Posted by Jack on May 30, 2005 at 19:57:06:
I agree. FYI, that wasn’t me. Look at the email.
bandit sign placement - where do you guys put em? - Posted by adam
Posted by adam on May 25, 2005 at 18:33:48:
hey guys, i just bought some bandit signs and i know what parts of town i want to put them up at but im not sure exactly where. have any of you had better success with placing them on telephone poles versus in the ground? or busy street versus a highway exit. every response is appreciated!
bandit sign placement - where do you guys put em? - Posted by adam
Posted by adam on May 26, 2005 at 12:14:37:
well im just starting and all ive heard is this is the best way to get people calling you even better than classified ads. im not going to have this as my only advertising but its just a start.
i got a great deal i searched the net for a while and finally found a good one. i got 100 12x18 shipped for $160 18x24 was $190 which was by far the best deal. i went with the I buy houses vs we buy houses.
In the garbage where trash belongs… - Posted by Sean
Posted by Sean on May 26, 2005 at 08:11:09:
Personally, I put them in the trash… Every one of them I see.
They are not the most effective form or marketing, they are illegal nearly every place and frankly they just give the whole industry a bad name IMHO.
Do they work? Sure… are they illgal? Nearly Always… will you get a call from local enforcment? Well you bet your butt you will if you are anywhere that is a decent or trying to improve area. In my area, most of the smaller municipalities, the code enforcement guy who is charged with enforcing illegal signs is the same guy who issues building permits and does inspections… You want to be on this guys bad side before you even get anywhere??? I sure wouldn’t.
Re: bandit sign placement - ? - Posted by john
Posted by john on May 25, 2005 at 20:43:54:
DON’T nail to electric poles (5k fine) Cable ties are ok but no nails
Re: bandit sign placement - where do you put em? - Posted by Jack
Posted by Jack on May 25, 2005 at 19:47:28:
Usually in the trash or the land fill. But sometimes I throw a collection of them in the middle of the round in front of the Municipal Building. The resulting fines to the sign posters seems to be a very effective deterent.
bandit sign placement - where do you guys put em? - Posted by Ralf
Posted by Ralf on May 25, 2005 at 19:17:44:
Obviously anyone can rip them off if you put them on the ground, and won’t last as long as those on a pole. I use a 5’ step ladder and put them up about 12’ off the ground. I’ve oly seen one of my signs come down off a pole and it was due to wind and my not having used the wide-head roofing nails. If your signs are the big 18X24 kind then use one wide head roofing nail for each sign… staples won’t keep them up as long. As to where to put them… busy intersections and highway exits/entrances seems to work best. Try putting one in or around the lots of the major supermarkets where people will see them. Some say you need at least 100-150 out before you get your first deal, so don’t get impatient if you don’t get many calls after your first outing. Just keep putting them up and you’ll get calls. Mot won’t be deals, just people looking for retail value, but all you need is one to make it all worthwhile and bring in that first deal.
Ralf
really? - Posted by PJ
Posted by PJ on May 26, 2005 at 15:53:28:
What do you do with Realtor signs?
Local business bandit signs?
Some would argue even political signs are worse than bandit signs.
Do you take all of these types of signs down also OR just ‘we buy houses’ signs?
Re: bandit sign placement - where do you put em? - Posted by Gary (MO)
Posted by Gary (MO) on May 26, 2005 at 08:44:19:
Hey Jack,
I’ve emailed you this question and posted it a couple of times and havent’ heard back…so I’ll ask you again.
What type of marketing do you use that is effective for what you’re doing?
Gary
bandit sign placement - where do you guys put em? - Posted by adam
Posted by adam on May 25, 2005 at 20:35:53:
thanks, i got 100 12x18 signs so i will get those out and then i will order more in 18x24.
Re: really? - Posted by No Nonsense
Posted by No Nonsense on April 11, 2006 at 22:35:20:
Be aware. There are many people doing signs who would put a cap in your a$$ for tearing down their sign. A word to the wise. They’re not spending their marketing money for you to make an indescriminate decision to take them down. Hopefully, you don’t end up a statistic.
Re: really? - Posted by Sean
Posted by Sean on May 27, 2005 at 09:08:32:
PJ, I don’t go cruising the neighborhoods for signs, but when I am out for a walk, (which I do often) I do throw them away. Realtors around here don’t use bandit signs on corners or telephone poles… They are (generally) professionals and know that they will get called by enforcment, and that they can spend their marketing $$$ far more effectively. Most legitimate businesses in my neighborhoods just don’t do it…
Bandit SIGNS in my neighborhood(s) consist of about 4 major types… 1) WE BUY HOUSES… 2) AFFORDABLE HEALTH INSURANCE 3) SIGNS $1.50 EACH. and 4) LOSE 30 LBS in 30 DAYS. I will rip any of them down if I happen to be passing them, and can reach them.
I respect business, but I also live, work and am active in the community in the neighborhoods I am active in in the business. The value of the neighborhoods directly ties to my bottom line… anything that drags down a neighborhood I am going to do what I can to stop. It is in my own best interest to make sure that blight of any form is minimized… it doesn’t take long for a neighborhood to go down hill… it takes a LOT longer to build it back up again once it has.
