Coordinate with customer via merch@gitlab.com on case by case basis to provide necessary information to Stickermule and UPS |
| Someone reports their discount code doesn't work | Confirm where the customer received the discount code. Reshare the code and a direct link. If the code still does not work, generate a new discount code and share via email. |
| A vendor sends a general email or fulfillment update | For updates sent automatically from Printfection, Stickermule, or Shopify, apply the vendor-update macro to solve the ticket |
From time to time it may happen that the package never arrives to the customers. Customers usually send inquiries via merch@gitlab.com, however, keep an eye on Twitter, the #swag Slack channel and other related threads.
If the customer's package has been in transport over 1 month, take the following action:
Since all swag in the store ships from our warehouse in Denver, CO, USA, customers outside of the US may have issues with customs tax payments upon delivery of their package.
Swag used in the swag store and in giveaways is sent from a warehouse in the USA. GitLab is not responsible for costs related to taxes and customs required to receive swag. These costs are at the responsibility of the customer or recipient of the giveaway.
If a customer orders swag and reports the swag is being held at customs in their country, follow these steps:
Until the customs statement is created, the following strategies can be used to avoid customers paying the tax.
Thanks for placing an order in the GitLab store!
We're sorry to report that since placing your order, our <out of stock item> has gone out of stock.
We've gone ahead and cancelled your order and processed and necessary refunds.
Please use the discount code <link discount code> for a future purchase in the GitLab swag store.
Thanks!
Dear {Customer Name},
I'm reaching out regarding your recent order from the GitLab swag store. Unfortunately, due to shipping and handling issues, your order has been lost.
I've gone ahead and refunded you the cost of your initial order.
Please use this discount code `link discount code` to use on a future purchase
Thanks for your patience and let us know if you have any questions,
Sincerely,
{Your Name}
Thanks for reaching out about your Swag order!
Can you please email our warehouse, Printfection, at <support@printfection.com> to inquire about your order status? Please include your order number and email used to purchase in your email to their support team.
If they determine your package is lost, please forward their email to our team at <merch@gitlab.com> and we will get you set up with new GitLab swag.
Thanks for your patience!
{Your Name}
Hi Printfection team! I need some support in finding the order status of order number `enter order number`. Can you please let me know any updates on this order's shipping status, or if it has been lost or returned to the warehouse?
Thanks!
{Your Name}
GitLab team members can use the Unfiltered YouTube Channel to watch the following training: CA Training, Merchandise: Update Shopify Store Inventory
The Printfection inventory is our single source of truth for merchandise totals. Since many campaigns pull from the same Printfection inventory, our Shopify storefront does not stay up to date on its own. Right now, there is no way for our storefront to know about inventory use outside of the store campaign, so we must do a manual update.
It is required for the fulfillment team to compare Shopify and Printfection inventories 1x per week to avoid out of stock orders from being processed. This is a high priority for products with low inventory.
The fulfillment team can review the weekly Printfection inventory email reminder that gets sent to the merch@gitlab.com email domain every Monday. This email has GitLab's Printfection inventory numbers organized in a spreadsheet. Fulfillment can filter the spreadsheet format by the amount of Printfection items in stock. (recommended you filter low to high) Once the fulfillment team has a good sense of what is out of stock, or low in stock, the fulfillment team can update inventory or proceed as needed.
Inventory tabInventory LevelsProducts. This page will show an overview of the inventory available for each item.save after each item update.At the end of each month, the fulfillment team should follow the steps to Report use of Bulk Swag to finance for appropriate billing.
The GitLab accounting team has access to Shopify and Printfection. Accounting manager Kim S. runs monthly reports for the swag store.
Previous month reports can be viewed in this google folder accessible only by GitLab team members.
If the fulfillment team needs more information about how to access reports in Shopify and Printfection, please follow the steps in this video tutorial.
In most cases, it makes financial sense to place large orders of commonly used items in Printfection, like t-shirts. Since multiple teams use this swag inventory, we need to run a monthly report for the finance team so they can allocate budget based on use. This report should be run and shared via email with the finance team at accountingops@gitlab.com on the first day of every month by the fulfillment team.
The fulfillment team should process this report on the first of each new month. The calendar Monthly Swag Report Reminder is available to the GitLab team and is integrated with Zapier to generate a new Zendesk ticket on the last day of each month. This ticket includes a link to the monthly swag report Google sheet, and serves a notification to the fulfillment team that the report must be processed.
Teams/Campaigns that most often use Printfection inventory:
Note: this process is not necessary for all items, and should only be used for bulk orders. Please see the current bulk inventory items in the monthly bulk swag reporting spreadsheet
To pull usage data for specific swag items:
swag_ownedevents_swagstore, the Sales Order Kit is always 'swag_ownedevents_saleskit', and community relations campaigns are always swag_community.GitLab team members can use the Unfiltered YouTube Channel to watch the following training: CA Training, Merchandise: Edit, Resolve Issues, and Delete Printfection Orders
Printfection's Collection campaign is a way to easily collect orders, review them, and then place them all at once. You can manually key-in orders, import orders from a CSV file, or allow other parties to place orders through a hosted landing page.
GitLab team members can use the Unfiltered YouTube Channel to watch the following training: Create a Collection Campaign
PO section. This is required to start your collection.Last, but not least, you'll want to review the orders from the Manage page within your Collection campaign. Here you can change, update, or remove orders. Review your totals, fulfillment cost, and other details. When you're ready hit Place Orders and place them all at once!
GitLab team members can use the Unfiltered YouTube Channel to watch the following training:CA Training, Merchandise: Restore Users in Printfection
When Printfection users become inactive on the platform, their accounts need to be restored. This happens most often when the GitLab sales team tries to use the sale swag campaign.
You can always cancel the pending/processing orders. All the orders including the orders via Shopify Collections using Discount Codes can be canceled.
Please note that you should always change the status of the orders in Shopify as well.
If orders unfulfilled orders appear in Shopify but are not in Printfection, you might need to manually add the order to Printfection before fulfilling the order.
Before manually adding orders, use the search tool in Printfection to check for orders that are unfulfilled in Shopify. Sometimes, a user will fulfill orders in Printfection without checking Shopify. If you find that an order has already been fulfilled in Printfection, simply fulfill the order in Shopify.
If you cannot locate the order in Printfection, you'll need to manually add the order.
Items can be archived from the Printfection warehouse when the inventory is 0 and the item is removed from active kits and campaigns.
The Tracking ID is usually assigned by Printfection 2-3 days after the order is received. Sometimes, users may request their Tracking ID.
Please follow these steps if the user requests the Tracking ID:
External order links are an efficient way for GitLab team members to place swag orders. For example, the Sales team uses an external order link for Sales employees to send merchandise to customers and prospects.
External order links can only be used by users with the @gitlab.com domain, so they are not an efficient tool for wider community orders.
Many teams at GitLab use Printfection to manage swag for giveaways. Since we all share one Printfection platform, naming conventions are essential to keep swag organized.
Use the following naming convention for items that are reserved for a specific team or program. This swag is ONLY available to the team included in the naming convention.
Team Name - Item Name
Use the following naming convention for items that are available for company wide giveaways at GitLab.
Item Name - Giveaway Option
If an item does not have a clear naming convention and you aren't sure if it is available for use, always ask in the #swag Slack channel before using the merchandise.
For more information, see this official guide
GitLab team members can use the Unfiltered YouTube Channel to watch the following training: Refund Shopify Orders
Sometimes orders need to be refunded to the customer. An example of this could be if a customer places an order for an item that is out of stock. Refunds are processed through Shopify.
In order to create a coupon code on Shopify, please check out this video tutorial.
In Shopify, you can download a CSV file of orders. This file can be used to manually upload orders into Printfection if the Zapier integration is broken or there is an issue with inventory levels.
Consider using GitLab Epics and Issues in the Merchandise project to track swag orders each month. Here is an example from the swag order from March/April 2020.
Please consult with the brand team on best vendor for giveaway type and budget. Email merch@gitlab.com for support.
As a general rule, consider using Stickermule for sending stickers, since the Printfection inventory is limited. If Stickermule doesn't work for you, then use Printfection instead.
If the merch shipment includes:
The Marketing team aims to create swag that is "small batch, limited edition and themed for the community to collect." To uphold this value, swag store items are frequently swapped out and replenished with new and different swag. Follow these steps to create new swag items for the Shopify store.
general_vendor_contract_request template. This template should be used for new swag orders with both new and existing vendors. Name the issue with either Swag Store Merchandise Request- New Vendor or Swag Store Merchandise Request- Existing Vendor.swag_ownedevents. If the order is specific to community team use, use the tag swag_community. For both new and existing vendors, upload the quote to the issue for approval. For new vendors, upload any necessary contracts to the issue. Obtain all necessary approvals on this finance issue prior to placing any swag orders.GitLab team members can use the Unfiltered YouTube Channel to watch the following training: Replenish Inventory in Printfection
The fulfillment team should watch inventory levels for products in Printfection and order more inventory when inventory is low. Replenish orders typically take 2-3 weeks until items are physically available in the warehouse.
PO section. If ordering for the swag store, use swag_ownedeventsStickerMule is the preferred Vendor for orders that include only stickers, or orders that include a large number of stickers. StickerMule orders for the Community team should be placed with the Corporate Marketing credit card.
Examples of events where you might order stickers in large quantities from StickerMule include:
Company line so that orders can be tracked.GitLab team members can use the Unfiltered YouTube Channel to watch the following training: Creating Send Orders
Printfection does not produce all items we sell in the store. To ship items from another vendor to Printfection, you must create an 'Item Research Request' and a 'Send' inventory order. Refer to Printfection's guide on customer sourced orders for more information. If you need to ship a package to the Printfection warehouse, please ping @emily in the #swag slack channel for the address.
For more information, see this official guide
