54 Responses to “Frustrated?”

1. I will not buy from any catalog that I have asked to opt out of or those who refuse to honor the request,
   My local school gets plenty of catalogs to recycle for their profit. I do not even give them to my recyle bin which is owned by a company for which I pay a fee

   Barbara C. Murphy on October 19th, 2008 at 8:46 am

2. I know that the results have been mixed for various members, but I remain quite pleased with the way Catalog Choice has been working for me.

   So far during the month of October, my husband and I have received only three catalogs. My husband wishes to keep two of those. The other catalog was sent by a merchant who’s not yet participating in the Catalog Choice service.

   By contrast, in October 2007, my husband and I were receiving so many catalogs that I was tracking them by weight rather than count. By the end of the second week, we’d received nearly three pounds of catalogs. The third week delivered just shy of four more pounds. In the final week, we got four and a half additional pounds.

   The grand totals for our household recycling (all items, including paper) in 2007 were:

   • 31.6 lbs. in October
   • 34.6 lbs. in November
   • 22.0 lbs. in December

   The push for holiday sales via direct mail largely ceased in early December. The numbers above reflect that pretty clearly. I plan to weigh our recycling again in November and December 2008. I predict that both months will total under 25 lbs. this time around. Catalog Choice will deserve a lot of the credit for that.

   For now, our opt-outs are so well honored that I’m not yet able to weigh the catalogs which have arrived this October. Their heft is so slight that our digital scale fails to register it.

   Tracy Glomski on October 19th, 2008 at 8:58 am

3. I’m disappointed that not more of my requests for discontinuation have been honored by companies. Here’s what trick one has played: they say they are participating? Don’t believe it. My catalog summary shows they have confirmed my request at least 4 months ago. But today I received a new catalog; guess what? They changed my Customer Number even though I have ordered nothing from them in over a year. I will follow the example of not doing business with companies who have not honored my request. Last year a friend sent me photographs which got mangled in my small condo mailbox due to the crush of unwanted catalogs.

   Sharon Edwards on October 20th, 2008 at 10:57 am

4. I can confirm that Catalog Choice has been a valuable weapon in my successful fight against the direct mail powers that be.

   While it’s only October, and there’s still a slight chance of a holiday catalog flurry, this month I have received 0 — yes 0 — catalogs that I didn’t request, down from the 30 I received last October.

   One valuable tip — in addition to using Catalog Choice — do not order from a website unless that site confirms your information will not be used or shared for marketing purposes. You can find this out by checking the Privacy Policy link available on most sites. It drives my wife crazy — but it works.

   If you are unsure, and still want to order, call and speak with a human and tell them — before you order — that unless they can guarantee you will not be placed on their list, you will not order.

   Good luck to all and thanks Catalog Choice. jonnyHal.

   jonnyhal on October 20th, 2008 at 11:36 am

5. I have been attempting to cancel many catalogs since April 2008. I now have a new address so my list of magazines did not come up. I hate to start all over again. Anythng I can do about this?

   vic d. neyer on October 20th, 2008 at 5:29 pm

6. CC.org: Thank you! Since late last month, I’ve decided to let things ride… except one, Blair, that sent me four mailings this month for their “contests to our best customers” along with 2 of the 4 catalogs received this month. They kindly replied to me that my name has been removed from their lists and for other catalogs to write to DMA (and you know we’re not best friends). You can guess what my thoughts were….I wasn’t a bit frustrated. It was sad to let this catalog go but when you have to remove your personal info from about 10 different places on their mailers, I’d rather be in the kitchen or chasing toddlers.
   Vic: Hubby and I had two addresses and several name addresses going for over two years until last month. We got almost equal amounts at both. Most of my letters to catalogs noted all name variations and both addresses. I hope that since CC.org came onto the scene, most merchants have improved their cross reference systems. CC.org does talk to them!

   Yvonne Camesi on October 20th, 2008 at 5:55 pm

7. Speaking of frustration and as a 20 year plus industry veteran and former DMA member…I hear on good authority that the DMA laid off between 20-30 employees today while just last week CEO John Greco and HIS WIFE and COO Ramesh Lakshmi Ratan and HIS WIFE were chauffered around Las Vegas for DMA08 in their own private sedans! That is four cars …two of which are for SPOUSES!! I think that the DMA members really need to rethink where the dues $$$ are going. I wonder what the Board of Directors would think about that?!?!

