21 Responses to “How did my name get on that mailing list?”

1. Thank you so much for this service. What we notice this year is that catalogs are coming in my husband’s name, not mine, so we know this effort is having an effect. I’m now up to 169 catalogs on my list, and I cannot imagine how full our mailbox would be without you! Thank you!

   Tracy Mezzatesta on November 15th, 2008 at 8:09 am

2. CC.org, Well written and thank you. The above has been a long time coming.

   Yvonne Camesi on November 15th, 2008 at 9:07 am

3. Yvonne, thanks! I am going to write more about the process, both what we do and the way the industry works, so that everyone can understand our approach and openly debate the merits of it.

   It is great to have such an active community of dedicated people working to reduce waste and improve the efficiency of the direct marketing process.

   Chuck on November 15th, 2008 at 11:06 am

4. You’re Welcome! Just this morning after I read this posting, hubby got two catalogs in the mail that I opted out for him earlier this year. He asked “how did I get on their mailings again?” I gave him reasons 1-8 listed above and you can bet #8 having a baby did not fly.

   Yvonne Camesi on November 15th, 2008 at 3:15 pm

5. HOW NOT TO GET ON TONS OF MAILING LISTS: Seeing those reasons can make you feel pretty helpless- obviously you’re not going to opt out of having a baby or a mortgage to avoid catalogs. But lots of people do those things & aren’t inundated with 100s of catalogs. I’m a customer service rep for a catalog & here’s how to reduce it by nipping it in the bud.
   1. Pick a name! I see people all the time with 6+ accounts at our catalog because of nicknames, double or hyphenated last names, random use of middle initials, maiden names still in use, etc. Choose a formal name & spelling you consistently use for your credit cards, shopping, & anything else like the stuff on the above list. And don’t ignore mispellings on your catalog (name or address) for the same reason. That way when we do remove you, you stay removed. And if you want the catalog, you’re not getting enough for 6 people.
   2. When entering your name & address for online shopping, etc. take the same approach. Don’t do it ‘1 Main Street, Apt 1′ sometimes & then ‘1 Main St #1′ etc. Be consistent.
   3. Register on websites you shop with more than once. This in effect creates a customer number or account for you in most systems. Once you’ve had that account removed from the mailing list, when you go back online & shop again using your already registered account, you shouldn’t start getting catalogs again. Same goes if you change your name or address- even slightly- then it should update that account & not generate a new 1.
   4. If you can, pick 1 member-of-the-house’s name to have all the catalogs & online shopping in. Don’t randomly pick up your husband or wifes credit card & use like their interchangeable. More than likely you’ll both end up with catalogs that way.
   5. Everytime you give a new company your name & address request right then that they don’t share/sell/rent your info, before it starts. And if you don’t want catalogs request that right away too. Ask for reduced mailings if possible. If they don’t have that option, suggest it.
   6. BE NICE to your customer service reps. We’re real people who get too many catalogs too, & we’re also your advocate to the company. The rep is not the reason you’re getting too many catalogs. We’re also more likely to be helpful in solving your problem if your patient & polite. By all means, if the company doesn’t participate in Catalog Choice, tell them they should & why. But keep it brief. Screaming for 20 minutes at us about how we’re the anti-christ & out to destroy all the forests gets condensed into a comment like “Wants us to participate in Catalog Choice. Won’t order from us anymore” if its even logged at all. I’ve had people so busy yelling at me that they fail to give me the information I need to remove them before they slam down the phone. And if you’ve ever tried to work with someone yelling at you, you know its hard to be accurate or efficient when all the blood is rushing to your head. I’m unlikely to go to any great lengths looking for duplicate mailings with someone whose really unpleasant. But I’ve spent 20 minutes helping people who just said “I am getting so many catalogs I feel I’m the cause of global warming & my postman’s hernia.”
   Just some thoughts from the trenches. Thanks for reading. Hope it helps!