The we buy houses signs are nearly always some newbie, and often the number on them won’t be answering within 30 to 60 days, but their blight of signs will linger on and on.
Its not the most effective advertising, its ugly, and it is just clutter.
I agree political signs are worse in terms of proliferation, but generally you have politico activists on both sides stealing and ripping down signs of their opponents, even from private property often.
Will folks continue to use bandit signs? Sure they will… Mainly because newbies just aren’t savvy… some book or course says go spend a few hundred bucks on signs and put em out and they do it. Yes, put out enough signs, you will get calls… but as I said before you WILL at least where I am get called by enforcement… you will learn the hard way that the guy in most local municipalities in charge of enforcement is the same guy who issues permits and does inspections of that municipality too… Just STUPID business to put yourself in the hole from the get go…
For less money and less work, you can generate just as many calls by putting an ad in the pennysaver, the local weekly newspaper and buying a few magnetic signs for your car… Or you can print out 10,000 door hangers, and deliver them door to door… or sponsor a Little League in your neighborhood… that vinyl sign on the outfield fence that EVERY PARENT IN THE AREA is going to see all summer will cost you maybe $300 for the summer… buy some Embroidered shirts and jackets, silk screen some tshirts and give them away… all of this stuff just costs a couple of bucks… etc etc etc…
Re: bandit sign placement - where do you put em? - Posted by Jack
Posted by Jack on May 26, 2005 at 10:28:14:
My business model does not require marketing.
Some call it ‘Dumpster Diving’… - Posted by Jim FL
Posted by Jim FL on May 26, 2005 at 09:59:52:
Gary,
Jack will never answer, he’s usually too busy, ‘removing signs and placing them in the trash’.
The way I look at it, he’s probably doing this as he looks thru the trash to steal personal info so he can mail to prospective sellers.
or wait, maybe that was oscar the grou…nope, it was jacko here.
Jack is no better than the rest of us he likes to look down his nose at.
Littering is illegal too, and he does that…even admits it in his post;
“But sometimes I throw a collection of them in the middle of the round in front of the Municipal Building”
I’ll assume he can’t spell and meant ‘road’, not ‘round’.
Have a nice day!
Jim FL
I was wondering - Posted by Gerald
Posted by Gerald on May 26, 2005 at 06:26:23:
I was wondering about the legalities of where you post them. If I post them on a “private” parcel of someone’s, could they give me problems. What about just anywhere on any street, be it like in the land in front of a strip mall, etc?
What’d it cost you for your 100 Adam? What’s the cost for you 18x24’s?
Anyone using colors other than yellow? lol that’s all I see around here are ugly yellow “We buy houses” signs.
Re: really? - Posted by PJ
Posted by PJ on May 27, 2005 at 09:23:22:
Now you’re talking…
I like the examples you gave of some creative marketing.
And, I think you do have a valid point as far as keeping your neighborhood clean.
When I first started out, Bandit signs got me my first few deals, they are about as effective as you get.
Now, I rarely ever put signs up.
Re: bandit sign placement - where do you put em? - Posted by Gary (MO)
Posted by Gary (MO) on May 26, 2005 at 10:30:49:
No such critter exists…even drug dealers market in one way or another.
I understand you not wanting to share though Jack.
Thanks anyway,
Gary
Re: Some call it ‘Dumpster Diving’… - Posted by Jack
Posted by Jack on May 29, 2005 at 10:58:19:
You are right, I did mean road. But no one ever reads this far down the page. So you will be the only one that knows the truth. Bwwhhaaahaaaa.
Re: I was wondering - Posted by Marlo
Posted by Marlo on May 26, 2005 at 07:03:28:
I don’t mess with people’s private land. It probably wouldn’t be worth the hassle for them to take you to court, but they will surely yank them out as soon as they see them and could file charges against you.
These signs are illegal in most areas. Usually if you put them out on Friday late afternoon, most of them will make it until Monday or Tuesday when code enforcement gets around to pulling them. I have only gotten one call from an enforcement agency. I just quit putting them in their municipality. I got one call from a “sign-nazi”. You can’t stop these anti-sign zealots from pulling your signs but if you have caller ID and they call you David Alexander has a GREAT way to keep them too busy to worry about your signs.
I put them at busy intersections and just off the highway. I am going to start placing them by the home supply stores. Strip malls sound like a good place too.
As for the cost, they are usually between $1 - $2 each if you get them from the right supplier. I checked locally and the price was more like $4 - $6 each.
Yellow/red? If you are seeing alot of them it is probably because that is what is working. You need to get attention. If that is ALL you see try something else in order to stand out, but don’t get fancy! Keep it simple. Find what works and stick with it.
Best of luck.
Re: bandit sign placement - where do you put em? - Posted by Jack
Posted by Jack on May 26, 2005 at 11:52:16:
I use Real Estate agents to list and Sell my properties. But I did not, and do not, think that is what you were asking. In order to aquire properities, I do not use any advertising. I don’t consider calling an occasional homeowner or creditor in foreclosure, and offering to buy their interest, to be advertising. Do stock investors/day traders advertise?