I used to think that the crown jewel for an emerging consumer website was to be featured on the front page of Yahoo. In October, we were honored to be on the Yahoo front page all morning on a Saturday. On that day, over 22,000 people registered at catalogchoice.org.
Well, now I know for sure that the crown jewel is to be featured on the Today Show. Today, the feature story about Catalog Choice on The Today show generated three tidal waves of new members at Catalog Choice. The first wave came at 8:20 AM eastern standard time right after Ann Curry’s segment ran. Wave Two came an hour later when it ran in central time. The third wave hit when the west coast tuned in to the Today Show. Steadily through the day, as people talked about our simple free service at work, new members flowed in. In the end, almost 57,000 new members signed up at catalogchoice.org today. Over 30,000 invitations were sent using our Invite a Friend feature.
What we experienced today was the power of television to reach a mass audience and the power of the Internet to provide a free and easy service to give consumers the choices that they want.
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!
oops! Forgot the “L” in RECYCLING.
GAH!
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.
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.
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.
Refused to stop sending catalog. This is a huge catalog and wonder how many trees could be saved….
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.
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!
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.
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! : )
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!!
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!
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!
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?
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!!!
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.
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.”
Thank you for this wonderful humanitarian effort. The more people that create internet usages that benefit everybody the better.
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.
Add my thanks to this impressive list. Now, if only we could stop those credit card solicitations.
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.
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…
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
pure genius. thank u for this awesome service.
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!
To Marie J on Jan. 26: The answer to your query is #2 on the FAQ list. Easy to do.
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!
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???
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!
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.
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…
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
I told my mail carrier about joining CatalogChoice and she jumped for joy, for herself and for the trees!!!!
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.
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.
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!!!!!!!!
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.
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!!!!
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!
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.