   Elizabeth on November 16th, 2008 at 12:13 am

6. Elizabeth, While sometimes I get frurstrated by receiving catalogs, my prior prior ancient blogs have indicated to be nice to cust svc reps - they do not send you the catalogs and are just trying to do their jobs. One of my past journeys was being in a customer service supervisory environment and it was an experience to think about being put on the other end. No, I am not perfect, I blew my cool once last year when I got transferred literally from one end of the world to the other and then the supervisor of that company hung up on me- several times. Yes, you do not deserve to be yelled at and you do need to be treated with respect. If I am on your mailing list, please delete any variation. It wasn’t my fault because I limit my true signature but do not use variations or my previous married name. I wonder why we get mailings for my husband’s parents and they passed on years ago and never lived at the addresses we have been receiving catalog? For my mother in law, we did proper with USPS. My father in law passed on over 16 years ago and I suppose Mother did proper too. Boy, Elizabeth, if I ever speak with you, let me know if I’m yelling. You have my permission to yell back at me. I’ve been doing most of your points listed above and thanks as a reminder.

   Yvonne Camesi on November 16th, 2008 at 4:07 pm

7. I haven’t purchased anything from a catalog in about 10 years, yet merchants keep sending me more and more of them (and for stuff I have never purchased in my life like gardening tools, craft supplies and hunting equipment).

   What makes them think I am going to start now? Have they not heard of this new invention called the Internet where you can buy things without the need of a paper order form or even a phone call.

   Sometimes it seems that many merchants have made no progress from what Sears was doing in the 1800s with their catalog.

   What a complete joke this industry really is and how frustrating it must be to work for such a backward, uncaring, annoying sector of the economy.

   Graham on November 17th, 2008 at 5:06 pm

8. Thanks Yvonne! My comment was below yours, but was certainly not meant to imply it was you doing the yelling! And yes, by all means if your being treated badly then thats the time to go off! I’ve done it myself. (As a customer, that is, not a rep, then I still have to hold my tounge of course.) Honestly, at least 95% of the people I speak to in a day are very nice. We just all feel bad that sometimes the person who is the most upset about getting the catalog gets off the phone without getting the help they really need to solve the problem, simply because they are too upset to listen. And to Graham, I can’t stress enough- this stuff really happens by computer– the very machine your praising for reducing the need for paper. A list gets shared to a similar company, who shares to a similar company, and so-on. Eventually “A” to “B” to “C” ends up at “Z” and nowhere similar to “A” you originally ordered 12 years ago- see what I mean. A computer also can’t always recognize that Judy A Smith and Judith Smith are the same person, even if they are at the same address. I know it still sucks, but just sometimes its not so frustrating if you understand that there is not some man in a room going- ‘I know Graham has never bought an electric bean counter in his life, but maybe this is the day’ and sending you a catalog. And its not a backward uncaring economy. Most of these same online companies you shop with probably have catalogs too. I talk to little old ladies on a regular basis who complain we’ve moved too much of our business to the website, which they don’t have access to. And some people just prefer to have a catalog they can read sitting on the couch or a beach, and prefer to talk to a real person- not everyone is web-saavy. On most days I take far more orders from “prospectives”- people who’ve never ordered from our catalog before- then I do catalog removals. And half those removals aren’t prospectives, they’re people who’ve ordered at 1 time or another. As long as its working, companies will still send catalogs to people who’ve never ordered their products. I certainly agree that we have quite a ways to go, though, on figuring out how to efficiently and completely remove people who don’t want them. I also think we should send less prospective catalogs (like 1-2 instead of a years worth) before stopping. I stand by the fact that pro-activity on the part of both customers and the companies is the best way, which is sometimes why a phone call can work better than an automated system. This is something we all should really be working together on, rather than at odds on. Peace…

   Elizabeth on November 17th, 2008 at 11:40 pm

9. Elizabeth: Thanks for joining the conversation. The quoted text is from your well written comment above.

   We are “figuring out how to efficiently and completely remove people who don’t want them.”

