# Ok, I hate flyers on my car but...



## jleampark (Sep 6, 2007)

Every time I get off the bus at the parking lot and see fliers on car windows, I groan. I see them littered on the ground all over the place. I usually take the one on my windshield and either laugh or crumple it up or throw it away when I get home.

With that said, I am wondering if this might get a better response.

I have an old box of business card sized magnets. What if I use the file below, stick it to the magnetic card and put it on their door?

What would you do if you found a business card magnet on your car? Would you throw it away? Would you put it on your fridge? What would you do?

I'm just trying to judge the (a) potential response and (b) effectiveness of the attached file.

Thanks for your comments, suggestions, etc.

Joe


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## Preston (Mar 21, 2006)

jleampark said:


> What would you do if you found a business card magnet on your car? Would you throw it away? Would you put it on your fridge? What would you do?


I would use the contact info to sue you for every scratch on my car. I mean really you would have to be out of your mind to stick something on the paint job of someone else's car.

Park at Home Depot near where all the contractors come out and stick the magnet biz cards all over your vehicle. They will see them and take one if it interest them. And best of all, you are not violating one of their prized possession, namely their ride.


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## GHEENEE1 (Jan 8, 2007)

Great idea Roy, mag cards on a trunk lid, with vinyl on the back wind shield with your business name and text saying take one.
On your own car.


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## alrozac (Dec 20, 2012)

I hate when people put stuff on my windshield, I would be pissed to find that some one put something on my paint. Plus you would not be hitting a target crowd unless you are making parking lot tees.


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## littlefatbuddy (Oct 8, 2012)

I would be pretty upset to find someone stuck something on my paint as well. However, the idea of magnet cards all over your own car would certainly draw some attention I would think. Then you could take it to the bodyshop you printed shirts for and have all the scratches polished out...lol...


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

When I am out and about I look for business vehicles and tuck a package including a flyer, promo pen and a magnet calendar in the driver's window....Targeted and harmless to vehicles....


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## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

Royce beat me to it. If you give them something of use, like a pen or a calendar magnet, they're more likely to keep it. Of course, this is much more expensive. I don't bother with cars. I go into businesses, give them a baggie of goodies, politely say thank you, and leave. Obviously this only works if you're business-to-business.


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

I deliver my material to businesses as well, however, I often come across business vehicles from out of town and/or home based businesses that I would otherwise miss on my rounds....


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## Techtroll (Dec 29, 2012)

GHEENEE1 said:


> Great idea Roy, mag cards on a trunk lid, with vinyl on the back wind shield with your business name and text saying take one.
> On your own car.


Great idea! I'll be stealing it. 

Overall I try to give something away of value. I keep pens and hand them out whenever anyone needs one and tell them to keep them. 

A magenet stuck on my personal car would not be cool, way too much invested in the paint.


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

Techtroll said:


> A magenet stuck on my personal car would not be cool, way too much invested in the paint.


So you do not drive your car?......Driving it is about 1000x times more risk to your paint job than sticking a fridge magnet on it.....


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## notorioustees (Mar 6, 2009)

I have used magnets as promos before but I took them to the streets or malls and passed them out, I'm not mad when I see a flyer on my car (cause I've been that guy too) I either keep it or throw it away, but if I saw a magnet on the paint of my car i'd be pissed for sure. Plus your essentially "flyering" peoples cars anyway, but with magnets...on paint.


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## jleampark (Sep 6, 2007)

Thanks for all your responses. I'm sure glad I put something in this forum before actually trying it in real life!


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## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

I don't think there's a point to putting the magnet directly on the car metal. For one thing it'll initially freak out the owner, thinking someone's placed a sticker there. Second, there's a better way...

Get a small white plastic hanger bag printed up with your company details, including a QR code. Stuff your magnet (or car air freshener or whatever) in there, along with a one-sheet flyer. People will not toss the bag onto the ground, being plastic. If nothing else it's useful for holding trash! (If your local area has a restriction on plastic bags you'll have to use paper.)

On pens: many folks cheap out and get the lowest quality pens they can. I'd avoid that, as the pens dry out and some don't even work first click. It's a bad reflection on your biz to give out something that doesn't work or won't last more than a few uses. As promos, pens are cheap, but IMO risky.

When I go into businesses I opt for a fairly expensive (30 cents my cost) metal printed magnet/business card that has a 6-month calendar on it. NO ONE ever throws it away, even when the six months have come and gone! That's too expensive to leave on cars, unless you size up the biz based on signage, like a contractor's truck or something.


