ok i have figured this problem out:
my objective was to show a flame icon next to a products name if it was a bestseller.
well with enough tinkering and hair pulling it was quite simple,
i used this following piece of code wherever i want the icon to appear
in my case in the products_t.tpl
Code:
{if $product.views_stats > 1000}
<img src="(your image)" title="This Product is on FIRE!" />
{else}
{if $product.views_stats > 500}
<img src="(your image)" title="This is a HOT Product" />
{else}
{if $product.views_stats > 100}
<img src="(your image)" title="This is a Popular Product" />
{/if}
{/if}
{/if}
i used " product.views_stats " because my store is still new and i have not had major sales of specific goods.
so i decided to set it to how many times a product has been viewed.
if you want it to be for how many times a product has been sold use this:
product.sales_stats
you can have a look here:
Phoenix Tech - Widescreen LCD Monitors
this is a live store so no test purchases.
hope this helps anyone else out there that was looking for something similar