   We agree that “pro-activity on the part of both customers and the companies is the best way,”

   but, we don’t believe that “a phone call can work better than an automated system.”

   We have built a system that automates the collection and distribution of mail preference requests. Our system can handle millions of households interfacing with thousands of businesses. Our self-service application saves everybody a huge amount of time and money. More on this later.

   Chuck on November 18th, 2008 at 9:39 am

10. Has anyone tried opting-out of the Epsilon Abacus Cooperative yet? Apparently, they are the Keeper of the Mighty Mail-Order Sharing Database.

    Here’s their party line, and how (allegedly) to get relief from unsolicited catalog and other direct mail offers coming from their database:

    “You also may contact Epsilon directly to be suppressed from Epsilon Abacus Cooperative. Members of the Abacus Cooperative (mostly catalog and retail companies) contribute information about their customers in exchange for information about other customers that may be interested in their products. Members contribute names, addresses, and general purchase information (such as the amount of a transaction or general types of purchases, like “ladies’ apparel”). Some members of the Abacus Cooperative contribute information they have collected at their websites. This database does not contain email addresses.”

    Cheesus, they sound like The Borg… >:-P

    Here’s the URL for more info and the e-mail opt-out address:

    http://www.abacusoptout.com

    I just sent an e-mail and will track its progress as we head into another holiday season and the prospect of my tiny mailbox jammed-packed with unwanted mailings.

    BTW, they *don’t* accept opt-outs from “third parties or other agents.” (That’s means YOU, CatalogChoice! How convenient for THEM, huh?) Only individuals…like me, who apparently have more than enough time on their hands to write to faceless, formless conglomerates about my privacy rights…sigh.

    Godspeed, fellow CatalogChoicers!

    Suzanne on November 18th, 2008 at 4:25 pm

11. Elizabeth, don’t worry, like I said I’ve been on both sides and it just takes an awakening to be more aware of what goes on. Please, keep on blogin’ and your responses may help all of us consumers see the other side and work things out. I don’t yell often.

    Yvonne Camesi on November 18th, 2008 at 5:55 pm

12. Thanks for all the helpful comments. One thing I have not seen mentioned, and people may not be aware of - when someone sends you a gift from a catalog company, you will also get on the mailing list (ex: Harry & David, Wolferman’s, Fruit of the Month, etc. are popular during the holiday season). As soon as I receive something like that, I call the Customer service no. and ask to not be put on their mailing list.

    Gail on November 19th, 2008 at 11:08 am

13. My problem is that whenever I opt-out thru Cat Choice, the company just issues me a new customer number & sends me another catalog! I have 6 cust numbers with one company, & I get 2 catalogs per WEEK from them!

    Susana Green on November 20th, 2008 at 12:57 pm

14. I am sorry to say that after pushing Catalog Choice to friends and catalogs alike, I am not going to use it anymore, because a few weeks go by and I find myself getting mailings again, plus there seems to be an increasing number of catalogs I have selected that do not participate. And the biggest problem and secret that I just found out from a catalog rep: YOU MUST ALSO REQUEST TO BE ON THE DO NOT SELL LIST. IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO ASK TO BE REMOVED FROM THE MAILING LIST, because your name gets sold and you’re back to square one again. I just get catalogs with new customer numbers assigned. So now, I am back to calling each catalog individually and telling them to do both. It takes some time, but really no more time than it used to take me to enter all the info into Catalog Choice, and I know immediately that it’s been done and nothing is in limbo. Sorry Catalog Choice — I think you have the right idea, but it’s not going far enough.

