62 Responses to “A Tidal Wave of Support”

1. So pleased to be a part of this community. I cringe every time I discard a catalog. We don’t have a solid recycing program in my city, which is surprising. Shocking, actually.

   Also, most of the catalogs are incredibly well-designed, I love knowing they will live on in the virtual world anytime we want to access them.

   Best of luck with everything!

   :-) on January 25th, 2008 at 5:27 am

2. oops! Forgot the “L” in RECYCLING.

   GAH!

   :-) on January 25th, 2008 at 5:28 am

3. I had been looking for something like this and thanks to the Today Show I found it! Hopefully more members keep coming, it’s a great service.

   Levi on January 25th, 2008 at 6:11 am

4. I signed up in November, 2007 and to date have requested 276 catalogs be removed. Sadly, some companies have refused. I know I will NOT buy from them ever again, as I do have choices (to accept or refuse catalogs) and also where to buy from (they do not have monopolies either). But with the extra catalogs they sell - maybe mailing them back will work, too? It’s sad how some companies don’t get it. “The customer is always right” doesn’t seem to apply to them. Well they won’t see my credit cards ever again.

   RB on January 25th, 2008 at 8:27 am

5. I signed up for your service within 5 minutes of seeing you on Bill Moyers on PBS. TV does have a major impact! I told everyone I could think of and the responses were all overwhelmingly positive. You are a great idea who’s time has come! I have already contacted the company that refused to cancel my catalogs upon your request. I recommended that they cooperate with you and told them that if they continued to mail me catalogs, I will stop shopping with them all together. Thank you for providing a much needed solution to some of the waste we are so used to in this country.

   Sue Kienle on January 25th, 2008 at 9:59 am

6. Refused to stop sending catalog. This is a huge catalog and wonder how many trees could be saved….

   Ronnalee Mulkern on January 25th, 2008 at 3:51 pm

7. This company refused my request through catalogchoice. I then contacted them to express my frustration (worst part is they have several different sub-catalogs and for a while I got one every couple of days!). Their customer service responded and agreed to remove me from their list but you would think they would know that this doesn’t make them look very good, nor would I be tempted to ever buy from them again if they had continued to refuse.

   DS on January 25th, 2008 at 4:10 pm

8. I am part of the “fourth tidal wave” of customers who joined the day following the Today Show featuring your website and service. My first day I opted out of 43 catalogs–time to reclaim my mailbox!

   Kim Grogan on January 25th, 2008 at 4:51 pm

9. I am emailing each catalog company that refused to honor my request and pointing out that many of us prefer to shop on the web and that they are alienating potential web shoppers by refusing to honor our request to quit sending catalogs. I never buy from catalogs anymore but I shop several times a week from vendors that send web advertisements (solicited of course - I don’t respond to email spam). Maybe catalog choice could add an option where we could volunteer to be added to a vendor’s email mailing list in exchange for being removed from the catalog. It could be optional for those that don’t want it.

   BB on January 25th, 2008 at 5:32 pm

10. I have just declined 21 catalogs, invited all my friends, and now feel a sense or relief and accomplishment. Thank you for this wonderful service. If it weren’t so cold out, I’d go hug a tree! : )

    Toni Williamson on January 25th, 2008 at 6:09 pm

11. I was so happy to find out about catalogchoice.org. I live in Alaska and years ago up in Nome (before in internet was available) the only way to get many goods was via catalog. Ever since then I have been receiving TONS of catalogs. Now I finally have a way to select what catalogs I actually use! Thank you!!

    Leiza Johnson on January 25th, 2008 at 6:13 pm

12. Like RB (1/25/08 @ 8:27 am) I was shocked to discovered a vendor who refused my request. I will contacting them directly to “enlighten” them. One thought I have had: to electronically invoice the uncooperative vendors for time to “process” their unwanted catalogs into the local recycling system. After all, my time is valuable, too. At this rate, it might turn into a second income!

    Mike Horvath on January 25th, 2008 at 6:31 pm

13. I’m a long time Orvis customer but always shop online. Am sick of walking their catalogs directly to the recyling bin and angry that they refuse to honor my mailing preferences through Catalog Choice. So I called and left a voicemail message tonight telling them i am taking my business elsewhere . . .i encourage other members to do the same — the customer service numbers are available under “Status” in “My Choices.” Maybe a few phone calls will encourage “refusing” merchants to do the right thing. Here is the number for Orvis: 540-345-4606. Let’s reveal their true colors!

