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Demovictory9

(37,113 posts)
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 03:56 AM Mar 2022

The People Behind the Joe Biden Sticker That Has Colonized America's Gas Pumps



The stickers first started showing up on gas pumps across the country last year: pictures of President Biden, usually placed to look like he is pointing to the price of the gas, with the words “I did that!” beside him. After first spiking in popularity online months ago, the stickers are hot once again these days, thanks to recent sharp rises in gas prices—$4.33 on average for a gallon of regular. With some consumers mad enough to become sticker vigilantes and Biden’s approval ratings in the dumps, there’s only one real winner in this situation: the sticker profiteers themselves.

“It’s been ramping up for a few months,” said Javier Estrada Ovalles, who’s been doing brisk business in “I did that!” stickers at his online store catering to car enthusiasts as well as his brick-and-mortar store in El Monte, California. “But in this last month alone, once the prices of the gas really started going up, I started getting bulk sales twice or three times more than it was before.” He said he went from getting 20 to 30 individual orders a day to 80 a day, and those 80 are often for packs of 10 or more.

The stickers are also moving fast at the Patriotic Products, an online shop run by an Oklahoma-based young man named Keenan. (Keenan declined to give his last name or specific age, saying that he’s “under 21.” He was suspiciously unavailable between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.) Over the past week, “I’ve noticed an increase of organic sales, meaning I’m not having to do advertising,” Keenan told me. He estimated that he’s sold about 1,500 stickers in that time, which is pretty good, but small potatoes compared to August—that was the first month he started selling “I did that!” stickers, still very early in the trend cycle, when he claimed he raked in $40,000 in sticker sales alone. The field was clear then, but now he has dozens, maybe even hundreds, of vendors to compete with.

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As the stickers have become popular, gas station employees have complained about the difficulty of getting them off the gas pumps or the worry that they might rankle some patrons. Estrada Ovalles protested that he doesn’t make the stickers for people to stick on gas pumps, but acknowledged that “they end up there anyway.” Because of that, his stickers are made of vinyl, he said: “If you try to remove ’em, they will fully come off. Wherever they might end up, it’s not a pain in the butt to clean up.”

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/03/joe-biden-i-did-that-gas-pump-stickers-prices.html
34 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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The People Behind the Joe Biden Sticker That Has Colonized America's Gas Pumps (Original Post) Demovictory9 Mar 2022 OP
Will the stickers stay when gas prices go down? TreasonousBastard Mar 2022 #1
I hope so Demovictory9 Mar 2022 #2
Do you anticipate Tickle Mar 2022 #6
Of course it will go down-- it always does. Remember the Arab oil embargo? The oil tankers at... TreasonousBastard Mar 2022 #7
What would ever cause prices to go down ? MichMan Mar 2022 #12
When OPEC's sales slump to the point.... SergeStorms Mar 2022 #13
I want some that have a picture of putin Beachnutt Mar 2022 #3
Putin face stickers RockCreek Mar 2022 #4
+1 . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Mar 2022 #8
Putin contributed to the recent spike Hav Mar 2022 #18
Exactly! RockCreek Mar 2022 #20
That inthewind21 Mar 2022 #28
Hmm... Mike Nelson Mar 2022 #5
I'm using about as little as I can. Sherman A1 Mar 2022 #9
Sounds good... Mike Nelson Mar 2022 #14
Burbank to Santa Monica. Thats a killer drive Demovictory9 Mar 2022 #23
This is petty vandalism and anyone doing it should be fined Takket Mar 2022 #10
Now I don't feel so guilty when I put a stick em note on hot air dryers in restrooms saying Emile Mar 2022 #11
I haven't seen any of the Biden stickers.... SergeStorms Mar 2022 #15
I guess it's time to start keeping a Sharpie in the car. GoCubsGo Mar 2022 #16
When will this be treated as the vandalism that it is? Ferrets are Cool Mar 2022 #17
What do you think is an appropriate fine for applying a sticker? MichMan Mar 2022 #24
I don't pretend to be a judge. I'm sure they can figure out what vandalism is worth. Ferrets are Cool Mar 2022 #25
I'd use whatever the fine for graffiti is as a starting point. nt Akoto Mar 2022 #32
I saw a couple of these while traveling from VA to OH maxrandb Mar 2022 #19
+1 n/t area51 Mar 2022 #22
THIS inthewind21 Mar 2022 #29
Nothing stopping us from making our own stickers. STICKER WAR! Hotler Mar 2022 #21
I don't know why a gas station would alienate half its customers renate Mar 2022 #26
It's not the gas station inthewind21 Mar 2022 #30
good point--I should have added that I live in Oregon, where attendants pump the gas renate Mar 2022 #34
The gas station managers should check daily for stickers Catherine Vincent Mar 2022 #27
so inthewind21 Mar 2022 #31
If I come across one, I'll try and remove but if I can't Catherine Vincent Mar 2022 #33
 

Tickle

(4,131 posts)
6. Do you anticipate
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 05:39 AM
Mar 2022

gas going down? That would be fabulous. I have also seen those stickers at my local gas station

TreasonousBastard

(43,049 posts)
7. Of course it will go down-- it always does. Remember the Arab oil embargo? The oil tankers at...
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 05:56 AM
Mar 2022

anchor outside of refineries? Gas lines? Odd and Even days?

Until we actually run out of it, or don't need it any more, it will always fluctuate. That's the ways commodities are.

MichMan

(17,151 posts)
12. What would ever cause prices to go down ?
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 07:09 AM
Mar 2022

I thought it was greedy oil companies gouging people just because they can ?

SergeStorms

(20,591 posts)
13. When OPEC's sales slump to the point....
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 07:31 AM
Mar 2022

where it starts hurting the bottom line, they'll either pump more oil or lower prices. Either way prices will go down.

People need to start conserving gasoline again. They'll start car pooling again. They'll make fewer unnecessary trips to the stores. There will be more "staycations", rather than driving hundreds of miles for a change of view.

This goes against the grain of America's love affairs with their cars, but they've done it before and they'll do it again. They'll have to.

Even at current prices we're paying much less than other countries, and that was before the sharp increases.

It would be a shame if Americans learned how to conserve for a change.

Hav

(5,969 posts)
18. Putin contributed to the recent spike
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 07:56 AM
Mar 2022

It would be great If Repubs could be shamed for blaming Biden instead of Putin.

 

inthewind21

(4,616 posts)
28. That
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 03:43 PM
Mar 2022

Would require a huge chunk of the US populations to get educated on global markets and fluctuating prices.

Mike Nelson

(10,943 posts)
5. Hmm...
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 05:25 AM
Mar 2022

... I have not seen one, yet. From the stuff I've seen, people are more concerned with gas prices than the price of milk or the war in Ukraine. I do think they will want the prices to stay high for the November midterms. I will try to use less gas. If we could start a national movement to use less gas, the supply/demand will change... until then, Gas Corps and Republicans will benefit from high gas prices.

Sherman A1

(38,958 posts)
9. I'm using about as little as I can.
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 06:10 AM
Mar 2022

Granted we are both retired, but I really slowed my gas consumption down when it hit $1.20 a gallon many years ago. Trips are combined, needless outings are skipped or wait until they can be combined into necessary trips. I use a 2008 Toyota Yaris for most of errands, so there isn’t much more I can do to cut back.

I’m hoping that this recent spike will eliminate a few of the road hog gas guzzlers out there and people will shift to more efficient transportation.

Mike Nelson

(10,943 posts)
14. Sounds good...
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 07:34 AM
Mar 2022

... I moved a couple years ago and made it a point to have everything close. So, I'm lucky... also, I car pool. Two people in Burbank don't have to take two cars to meet a group for dinner in Santa Monica. But with COVID, I think I go to the gas station about twice a year...

