Faces of Snipe: Jesse Olson of Bell Home Realty
I have an idea for a new series here on The Deets: Faces of Snipe. Identifying the people who litter in our communities by placing illegal advertisements for things like “We Buy Houses” or dating services.
I’ll kick it off with this snipe ad that was nailed to a pole outside the Riverview Cafe and Wine Bar featuring the phone number 612-822-8937.
It turns out that the person behind this illegal ad is on Mr. Jesse Olson of Bell Home Realty.
I asked Jesse about his snipe advertising behavior at 612-386-4467 and he said that he “doesn’t put up that many, or that often.” He said that he is also a Minneapolis resident, and understands that it can get out of hand at times. He also offered to take down the sign if I told him the location, but I had already trashed it.
Perhaps this post will help him understand that his behavior can have a negative impact?
I also called to talk to a representative of Bell Home Realty at 651-330-3060 in Roseville, MN about snipe advertising in general to find out his this is a company-wide practice, or the work of a renegade agent. She said that this type of behavior is not endorsed by Bell Home Realty (the broker Jesse Olson is affiliated with), yet she volunteered Jesse Olson’s name as the agent likely behind the snipe advertising, so they’re clearly aware of his behavior.
If you have a snipe situation you’d like featured on The Deets, send it in.
May 7th, 2010 at 8:20 am
Out on Baily Road in Woodbury (at the intersection of Woodlane), there’s a sign that goes up every weekend for somebody selling furnace filters. I’ll try to send you a picture.
May 7th, 2010 at 9:13 am
Nice, I didn’t know it had a name: “Snipe Advertising.” I’ll send you the phone number next time:
http://t.bigboxcar.com/post/558354822
So far in my Seward neighborhood: Me: 3, signs: 0.
Also, College Pro Painters do this sort of thing all the time.
May 7th, 2010 at 9:48 am
They volunteered his name? Dang.
I’m irked by the trend of contractors putting signs up in the yards of the homes they’re working on.
May 7th, 2010 at 6:09 pm
I don’t like Snipe Advertising, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with a contractor setting up a sign in the yard of a home they are currently working on.
First off they have to have the permission of the owners to place it on the property and they serve multiple purposes.
Not only is it good visual advertising but it also is handy for the neighbors because they have a number to call to report any issues. I called the number on a sign in my neighbors yard a few years ago when a roofer knocked over our mailbox and it just left it in the yard.
The contractor was happy that I reported it to them directly because then they were able to confront the roofers and they made them rebuild it.
My folks are rebuilding their home on Prior Lake right now and the builder has a nice looking sign in the yard. Attached to the sign in a box full of brochures that show what the house will look like when it’s all done. It’s very tasteful and really useful for people who drive around looking at other costume home sites. I talked to the contractor and he said he has to restock the brochures every other week.
May 7th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
A lot of companies — Signature Home Services I know of for sure — have it in the contract that they have to be allowed to stick a sign on your lawn.
May 7th, 2010 at 8:00 pm
Is it fair to say that you’re going snipe hunting?
May 12th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
I notice less snipe now than a year or two ago.
Here is snipe from 2007…
http://phantomreadings.blogspot.com/2007/10/do-people-post-signs-like-this-one-in.html
I’ll try to notice and record snipe for Faces of Snipe. This is very exciting.
Dan
June 4th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
It’s unbelievable that you not only waste your own time on trivial issues like this,but also waste valuable internet space with this pointless drivel.
I’ll also know that your ability to take the good with the bad in your comment section is comprimised by your one-sideness if you fail to post this comment.
-This is dumb
June 4th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
@Mpls Resident, it’s funny to me that you’d assume that I wouldn’t publish your comment. As I see it, you suggested that my post was trivial an a “waste of valuable Internet space” which is intriguing to me.
Clearly, I pay for this space, so if it’s a waste, I get to decide. You get to decide how to spend your time, so if you wasted it here, you wasted your own time consuming my trivial content. Sorry to hear that. Next time you find yourself in a similar situation, just leave. The Internet has a lot to offer these days.
But, more importantly, you said that my post is trivial and a waste of valuable Internet space without explaining why. In my “trivial waste of Internet space” world, that type of response is trivial and a waste of space. I really am curious to find out why you stated what you did, so please follow up with why you think it’s okay for people to posts signs for their businesses in ways outside of what the residents of the City of Minneapolis have agreed are acceptible.
Also, I can assure you that I have not censored any opposing comments. I don’t know if the responses to date are one-sided due to the readership of this site or feelings about this topic in general, but I do know that they’re not due to any moderation actions on my part. Frankly, it’s much more fun for me to debate this stuff in public than it is to create the illusion of one-sidedness.
I welcome your response.
November 7th, 2011 at 6:22 pm
[...] may remember real estate agent Jesse Olson from a May 2010 Faces of Snipe. In fact, Jesse Olson was the very first illegal advertiser highlighted in Faces of [...]
November 18th, 2011 at 5:36 pm
Hi there, Have You ever thought, maybe Jesse Olson is trying to do something positive? Help homeowners who are behind on their payments, get their payments made? Do you know anybody who is upside down on their mortgage, or need to sell their house before going into bankruptcy/foreclosure? Maybe you could help Jesse Olson help them, instead of making life more difficult for him. It’s called capitalism, helping people solve their problems, not creating them.
It’s nice that all of you have jobs. I’m sure the people who you work for has had to start somewhere. Quite frankly I can’t think of a better way to advertise locally.
Ed mentioned its interesting that these sign’s #’s don’t show up on Google. It’s because a lot of these businesses can’t afford websites, or are so busy trying to create a successful business, that this is on the bottom of their priority list.
In addition, I doubt Jesse Olson is creating such an incredible problem in your life.
November 19th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
@Ellie, I don’t consider breaking the law in the name of predatory real estate transactions particularly noble.
As you can probably imagine, there are non-illegal ways to reach the same people. Jesse Olson has admitted to me, on the phone, twice, that he knows what he’s doing is not appropriate. I happen to agree with Jesse on that.