    RC on November 21st, 2008 at 6:43 am

15. Just reporting in to say that I’ve had the same experience as RC. I gave up on catalogchoice.org months ago and started contacting companies directly, which has helped quite a lot. Then I got a catalog from a very expensive clothing store in Colorado that I’d never heard of. When I called to ask to be removed from their list, the extremely nice customer service rep asked me if I wanted to know where they got my name. He had me read him the source code and then told me which direct marketing company had that code and how to contact them. He also gave me the contact info for two other direct marketers. I called them all and got off their databases on also requested DO NOT SELL. One of them actually called me back (they all have “get out of database” options on their voice mail systems - and assured me that even when they buy lists, if my name shows up on one of them, it will be suppressed when they sell that list. I am down to 2-3 catalogues per week now - sometimes none! - and that’s a huge improvement. Plus most of the catalogues I am getting now are the residual “we print 3-4 catalogues in advance” copies. I also was able to opt-down on the 2-3 catalogues I actually want and buy from (thanks, Territory Ahead/Isabella Bird!).

    Ellen on November 21st, 2008 at 7:58 am

16. Dear RC and Ellen:

    I am sorry to hear that the service is not working for you. We have heard from many members that the service is effective, while others are still receiving catalogs.

    We know, first hand, that the effort to stop unsolicited catalog mailings is significant and the job is far from done.

    In terms of the name rental issue, the 350+ catalog merchants who have signed our merchant license have pledged to honor your request and not rent or sell your name. We make the same request of the others we contact on your behalf.

    Many companies have resisted honoring requests submitted at our site because they want you to get frustrated and abandon the service. They would like to have things work the way they used to - where each consumer had to contact each company directly to inform them of their mail preference.

    We don’t believe that this is a sustainable model. That is why we work every day with direct marketing executives to get them to honor requests entered by over a million consumers at Catalog Choice.

    There is no doubt that if you take the process into your own hands, you can get off mailing lists. We are aiming for a process that works for consumers and companies on an on-going basis.

    Chuck on November 21st, 2008 at 9:34 am

17. I think we all know that this kind of movement for change takes time. Most of us feel an urgency to stop the catalogs NOW, especially since the companies seem to have turned up the tap now that it’s holiday time. And some of us will be too frustrated to stick with this very intelligent effort to effect change. But persevere we must if we want to make a difference and lead the way to a more sane relationship between the catalog companies and consumers (or non-consumers, as the case may be!). There’s no doubt in my mind that the catalog businesses that are not cooperating with CC are counting on us giving up and going away. I’m not giving up on Catalog Choice and the ideas it stands for, and I’m not going away. Keep up the good work, CC!

    Ann on November 21st, 2008 at 4:55 pm

18. We receive not only dozens of unwanted catalogs monthly but also hundreds of unwanted solicitations for non profits each year. Would it work if I were to write “DECEASED, DO NOT MAIL, DO NOT SELL” on the address, put the thing into their prepaid envelope, and send it back to them.

    David B. Gomes on November 21st, 2008 at 11:56 pm

19. Would you please remove me from your mailing list. I can not afford your products.
    My address is:
    Patti Morgan
    2309 N. University
    Peoria, IL 61604
    Cust# new
    Code# W6B42

    2309 on November 22nd, 2008 at 9:20 am

20. I have submitted so many and they are still coming and I resubmit and nothing happens. I think this is wonderful and at first they had backed off but are back full force. I’ll continue but it is so tiring, I hope this huge waste of paper, time and energy to postal people can be nipped eventually. Thank you for trying !

    Toni Cummins on November 22nd, 2008 at 9:29 am

21. David, Not sure writing “Deceased” would work. I’ve been ranting and raving for a long time about mailings that print your name and either above or below have “Or Current Resident” printed. I believe USPS is required to deliver it. You may want to have a chat with your postal person.
    In recent months, hubby and I have received mailings for his step father and mother and they’ve been deceased for 16 years and 3 years respectively at two addresses they never resided at.
    It’s really up to the catalog companies and those selling our mailing info to find a better way to cross reference and suppress our requests to be deleted. I believe CC.org can really make a dent with catalogs.

    Yvonne Camesi on November 23rd, 2008 at 3:55 pm