Takket

(23,715 posts)
10. This is petty vandalism and anyone doing it should be fined
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 06:23 AM
Mar 2022

I’ve seen this a couple times. Tried to peel one off and they used the kind of stickers that do t peel. You know what I mean lol. I scratched the head off. That sounds terrible lol but at least Biden’s face was off it.

Emile

(42,292 posts)
11. Now I don't feel so guilty when I put a stick em note on hot air dryers in restrooms saying
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 06:45 AM
Mar 2022

for a short speech from Donald Trump push here.

SergeStorms

(20,591 posts)
15. I haven't seen any of the Biden stickers....
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 07:37 AM
Mar 2022

but I've seen stickers from gas station owners saying, "Do Not Place Stickers on Gas Pumps", so apparently people were putting Biden stickers on the pumps before.

Vandalism, pure and simple.

Ferrets are Cool

(22,957 posts)
17. When will this be treated as the vandalism that it is?
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 07:53 AM
Mar 2022

Big fines, and televised by the local news stations will deter this bigtime.

maxrandb

(17,428 posts)
19. I saw a couple of these while traveling from VA to OH
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 10:04 AM
Mar 2022

Democrats ignore this shit at our peril.

I removed one, came off easy. The other one I had to scrape with my nails, leaving a shredded unrecognizable mess.

Anyway, it pissed me off for two reasons.

One - it's fucking bullshit, not based in any reality.

Two - it's a smart, inexpensive and simple way to get a message out to vast amounts of Americans.

I am sure that the Ivy League educated Dem campaign and political advisors will say it's an ineffective way of messaging, a waste of time, and a waste of resources that could be used to "educate Americans about the complexities of the commodities market and the nuance of supply chain issues".

These would be the same advisors that were convinced Donnie Dipshit couldn't win.

It is time to face the fact that there are a lot of decent, fair-minded Americans that are either dumb as a sack of hammers, or too damn busy to listen to a 15 minute explanation of the economics of gas prices.

We shouldn't write off those Americans. The Retrumplicans sure don't.

Are these stickers juvenile and idiotic? Sure!

Can they resonate with juvenile and idiotic voters that can make a difference between electing fascists, or sane government? Damn Skippy!

Anyway, what I wouldn't have given for a box of stickers with a picture of Donnie Dipshit kissing Putin's bare ass, with the phrase "I KISSED IT" emblazoned across it.

Retrumplicans know how to appeal to simpletons. Dems should take this page from their book.

We may think it's silly, but sometimes, silly works.

 

inthewind21

(4,616 posts)
29. THIS
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 03:45 PM
Mar 2022

"It is time to face the fact that there are a lot of decent, fair-minded Americans that are either dumb as a sack of hammers, or too damn busy to listen to a 15 minute explanation of the economics of gas prices.

renate

(13,776 posts)
26. I don't know why a gas station would alienate half its customers
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 03:24 PM
Mar 2022

I quit going to a particular station specifically because of it, and two other people I told about it have quit going too. Gas is gas, I can get it wherever.

 

inthewind21

(4,616 posts)
30. It's not the gas station
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 03:47 PM
Mar 2022

It's the idiot patrons. Add their antics worked, you punished the gas station.

renate

(13,776 posts)
34. good point--I should have added that I live in Oregon, where attendants pump the gas
Tue Mar 15, 2022, 01:15 AM
Mar 2022

So they absolutely know the stickers are there and have chosen to keep them there. They see them dozens of times every day.

Catherine Vincent

(34,610 posts)
27. The gas station managers should check daily for stickers
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 03:38 PM
Mar 2022

If they catch anyone with the stickers, they should be fined. It's destruction of property.

If I come across one, I'll take my business elsewhere.

 

inthewind21

(4,616 posts)
31. so
Mon Mar 14, 2022, 03:49 PM
Mar 2022

If you see a sticker, instead of informing the gas station or just removing the sticker yourself, you'll punish the gas station and not the moron who put the sticker there? Makes perfect sense.

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