djbusch 2 Report post Posted June 22, 2013 I put up 25 bandit signs in my small city last night around 7:00. At 11:00, I get a voicemail from someone, purporting to represent the city police department, demanding that each and every one be removed within 24 hours. I must admit, I was concerned...until this dimwit claimed the PD would obtain my information from Google (for my Google Voice number). The caller, whose number was "private", went on to explain that Google has been very helpful in such matters of late. Here's the unbelievable part - you don't have to give Google any personal information to get a Google Voice number. I'm sure the only reason this "officer" knew it was a Google number was because I hadn't changed the default greeting from "The Google Voice subscriber you have called..." Lesson learned. I'll change the greeting right away. LOL Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MichaelC 160 Report post Posted June 22, 2013 Haha! That's funny. Someone, (a competitor?), didn't like your signs apparently and decided to frighten you away. First of all, I doubt the city police dept would be calling about signs. More likely you would get a call from city zoning or ordinances or some such office. Second, since when did the police dept start blocking their phone number when calling citizens? But, yeah, like you said David, change your greeting and keep planting your signs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
djbusch 2 Report post Posted June 23, 2013 Well, the deadline the "officer" set for me came and went, and he didn't call back. Maybe he's subpoenaing Google for my home address so he can send me my fines. LOL I changed my greeting. I probably should have done that long before now anyway. All in all, only 1 seller called. Maybe it's just a slow weekend. Maybe I'm putting them in the wrong locations. I'll try something different next week. Oh well, time to go pick up whatever signs are left and put them in the garage until Friday... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MichaelC 160 Report post Posted June 23, 2013 Be persistent with whatever marketing you are doing, David, or the results will always be meager. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
djbusch 2 Report post Posted June 23, 2013 I figured out why only 1 seller called. Somewhere between yesterday afternoon (I saw most of my signs still up) and a few hours ago, someone scoured the city and stole all but 2 of my signs. Bandits made off with my bandit signs! LOL! Good thing I have more blanks & stakes...muhahahahahaha!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MichaelC 160 Report post Posted June 24, 2013 Must have been the "police officer" who called you. You have a frightened competitor in the area. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
djbusch 2 Report post Posted June 25, 2013 I got a call on the signs yesterday - from city hall (the caller gave her name and left a callback number, unlike the fine officer did Friday evening). It seems it was the city that swiped my signs Sunday morning. I'm not terribly worried about he city prosecuting me, but if their crews are out pulling signs up on Sunday, what day is safe to post them? These guys aren't screwing around! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MichaelC 160 Report post Posted June 25, 2013 Some cities are quite uptight about bandit signs. . .unless those signs are political. Really not much you can do about stopping them from taking them down. Did you call the woman back to ask what is allowed and what isn't? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doug Pretorius (ON) 9 Report post Posted June 26, 2013 David, we had a discussion about this ages ago and came up with and idea you might want to try. Change your signs to read: Vote David "I Buy Houses" Busch Just make the word "vote" and your name REALLY small compared to "I Buy Houses" 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MichaelC 160 Report post Posted June 26, 2013 David, we had a discussion about this ages ago and came up with and idea you might want to try. Change your signs to read: Vote David "I Buy Houses" Busch Just make the word "vote" and your name REALLY small compared to "I Buy Houses" Love it! Good one, Doug. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DanielSun 7 Report post Posted August 9, 2013 I've been trying this out, I've put out 20 to 30 signs each week for 3 weeks now, but only got 2 calls. (Angry home owners yelling at my signs don't count)I am going to put out another 30 signs today, but it seems the response rate is a bit low? I am using handwritten signs that says i buy houses any condition. So how is everyone's response rate? I'd like to get some feed back. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MichaelC 160 Report post Posted August 9, 2013 Daniel, the investors I know that successfully market via bandit signs do so in a big way. Big numbers of signs, 100-150, (not 2 dozen like most of us), over large areas and are persistent. A slow response rate is met with even more aggressive sign marketing. It's not for everyone, but that's what it takes for signs to generate a few serious leads. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites