Sign company put road sign in front of my shop !

[phototec]

True story

My buddy has a good sized sign shop in Austin, and the guy is very anal about these types of signs, to the point, I was driving with him one day in his truck and he saw one of these signs along the street, he stopped dead in the road, put on his flashers, got out of the truck (in the middle of traffic mind you), went over to the sign and pulled it out of the ground and thru it in the back of his pickup, he was all red in the face (pissed), he drove down the street about 1/4 mile and saw another one, and he went through the same ordeal again. He hates these low ball-er signs with a passion.

This explained something I noticed a few months earlier, I remember one day when I went to his shop, I walked past his truck and noticed about a dozen of the signs in the back of his truck, they have some other phone number on them, not his. NOW I know how they got in the back of his truck.

 

[dale911]

My buddy has a good sized sign shop in Austin, and the guy is very anal about these types of signs, to the point, I was driving with him one day in his truck and he saw one of these signs along the street, he stopped dead in the road, put on his flashers, got out of the truck (in the middle of traffic mind you), went over to the sign and pulled it out of the ground and thru it in the back of his pickup, he was all red in the face (pissed), he drove down the street about 1/4 mile and saw another one, and he went through the same ordeal again. He hates these low ball-er signs with a passion.

This explained something I noticed a few months earlier, I remember one day when I went to his shop, I walked past his truck and noticed about a dozen of the signs in the back of his truck, they have some other phone number on them, not his. NOW I know how they got in the back of his truck.

I have actually arrested a person who had another person's remodeling sign in the back of their truck when the owner of the sign saw them and called them in. The sign in the yard isn't illegal. An ordinance violation is a civil issue. Theft or criminal conversion is a criminal and jailable offense. I've been a cop for over 11 years and a sign guy for 3.

 

[Craig Sjoquist]

lol .. sign shops put there signs out where I'm working when doing window splash, if on a busy road near shops.

Yup I knock them down, also the normal stick in the ground advertising 100 signs , banners, wraps, sign shop signs & yes indeed I knock them down & anyone else that does that as I ride my bicycle around town.

Those stick in the ground are illegal here & besides that they make a neighborhood look ghetto ... do ya want they in your front yard, that is the reply I give back as people yell at me for knocking them down lol

 

[omgsideburns]

Pretty much any snipe signs in the right of way around here are considered litter, so I'm pretty sure it's fair game to pick them up. (not including political signs within the allowed dates)


I'm not a lawyer, I don't pick up peoples signs, I don't care about those cheap signs selling cheap signs because I'm not interested in trading four quarters for a dollar.

 

[TyrantDesigner]

during all the political pandering season my buddy in orlando would pay people 10 cents a stake if they weren't bent. People would go out and get 10 or 15 bucks worth in about 20 minutes there are just that many on the streets of orlando and the city goes around and pulls them every other morning to reduce clutter on the roads. insanity.

also worked in a shop as a freelancer, the owner would find those signs by low ballers, do what the OP did and threw them back out there in different spots ... never got in trouble. so go to town.

 

[ThinkRight]

:ROFLMAO:
When I was 17 ...
I got a job at a new restaurant as a dishwasher. One day the owner hands me and and my friend a stack of menus to go to shopping centers and put them on cars .
Being the smart-arse that I am ...
We went to another restaurant with the same type of food and put the menus on the cars in that parking lot !
Talk about a mad greek !
The other owner came and cussed out my boss, and all he did was laugh !
Both men were greek..
:ROFLMAO:

 

[bikecomedy]

I once had a competitor place a 9 year old at my front door with fliers and instruction to block customers from entering and to redirect them to the competitors shop.

LMAO watching customers dodging this little boy and working there way into the store. Said nothing to the child or the customers about his presence or what he was doing. Finally a customer who had been a long time customer obviously sething and showing signs of frustration and disgust ask me, "Why are you not angry about the boy outside. He's blocking the door and telling customers to go to another store, don't buy here." Replied by asking the customer, "When you left your home this morning to come here and buy, what things on the counter here did you plan to buy and what things are you buying because you are pissed off?" At that moment his face began to relax and watched him change his demeanor to a smile, he had only came to purchase one thing and had a pile in front of me amounting to an extra $150 purchase. This competitor tried this and serveral other tactics each one drove more business to me. Occasionally he would win a sale. Eventually he went bankrupt. Went to his bankrupcy sale and purchassed items from his bankruptcy sale administered by the court. The look on his face was priceless.

Here's a whole website on bandit signage with a section on the legality of bandit signage.... http://www.causs.org/index.html There are other sites about how to make and distribute bandit signs too for those who want to go that way... just thinking what kind of client would call on one of those... and if I'd want to work with them... The client might always be right but I pick the clients I will work with.

Love the comment, "Got a cop forum us sign guys can go and join....?" My guess is we are not camparing apple to apples and the arrest was for something quite different...

 

[TyrantDesigner]

I don't know if I would go so far as to 'stop street spam' because it's not like I don't sell a stack of coroplast once every 2 or 3 weeks to someone. Now ... I myself wouldn't put signs out front of a competitors shop ... but in front of Sams Club in the dirt lot where everyone comes out ... i've put some out there. not advertising a sale, just a hey look at me sign. but i've done it .. probably will again. just takes some skill to not be a dink about it.

