Magnets vs. Decals for Car Advertising: Pros and Cons

[heat123]

I am really wanting to advertise on my car but have not decided which way to go? I think my husband would want me to get the magets (not permanently stuck on), I'd love cling on window decals but I guess that 's not an option, do you think there are any drawbacks to magnets?
And to those of you who have them, are they worth it?
Thanks!

 

[jenniferknapp]

Magnets could get dirt under them and scratch the paint... but window decals are sometimes a pain to get off. It is a toss up, but you can always scrape and goo gone your windows if you go with the decals. Once you have scratched and faded paint around/behind your magnet, it is very expensive...IMO

 

[pamperedbecky]

I have had magnets for almost 2 1/2 years and love them. DO take them off in the car wash. I forgot once and it flew right off and split a little on the edge. It comes with instructions to be sure to take them off and I was just lazy. Needless to say, I always take them off now. And as long as you take them off periodically to wash the car (just do it when you'd normally wash your car....I really don't wash mine all that often...the salt and yuck out here in Chicago winters make them dirty right away again), it shouldn't be a problem. My paint has never been scratched or faded. I like mine!

 

[heat123]

Becky what kind of response have you gotten from them since putting them on? Any shows or random orders? Just curious?

 

[Chef Kearns]

I would go with the logo stickers. I had both. I bought the magnets in Sept. one blew off the van last month. I never took the things through a car wash. I wiped them clean with Windex (and the spot on the van where I put them). That really pissed me off!! Especially considering how expensive they are!! We are using the other one for the back of my husband's truck. The print is small also. Someone would have to be right next to you to read it.

I am an illegal!! By that I mean I bought a logo sign with my name, phone number, email and website from Fast signs. I have it on both sides of the van on the last set of windows. It was after I placed the order that I re-read the rules. Oh well! My thought process was...I could buy a Merrill sticker and have to buy more stickers from some place else for my personal information OR I could call up Town & Country to see if I could still get one from them OR I could just use my money on what I truly wanted.

The last time I bought one from Town & Country (when they were a licensed vendor). I didn't install it correctly. My website was all jumbled and un-intelligible. I got one from FastSigns for $126. They helped design it and install it for that price. It is a nice sign. I'm sorry I broke the rules, but it looks really nice and professional. And now people can actually READ the darn thing!

 

[KellyTheChef]

I would go with the vinyl lettering. We just got a new car this June (first new car ever- wooohooo!) and the car we were trading in had a couple of the little "pray for our troops" magnet ribbons on it. When they were cleaning everything out of that car, they took those off and it was sooooo bad underneath! The salesman said that the magnet actually MAGNITIZES (sp?) the metal of the car. Even if you move it occasionally and wash under it, you will still have brake dust (very small particles like dust/dirt) get under the sign and scratch the paint. Even if you move the magnet to different places on the car, it will still attract that brake dust to the metal afterwards since it will be magnitized. (Brake dust is made up of metal particles!!!) He told me that he NEVER puts magnets on his cars because of this. As much as I love and want to support the troops, I did NOT put those back on my new Kia Sportage!

 

[dannyzmom]

I have magnets and have had them for a few years now. They have brought me LOTS of business. Yes, the mess up the paint underneath...but I am planning on driving this car til it die...so it doesn't much matter if the paint gets nasty.

 

[heat123]

Hmm, not sounding good for the magnets, but I love the idea of them being so easily removable!

 

[dannyzmom]

Hmm, not sounding good for the magnets, but I love the idea of them being so easily removable!

Oh - and another thought...some car insurance policies will consider your car a "commercial vehicle" if you have advertising permanently affixed to it.

 

[pamperedalf]

My DH says to not put magnets on your vehicle at all. He went got on his soap box about what it can do to your paint, and how would we ever be able to sell that vehicle if it has paint damage.... LAH LAH, so to save my sanity I will go w/ the decal!

 

[PC1]

I had my Town N Country magnets for almost 6 years. I loved them! They were very easy to read. Unfortunately, this last year, I didn't take them off when I went thru the car wash, but they did stay on, never had a problem with them ever flying off.

I moved in December, and I went to change the numbers since I had to change my phone number, (my cable service who I have my phone thru, if you change zip codes, you have to switch your phone number-which I was totally bummed about), and since I didn't care for the signs like I should've I had problems removing the magnets. I think it mostly had to do because I didn't remove before car washes, but the cold weather may had a play with it to. Anyways, my sign came off in pieces, which I really wasn't too upset (, I really wanted to get the new magnet signs, but I tried to do the cheaper route during the holidays.