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## littlefatbuddy (Oct 8, 2012)

royster13 said:


> So you do not drive your car?......Driving it is about 1000x times more risk to your paint job than sticking a fridge magnet on it.....


It may be riskier to drive it but you are not guaranteed damage when you drive. Putting a magnet on a car guarantees damage even if it is minor. Dirt in between the magnet and paint acts just like good sandpaper.


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## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

royster13 said:


> I often come across business vehicles from out of town and/or home based businesses that I would otherwise miss


Excellent point. Sizing up the customer is part art, part science. I've stayed away from most parking lot leafletting because in my area it's not legal if the lot is privately owned, and nearly all of them are. Placing them on unoccupied cars on public streets and parking lots is legal.


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

littlefatbuddy said:


> It may be riskier to drive it but you are not guaranteed damage when you drive. Putting a magnet on a car guarantees damage even if it is minor. Dirt in between the magnet and paint acts just like good sandpaper.


Maybe if you are talking about a car magnet.....As in thick and meant to stick to cars driving down the road.....A fridge magnet is much thinner and does not cause the damage you are talking about......

And I have stuck 10s of thousands of magnets on cars in the past 12 years and never had one call with a problem...

For those that get "stressed" out about sticking magnets on a car, get some cello envelopes and put your magnet and a flyer in the envelope and stick it in the edge of the window...


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

GordonM said:


> Excellent point. Sizing up the customer is part art, part science. I've stayed away from most parking lot leafletting because in my area it's not legal if the lot is privately owned, and nearly all of them are. Placing them on unoccupied cars on public streets and parking lots is legal.


Even is a private parking lot you will probably not cause a problem if you are strategic in you placement.....When I go to Walmart there might be 100+ cars but only a few matter to me.....


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## Techtroll (Dec 29, 2012)

royster13 said:


> So you do not drive your car?......Driving it is about 1000x times more risk to your paint job than sticking a fridge magnet on it.....


 very true but I have insurance for the pitfalls of driving, and a $200 deductible on paint scratches. 

Just ask yourself would you stick a magnet to the side of a fully restored 1932 Dodge Businessman's Coupe? I have yelled at people standing on the running board to stick a flyer under my wiper... just saying. I'm considerate, some are not, and bad word of mouth travels faster than good.

Thanks


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

Techtroll said:


> very true but I have insurance for the pitfalls of driving, and a $200 deductible on paint scratches.
> 
> Just ask yourself would you stick a magnet to the side of a fully restored 1932 Dodge Businessman's Coupe? I have yelled at people standing on the running board to stick a flyer under my wiper... just saying. I'm considerate, some are not, and bad word of mouth travels faster than good.
> 
> Thanks


I am sure there would be some exceptions to where I would place my magnets, however, I doubt that your "1932 Dodge Businessman's Coupe" is very typical....So I might need to avoid this 1 in a million type of vehicle and move on to the next one....


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## Techtroll (Dec 29, 2012)

royster13 said:


> I am sure there would be some exceptions to where I would place my magnets, however, I doubt that your "1932 Dodge Businessman's Coupe" is very typical....So I might need to avoid this 1 in a million type of vehicle and move on to the next one....


You sir are a gentleman...and have a keen business sense.


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## littlefatbuddy (Oct 8, 2012)

Ok, Royce. I am not sure what type of clear coat they use up there, but I can assure you anything you place on the paint of my black pickup will cause scratches. Maybe only the "spiderweb" type scratches in my clearcoat, but they are still nonetheless scratches. I do not want anything, of any type, placed anywhere, on any of my vehicles. But I can assure you if a business placed a magnet on one of my vehicles they would most definitely get a visit from me.


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## selzler (Apr 4, 2007)

Here were I live they passed a law that you can't put flyer or anything else on any car if you do you can get fined plus pay to have it removed and pay for all damages.


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## Techtroll (Dec 29, 2012)

selzler said:


> Here were I live they passed a law that you can't put flyer or anything else on any car if you do you can get fined plus pay to have it removed and pay for all damages.


Same laws here in Vancouver, BC Canada but they are virtually never enforced. Unless you paper the parking lot at city hall.


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## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

In California (and any state covered by Ninth District Court), it's the opposite: it's perfectly legal to put flyers on unoccupied cars parked on city streets or in public parking lots. It's a freedom of speech thing. Some cities have tried to enact ordinances making it unlawful, and the result was this wide-reaching court case. 

From my chats with others who do this sort of thing, leaflet dropping has something like a 0.01% return rate (that's a made up number, but it's "very low" according to them). What many retail-based outfits here do is use street sign twirlers. It's illegal to post a sign on a public sidewalk, but it's not illegal for a person to stand on the corner with a big sign that says "Eat At Joes." It's apparently quite effective.