   HERBISAN on October 20th, 2008 at 7:00 pm

8. I’m really questioning Catalog Choice now. I’m receiving even more catalogs now than before. Several have been opted out for months and months and I’m still receiving them. Not only that, but receiving from new companies i’ve never heard of before. what I have found is that some companies will alter your address a bit just to resend their catalog out. I’m getting really skeptical however that my information is being forwarded from catalog choice to these other vendors. I mean, come on, everyone is in business here. If all my catalogs go away…so does catalog choice…right?

   Brenda on October 21st, 2008 at 5:57 am

9. Brenda, I can certainly understand why you hold that view.

   If you don’t mind my asking, though, I wonder if possibly, sometime within the past year, you’ve: Ordered from a new catalog? Bought a house? Bought a car? Married? Given birth? Done anything that might be public record?

   Here’s the outrageous reality: if you’re going about just living your life, there’s a good chance that marketers will jump on you. If you order from a new catalog, in particular, you are considered a very hot customer. Your name can go into the databases and begin to spread through the system in less than 24 hours. I’ve come across a few people, in fact, who intentionally vary their name at every place they do business, just so they can observe this crazy process. My favorite was the young woman who used different middle initials. She eventually found herself running out of letters.

   Hopefully you can see what Catalog Choice is up against. My impression is that my own results have been somewhat better than average (for now). This might be partly due to the fact that I haven’t placed any orders with any new direct marketers for 15 months. I’m sticking with companies I know–companies whom I believe are ethical and who respect my privacy. I’ve also significantly altered my behavior as a customer. I no longer use my credit card, ever, at retail stores. I don’t want to make it easy for them to harvest my name and address and append that with additional sensitive data. I no longer fill out warranty cards. I no longer enter catalog key code information when ordering online. In fact, if a company sends me a catalog, I won’t order from them again for at least a month, because I don’t want my purchase falsely attributed to wasteful marketing practices. I no longer subscribe to magazines. I’d rather pay a few bucks more at the newsstand than give away my data.

   It’s obvious to me that Catalog Choice has helped my situation, but I’ve had to do all this other crap, too, which is ridiculous. You’d think by now that the marketers would realize that I’m not an impulse buyer. When I do make an impulse purchase, it’s almost always at Etsy.com, where I can enjoy a true 1-to-1 relationship with the seller. But the marketers who send direct mail typically use very blunt tools, much too blunt to understand who I am and what I desire as an individual.

   Basically, there’s no danger of Catalog Choice putting themselves out of business anytime soon. And if they ever do, I imagine they’d handle the situation with grace. They’re on an environmental mission, and there are even bigger environmental battles to wage. Reducing catalog waste is a small yet important part of the solution in addressing both pollution and global warming.

   Tracy Glomski on October 21st, 2008 at 7:20 am

10. Brenda:

    Thanks for commenting on our blog. You must be as frustrated about the situation as hundreds of thousands of others who are working with us to try to change the process of unsolicited mail.

    If you are receiving catalogs from new companies, I can promise you that it is not due to our practices. We have gone to extreme measures to ensure that the companies we work with are not permitted to rent or sell your name.

    As Tracy clearly states, the name rental business is a significant “industry” with well established systems for monetizing your spending patterns. In trade magazines, there are pages of advertisements for companies that will rent you any type of buyer segment you can think of. There is no question that your name is in one of these lists and these new companies have rented it in hopes of getting you to buy from them.

    One thing that you can do is go to DMAchoice.org and put your name on the prospect opt-out list. This list is suppose to stop your name from being rented.

    Whatever you do, please do not question the integrity of our organization. We are a small team of dedicated individuals that are trying our best to straighten out the situation for your benefit. We are a non-profit organization funded by foundations that share our vision to reduce waste.

    I would like nothing better than to know that there is a sustainable system in the United States through which consumers and businesses can communicate to stop unwanted mail. If that system exists, then we can move on to focus on other issues.

    As you know all too well, the system does not work yet. Thanks to our efforts, it is significantly better than just one year ago. I am confident that it will be even better a year from today. But even then, it will not be perfect.

