February 11, 2009 1:44 PM
- Text
The Business Of Selling Barack Obama
Scroll Left Scroll Right
-
play 6/16: Protesters seek refuge in Istanbul hotel; Pope blesses ... -
play SCOTUS: States can't require voters to prove citizenship; Couple ... -
play Couple reeling from recession rewrites story, publishes romance novels -
play Snowden: "U.S. Government is not going to be able ... -
play SCOTUS: States can't require voters to prove citizenship -
play Pope blesses thousands Harley Davidson motorcycles -
play Colo. Black Forest fire has died down, yet danger remains -
play Ghost army: How a group of artists helped win WWII -
play Syria tensions make for chilly meeting between Obama, Putin -
play On the front lines of the Keystone pipeline debate -
play Crucial early education program badly hurt by federal cuts -
play Okla. tornado survivor finds dog buried alive under rubble
His image is on everything, and his name is inscribed in everything from hats to fine china to music.
Never mind the recession. The business of Obama is booming, CBS News business correspondent Anthony Mason reports.
"We even sell an Obama dollar bill now that has his picture on it for $10. So even his money's more valuable," said Jim Warlick, owner of the Washington, D.C., store Political Americana.
By some estimates, the Obama industry is worth at least a quarter of a billion dollars.
QVC expects 200,000 customers will have purchased Obama items by the end of Inauguration Day.
"This is our button room where we've produced 10 million buttons over the past two years," said Steve Swallow, CEO of Tiger Eye Design.
In Greensville, Ohio, Tiger Eye Design makes more than 1,000 different Obama buttons.
"This is the largest effect that any candidate has ever had," Swallow said.
The button room there operates around the clock, seven days a week. Two years ago, Tiger Eye was a $2 million a year company. Today, in the era of Mr. Obama, they do more than 10 times that in business.
"We've gone from 20 full time employees to over 60," Swallow said.
In New York, Jason Feinberg, a former school teacher, was loading up 15,000 Obama action figures to take to the inauguration.
He's already sold 150,000.
"I've made over a million dollars," he said.
When Marvel Comics released a Spiderman-Obama comic last week, "the line stretched down the street at a New York comic store. The 'Spidey Meets the President' issue sold out in hours," according to Patrick Andrade of the "New York Times."
To memorabilia dealers, the president-elect is better than a superhero - he's a one-man economic stimulus package.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. Never mind the recession. The business of Obama is booming, CBS News business correspondent Anthony Mason reports.
"We even sell an Obama dollar bill now that has his picture on it for $10. So even his money's more valuable," said Jim Warlick, owner of the Washington, D.C., store Political Americana.
By some estimates, the Obama industry is worth at least a quarter of a billion dollars.
QVC expects 200,000 customers will have purchased Obama items by the end of Inauguration Day.
"This is our button room where we've produced 10 million buttons over the past two years," said Steve Swallow, CEO of Tiger Eye Design.
In Greensville, Ohio, Tiger Eye Design makes more than 1,000 different Obama buttons.
"This is the largest effect that any candidate has ever had," Swallow said.
The button room there operates around the clock, seven days a week. Two years ago, Tiger Eye was a $2 million a year company. Today, in the era of Mr. Obama, they do more than 10 times that in business.
"We've gone from 20 full time employees to over 60," Swallow said.
In New York, Jason Feinberg, a former school teacher, was loading up 15,000 Obama action figures to take to the inauguration.
He's already sold 150,000.
"I've made over a million dollars," he said.
When Marvel Comics released a Spiderman-Obama comic last week, "the line stretched down the street at a New York comic store. The 'Spidey Meets the President' issue sold out in hours," according to Patrick Andrade of the "New York Times."
To memorabilia dealers, the president-elect is better than a superhero - he's a one-man economic stimulus package.
86 Comments +
Popular Now in CBS Evening News
- Iran's new president-elect seen as bridge-builder
- Couple's steamy romance e-books save their home
- SCOTUS: States can't require voters to prove citizenship; Couple reeling from recession publishes novels
- Couple reeling from recession rewrites story, publishes romance novels
- Snowden: "U.S. Government is not going to be able to cover this up"
- SCOTUS: States can't require voters to prove citizenship
- 6/16: Protesters seek refuge in Istanbul hotel; Pope blesses Harley Davidson motorcycles
- Colo. Black Forest fire has died down, yet danger remains
- Syria tensions make for chilly meeting between Obama, Putin
- Mayhem in Istanbul hotel as protesters seek refuge
- Parents of mentally ill child may have averted mass shooting
- A golfer's journey from tee to shining tee
- Crucial early education program badly hurt by federal cuts
- Ghost army: How a group of artists helped win WWII
- For child cancer survivors, treatment comes at a cost
- Okla. tornado survivor finds dog buried alive under rubble
