How many yard signs do I need

Drive the route the way a visitor will, from the nearest main road, and write down every place they have to choose: each turn, each fork, the entrance to the lot and the door itself. That list is your count. Put one sign 30 to 50 feet before each turn so the driver reads it and still has room to signal, and one at the destination so they know they have arrived.

Add one more for the first sign on the main road, where traffic is faster and a 24 x 36 panel reads from twice the distance. Order double sided for any spot that traffic approaches from both directions; a single sided sign there only works for half the cars.

Four to six signs cover most routes: three or four arrows at the turns from the main road, one at the house and a spare for the corner you forgot. A 12 x 18 arrow is enough at a neighborhood turn; the house sign can be 18 x 24 with the address line. Leave the date off the arrows and only the destination sign needs the day, so the arrows serve the next sale too. Pick everything up when the event ends.

A contractor or an agent is not counting a route; they are stocking a shelf. One sign per active job or listing plus a few spares, replaced as they wear or walk off, lands at 10 to 25 for most small businesses. Nothing on the sign should be dated, so the same design comes off the shelf for years, and the 25 pack price makes the spare signs almost free compared with buying them one at a time later.

Plan 25 signs per volunteer route and expect to reorder after the first weekend of door knocking, when the supporters who said yes outnumber the signs in the trunk. The 50 and 100 packs carry the lowest per sign price, and the two week window before the election is when a reorder has to print the same day, which is why the 10:30am Pacific cutoff matters. Use 24 x 36 at intersections and main roads, 18 x 24 on supporter lawns.

Prices step down at 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 250 signs on each size and sides line. The steps are large enough that rounding up can cost less than stopping short: nine 18 x 24 double sided signs at the 5 pack price come to $139.41, while ten at the 10 pack price come to $129.90. Check the per sign price at the next tier before you settle on an odd count. Shipping is $9.95 when the items subtotal is below $99.00, and free at $99.00 and above. Alaska and Hawaii freight is quoted individually.