    Best,

    Chuck Teller
    Executive Director
    Catalog Choice

    Chuck on October 21st, 2008 at 7:51 am

11. I had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. Chuck Teller/Executive Director of Catalog Choice moments ago and wish to recant my earlier response. Eventhough I have not noticed a reduction of the amount of catalogs I receive daily/weekly, it was never my intention to point the blame at catalog choice. Chuck explained to me that there is no legislation governing this process and I trust that Catalog Choice is NOT in the position to rent or sell my personal information to anyone. It is certainly possible, after reading Tracy’s response above that the blame could be unintentionally resting with me. My ordering processes have changed over the years, doing both phone and online orders. Basically, your personal information is out there and can be retrieved through numerous means. I applaud Catalog Choice for their passion of ultimately reducing our unwanted catalog waste in an effort to, more importantly, save our environment.

    Brenda on October 21st, 2008 at 9:54 am

12. Thanks, Brenda, for keeping an open mind. That was a very gracious post.

    I didn’t mean to point blame at you, either. I apologize if it sounded that way. It’s an absurd situation, to make a purchase and to be unable to simply enjoy it in peace, without dozens of other offers cascading onto your head. I mentioned a few strategies that you can employ to reduce the exchange of your name and personal data. But I think it’s fair to say that not many people are yet aware of those, plus the whole process is annoying and inconvenient.

    I think we’re all frustrated right now, including the marketers. The economy is in tough shape. I have no love for the DMA, but I feel badly for the employees who were reportedly laid off. I hope they’re able to find good work elsewhere.

    With only slight hesitation, I will second Chuck’s recommendation for DMAchoice.org. I don’t entirely trust the DMA and have had mixed results with their program in the past. But my most recent re-enrollment does appear to have eliminated all new catalogs (”prospecting,” in the jargon of the industry). Third time’s the charm, I guess.

    Tracy Glomski on October 21st, 2008 at 10:30 am

13. Brenda: Catalog Choice has helped greatly in reducing my mail, but I realized recently that if I continue to order from catalogs I like, they will continue selling my information. It’s not enough just to cancel catalogs I don’t want, I have to stop the info selling cycle. I don’t know if you currently order from catalogs, but if you do, please feel free to use the letter below, I have e-mailed it to the companies I order from with some success:

    (e-mail subject line): Remove my name and address from SELL OR RENT LISTS

    Although I DO LIKE receiving (name) catalog, please do NOT make my name and postal address below available to subsidiaries, affiliated companies, other direct mail companies or any other third party companies or organizations. In other words, DO NOT SELL OR RENT MY PERSONAL INFORMATION. I DO NOT WANT TO RECEIVE POSTAL MAILINGS FROM (name’s) SUBSIDIARIES or ANY OTHER THIRD PARTY. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

    Then I include my name, address, customer number and key code as they appear on the mailing label. All but one of the companies I order from responded almost immediately. They confirmed pleasantly that they will honor my request. I know it’s more time, but I hope this helps.

    Barbara B on October 21st, 2008 at 10:34 am

14. Tracy and Barbara B….Thank you very much for all the wonderful tips and advice. Warmest regards!
    Brenda

    Brenda on October 21st, 2008 at 11:07 am

15. I too have been very frustrated and am still receiving just as many catalogs. Some are new ones, but many that I have opted out from have just changed my customer number - some as many as FOUR time! Also, I notice a slight change to my name (so I know they are getting it off a different list). I have not ordered from any new company so my name is getting out there some other way. Each week I have to sit down with my stack of catalogs received and go through my extensive opt out list and click “still receiving” on at least a dozen catalogs. I’ll give it a little more time, but so far its not really working for me.

    Susan on October 21st, 2008 at 5:37 pm

16. I am starting to wonder about some of the companies that claim they honor Catalogue Choice. A few have been sending me catalogues for 6+ months since they said they were honoring my request. I don’t blame Catalogue Choice; I really appreciate the service you offer. But I do wish that you would take companies off of your “good partner” list if they claim they are honoring requests but are not.

    Lisa on October 21st, 2008 at 7:40 pm

17. I read an interesting article today in the New York Times. It’s about the abuse of data mining to prey upon financially troubled individuals.

    Here’s an excerpt:

    “This marketplace for personal data has been a crucial factor in powering the unrivaled lending machine in the United States. European countries, by contrast, have far stricter laws limiting the sale of personal information. Those countries also have far lower per-capita debt levels….