    Parker on January 25th, 2008 at 9:16 pm

14. Bravo to you for this website! It is a godsend… even if only a few of the literally dozens of catalogs I get could be stopped, it would make a huge difference. I grew up in Hawaii and had conservation drilled into my head from childhood, and I hate to get catalogs I will never look at and are totally unsolicited. It is especially discouraging since I do almost all my shopping online. Other than gardening catalogs I really have no need for print. Our town recycling program is underwhelming and I wish they would take catalogs. I think a good next step for catalogchoice.org would be to let towns know about their citizen’s desire to cut down on this mail so perhaps if they can’t be cancelled, the towns could implement better recycling. Where do I donate to this organization?

    Deanna on January 25th, 2008 at 9:23 pm

15. My husband and I are so thrilled to have this website. We have now lined up all our unwanted magazines and started the process of elimination through this wonderful website. Thank you Catalogchoice and the “Today Show”. I am sending this info to hundreds of my friends!!!

    Susan Schieren on January 26th, 2008 at 6:01 am

16. I signed up using my mother’s name/address because she passed away in November ‘07 and her mailbox was - and still is - stuffed with 20 or more catalogs a week. I plan to keep the PO box so am thrilled to have heard about Catalog Choice on the Today Show - this is wonderful. All of hers are still pending right now but I anticipate success! Thank you Catalog Choice.

    Jan on January 26th, 2008 at 7:37 am

17. Thank you for making this service available. I do the majority of my shopping on-line and as a result my mailbox is flooded with catalogs. Your service is a wonderful opportunity to help more people “go green.”

    Deborah Bowanko on January 26th, 2008 at 7:48 am

18. Thank you for this wonderful humanitarian effort. The more people that create internet usages that benefit everybody the better.

    Margaret Townsend on January 26th, 2008 at 8:30 am

19. Thank you ANN CURRY. Without you, NBC will be nowhere; you are the only reason I watch the Today Show. This website is terrific, hope it works. Thank you CatalogChoice.org — it’s a great idea. I will be participating soon.

    Helen Sugiyama on January 26th, 2008 at 8:48 am

20. Add my thanks to this impressive list. Now, if only we could stop those credit card solicitations.

    Hope Lindsay on January 26th, 2008 at 9:53 am

21. LOVE this site… and passing it on to eveyone I know. Is there one for credit card aplications
    and all the other junk we get in the mail EVERYDAY? It looks like there are afew of us there wondering this.

    SAM on January 26th, 2008 at 10:23 am

22. I emailed Orvis about thier refusal and asked them to remove me from thier catalog mailing list… they did but told me that catalogs are six months out so I will get them for that long… seems in this day of eletronics that it would be easier to stop in a shorter time period… I still can not believe they refused when asked the first time…. I can not wait for the day when no catalogs are in my mail…

    Terry on January 26th, 2008 at 11:06 am

23. There is a site that will allow you to opt out of direct mailings and it also includes a link to opt out of credit card offers. Visit https://www.dmachoice.org/MPS/mps_consumer_description.php
    to clear your mailbox of additional junk mail. In December, my family received 32 pounds of junk mail in 2 1/2 weeks. I’m anxious to see that amount drop considerably after using this site and catalogchoice.

    P McKee on January 26th, 2008 at 11:24 am

24. I was frustrated with the ever mounting stack of mail order catalogs received during the holidays. What a waste of paper. I was resolved to call each company individually and cancel. Instead I found CatalogChoice.org and my problem was solved! Within 20 minutes I had requested cancelation of 10+ catalogs. Thanks!

    C Vanburg on January 26th, 2008 at 12:04 pm

25. Kudos to the Sundance corporation. Out of the more than 20 requests I made, theirs was the only one who acknowledged my request. Now I may rethink my decision to opt out of their catalogue.

    Carolyn Hirsch on January 26th, 2008 at 1:37 pm

26. Thank heavens someone has come up with some good sense ideas about junk mail- now could we find a way out of receiving solicitation calls!!! Thank you catalogchoice.org for what you are giving to the public in way of choices.

    L Pohl on January 26th, 2008 at 3:16 pm

27. Thank you, thank you. Hopefully it won’t be long before my husband stops complaining about all the catalogs. It’s overwhelming, but now with the help of the Today Show, we can save a few trees.

