Your first trade show teaches you one thing fast: the stuff you forget always costs more on-site than it would have at home. A roll of tape at a convention center gift shop runs eight dollars. A forgotten power strip means your monitor stays dark for two days.
We build booth displays for a living, so we hear the same "I wish I'd brought…" stories every season. Here is the trade show packing list we give first-time exhibitors, in the order you should actually pack it.
Start With the Exhibitor Manual
Before anything goes in a crate, read the show's exhibitor services manual. It tells you your booth dimensions, whether the space includes a table or carpet, ceiling height limits, and what you have to rent from the venue instead of bringing yourself. Electricity is almost always a paid add-on that must be ordered in advance. Skipping this step is the single most expensive mistake new exhibitors make.
Your Booth Display
This is the part attendees see from thirty feet away, so pack it first and pack it well.
- A backdrop or back wall: A fabric display backdrop covers the full ten-foot back of a standard booth and packs into a single case.
- Retractable banner stands: One or two retractable banner stands to frame the entrance or anchor a corner.
- A branded table cover: Venue tables arrive bare or draped in wrinkled black cloth. A stretch table cover stays taut all weekend and hides nothing you need to reach.
- A hanging display: If the show allows overhead signage — it is the only thing visible from across a crowded hall.
- A step and repeat backdrop: If you plan photos, demos, or a sponsor wall.
- A canopy tent and flags: For outdoor or hybrid shows.
If you are outfitting a booth from scratch, a bundled display package is usually cheaper than buying each piece separately, and everything arrives matched.
Furniture, Storage and Floor
A 10x10 booth holds a back wall, one or two banner stands, a counter or small table, and two or three staff standing comfortably. Leave roughly 40% of the floor open so visitors can step in.
Pack a counter or podium, a lidded bin for storage under the table, and anti-fatigue mats if the venue floor is concrete. Skip the chairs. Seated staff get approached far less often than standing staff.
Tech, Power and Lead Capture
- Surge-protected power strips and at least one 25-foot extension cord
- Phone and tablet chargers, plus a battery bank
- Your lead-capture app, logged in and tested before you leave home
- Monitor or tablet stand if you are running a demo
- A backup of your presentation on a USB drive
Print and Giveaways
Bring business cards, one-page sell sheets, and a small stack of pricing documents. Ship the heavy giveaways ahead of time rather than dragging them through an airport. Order about 20% more literature than your registration estimate suggests — the last hour of a show is often the busiest.
The Booth Repair Kit
This is the bag experienced exhibitors never travel without: gaffer tape, zip ties, scissors, a utility knife, a small screwdriver set, safety pins, binder clips, a lint roller, glass cleaner and microfiber cloths, and a wrinkle-release spray for fabric graphics.
Everything People Forget
Comfortable shoes. Water bottles and snacks. Hand sanitizer. Pain reliever. A phone charger for the booth and a second one for your hotel bag. Extra staff badges. Printed directions to the loading dock. A folder holding your booth confirmation, shipping receipts and the exhibitor manual.
Pack It So It Arrives Intact
Label every case with your company name, booth number and show name on all four sides. Photograph each case packed, so teardown is a matching exercise instead of a puzzle. Keep graphics rolled, never folded. Carry anything irreplaceable — laptops, product samples, lead scanners — with you rather than shipping it.
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Request a QuoteFrequently Asked Questions
A branded backdrop, a table cover, one or two banner stands, power strips, lead-capture tools, printed literature, and a repair kit with tape, zip ties and scissors.
Two weeks out. Order display graphics three to four weeks out, since custom printing and shipping both take time.
One ten-foot back wall, one to two banner stands, a counter or small table, a monitor stand, and two to three staff, with about 40% of the floor left open.