    “The American information economy has been evolving for decades. Equifax, for example, has been compiling financial histories of consumers for more than a century. Since 1970, use of that data has been regulated by the Federal Trade Commission under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. But Equifax and its rivals started offering new sets of unregulated demographic data over the last decade — not just names, addresses and Social Security numbers of people, but also their marital status, recent births in their family, education history, even the kind of car they own, their television cable service and the magazines they read.”

    The article then describes how consumers are segmented into various targeted groups. Here’s a copy-and-paste link:

    nytimes.com/2008/10/22/business/22target.html?ref=business

    Tracy Glomski on October 22nd, 2008 at 9:55 am

18. Great comment Tracy. I read the same article and then took a deep breath because I realize that the effort to help consumers stop unwanted mail is a monumental one.

    The process of buying “names” for prospecting has been around for decades. Our members need to realize that we can’t change the system overnight.

    However, in just one year we have caused the DMA to change their ways, got hundreds of companies to work with us to honor your requests and caused many others to change their privacy policy so that it is easier to convey your mail preference.

    Not bad for a small non-profit organization.

    Chuck on October 22nd, 2008 at 10:51 am

19. Hi Tracy! You’ve got it! DMA is like one of those you have to say you don’t care to dance with but are too polite to say no thank you. CC.org is not guilty of exchanging mail info and I can guess they have really listened to all of us that blog here and Talk to the Merchants. It does take time to get off unwanted catalogs. Consumers have to read the fine print in the center page and see “we occasionally exchange info” (it’s been already been done umpteen tenfold). Recently I blogged that hubby and I grill the major stores we purchase from that we do not want their junk mailings. (I believe they really want to throw us out of the store than hear our spew)
    I’m the black sheep in the family so it won’t surprise anyone I am in favor of… Do Not Mail Legislation that monitors all unwanted mailings and DMA is just the “Fox in the Henhouse”.
    Why do merchants want continue to waste $$$ on printed mailings that consumers do not want? Help the environment and our mailbox. I applaud the merchants that do.

    Yvonne Camesi on October 22nd, 2008 at 5:05 pm

20. Chuck, I remain very impressed with all that’s been accomplished so far. Everyone at Catalog Choice has a right to be proud, and I know you will keep working and making progress toward less waste and better consumer-merchant relationships.

    Hi back at’cha, Yvonne. :-) I’d never use the word “sheep” to describe you–you’re much too feisty for that, and all in a good way!

    After re-reading that NYT article, I must clarify one of my comments above. It wasn’t quite right to say that the tools of marketing are “too blunt” to suss out individual consumer behavior. Obviously, a whole lotta data gathering’s been going on.

    Although I’m now very conscious about protecting my personal info, I don’t doubt that the data industry has collected quite a bit over the years, enough that my profile would be quite revealing.

    The problem (well, one problem) is that the data haven’t been put to very good use. By “good,” I mean both “effective” and “ethical.” You know, in the past, I even completed a few of those multi-page customer surveys which sometimes arrive in the mail. I knew little about the marketing industry back then, but I suppose I had a vague hope that this might fine-tune the offers I was receiving. I was interested in seeing fewer but better offers. Instead, I ended up with a lot more junk. I’m frustrated that I gave so much of myself away, and I got so little of value in return.

    What scares and frustrates me the most, though, is that those data banks are a huge security risk. People with access to all that could potentially ruin other people’s lives, intentionally or unintentionally. Since the sale of much of the data is unregulated, I guess for now that we’ll just have to trust that the data industry has our best interests at heart.

    Uh, yeah.

    I’m still undecided about Do Not Mail. If it ever passes, I think it will significantly reduce the annoyance that many of us are feeling. But I’m also worried that it’d be a falsely reassuring Band-Aid over a deeper ill.

    I hope this whole system of finance and commerce that we’ve created can be healed. Right now, it’s looking pretty wounded.

    Tracy Glomski on October 22nd, 2008 at 8:01 pm

21. Whenever I receive an unwanted catalog, particularly from those companies that choose not to participate in Catalog Choice, I always call them (thanks CC for providing the number with their listing). My opening is always “I understand you do not participate in Catalog Choice, which I find totally irresponsible of you as a retailer.” Then I always ask for the name of the person who gave permission to send me a catalog that I did not request, which I view as an invasion of my privacy! They always seem willing to remove me from their list at this point! It seems to work as I have received no more catalogs from these retailers. Keep up the great work CC.

