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News from ACCM

We are at the Annual Conference for Catalog Mailers in Orlando this week.  We regret not having a booth on the exhibit floor, but we are busy meeting with merchants and service providers.  The tenor at this event is much less heated than we experienced at the NEMOA event this spring.  In fact, one active industry blogger reports that: “Attendees overwhelmingly shared with me that they were willing to speak with or work with Catalog Choice — only a few individuals expressed frustration with constant calls from Catalog Choice to accept opt-outs.” Another industry blogger reports: From my vantage point, this socially-green movement is inevitable, has gained critical mass and should be worked with.

From out vantage point, we are seeing the tide shift to more and more companies honoring consumer’s requests to no longer receive a catalog in the mail.  While you may still be getting catalogs that you have opted-out of on this site, rest assured that we are contacting the merchants everyday to get them to honor your requests.  Progress is being made.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 at 8:58 am and is filed under Blogs, Merchants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

10 Responses to “News from ACCM”

  1. My experience with catalog choices has been mediocre at best. Very few catalogs agree to stop sending. YOur site is billed as a “one-stop” shopping opportunity to stop catalogs. Of the 29 I’ve tried to stop through catalog chooices, only 5 have confirmed. I could have called each one myself!

    mbt on May 22nd, 2008 at 7:17 am

  2. mbt:

    Sorry that we have not stopped more of the catalogs you entered. Your participation does help in the discussions that we are having with merchants. Everyday, more merchants are accepting the opt-out requests. So, while you could have called several merchants on your own, the collective voice of people on Catalog Choice is what is required to get merchant participation. Even though some merchants are not “confirmed”, they still may be accepting the request. Thanks for your input.

    Chuck

    Chuck on May 22nd, 2008 at 7:55 am

  3. Chuck,
    You guys and gals are doing a good job. While I still call and write to catalog companies and get accused of lying by some of those companies, that I’ve repeatedly requested removal, at least CC is out there advocating the consumer.

    If you happen to run accross NapaStyle, you can tell them that I’m going to the California state government since they’ve Refused your efforts to persuade them to participate, my requests in writing and verbally for opting out and they have the lousiest customer service number options. Each time I call, the recording says they are experiencing a large volume of calls and the wait of 5 minutes turns into 20 or the line disconnects, and their option to get removed has a message stating their mailbox is full. What kind of business does that? They never had my business because my tastes are quite not “Napa Valley” or gray salt. (I don’t do salt or sodium.)

    Our mailboxes are alot emptier and my husband keeps feeling my forehead for a temperature. Nice! I know progress is being made.

    Go CC!

    Yvonne Camesi on May 22nd, 2008 at 3:11 pm

  4. If you are only getting mediocre response from this site, its because your name and address are still being actively traded due to PUBLIC RECORDS, such as the credit bureaus, telephone books, supermarket card sign-ups, all of it. You have to stop it at the SOURCE, not through a CATALOG-ONLY removal site. Try going to yahoo search or Google and typing in JUNK MAIL REMOVAL instead of CATALOG REMOVAL, you will come up with much more effective options. :-)

    Anika on May 24th, 2008 at 10:54 am

  5. Yahoo or Google search for JUNK MAIL REMOVAL for effective removal advice!

    Justin on May 24th, 2008 at 11:10 am

  6. Yvonne:
    You cant keep running to every govenor there is because some catalog “refused” to work with catalog choice. Most of those catalogs would GLADLY take you off their list if you CALL them rather than berating them on some ineffective website. Alot of catalogs are already members of DMA so why would they want to join up with 50,000 other catalog removal sites when they are already members of one that does the same thing? Think about it.

    Justin on May 24th, 2008 at 11:43 am

  7. I continue to read some of these posts with amusement. Catalog Choice has so far been the most successful, effective and convenient way for me to try to control the amount and selection of catalogs I receive. I can keep track of the process without keeping stacks of catalogs or paper files in my home. I can also use tools on the site to quickly find merchant web sites when I want to shop. Catalog Choice has never claimed to be a method of privacy control, and I have never expected it to be. Before Catalog Choice I would sigh in frustration as I filled my recycle bin with unwanted catalogs. Now the amount I receive is reduced and manageable. This may not be the best option for everyone, but it is a good step in the right direction and many of the negative or angry postings here fail to recognize that fact. Thanks to Catalog Choice for working for me — for free!

    Melissa on May 29th, 2008 at 7:20 am

  8. Melissa: Thanks for your clear description of how you use our service. We know that our service is convenient for consumers and is increasingly being adopted by merchants. There is no quick fix to the situation, but with hard work on everyones part (CC.org, consumers, merchants, US Postal Service and others in the mail industry), we can give people a convenient way to manage what gets into their mailbox and save valuable natural resources along the way.

    Chuck on May 29th, 2008 at 7:56 am

  9. As a relatively new supplier serving the catalog industry my take on ACCM was similar to the other posts but with a bit of a twist. Consumer choice is important, but so is a recognition that even with consumer choice we still have a wasteful mail problem caused by not being able to deliver the promotion. The large majority of undeliverable (waste) mail is caused by missed moves. For more detail on this subject check out blog.cognitivedata.net

    Rod Ford on May 31st, 2008 at 6:17 am

  10. I had a little extra time to update my files today. If anyone’s curious, here’s the summary of results for all of the companies I’ve directly contacted so far this year. I’ve used various contact methods because each company has its own preference, occasionally described clearly somewhere in the catalog (typically on the order form inserts), but more often implied in a “if you prefer we not exchange” statement, and sometimes not even that.

    • Title Nine - contacted by e-mail 2/3 - no response - contacted with second email on 5/31 after no noticeable change in mailing rate - still no response as of 6/3
    • Cabela’s - contacted by e-mail 2/29 - customer service promptly agreed to opt-out, but didn’t disclose data source upon request - catalog appears to have been one-time-only, and mailings ceased immediately
    • Athleta - contacted by phone 3/12 - customer service was aloof - refused my customer number when offered - agreed to opt-out, but catalogs still arriving with no noticeable change in mailing rate after ten weeks
    • The Great Courses - contacted by postal mail 3/12 - no response - catalogs ceased in a reasonable time
    • The Territory Ahead - contacted by e-mail 3/21 - responded satisfactorily 4/1 - catalogs ceased in a reasonable time
    • Garnet Hill - contacted by e-mail 3/25 - responded satisfactorily 4/14 - disclosed the source of my data - also took the initiative and confirmed that my name is on DMA’s suppression list - catalogs ceased in a reasonable time
    • Signals - contacted via form at website 6/2 - no opt-out instructions whatsoever in catalog - responded satisfactorily 6/3, except for a confused mention of the e-mail unsubscribe link at the website, which doesn’t satisfy the DMA requirement for catalog opt-out notices
    • Patagonia - contacted by phone 6/3 - customer service was friendly and efficient - alas, system is currently all-or-nothing and does not allow opt-ins to postcard sale notices separately from catalogs (which would be my first preference, since I really like this company and enjoy hearing from them three or four times a year)

    Tracy Glomski on June 3rd, 2008 at 2:27 pm
 

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