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## johnnyb57 (May 26, 2012)

Sorry but got to reply to this one.. there is no way a magnetic flyer or what have you will scratch your paint.. unless your car/truck, what have you unless it was painted from a spray bomb.. and if anyone with a straight mind would bring a restored 32 to a shopping plaza and leave it un attened well they deserve what they get...


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## Techtroll (Dec 29, 2012)

johnnyb57 said:


> Sorry but got to reply to this one.. there is no way a magnetic flyer or what have you will scratch your paint.. unless your car/truck, what have you unless it was painted from a spray bomb.. and if anyone with a straight mind would bring a restored 32 to a shopping plaza and leave it un attened well they deserve what they get...



WOW!! ... bit too much coffee?? 


I drive my car every chance I get I proud of it, and it is not the actual magnet but the team of under-aged monkeys that some businesses will hire to put the flyers on cars I worry about. I realize if my car is in public I take my chances. One poor lady was shocked to find out the scar she left all the way down the car in a Costco parking lot with her shopping cart cost $1100 to fix.

On topic I think a magnet would potentially do your business more harm than good. Flyers are not well received and get only slightly better results than spam email campaigns. Although I love the idea mentioned here of putting magnets on your own vehicle with a sign that says please take one.

Oh and try a beer, it is the weekend!


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## littlefatbuddy (Oct 8, 2012)

Techtroll said:


> WOW!! ... bit too much coffee??
> 
> 
> I drive my car every chance I get I proud of it, and it is not the actual magnet but the team of under-aged monkeys that some businesses will hire to put the flyers on cars I worry about. I realize if my car is in public I take my chances. One poor lady was shocked to find out the scar she left all the way down the car in a Costco parking lot with her shopping cart cost $1100 to fix.
> ...


Perhaps it all depends on where you live? If someone has never restored and/or customized a car they will not understand the "pride" of ownership and showing it off. Many custom paint jobs can now cost in excess of $5000 and some times $10,000. 
Now for a small bodyshop lesson. Sandpaper is made to scatch things. Vehicles collect dirt, grime, oil, and all other manner of things from being driven. Where I live I can wash one of my black vehicles and in a matter of minutes you can see find dust particles have settled back on it. So in a sense you already have "sand" on your paint or any other abrasive that has found your car. So now someone walks by and slaps a magnet on my car. We will assume for the purpose of this discussion they are in a hurry. Have you ever seen someone putting out flyers? There may be flyer fairies. Back to the lesson. As they walk by, in a hurry, and slap said magnet on my vehicle. If it moves one quarter of an inch on the paint it will cause a scratch. Now I walk out to my vehicle and find magnet on my car. In my disgust I rip it off and throw it to the ground. Now unless I managed to perfectly remove the magnet and it did not abrade any of my finish then yes, Johnny, it would not scratch my paint. Perfect on and perfect off would result in no scratches. I find that most unlikely. I have had a vehicle win Best of Show paint in four different car shows, including a national level show. The paint scheme was solid black. I won because there were not any scratches in my paint or clearcoat. It was literally like a mirror and that was because I knew how to care for that type of paint job. 
On a different note, I have never bought into the belief that, in this case, you drive your nice car and leave it unattended and you get what you deserve. What does that even mean exactly? Do we not live in a society? Do unto others should not be only a commandment. If everyone would live that way we would all be better off. Next time something bad happens to you or something you own just remember, in your own words, you got what you deserved.


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## johnnyb57 (May 26, 2012)

Easy there kev, And if you drive a show car or anything else of great value or devotion to a parking lot and leave it, you have to be otta your mind.. Listen I know what goes into these things, done enough of 'em, with that said black is beautiful, but a project to keep clean and scratch free..Only way is to do a polish buff before a show, and sometimes water sand with 3000 sand pad and compound..but back real issue I would'nt waste my time or money doing that it's like being in the yellow pages..


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## littlefatbuddy (Oct 8, 2012)

I will assume that the yellow pages comment is about putting flyers on a car. I could not agree with you more. Nobody pays attention to them and they litter our world. If that was not the intent then I apologize and we can agree to disagree about the damage a magnet could do to auto paint.


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## johnnyb57 (May 26, 2012)

You are correct in the fact of agree to disagree, not sure if you caught my drift with the yellow pages.. What I was getting at thier both a waste... Also I hope you realize this is all in friendly terms, as always..I never want to come off in the wrong way..


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