Reader Shaun made an interesting point when he commented on my post 41 Pounds:
I hate to say it, but you could have done the same thing yourself for free.. Simply write a letter to the Direct Marketing Association and ask to be taken off their mailing lists. You might even be able to do this online. Also, each time you get a catalog, call the 800 number listed in it and ask to be removed from their mailing list. It will take a while (catalogs are printed months in advance), but you will definitely cut down on junk mail.
This is an interesting point, and that's great information to know how consumers can do these things on their own. It will be interesting to see if enough people join 41 Pounds, to see if it's enough of a service added and survives as a company. And while it may require the same effort on my part to use either method, 41 Pounds is more marketable. Will any marketing lead to more people participating? If so, that's already a "win" for the environment. And instead of calling each 800 number on a catalogue, isn't easier to let someone else do it for me? Would I have to stay on hold if I called each company, taking even more time from me? Maybe their service saves time by taking care of several addresses for clients at once.
I don't know the answers. So far, the service has been great. Now, if I come across a new catalogue in my mailbox, I send an email to 41 Pounds with the name of the company and the name it was addressed to and they take care of it. I usually get a quick email back within a few hours.
What would you do? Has anyone else signed up for 41 Pounds?
Monday, January 07, 2008
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1 comments:
Thanks for the post. Keep in mind that DMA is a trade association representing direct marketing
companies -- who are in the business of mailing to consumers without their permission. As you may know, DMA is now actively encouraging its member companies NOT to honor consumers' requests to stop the junk mail. Also, the DMA will not stop the Valpak, Pennysavers, Shopwise, Publishers Clearinghouse, Readers Digest, and the 5 credit card applications you get every single day. The nonprofit 41pounds.org contacts dozens of marketers to take customers off the lists. And, as you say, you may contact 41pounds.org anytime with more catalogs. It's all about saving time, saving trees and simplifying our lives. For $8.20/year, we think it's worth it! Debbie (with 41pounds.org).
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