The graph above shows the steady growth in the number of registered members at Catalog Choice.

We are rapidly approaching a major milestone - one million registered users. As of this moment, we are just over 825,000 members. When do you think we will hit one million? Use the comments below to let us know.

You can help us get there by using the Invite a Friend feature.

If you get a catalog mailed to the same name and address but there is a new customer number, the system now allows you to enter this as a new opt-out request.

We have also made the Still Receiving area much easier to use. If you get a catalog in the mail that you have already opted-out of (sorry, this will happen in the short term until we get better merchant compliance), you can find the catalog title in your My Choice page and select Still Receiving. We then show you all the name address combinations that you have entered for that catalog. If you can match the name address combination with the catalog you just got, select This One to report the infraction. If you don’t see the name address combination, you can add a new entry at the bottom of the page where it says Create a new opt-out.

So, why do we need your help reporting infractions? Well, as it stands honoring mail order catalog opt-out requests is a voluntary process. We need your help to let us know who is not honoring the consumer’s choices. We are working on a process where the industry can self-police rather than having the consumers do the work. You will be the first to know when we get this in place. In the meantime, thanks for your help.

Last week we added a new feature to the Decline Catalog page in which we ask you to let us know the primary reason why you are declining to have the specific catalog sent to you in the mail. If you have not seen it yet, here are the list of choices that we provide. If you don’t want to answer the question, we make it easy by pre-selecting the Prefer not to answer option. But, for the benefit of our team and the merchants, we really want to know why you are making this choice.

Some of you probably saw this question when you were making your choices last week. We rolled it out quietly so that we could get some initial feedback from users. We quickly learned that we needed to add the option “I want to help the environment” as many members were adding this answer or the answer “I don’t want to waste paper” to the Other category.

We will be creating a page for existing members to quickly go back over their existing opt-out requests to answer this question, if you wish. In the meantime, you can find the question for each opt-out request by going to My Choices and selecting View Details.

As the data starts flowing in, we will share it with the merchants that have signed up for our service so that they can better understand the customers’ perspective. We will also share aggregate data with the community so that we all can better understand what drives our community to enter over 7 million opt-out requests in 3 short months.

Herb Weisbaum wrote an article for MSNBC describing the Catalog Choice service and the Direct Marketing Association’s service DMAchoice.org.

Herb’s two cents: … some people might prefer using the Catalog Choice Web site because it does not require them to enter a credit card number.

Herb also quotes Pam Dixon of the World Privacy Forum regarding the DMA’s requirement for a credit card to opt-out of a catalog: “We think it’s a problem,” says Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum. “There are people who are not going to give out a credit card number to stop getting a catalog.

Do you think that you should have to provide your credit card number to use a service to stop getting unwanted mail? The DMA does. Catalog Choice does not. Leave your comment to let us know what you think.

We received this email from a Catalog Choice Member in our customer support system. It was one of over 5,000 emails we received over the past week. Thanks to Ross and Paul, who read every message, this one was forwarded to me. After contacting the member personally, he gave me permission to reprinted the email.

If you are a merchant reading this, we hope you understand that Catalog Choice can save you money by eliminating the production and distribution of unwanted catalogs. Also, by honoring the request from Catalog Choice, you will enhance your customer relationships. This customer speaks for thousands.

If you are a consumer, please show your support for the Bravo Merchants who are leading the way to a future of respecting choice. Tell a friend, neighbor or colleague about any of the Bravo Merchants who are working with Catalog Choice. Before long, we hope that all the merchants will be celebrated.

Now, in the words of a customer

I thought that I would send you the following email message that I have sent to non-cooperative merchants:

I have been a customer for about 15 years but this may end soon. Your actions will determine the future of our business relationship.

Specifically, I am writing today because I recently requested - via the Catalog Choice website - that you stop sending catalogs to me. I understand that you have declined my request. I request that you reverse this decision and that you cooperate with Catalog Choice in the future.

The internet has changed the nature of your industry, and I am not sure that you fully recognize the extent of the changes. When your catalog arrives, I immediately put it in the recycling bin without even looking at it. After speaking with several friends, I am sure that I am representative of many of your customers. After all, I can shop much more efficiently using your website. Therefore, from my perspective, your catalog is nothing but a waste and places a burden on me - your customer - to dispose of the waste.

Given this, why would you choose to not honor my request? This leads to my statement that I will no longer shop at XXXX, if you send another catalog to me. After all, if you will not honor my requests as your customer, why should I continue to give you my business?

I wish you all the best but I truly hope that you reverse your decision with respect to my request and also hope that you cooperate with Catalog Choice in the future. No other decision makes sense. Why would you choose to squander money, create unnecessary waste, degrade our environment, and alienate customers all with a single action?

Sincerely,

Your Customer