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I actually like these logos. Lapland cracks me up.
On the other hand, why pay $5 when you can get 20 microturks do the same for 5x less (and give you 20 choices)?
You're paying a premium because this guy has talent... well, $5 worth of talent, at least.
Most of these logo's aren't horrible, they're just at stage 1 for logo creation. Good thing it's (somewhat?) working out for him, it's a funny business idea.
I think he's using it to advertise his professional logo design.
That's what I assumed too, but I couldn't seem to find a name or a link to anything else besides the Horrible Logos site.
The guy's wrist must be getting some seriously bad RSI very soon.
On a related note, a few years back I conceived of and actually launched a website called (roughly) $5 Business Ideas.com

The idea was to spend a few minutes on each and write 100-150 words the would constitute a half-baked business idea.

Never had the time to devote to it, and I left the company where it was spawned but I still think it has a legitimate place in the market.

As we always say here at HN, it's not the idea that's worth so much, it's the execution.

Another related side note, Fiverr appears to still be around: http://www.fiverr.com/

I think $5 for a fresh perspective on a potential logo is good value for the money, so long as you retain rights to the final design (not something mentioned in the FAQ).

I've got a web site/service in the back of my mind, and while I have a conceptual idea of the basic logo, my drawing skills suck worse than my web design skills (which suck considerably, let me tell you), so $5, which I might otherwise spend on energy drinks today, could yield a decent logo concept.

I think the dude deserves the $5 for the simple entertainment value of the site and logos. Some are downright clever!

My big question is, for the uninitiated like myself, what does good professional logo design cost these days? Knowing that would give a good perspective on the value of this $5 service.

I used to be a designer and charged $100/hr and depending on the number of choices/revisions I gave the client it would take from 10-40hrs for a logo, so $1,000-4,000.

However you could probably find a talented freelancer to do one for $500.

Of course the sky's the limit and agencies routinely take huge companies like UPS or Coke for thousands and thousands.

Ha, that's funny. I work with web advertising for micro businesses and some people just will NOT pay even $10-20 for a web ad to be designed.
It's not a real business if they can't find $10 in their budget for design work.
I totally agree. But still, these people are serious in a way. It's generally the hobby or very-very entry level range. The thing is, they'll spend plenty of money on supplies and marketplace fees, but have this aversion to purchasing something relatively virtual, especially as they think they can do themselves or get it for free. The same goes for their websites.

It's bad decision making, no doubt. They're sacrificing their professional image, and being penny-wise and pound foolish.

Reminds me of the bums who are up-front about using your spare change to get beer.

I don't mean that he's a bum! He's just honest about the whole thing: "give me $5 for beer and I'll draw you a shitty logo." Love his candor.

Ha, did you see the one for The Schiffer Firm?

I noticed this in the FAQ:

"No. What you get is the final logo. I will not redo any logos."

Why not charge more for real designs? Or farm it out?

I e-mailed him and he said that I could order 10 logos for the same company for $50.

At $5 a pop, just keep ordering until you get one you like. :-)

So who's going to spot the $5 for an HN logo? I'd be willing to do it haha
The order is in... and let the wait begin.
You're missing half of the value here: For $5 bucks, you basically get an advertisement front and center on his blog.

This strikes me as not a bad deal.