    Sibbelina Mullis on January 26th, 2008 at 3:47 pm

28. I’m one of the 57,000 people who saw the piece on The Today Show about catalog choice. I’m a mail carrier and I know catalogs are a big part of our bread and butter but the volume of catalogs is driving me and my customers crazy. The only thing I’ve been able to tell them is each one has a 1-800 number on it and to call the number to request that they stop sending the catalog. Many times, I say, I’d rather shop on your website than look at the catalog.
    Now I have something better to tell my customers. I can’t wait to spread the word. IMHO, catalogs are a 20th century shopping medium. Whereas the Internet is THE 21ST centruay shopping medium.

    Holly

    Holly Sombs on January 26th, 2008 at 6:23 pm

29. I have alot of free magazines come thru the mail and wanted to opt them out, but sadly none of them were on the list. Hopefully they will soon have magazines to opt out instead of just catalogs.

    marie j on January 26th, 2008 at 6:56 pm

30. pure genius. thank u for this awesome service.

    will dennis on January 26th, 2008 at 8:12 pm

31. I too excitedly found out about catalogchoice.org from the Today show. While I do purchase from most of the merchants who send me catalogs, I also receive their email messages and order via the web. By the time the catalog comes in the mail, I have “been there, done that!” Please let the merchants know that reducing the catalogs is better for the environment AND their bottom line. In my case, catalogs do not increase my dollars spent — they just increase my recycling pile!

    beva s on January 26th, 2008 at 10:23 pm

32. To Marie J on Jan. 26: The answer to your query is #2 on the FAQ list. Easy to do.

    JaneP on January 27th, 2008 at 4:58 am

33. I can’t wait until the unwanted catalog deluge becomes a downpour, then a shower, and finally a drip of wanted catalogs. I signed-on after seeing you on Bill Moyers. What a terrific public service you have started. BRAVO!

    Moderatus on January 27th, 2008 at 5:21 am

34. Hey. Kudos but I have a problem with signing up. Seems I have to do that through the DMA website. That website wants my credit card number AND my security number from the back of my credit card. Claims they won’t charge me a penny. BUT, that site does NOT show the secure padlock and therefore, my data will not be encrypted. How about them apples???

    Rick Roberts on January 27th, 2008 at 11:12 am

35. A friend sent me this site three days ago, and I have asked 194 companies to stop sending me their catalogs - I get, on average, 10 catalogs a DAY. I have also, in the past three days, received five or so catalogs that were not listed, so I sent them in to CatalogChoice. Every catalog that comes to me that is not listed I will add to the growing lists. THIS is POWER!

    Catherine Johnson on January 27th, 2008 at 12:54 pm

36. Thanks for providing this wonderful service. You should be awarded a prize for making the world a better place. I notice that the catalogs I liked best were the first on my list to respect my request. I will try to contact all those that are refusing and let them know that I don’t respect the way they are doing business and please do not send me catalogs. Maybe that will make it easier for you to do your job. I will also order on-line from some “good” merchants letting them know that I do not want a catalog and yet will give them my business.

    Verona Murray on January 27th, 2008 at 1:55 pm

37. I did this all by hand several years ago, and if this works, it is a REAL time saver. My way cut my mail to one quarter, but they start creeping back in every time you order something. I have put “blocks–do not rent or sell” on my listing with a few favored businesses to try to keep that from happening.
    Regarding the person who wants to cut back on credit card requests, I suggest you contact the three credit reporting agencies and put a stop on any marketing requests and put do not rent or sell block on your listing(s). Lots of bank marketing requests come directly from them.
    Also, contact your DMV and other gov’t agencies who sometimes sell their listings as well.
    And always use the same name whenever you sign or sign up for anything…

    Regarding the person who said they wanted info from him, I suspect they went to http://www.catalogchoice.COM instead of ORG. I did that at first, but figured it out later…

    Anne Geddes-Atwell on January 27th, 2008 at 2:05 pm

38. I have now asked 220 companies to stop sending me their catalogs, up from 194 just several days ago.
    Today’s mail brought 14!!! catalogs, all of which I oped out of - to date three have accepted my choice to not receive their catalogs, and SIX have refused. I am thrilled with this service.

    Catherine Johnson on January 28th, 2008 at 12:51 pm

39. I also saw the Today Show and shared the idea to my son. He is planning on presenting it to his school for a community service project! Great way for the kids to get involved.

    Tami Constantine on January 28th, 2008 at 1:09 pm

40. Great service. Disappointed that Cabela’s refused to take me off their list. Called and had myself removed. Probably won’t order from them again.