    Graham on October 22nd, 2008 at 10:11 pm

22. Tracy, you go girl with what you believe because I’ve learned alot from your research and you’ve done a lot. You’ve just touched something very much to the core of my background - privacy. I’ve had that responsibility and also hope that those data base holders have a sealed security system. Fiesty? Why thank you! There’s probably a bit of bullheadedness too.
    Graham, it’s kinda difficult to get the supplier of your mailing info from those who paid for the mail listing(s). You are actually where I was a year ago. CC.org is gaining strides to get merchants to listen to the consumer as well as getting the consumer to listen to the merchants. I’m hoping for the goal that opt out means opt out and the opt in allows just that without the rampage exchanging mailing info.
    Those that are on my “Non Participating” list have not sent me anything for quite awhile. I can only guess that they have their own suppression method or went out of business.
    CC.org - Just keep on truckin’!

    Yvonne Camesi on October 23rd, 2008 at 8:38 pm

23. I love the concept of Catalogchoice and I have called some companies who are reluctant to respond and let them know of my discontent. One thing that does worry me however is that I seem to be receiving new catalogs in the mail, which I have never received before, from places I have never shopped at. My concern is that somehow, my information is being leaked to these companies. Catalogchoice should have a page on their website that tells users how to avoid having their name and address leaked to companies. It would be a preventative measure that I am sure would be beneficial to every catalogchoice member, and to every person. Please consider this. I know it would be greatly appreciated.

    Kristy on October 24th, 2008 at 7:41 pm

24. I would just like to say thank you for a superb service. It has worked very well for my family. The current financial diarreaha will surely induce a catalog slow down and I’m sure more companies will be looking to this service to help them trim costs.
    GOBAMA!

    Marcus on October 25th, 2008 at 5:27 am

25. Kristy:

    We are developing a new feature to address the unacceptable practice of privacy violations.

    The current system employs a legally binding licence agreement that does not permit releasing our members names for any purpose.

    We are also starting to “seed” the lists we provide with specific names that we can track to identify abuse.

    Lastly, we will be adding the ability for members to flag catalog titles that you suspect are arriving as a result of abuse.

    Rest assured we are working hard to address this situation. With our members’ help we will be able to gather the evidence to identify the source of the confidentiality abuse.

    In the meantime, enter the customer number AND source code for the suspect titles in your account and use the note feature ( found under view details) to note suspect titles.

    More on this topic in future blog posts.

    Chuck on October 25th, 2008 at 8:10 am

26. I am using catalog choice regularly; but my catalogs have increased. How do I find out who is selling my name and information? I am so frustrated. Does the post office promote catalogs since email has reduced their revenue?

    D. Searl on October 26th, 2008 at 6:17 pm

27. I started entering unwanted catalogs here nearly a year ago, during the last Christmas rush. It took 3 months or more but the amount of catalogs I receive is down to a mere trickle and if I receive any new ones I immediately log into CC to start the process of getting off their mailing list. Keep the faith - it really does work.

    Nancy on October 28th, 2008 at 3:38 pm

28. This website really does work. I started listing catalogs months ago and am getting many less catalogs to date. One problem with some companys are they just create another customer number and send you their catalog under that number. What’s a girl to do?

    Dianne on October 28th, 2008 at 4:41 pm

29. I am certainly getting a lot less catalogs now that I have joined Catalog Choice but I still get Coldwater Creek catalogs. I have even written to them to no avail. My next letter will be to the CEO, I’m serious.

    Jane Fox on October 28th, 2008 at 5:08 pm

30. I think Catalog Choice is the best, and I have found that most companies have removed me from their lists. The ones that have refused to honor my requests for removal (even after phone calls, letters to the CEO and emails) will NEVER get my business. I have recently discovered that my name was sold by a seller on Ebay, and I have started getting some of these catalogs once again. And one catalog Linen Source is the worst one yet. They send several catalogs each month and keep changing the customer number. Horrible to do business with and horrible to get rid of. Still, things are much better with Catalog Choice.

    Kathy on October 29th, 2008 at 10:37 pm

31. The number of catalogs I receive started going down after using Catalog Choice. However, during this Christmas season, all the catalogs that were supposedly confirmed cancelled started appearing in my mailbox again. When I called one company that had confirmed my cancellation with Catalog Choice, the rep. said they never heard of Catalog Choice! Oh well. I will wait to see what happens after Christmas.

