Online Searches for Confederate Flag For Sale Have More Than Quadrupled in the Past 24 Hours

Since the shooting at a confederate flag for sale  church last week, some large retailers have announced they will stop selling Confederate flag merchandise in their stores. But online sales for the controversial emblem have soared since that announcement, as shoppers turn to Amazon and other major websites to stock up on items they might not be able to find in stores.

Online searches for “confederate flag for sale” have more than quadrupled at Amazon’s Movers and Shakers Patio, Lawn and Garden section in the past 24 hours. That is according to analytics company Topsy.

Searching for History: Confederate Flag for Sale and Its Complex Legacy

At Alabama Flag & Banner in Cleburne, orders for Confederate flags have skyrocketed. Owner Belinda Kennedy says they typically make a handful of special orders per year, but that has changed. Since 2015, when the Confederate battle flag came roaring back into the national consciousness after images of Dylann Roof carrying it at a church shooting emerged, she says many of the country’s major flag manufacturers stopped making them and her business became one of the few that did.

Heartland Flagpoles and Custom Flags in Des Moines has sold 12 Confederate flags in the two days since Walmart, Sears (which also operates Kmart) and eBay said they would stop selling the rebel emblem, and she’s fielded calls from dozens more wanting to purchase. Like Kommes, she suspects the increase in interest is because the flags may soon be hard to find, just as it was after the Charleston church killing.