Akros Mimarlık
How to choose a stand builder
What to look at when comparing quotes: scope in writing, who will actually be on site, whether the references check out and what the contract says about dates.
We wrote this page so it is useful even if you do not choose us. An exhibition stand is a hard thing to compare: quotes rarely cover the same scope, and the price gap is usually a scope gap rather than a quality gap.
Putting two quotes side by side and taking the cheaper one is right when the lines match. When they do not, no comparison has been made. One supplier folds freight into the rate and looks expensive, another leaves it out and looks cheap, and both may be doing the same work.
How our own price is built is written openly on our pricing page, and the item-by-item breakdown is on the cost calculation page.
01
Comparing the quotes
The only way to compare is to ask for quotes against the same brief. The fair name, the dates, the floor area, the number of open sides and the goal should reach every supplier in the same form. Change the brief and the quotes stop being comparable.
Then ask for the scope line by line. The table below lists the questions worth asking and why each one matters. The answers need to be in writing rather than spoken; on the morning of the fair, a verbal understanding counts for nothing.
Contractor rules and site safety are set by each venue’s own regulations. Publications from UFI and AUMA also set out where the exhibitor’s responsibility ends and the contractor’s begins.
| Question to ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Is design included? | If concept work is billed separately the rate looks cheaper than it is |
| Are install and dismantle included? | If dismantling is a separate line an unexpected invoice arrives after the fair |
| Who is responsible on site? | If no name is written down, nobody owns the problem at 7am |
| Who handles freight and customs? | Abroad, the ATA carnet and the shipping window drive the schedule |
| Who prepares the artwork files? | Print preparation is a job of its own; put the owner in writing |
| Is the approved visual an annex? | If it is not, you have nothing to point at when the build drifts |
| Is storage offered, and at what cost? | For a reusable system, storage is an annual item |
| What is the payment schedule? | Be careful with a quote asking for the full amount before production |
| What happens if it is late? | Fair dates do not move; the contract needs a delay clause |
02
Verifying the references
A reference list on its own carries no information. Three things can be verified: which fair, which year, how many square metres. A reference that cannot supply those three is not a reference.
Images travel easily in this industry. If a stand exists both as a 3D visual and as a built photograph, the work was really done. We publish both side by side for our own projects, and you can ask any supplier for the same.
Ask us the same questions. Where we work and what sits inside our contract is written on the about page.
- 01
Ask for the fair and the year
A company name is not enough. Which fair, which year, how many square metres. Those three can be verified with a single email.
- 02
Ask who owns the image
If a stand exists as both a 3D visual and a site photograph, it was built. Ask questions about a reference shown only as a render.
- 03
Write to the exhibitor
Ask the fair manager at the reference company one question: was the stand ready on install day, and if not, how long did it take.
- 04
Visit the workshop
See where production happens if you can. Watching who builds the work tells you more than reading another quote.
- Is taking the cheapest quote wrong?
Not wrong, incomplete. Without scope in writing, cheap and expensive cannot be compared. When both quotes carry the same lines, the lower price really is the lower price.
- For a fair abroad, a local builder or one from Turkey?
Either works. A local builder is close to the venue and has no language or customs problem. A builder working from Turkey keeps design and production in one place, and if it also takes on freight and the carnet the gap closes. What decides it is whose own crew stands on site.
- How many quotes are enough?
Three. More does not make the comparison easier: as the scopes drift apart the table becomes unreadable. Ask three suppliers against the same brief.
Do you have your fair dates?
The fair name, dates, floor area and number of open sides are enough. We come back within two working days with a concept and a budget range.