Gas Money Ornament

Gas Money Ornament: How We Turned a Tank of Gas into a 5,000+ Unit Viral Product

At Wild Man Lab, we don’t just design products—we bring ideas to life fast, and we scale them even faster. One of our most successful case studies started the way most good ideas do: with a real problem.

A Story from Co-Founder Austin Ziegler:

"It was November 2022, and I had just finished a long day at work. On the drive home, my truck’s gas light came on. I pulled into the nearest station and filled up—27.4 gallons at $5 a gallon. I stared at the pump total: $138. That number stuck with me. As a designer and entrepreneur, I always keep my eyes open for the moments people can relate to—and at that moment, I realized I was staring at one.

That night, the idea hit me: what if I turned this ridiculous gas expense into a holiday ornament? Something funny, topical, and giftable. A mini gas can, red and bold, labeled with the year—“2022: Gas Money.” But I didn’t stop there. After a quick search, I realized others had thought of similar ornaments. That’s when I added a twist: a hole to insert actual cash. Suddenly, it wasn’t just a funny keepsake—it was a functional way to gift money during the holidays.

I designed the product the next day in SolidWorks, 3D printed the first prototype on my Prusa MK3S, and had a functional version in-hand by that evening. The next morning, I photographed it in my light box and listed it on Etsy.

Within a week, I had my first sale.

Within two months, I had sold over 348 ornaments—all 3D printed in my garage. Every design, print, package, and shipment was completed by hand, with help from a few friends during the holiday rush.

But that was just the beginning."

This story hit big new agencies including Business Insider, MSN and B17 News. If you don't believe us, Google search "Austin Ziegler $10,000 in a week" or check out this Business Insider Article.

From Idea to Viral Hit

In 2023, we rebranded the ornament to remove the year and relabeled it as simply “Gas Money”—a more evergreen version of the gift. Sales slowly picked back up in the spring and then snowballed over the summer.

Then came August.

From August 1–27, we sold 44 units.

From August 28–31, we sold 222 units—with 89 orders in a single day.

It had gone viral.

In the span of just five weeks, we fulfilled over 900 orders. At times, we were running up to 12 3D printers, printing 20 hours a day across multiple shifts, while working a full-time job and managing customer service, quality control, and shipping. We were waking up early to hit the post office before work and staying up late to start overnight print cycles.

In total, we sold over 5,000 ornaments, all of which were printed, assembled, and fulfilled in-house. These weren’t mass-produced by a factory. They were created with intention, passion, and precision—all to deliver a product that customers loved. And they did: we earned 1,000+ five-star reviews on Etsy alone.

Defending What We Built

Of course, success attracts attention—and not all of it is welcome.

Just as the product was hitting its stride, knockoffs began to appear. First a few, then dozens. Then hundreds.

We searched the web and found over 800 separate listings—across Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Shein, Temu, Alibaba and other marketplaces—all ripping off the Gas Money Ornament. Most were cheap knockoffs from overseas manufacturers, using low-quality materials and misleading product images.

But here’s where our team at Wild Man Lab is different: we knew how to fight back.

We had filed for a federal copyright on the original product image. And when we discovered that 403 of those knockoff listings were using our exact photo, we took action. With the help of an IP attorney, we issued takedown notices, filed copyright claims, and pursued damages where applicable. We learned that these 403 companies sold over 119,000 units on copyright. This wasn't just a test of creativity—it became a real-world case study in IP enforcement, digital brand defense, and the importance of protecting your assets.

Even more frustrating? Many other knockoffs used altered versions of my image—cropped, color-adjusted, or mirrored just enough to avoid legal consequences. Because copyright only protects the exact original, we couldn't pursue them—showing the limits of IP enforcement in today’s digital marketplace. Fortunately, we understand the trademarks and patents, but those take a bit longer to play out.

At the end of the day, we were able to take down over 400 listings across multiple platforms, prevent 100,000+ more knockoff sales and reimburse Ziggy Zig Designs with hundreds of thousands of dollars for damages and lost business.

This experience taught us—and now our clients—just how critical it is to both protect your product and avoid infringing on others. It’s not just about patents, trademarks and copyright. It’s about strategy.

Why This Matters to Future Clients

This was more than just a viral ornament—it was a full-cycle product case study:

• Ideation inspired by real-life frustration
• Rapid prototyping using in-house 3D printing
• Agile branding and iteration based on sales data
• Scalable fulfillment under tight deadlines
• Marketplace optimization through Etsy
• Digital IP defense against global infringement

We didn’t just make a cute product—we built a fast, lean, scalable product operation from scratch.

That’s the value Wild Man Lab brings to every client we work with.

Whether you’re starting with a napkin sketch or a half-baked idea, we’ve lived the process of going from zero to thousands of units sold—and we know what landmines to look out for. We also know how to build protection into your product from the beginning: copyrights, trademarks, and design patents, all handled with the right mix of speed and precision.

If you’re looking for a design firm that doesn’t just talk about ideas—but actually lives them—this is what we do.