There’s a hidden secret of saving money when you buy your campaign signs. Most people’s instinct is to start from scratch, order fresh and buy new. But political campaigns are nothing new and neither are political campaign signs.
That means there have been tens of thousands of yard signs posted in your area over the last few years. That also means that thousands of signs have been thrown away. Along with the campaign sign, goes the metal wire. But, metal wires and H stakes should NEVER be thrown away. The secret to saving money on your campaign signs is to use wires from another campaign.
While not all of them can be perfect, you can estimate that 70% of the wires will be in usable condition. Stapling a new sign over the old wire and no one will know the difference.
The fact is, wires cost anywhere from 49 cents to $1.69 per wire, per sign. That ends up being a large amount of money. If you can get your campaign signs printed on poster board and then stapled around the old wires, you just saved a bundle.
Not only will you save on buying the wires, you’ll also save on shipping the wires. Wire shipping, depending on the size, can run anywhere from $15 to $65 per hundred; that’s a significant savings.
So, how do you get old wires or H stakes? There are a few easy ways. First, call your local party office and see if they have any wires or someone’s old campaign signs. They may be happy to get rid of them. If that’s a bust, call some friends who have run for office before or call an elected official. They may have signs in storage and want to get rid of them. You may also try a local recycling center to see if they have any they are hanging onto.
If you’re planning on running for office, but there’s an election between now and when you’ll run, call a candidate, or two, or three and ask them to give you their wires or H stakes when they are finished with them. You should offer to go collect the signs when their election is finished.
Another great place to get wires and H stakes is polling places. When voting is over, the custodians of schools, churches and other polling places collect the campaign signs and throw them in the trash. With few exceptions, few candidates ever go pick up their signs at polling places. This is a great opportunity for you to get anywhere from five to 50 wires or H stakes. It will only take a few polling places and you’ll have enough wires or H stakes for you and a couple other campaigns. Make sure you offer those stakes or wires to someone else if you’re not going to use them.
With a little planning, some elbow grease and a dash of creativity, you can use this hidden secret to saving money when buying your campaign signs.
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