Buy or hire a custom prize wheel? How to decide

It is the first question many agencies and marketing teams ask us: should we buy the wheel or hire it? Both options make sense, and the answer rarely depends on budget alone. It depends on how many times you will use it, where you will keep it, who will move it between events and whether your campaign changes every few months. In this article we explain what each option includes, when one or the other makes more sense, and the questions worth asking before you decide.

What hire includes

When you hire one of our floor-standing wheels, you are not just hiring the wheel and the stand. Hire includes:

• Branding: a rigid PVC graphic printed in full colour with your design, fitted onto the wheel. If you do not have a design, our team prepares one with your logo and your prizes.
• Flexible hire periods: by the day, week or month. Handy for multi-day trade shows or in-store campaigns that run for weeks.
• Delivery, set-up and collection anywhere in Spain, quoted according to the city. Set-up takes around 30 minutes once the wheel is on site; we always allow an hour.
• Several units at once if the event needs them. We have supplied four 120 cm wheels for a single event.

Staff are not included. If you would like someone to run the wheel and hand out the prizes, we can suggest someone: United Events has hosts and entertainers.

What buying includes

When you buy, the wheel is yours to use whenever you like. We have already sold floor-standing and tabletop wheels to agencies and brands. The key points:

• Made to order with your design. As well as the usual sizes, other diameters can be made on request: we have made wheels of 80, 90 and 135 cm.
• Delivery anywhere in Spain. We confirm the lead time and the guarantee in your quote. Tabletop wheels are delivered within a few days.
• New campaigns. If you later change your prizes or your look, a new graphic can be printed.

When hiring makes sense

• You use the wheel once or a few times a year. An annual trade show, a launch, a staff party.
• You have nowhere to store it. The 120 cm wheel measures around 120 × 190 × 60 cm with its stand; the 180 cm wheel, around 180 × 220 × 60 cm. That is a lot of space for a small storeroom or office.
• You would rather not deal with transport. The 120 cm wheel fits in a standard lift and one person can spin it, but it takes two to move it. The 180 cm wheel needs a goods lift or street-level access with no stairs or narrow corridors.
• The event is in another city and you would prefer it to arrive assembled and be collected afterwards.
• You need several wheels on the same day, for example for several shops or venues at once.
• Every campaign has a different look. With hire, the graphic is made for your event.

When buying makes sense

• You will use it often: an agency running activations every month, a brand that attends lots of trade shows, a retail chain with a calendar of promotions.
• You have storage and transport, or your own team that builds the stands.
• The wheel stays put at a point of sale, a reception desk or a venue for months.
• You want a tabletop wheel. The ones of around 38, 45 and 60 cm are for sale: they fit on a counter and can be stored in a cupboard.
• You need a special diameter that is not one of the usual sizes.

The questions to ask

If you are unsure, go through these questions with your team. It usually becomes clear within a couple of minutes:

1. How many events or activations with a wheel will we run in the next twelve months?
2. Will the prizes and the look be the same every time, or will they change?
3. Where will the wheel live between activations? Is there room for something almost two metres tall?
4. Who will transport and set it up? Do we have a van and two people available?
5. Do the venues have a lift, a goods lift or street-level access?
6. Do we need a large floor-standing wheel, a small tabletop one, or both?
7. Do we need someone to run it during the event?

If the answer to the first question is “one or two” and to the third “no idea”, hiring is almost always the better choice. If you run lots of activations, have storage and someone in charge of logistics, buying starts to make sense.

What affects the quote

We do not publish rates because every case is different, but we can tell you what affects the quote: the size of the wheel, whether you hire or buy, how long you hire it for, the city and the set-up times (very early set-ups or very late take-downs can cost more), the number of units and whether you need staff. The number of segments does not change the price. We explain it in more detail on prize wheel cost.

A middle way: hire first

If you are not sure whether a wheel will work with your audience, hire one for the first activation. Measure how many people play, how many contacts you collect and how long people stay at the stand. If the numbers add up, next time you will already know which size, how many segments and which prizes work, and the decision to buy will be much easier.

You will find all the details of each option on prize wheel hire and buy a custom prize wheel.

Frequently asked questions

Is branding included in the hire?

Yes. The graphic printed with your design is included, and if you do not have a design we create one from your logo and your prizes.

How far in advance should I book?

We need the design at least two weeks before the event. Bookings are confirmed with a deposit.

Can I buy a wheel and change the prizes later?

Yes. A new graphic can be printed for your next campaign. Tell us about your plans and we will advise you: request a quote here.