Now, regarding the new signs, I am somewhat concerned about my name being on my car vs just my phone number, but the signs do work, grabs peoples attention, and I have gotten leads thru them. I will be putting them on soon, people at my full-time job keep asking "Do you still sell PC"-they are not seeing my signs on my car, so once I clean my car again, they will be going on. Don't want to lose any new potential prospects.

 

[chee65]

I noticed that you are from La Mesa CA. One of the warnings for the magnets is that if it gets up to a certain degree it will ruin your paint. So, being that I'm here in Tucson, I did not want to run the risk.

Anyways, I have the window decal from Nancy's or Merrill I can't remember which one, then I had a sign company put my personal info on the back window of my SUV under the decal. It looks great and you can definitely see it. It only cost me 46.00 to get my personal info put on.

It works great, I've had people stop me or call me because of it.

I do highly recomment it.

 

[chee65]

By the way, I did have to switch to a commercial plate because of my ad. But it only cost $11.50 more per year and it gave me a good excuse to shop for insurance for it and it turned out cheaper. So it's well worth it.

 

[pamperedbecky]

Becky what kind of response have you gotten from them since putting them on? Any shows or random orders? Just curious?

I'm in the process of setting up a show right now with a woman who saw my magnet a couple months ago. I've gotten a few orders from it. One was last week when the woman saw my car in the park district parking lot when I was there with my son for his basketball class. She came into the building asking people "Who's the Pampered Chef consultant?" and she was seeking me out! It was kind of funny. Turns out, she needed a stone and I was able to add it to my show on Friday night, so it made the host happy too.

I got a recruit from it, but she didn't end up qualifying. So, I've given out a fair number of catalogs and have gotten some random orders. I figure I've paid for it over the past couple years from those random orders, but this show that I'll have in March will make it way worth it!

 

[Chef Kearns]

So Becky you have the T&C magnets right? The T&C magnets were a bit larger than the Merrill magnets. I think the Merrill stuff looks a bit more professional overall than Town & Country, however, T&C had a better idea of font size and proportion. Their stamp was a good size (and the ink dried QUICKLY). I kinda miss them

 

[dannyzmom]

So Becky you have the T&C magnets right? The T&C magnets were a bit larger than the Merrill magnets. I think the Merrill stuff looks a bit more professional overall than Town & Country, however, T&C had a better idea of font size and proportion. Their stamp was a good size (and the ink dried QUICKLY). I kinda miss them

I agree with you about Merrill & font size. On their stamps and car magnets the fonts are WAY too small rendering them pretty useless. I won't order car magnets or stamps from them.

 

[heat123]

Becky, have you noticed anything with your car and paint problems? My DH would kill me if I ruined my "pimp" ride as he calls it. It's a totally souped up SUV with all the bells and whistles that he loves dearly!

 

[pamperedbecky]

So Becky you have the T&C magnets right? The T&C magnets were a bit larger than the Merrill magnets. I think the Merrill stuff looks a bit more professional overall than Town & Country, however, T&C had a better idea of font size and proportion. Their stamp was a good size (and the ink dried QUICKLY). I kinda miss them

Yep, they are the T&C magnets. I don't think I've really looked too closely at the Merrill ones. I like mine.

 

[pamperedbecky]

Becky, have you noticed anything with your car and paint problems? My DH would kill me if I ruined my "pimp" ride as he calls it. It's a totally souped up SUV with all the bells and whistles that he loves dearly!

I've never noticed any problems with mine scratching the paint or anything. And I keep mine on all the time, except when I wash the car. I am sure to wipe the back of the magnet before I put it back on just to make sure there aren't any dust pieces or anything. I've been very happy with mine.

 

[Stampaholic1961]

I totally miss Town & Country. They were so nice when we stopped at their
booth at National Conference. Very friendly & helpful. I haven't met anyone from Merrill but when I emailed them about stuff I never got any response.

 

[Stampaholic1961]

Another thing to factor in your decision whether to get the
magnet sign or window cling is whether or not your vehicle
is metal or fiberglass. Someone actually ordered the magnetic
signs & couldn't figure out why they wouldn't attach to her
vehicle then discovered that it was fiberglass!!