the buzz log

Victory sometimes comes at a price.

Tough financial times means hawking at every opportunity, and retailers have wasted little time in capitalizing upon Election Day results. Barnes & Noble started a one-week sale of president-elect Barack Obama's three books at 34% off (but not as marked down as other political books at 40% off). The AP reported that his memoirs crept back up into Amazon's top 25 list. "Audacity of Hope" ranked as a Borders digital download bestseller.

Without campaign momentum triggering impulsive patriotic shopping, common wisdom dictated that Nov. 4 was the last big sale day for winners or losers. At least, that was one pitch that Washington Square News reported, as one vendor urged a customer, "Young lady, you've been waiting for this day for 150 years ... Spend some money on history, people!" The next day, however, "Barry Merch" was selling like gangbusters on some New York street corners. Searches on Yahoo! also show a demand for "pop art barack obama shirt" (and a few anti-obama ones as well).

Online presented a mixed picture: The store.barackobama.com started their half-off clearance sale. Independent, for-profit online vendors selling McCain-Palin goods, however, hadn't marked down their items on Nov. 5, including the line of "I'm 'Joe the Plumber'/Don't Tax Me" bumperstickers." (A Jane version is also available.)

John McCain may have lost his bid for the Oval Office, but over in eBay, his singing dancing doll doppelganger received six bids, while the McCain and Obama bobble-head dolls pulled in 10. However, only one offer came for a signed Sarah Palin glossy, and none for four signed McCain books "priced to sell," nor the 2009 calendar featuring the Alaska governor with a gun slung over her shoulder. On the other hand, a signed Obama first edition went for $710 (free shipping), and a signed Michelle Obama baseball with a painting of the first lady sold at more than $200 after a 29-bid tussle.

Kathy Grannis, the media relations manager at the National Retail Federation, points out in a phone call that discounting usually happens after a sporting event or the Olympics. Euphoria, however, could extend the shelf life of election goods. "Those who are happy about the decision may invest in new merchandise to show their support in public," Grannis says. "If it's discounted, who's to say they won't buy a couple for their family or friends."

Retail or discount, the price matters less than the fact that Obama merchandise exists in such artistic plenty. The Philadelphia City Paper asserts that "the left has never really embraced [political] merchandising in the same way." Nowadays, political visages, such as the omnipresent Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, have been fair T-shirt game. "Pop culture usually has a lot to do with what consumers buy, whether it's a sports event or an election event," Grannis suggests. "Consumers are influenced by broadcast media."

Buyers and vendors, however, see it as buying a moment in history. People rushed out to snap up newspapers, from national papers to local editions ... and some promptly marked up the resale value as high as $2,000. (Print may be a beleaguered medium, but they frame better than a Web page.) How long the craze lasts may depend upon how long Obama can maintain his celebrated status. In the meantime, buying political favors is one way to help the economy.