 

[Tom Dalton]

This is often called "guerrilla marketing". I don't understand how they get away with it because it basically says who they are on the sign. Right on every sign it has a phone number or in some cases an address or web page. Without contact information, the sign does them no good. In any case... just a few clicks and you're in touch with the offender. I guess it continues to happen because cities that have ordinances against it are too lazy to prosecute. A lot of cities got tired of paying their workers to clean up the trash that is left out on the street corners. So, they made it essentially an "illegal dumping" violation to leave signs out that are on public property.

Your sign had 863-800-0101 on it. So, call the number and see who answers. Then visit their shop (with sign in hand) and ask them nicely to not put signs in front of your business. Then, if it happens again.. take appropriate action.

Tom
SignsDirect

 

[TammieH]

They do not call them "Bandit Signs" for nothing. What are the sign codes in your area for off premises advertising?
Along with lowing the price on the gentleman's sign, I would rat the guy out!

 

[ronl1975]

I have actually arrested a person who had another person's remodeling sign in the back of their truck when the owner of the sign saw them and called them in. The sign in the yard isn't illegal. An ordinance violation is a civil issue. Theft or criminal conversion is a criminal and jailable offense. I've been a cop for over 11 years and a sign guy for 3.

Happened again, my shop is on a small street and half of these were on the street.

Are you trying to tell me that it is illegal to pick up a sign that is illegally placed ? LOLOLOLOL ! These signs are illegally placed on other places of business' property along on county property AND the phone number isn't even in the same county. Please explain a bit more about the law.

 

[d fleming]

Had someone do the same in front of my shop a year or three ago. His business address was a residence. As he was a screen printer he was soon visited ny the EPA to make sure he was legal as well as the county for placing so many illegal signs. His response was to join here to evesdrop on me, as well as other sites and try to catch me doing something illegal. Waste of his time. He went out of business quick enough. Screenprinted coro was his only product and the one thing he did worse than screen printing was comp and layout. Remove the sign fr in front of your office and let the price hunters get garbage from bistaprint. They deserve each other.

 

[visual800]

Had competitor do that couple of years ago. I'm in office warehouse complex so don't know if they even knew we were here. But they were flooding the area and one in drive leading to my complex.

I'd stopped and pulled it out. Came into our shop laughing, waving the sign and ranting.

I told my install crew and sales guy when we get to 25 of his signs we get a pizza lunch!

By end of the week we had enough for two lunches. Never saw the signs around again.

best idea yet and you get free stands!

 

[visual800]

I have actually arrested a person who had another person's remodeling sign in the back of their truck when the owner of the sign saw them and called them in. The sign in the yard isn't illegal. An ordinance violation is a civil issue. Theft or criminal conversion is a criminal and jailable offense. I've been a cop for over 11 years and a sign guy for 3.

These arent in a yard.

 

[Pat Whatley]

I have actually arrested a person who had another person's remodeling sign in the back of their truck when the owner of the sign saw them and called them in. The sign in the yard isn't illegal. An ordinance violation is a civil issue. Theft or criminal conversion is a criminal and jailable offense. I've been a cop for over 11 years and a sign guy for 3.

Maybe where you live. Here putting signs on utility poles or on the right of way is illegal and the city actually encourages people to remove them.

 

[visual800]

Maybe where you live. Here putting signs on utility poles or on the right of way is illegal and the city actually encourages people to remove them.

yeah except for politicians, scum of the earth

 

[Craig Sjoquist]

Here in Orlando ..if those signs are on the right of way basically from sidewalk to sidewalk really about a foot or so past depending,

Anyway if in right of way no matter political or John doe .. they are considered litter removing is allowed, as long as ya put in trash.

Been stopped by several police picking them up, normally I just knock them over until I get stopped then given the choice to trash them.

Also here Orlando says & seen them take pictures & take them back for evidence for a court order, they in real prosecuted a Tax business of course next year changed name & did same
.
..Then put the phone numbers on a AUTOMATIC CALL..lol fills up there messages quick & they get tired of phones calls all day, so seeing taped up & changed phone numbers & less signs also.

& I still knock them down & take down those posted on public boxes & take down those nailed to a pole, cause I do not like a ghetto looking neighborhood.

IF for a neighborhood business or like a garage sale in area like a sale or whatever I leave them alone, just cause it relates to the area.

 

[Chriswagner92]

So if they leave a sign on your property doesn't that make it litter?

 

[toucan_graphics]

I'm no lawyer but signs are personal property. Not sure about other locations but around here, bandit signs are technically "abandoned property". Once the sign owner places the sign and leaves they have intentionally abandoned the sign.

"As a general matter, if a property owner intentionally abandons property, they lose ownership of it. When property is intentionally abandoned, it belongs to nobody until it is found. At that point, title (ownership) transfers to whoever finds it, and takes it with intent to take ownership. This is the general rule created by the common law."

This interpretation does not apply to signs placed with the permission of the land owner, or on property which the sign owner owns or rents because the property (sign) is placed in a location which is owned, maintained or permitted by proper authority and as such is not abandoned.

Bottom line, if the sign is put up without proper permission,it is abandoned property and can be claimed, removed, discarded or otherwise used by whoever finds it. Kind of like "finders keepers".

 

[401Graphics]

does that mean that A-frames left on sidewalks are to take also?

 

[bikecomedy]

A competitors A-frame left on the sidewalk is to take. My A-frame left on a sidewalk Don't Touch! JK

I think what is meant is a sign left on a public space is abandoned. I sign left on property in which you have possession rights not abandoned.

Your question ... "your sign on a sidewalk" = abandoned if public sidewalk ... well placed if your sidewalk