Hi, folks:
Pardon my rant, but the marketing geniuses at Woodworker’s Journal have, in my opinion, gone too far. Today I received in the mail, unsolicited, an instructional dvd, Essential Woodworking Techniques, which I am supposed to (1) watch and then send WJ $9.95, (2) follow the VERY specific instructions on how to return said dvd, or (3) keep it with their compliments. Apparently, if I select option one, I will be entitled to receive, every 2 to 3 months, their newest dvd offerings at the “regular price” plus shipping and handling. No hint as to the “regular price”.
This takes junkmail to a new level. Not satisfied with killing trees to clog America’s mailboxes with unsolicited garbage, marketers are shipping out tons of plastic which must be disposed of by tossing it in landfills. By the way, If I want to return the dvd, I’m supposed to take it out of the plastic case and just return the dvd. I get to keep the case!
My 87 year old mother is overwhlemed by the amount of junk mail she receives. At regular intervals, she gets, t-shirts, American flags, indian blankets, nickels, address labels, Christmas cards, and all manner of stuff which she feels guilty about not paying for.
No wonder this country is headed down the tubes.
Anyone want a free dvd?
Thanks for listening.
Replies
Oatman,
I got it too, but I just consider it a gift.
I'm not sure anymore, but it used to be that if you received anything unsolicited in the mail it was yours to keep. Check with the post office.
Another thing, if it came regular mail and no one signed for it how can they prove you got it? If they try to make me pay I'm just going to ask for proof of delivery. That ought to slow them down.
I could go on, but my new L.L. Bean catalog just came...
The letter states that if you don't want to send it back that it is a gift. I'm pretty sure that clause is there because of the law you mentioned. I think the whole thing is just on the border between law and lawless. As I remember they aren't supposed to ask for money unless they are a non-profit organization.
Anything sent to you by U.S. Post unsolicited is considered a gift. The sender can not impose any conditions. Years ago, I never had to buy floppies, since AOL sent me one every few days it seemed. Then they switched to CDs... which were useful as coasters or shims.
Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
Hate to tell ya this, but it's not a new idea. In the old days, it was books. I got one from WW Journal several years ago, and have seen similar sets at estate auctions I've attended.
"No wonder this country is headed down the tubes." Doesn't even make the bottom of the list of problems.
I sent mine back.
Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans .
"Life is not a success only journey." Dr. Phil
just a thought . . . . bet if you send it back they will take you off the junk mail list, thereby saving you further frustrations in the future.
disclaimer: i am naive, and since this seems to make sense from the perspective of efficient business practices, it might just be wishful thinking on my part. . . . .
Sending it back doesn't remove you from the mailing list. And, if you don't send it back, they send a follow-up in a couple of months. Between this tactic and the subscription offers that look like invoices (tricking the unsuspecting spouse into sending a check), I've pretty much written them off, even though the magazine is OK.
I got an easy one for that, when I get my mail if its a marketing ploy I chuck in in the can problem solved. At least its a private business, I'm more concerned about "going down the tubes" because the gov't is starting to nationalize businesses i.e. the car companies & banks. Sorry I miss read your title and by junk mail you were talking about E-mail. Have a good one. I almost wish I had got that DVD, I would have been curious to see whats on it. Take care.
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
And then you have have the delet key!
Having calmed down since my rant, a few final comments to put this to sleep:
I have no problem with solicitations to buy a particular product, (and I shudder to consider the amount I have spent on woodworking books, videos, magazines etc). The maker sends me information either by mail or e-mail to inform me of the utility of the product, I decide if I want it or not and either order said product, or discard the mailer, or hit the "delete" key.
But the maker who sends me the product out of the blue and says, "here's our product, send us money or ship it back" has crossed, in my view, an ethical line. It is tremendously wasteful of resources (plastic, I understand, is a petroleum-based product; I have no idea what dvd's are made of) especially considering the scale of a mass mailing.
I fully expect Woodworkers Journal, as another poster suggests, to send me reminders of my receipt of their product and prompt me to respond. I will not, thereby assuring the one-way relationship will continue far into the future.
Is this the end of civilization as we know it? Probably not. Just annoying. Have a great Christmas.
Dennis
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