    Bethany on October 30th, 2008 at 5:59 pm

32. I have used catalog choice for over a year, and while the number of catalogs dropped for a while, I know think I get close to the same number as I did before. If I go to a company’s website, I then get their catalog, and those of its competitors as well. Or, I get the same catalogs I opted out of, but with different customer/source code numbers - Victoria’s Secret is the worst. I am very close to giving up!

    susan on November 1st, 2008 at 8:40 am

33. I would love to see some sort of “family tree” listing families of catalogs. I’ve been very frustrated with the elimination of Catalog Favorites, which is related to Potpourri, Serengeti, Nature’s Jewelry, The Pyramid Collection, and In the Company of Dogs. It would make it easier when calling a request in (after repeated CC requests) to be able to get removal off of many lists at once. Keep up the good work guys!!

    Aimee on November 1st, 2008 at 6:35 pm

34. I have had good luck with also calling the toll-free numbers for catalogs I like and asking them not to rent or sell my info. I’ve never had anyone refuse. Before finding catalogchoice.org I would take an hour every so often on a Saturday and make some calls. Now I do a combination of both.

    Donna on November 3rd, 2008 at 6:27 am

35. Aimee, the family tree idea for catalogs is a great one. Another idea I had (for the catalog companies) is to allow us to receive one (ONE) seasonal catalog from them and opt-out of the continual follow up catalogs with the same items/different covers. If I could just cut down on THOSE it would be a huge help. Usually, though, I’ve discovered it’s “all or nothing,” so unless it’s someone I order from frequently, I opt out.

    Donna on November 3rd, 2008 at 6:31 am

36. Aimee:
    We designed our system so that we could track Holding Companies and their family of catalogs. Since the relationship between the company and the catalog is not well known, we focus on the catalog titles. We will look into creating a way for you to see the company - catalog relationships.

    Chuck on November 3rd, 2008 at 10:13 am

37. catalog choice does not work. you’re better off going to the direct marketing section of http://www.privacyrights.org and then under the “how did they get my address?” title to get off lists. I sent 3 emails and was down to about 3 catalogs after a month.

    Maria on November 4th, 2008 at 12:01 am

38. Maria: That’s great! I really don’t venture around other sites but thanks for the info on privacyrights.org. CC.org has one of the best systems as far as I’m concerned. They’ve let us consumers know right up front of their work with other companies and have taught me alot about looking at both sides of the street; consumers and merchants. I’m waiting for a few things, including being able to really choose what I want without being bombarded with what merchants think i want. Hubby and I miss some catalogs that actually are CC.org’s that honor my current do not receive request.

    Yvonne Camesi on November 4th, 2008 at 5:27 pm

39. I have really mixed feelings about the efficacy of CC. I have had some success with reducing some of the unwanted catalogs, but it seems like I am receiving more catalogs than ever before. In the past 3 weeks, I have received 13 catalogs. I had opted out of 3 them more than 2 months ago, 6 of them were brand new mailings and the other 4 were Christmas themed catalogs oriented to my children (which I presume are standard seasonal mailings). 9 of the catalogs were addressed in an identical manner and did not have a customer number for what that is worth. This is coupled with some of the other odd catalogs that have shown up over the course of the Summer (Journeys or Athleta, anyone?). I also received a strange catalog at my office on behalf of my grandmother who died 7 years ago after I used CC to remove her name from a catalog mailing list. So, at this point, color me skeptical. However, I did take the advice of someone above and use DMAChoice a few minutes ago to try to nip the renting of our name at the bud. I hope that is more effective than my experience with CC.

    Jay Brinker on November 7th, 2008 at 6:35 pm

40. 10 hours after my above post, I received 5 more catalogs, one of which I had opted out of last month but came addressed with a middle initial, 3 more seasonal catalogs selling kids stuff, and a completely new catalog (Fossil) of which I have 0 products in my house. Given the arrival of the Fossil catalog, I still ponder if CC is selling my name.

    Jay Brinker on November 8th, 2008 at 12:47 pm

41. Jay: I called two catalog companies yesterday, after having registered multiple times on CC, but had received no satisfaction from CC registration, because the companies change an initial or title. The customer service rep. told me that the customer number I gave her indicated that the name was from a rented list. Maybe the DMA registration will help. I certainly am going to try that, and not give up on Catalog Choice.