    Patricia P. Hubbard on January 28th, 2008 at 1:46 pm

41. This is indeed a wonderful means to stop the tons of catalogs I receive. Even though I put the catalogs directly in the recycle near my front door, it seems a shame that so much ink, paper, and postage is wasted this way. There are much better things to do than to spend money on hundreds of catalogs. Thank you for your services - I love you!

    Elaine G. Pearl on January 28th, 2008 at 2:07 pm

42. I was very upset with Title Nine’s refusal to comply. I called them - got a phone tree that told me how to ‘opt out’ on line- and wasn’t able to! So, I just got off the phone with one of their reps - and they have assured me that I will stop receiving catalogs from them… eventually.

    Kirsten Anne Nystrom Snyder on January 28th, 2008 at 2:14 pm

43. I told my mail carrier about joining CatalogChoice and she jumped for joy, for herself and for the trees!!!!

    Stan on January 28th, 2008 at 2:14 pm

44. Obviously cancelling these catalogs is the best development possible in tackling the issue of minimizing wasteful catalogs, preventing deforestation, etc. For those of you still receiving catalogs check out http://www.paperretriever.com to recycle catalogs, newspapers, magazines, junk mail and household/office paper. While not located in every major US city they are in operating in many large metro areas and allow you a place to recycle all this paper while providing charitable fundraising for schools, churches and other non-profits.

    David on January 28th, 2008 at 6:20 pm

45. What a Great website !
    Now if someone can come up with a idea for all the Junk Mail they send out….. Well,my wishes would come true.
    Again, Thank You So Much.

    Debbie Fodor on January 28th, 2008 at 8:05 pm

46. Thanks for the fortitude to attack and follow through with such a worthy cause. Can you do anything about the plastic bag issue that every grocery and C-store uses. Wat to go!!!!!!!!

    gary pepper on January 29th, 2008 at 10:08 am

47. You should also give credit to NPR and their story on Marketplace. I signed up as soon as I heard their story, about a week or so before the Today segment.

    Karen L on January 29th, 2008 at 3:28 pm

48. Since NOV 7th I’ve declined 314 catalogs which arrive under 14 versions of my name, my husband’s name and some random person with our address. And I’ve noted the frequency with which they arrive - worst offenders Bloomingdales & Ross Simons -22 since first declined. Total catalogs delivered in 10 weeks exceed 1,000 with all the duplicates. For what! 95% I’ve never bought a thing from. What about MY privacy in selling my name over & over, spelling errors and all.

    Now I have to go & do battle with those who presume to refuse to cancel….

    Thank you Catalog Choice for all your efforts. I’ll be catalog free one day!!!!

    Abby on January 29th, 2008 at 4:31 pm

49. Thank you, thank you!!! This is a terrific service and I am hopeful that far fewer catalogs will come my way. What a waste of paper, etc. I feel GREEN!

    Debbie on January 29th, 2008 at 7:28 pm

50. I read about this service in the CSAA “VIA” Magazine and I was thrilled. I always felt guilty throwing away all the catalogs I received. Now I can eliminate them all together. Thank you for this GREAT service. I am telling as many people as I can about you.

    Linda Williams on January 29th, 2008 at 7:51 pm

51. YEA!!! Fantastic program!!! Wish I had thought of it!

    Michele on January 30th, 2008 at 9:11 am

52. I’m still within the 10-week window on pretty much all catalogs. I can’t wait until I see all those green “confirmed” notices and the catalogs stop coming. I have had to do battle with two companies - Sierra Trading Post being the worst - who have refused to honor the request. Yes - they will cancel if you contact them directly, but who has time to contact a hundred or more catalog companies? And icing on the cake -the temptation to spend money will also go away!

    Ellen on January 30th, 2008 at 12:45 pm

53. Thank you to the Peruvian Connection for honoring my request for no more catalogs. I received another one today. No, this wasn’t a “we’ve already printed them up for the next 6 months” one. My first name was misspelled. So they have gotten the misspelled name from yet another rented or sold name list (I’ve already had 10+ random catalogs with the misspelled name)And so the cycle begins again…….

    Abby on January 30th, 2008 at 5:01 pm

54. I am a little later signing up but am doing so also because of The Today Show.

    MRG on February 4th, 2008 at 4:49 pm

55. It’s a nice idea, but CC is misleading its members. A friend just unsubscribed from a catalog, but CC told him the merchant refused to honor his request. However, the merchant is not a member of CC and did not receive the request. This is VERY misleading. CC also advised my friend to call and complain to the merchant. Kind of a strong-arm tactic to get a merchant to sign on, isn’t it? (I assume CC will charge the merchant.)