    Virginia Long on November 8th, 2008 at 1:16 pm

42. Dear Jay and Virginia-

    First, we do not sell anybody’s name. We only provide your name to merchants with the explicit understanding that it is to be used to suppress future catalog mailings to you.

    Are some companies continuing to mail you despite your request? The answer is yes. This is unfortunate, but there are no laws that govern the process that we are trying to address. Many companies are mailing you additional catalogs to see if you will still buy from them.

    If you are getting catalogs you have never seen before, that means that your name is being rented. If you don’t want it again - register here and we will let the company know of your request. Alternatively, you can use the contact information provided for each company to contact them yourself.

    It is our mission to make our convenient one-stop mail preference service work so you don’t have to spend your valuable time on the phone with companies.

    If we stick together as a community of like minded individuals, we can make the system work.

    Chuck on November 8th, 2008 at 2:56 pm

43. I’m with Chuck on the fact that CC.org is not selling our info and catalog companies are very desperate to attract new customers or reattract customers. This morning I blogged CC.org’s Citrelli Post in regards to receiving a mailing from Haband, a recent mailing from Blair and a catalog from Solutions = all from the happy family of Orchard Brands participating merchants on CC.org. They have about ten different catalogs.
    The two mailings (Blair & Haband) are those I will deal with Orchard Brands but I updated my info for Solutions because they have changed my Customer Svc info several times. Until there is a Do Not Mail Law, there is no penalty.
    Even when I looked at the Privacy Notice on my AAA magazine AAA may collect and use info on their members for promotions and they can collect your info from other reputable third parties. I have sent them their opt out with a vow not to renew after 25 years. My auto insurance has a better tow plan for less and I can get maps elsewhere.
    Chuck, I know you guys are working hard.

    Yvonne Camesi on November 8th, 2008 at 4:23 pm

44. Some of the catalogs that have confirmed my request, are still continuing to send me their catalogs using a different customer # and catalog #. The catalogs are Vermont Country Store, I have received four, and Plow & Hearth. What can be done.

    Dolores Konieczny on November 10th, 2008 at 1:26 pm

45. My sister received another Catalog from Blair. That makes a total of three, since July 12, 2008. The latest one was received today and was confirmed in one minute. All three of these catalogs have a different customer # and Code #. Who is fulling Who. I believe that your organization is doing a great service to the general public. However, it seems some of the catalogs that have confirmed the opt-out, as sending there catalogs as described above. Keep up the good work and hopefully this problem will be resolved.

    Dolores Konieczny on November 11th, 2008 at 9:03 am

46. I just reviewed your account. Blair is part of Orchard Brands. They joined the service less than 6 weeks ago. They have now pledged to honor your request. The catalogs will stop soon.

    Chuck

    Chuck on November 11th, 2008 at 9:34 am

47. I wanted to add three comments, as a former list broker in the “industry”. As far as Equifax (and TRW) and so on, these companies sell, through sister companies) something called compiled lists, which are created from public sources, like home purchase records, birth records, etc, as noted in the Time article. They’ve been doing this since this lists were sold on index cards. In fact, the credit card tracking information grew up from the mailing list compilation businesses, not the other way around. Fear not, the information does not flow out from the credit records, but is collected from other very public sources.

    The source of these “new” catalogs you are getting, especially when the name is varied a bit, is likely from these compiled sources, or purchased from other catalogs. Although you should never have customer number unless you’ve ordered something from the cataloger. A tip for the form letter someone drafted. Add a sentence requesting that your name be added to their permanent “do not mail” file for inclusion in their suppression file for future “merge/purges”. This is a list of names they remove when they receive them from OTHER lists.

    Third, you should be aware that catalogers keep an “expires” file, which they sell to other catalogers. It is possible that when you are removed from their own list, you are being added to this file and passed along, as a way of retaining some value. CC.org should get the catalogers promise that they won’t sell or trade your name as a former customer either. You should also be aware that some mailers, not just catalogers, don’t feel obligated to honor a “remove my name from your list” request beyond a certain period (say 12 or 24 months) and may not keep you on a merge/purge suppression file beyond that period either. There’s not much you can do about that except start over with them. So much of the process is automated, you just cannot expect human judgement to be applied.

    Debora on November 11th, 2008 at 3:45 pm

48. Thank you Debora! I’ve been suspecting such for a long time even by those that provide our credit info, so DMA is not the only culprit. We should not give DMA all the blame or credit. Many of those I have really really spoken to at catalogs previously worked in the finance industry such as banks and gave me the same awakening.
    Last year I wrote to the credit bureaus because I got my report and found lots and lots of “hits” from companies I never bought from. I even wrote to those catalog companies.
    My letters to all mailings do indicate in bold “permanent” removal and “do not share/rent or sell my mailing info.”
    It still happens.
    I would like to add one more thing, when one reads the fine print on any mailing concerning the exchange of mailing info to others, it’s already been done because the catalog one is looking at has sat somewhere before USPS delivers it.
    Does this make us consumers feel we are on the auction block? Sold?

    Yvonne Camesi on November 11th, 2008 at 4:56 pm

49. I would like to eliminate the 10 catalogs I receive everyday. HELP!

    Patricia Wakim on November 13th, 2008 at 8:01 am

50. Great idea, but doesn’t work. After almost a year of trying to opt out of all these catalog deliveries, I seem to have even more. Please come up with a better plan to reduce our waste.

    Sophie on November 13th, 2008 at 8:53 am

51. Hi Sophie and Patricia:

    You may be getting more catalogs because companies are already starting to mail for the holiday season - please enter the unwanted ones here and we’ll continue to communicate your requests. We’ve also begun listing contact information for each company if you’d like to contact them directly. If you email me at paul@catalogchoice.org, we can go through the catalogs you are still receiving and I can give you specific advice about each one.

    Debora, thank you for the insightful comment above. Our merchant license states that we provide participating merchants with our members information solely for the purpose of fulfilling and confirming your mail preference request; and merchants are not allowed to rent, sell or trade the names we provide. We DO instruct participating merchants to add names that are not on their house list (prospects) to a Do Not Mail list.

    Please stick with us as we work to fulfill your requests!

    Paul on November 13th, 2008 at 10:01 am

52. I will a couple of other thoughts and strategies here. For the folks that are getting repeat catalogs after an initial request.

    Studies have shown marketers that they get a “lift” in response if they repeat an offer in a given amount of time I think its two or three weeks). So if you saw an offer and set it aside thinking you would get around to ordering it eventually, you’re more likely to remember if you get the offer again. So DMers sometimes purchase a list for “unlimited” mailing. They pay a multiple of the list rental to mail the list as many times as they want within a given time frame. I suspect a lot of the holiday period mailings employ this strategy. You will not be removed from the stream once the names are added to the file. So be patient.

    Second, if you suspect a cataloger got your name from a rented list, it’s worth a phone call to find out where it came from and contact the renting party. If you call the Marketing Manager’s office with the key code from your catalog, they can tell you where they rented from. You can then call the source of the list and ask them to remove your name from their rental data, and then ask for the name of their list manager. Contact the list manager and tell them you have instructed x, y and z to remove your name and have them confirm that its been done from their data as well.

    There is a lag while information is transmitted and updated and the best thing you can do is try to get off a list BEFORE it gets sold. Mention that you are on the DMA’s mail preference list, since most reputable mailers and list managers DO want to comply with the DMA program, this may help.

    Debora on November 17th, 2008 at 5:51 am

53. I am giving up on CC. I received 7 more catalogs yesterday, some of which I had used CC to opt out of 5 months ago. For every catalog I seem to avoid, another one or 2 takes it place. It seems like I am merely pushing dirt from one of the street to the other and then pushing it back.

    As of last night, I have started paying my 12 year old $1 per catalog to call companies and ask to be removed from the mailing list. That can not be any less effective than my experience here.

    Jay on November 21st, 2008 at 5:46 am

54. Jay: I’m not employed either with CC.org or anyone else - but I started my “real job” late Sept 07 with getting off 100 catalogs per week. (The amount of time, and postage is something else and your child would probably be paying for his college tuition!) I joined CC.org in late Jan 08 via the Today Show minutes after their viewing of Catalog Choice. (CC.org, you need a sequel on Today)
    I still get the oddball catalog because the catalog industry is in dire straits too and it’s a hard pill. Occasionally, I will send them a letter including my rants about their “privacy policy they print” and their “occasionally we exchange mailing info”. But I always update my info with CC.org.
    Be patient, and maybe, catalog companies will really see the vast advantages of online shopping.
    If you allow your child to make these calls, please make sure he/she understands to be nice to the customer service rep.
    Good luck!

    Yvonne Camesi on November 21st, 2008 at 4:55 pm