    Leon Beiderbecke on February 6th, 2008 at 11:54 am

56. Leon - cut them a break. This is a new website, a new program. And the response they’ve had is no doubt overwhelming. If they haven’t had a chance to refine every word on their website yet, or to explain fully every single aspect of the system, it would be more productive to explain your concern in constructive terms rather than being critical. And if you look at the merchants page, you will see that there is NO charge to the merchant! Sadly, you do have to strong-arm some of these merchants. I have talked to several who actually did refuse the request. They just don’t want to cooperate, for reasons I don’t get. Why force consumers to write to each of them individually, sometimes numerous times, before you can get off their mailing lists? Who has that kind of time or patience? And since they will eventually honor your request, why not do it this way instead of angering a customer and wasting the customer’s time? This service benefits everyone.

    Ellen on February 6th, 2008 at 12:50 pm

57. I’m thrilled to rid my house of unwanted catalogs. Use the internet instead! Also, what a great way to help the environment. Fewer trips to the recycling center. REDUCE is better than reuse or recycle.

    Janice Gudinkas on February 6th, 2008 at 1:38 pm

58. Ellen,

    Thanks for clarifying about the fee. It’s good to know that.

    Actually, I DID contact CC via their online form but have not heard back yet. I think I was a little frustrated because I could not find a phone number, email address, or physical address on the website or even as part of the domain registry (CC used a proxy service to register their domain name).

    In the contact form I sent CC, I did offer constructive advice. I suggested they use wording like:

    We are sorry, but this merchant is not yet signed up as a Catalog Choice partner. Please make your request directly to the merchant at (Merchant Toll-Free Phone).

    It is entirely invisible to users of the site whether a particular merchant has any association with CC. Because of that, it is important to word things clearly. I am a web programmer by trade and I understand the difficulties of putting out a new site. However, clarity to the end user is one of the top goals and should be carefully addressed before the site goes live.

    The other tangent concern I have is that CC is not the only organization that exists for the same purpose. I’m sure that each such service has a different method of communicating with merchants. What I would really like to see is some sort of consortium that would be the central point for any opt-out requests. But I know it all has to start somewhere.

    Leon Beiderbecke on February 6th, 2008 at 1:46 pm

59. I vote that CC be the ‘consortium’ LB so eloquently suggests. Sounds like LB works for a catalog vendor.

    LMcC on February 6th, 2008 at 4:09 pm

60. LB - I think it is just a handful of people working in overdrive at this point, so it would take some time to get a response. I don’t think they anticipated this avalanche of requests and publicity. It’s just a few conservation NGOs working together - probably with very little funding (I work for an NGO - very little funding is the name of the game for all but a very few of the very biggest). My major concern is that they may have jumped in too quickly, before solidifying deals with merchants, and that when the 10 weeks is up, we’ll still be receiving all these catalogs. I don’t know if there are other consortia that do the same thing, except the Direct Marketers Association, and the reason I never went that route is that it is all-or-nothing. You can’t pick-and-choose. I’m distressed to read that Garnet Hill isn’t cooperating. I like their merchandise and had planned to continue receiving their catalog, but if they won’t do anything to help the environment, I will take my business elsewhere. I also didn’t know that they are part of the same group as FrontGate, Grandin Road, etc. I requested that these be stopped. If they aren’t cooperating, it means that I will continue to receive the many catalogs this group sends me. So I’m willing to wait for CC to work out bugs, but if the system ends up failing entirely, then we’ve all wasted our time, money, and hope.

    Ellen on February 10th, 2008 at 11:09 am

61. Ellen:

    Thanks for your input. In the short-term, you may continue to receive more catalogs than you want, but that does not mean that our service is not working. We ask for your patience while we work through the details with the Direct Marketing industry. You are not wasting your time, money or hope.

    We are a community of over 550,000 people. Our collective voice is being heard in every executive’s office across the United States.

    Chuck on February 10th, 2008 at 1:04 pm

62. My mother’s mailbox was overrun daily with catalogs. Thank GOD I discovered catalog choice.

    I have unsubscribed to 102(!!) catalogs for her.

    Most did not have customer numbers, which tells me she did not have a relationship with those merchants. They got her name & address, I suspect, by buying it from other merchants.

    Catalogs can become a virus that is re-inflicted upon the consumer by merchants where a person actually buys. Then it grows (replicates)

    They can get really naasty.

    Take back control over your mailbox!

    Greg on February 23rd, 2008 at 4:29 pm