Sick Of Junk Snail Mail

[cabinetman]

In addition to the house we also have a P.O.Box. At least two times a week at the house we get bundles of ads stuffed into a larger ad. I go to the PO box, and I have to finagle the junk mail out, can barely get it out. I have to sift through all of it to find any mail. I went to the counter and request that they quit shoving that junk in my box. They gave me an address to write to in order to eliminate trash/bulk mail.

Well I wrote for the two different addresses. Did it help? NO
The next time I went to the PO, I made a point to complain again, and was told that the PO gets paid to deliver that junk and it can't be stopped. Don't we have a say so on how our property gets used? So, what's the answer?



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

[Anna]

Hey,

I used to drown in junk mail, too, then I found an email address or website you register with to stop the junk. It was discussed in one of the columns in the Mercury News maybe a year ago. It works similarly to the Do Not Call registry. My junk mail is reduced considerably. I only get catalogs that I've requested and credit card offers from the same companies I'm already doing business with anyway.

I have to research the link/email addy (been a while), but it is out there and it works.

Anna

[25]

There is a website/phone number to pre-opt out of credit card offers as well. This alone has cut down on junk mail for me considereably. I still need to do the snail mail spam though.

Visit https://www.optoutprescreen.com/ or call 1-888-5-OPTOUT.

[Stytooner]

Just last week a lady complained and the Postmaster said that even he can't stop his own junk mail. I thoght that was odd, but it doesn't bother me all that much. LOML loves coupons and thats her job to sort and shred. I just tote the stuff for her.

[TheRic]

The problem with the postoffice filtering your junk mail is two fold.

1. What is junk mail? Something you get and look at might be considered junk mail by someone else. I get a couple of magazines that I pitch as soon as I get it. I would be willing to bet there are several people on this board that looks forward to that magazine every month, or wished they did get it.

Let's say you order a catalog from Woodcraft. It is sent out, your local post office is now suppose to determine if that catalog was requested by you and deliver it, or was just sent out. If just sent out, is it something that fits your hobbies / interest, or a hobby that you might be interested in?? How is the postoffice suppose to do this? Is the postoffice suppose to keep track of your hobbies and interests? If they would can you imagine people crying foul on this, Big Brother is watching, Gov meddling with my personal life, Invasion of privacy, etc.

2. Someone / company paid the postoffice money for a service. That service is to deliver the item. If it's not delivered then the postoffice is defaulting on a contract. It's no different than someone paying you to make a shelf, or something else out of wood. You are being paid for a service, and you are expected to perform that service the best you can.

Believe me the mail-carriers would be the happiest ones if they didn't have to deliver the junk email. Specially this time of year.

[whitecobra]

What part is "your property"
You don't OWN the PO Box and you don't OWN the mail box on the pole at your house (try using it for ANYTHING other then Federal Mail)

As long as it costs someone ELSE the money to mail it let them waste thier money

Now SPAM that is a TOTALLY differnet issue

We should have mandatory DEATH PENALTY for SPAMers

I get over 500 pieces of SPAM a day

If it isn't stock tips it is Canadian Prescriptions or sex crapola
Now THIS I am getting tired of
Dr D

Don't we have a say so on how our property gets used? So, what's the answer?



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

[Ed62]

My definition of spam is unwanted mail. Period! But I can understand why the P.O. can't do much about it. Just last week I told our mail carrier that I would put a garbage can by the mailbox if she would just deliver my mail there. I think we get as much *spam* in snail mail as I do online.

Ed

[dick541]

Anybody out there use earthlink mail? I do and I like it, If you set up the ecurty to the highest, you will only get mail from people that are in your address book. All other mail is in another folder called supect mail, no junk gets to your computer, it is all on the server. You can see who it is from and if you don't want it, mark it as spam and it is deleted at the server not on you computer.
dick

[LinuxRandal]

Have some friends who are postal carriers, we had this discussion. After deciding NOT to mail it to the postal inspector, I have done two things. When bored, take junk mail from one place, and send it in the prepaid envelope (marking out your name and barcode), to some other place. The other thing, is mount a trash can to the mail box, and label it junk mail.

[Rob R]

just think, if you send out 5 pieces of mail a month, and get 5 pieces of junk a day, that's 5 for you, 130 coming in (5x30-4sundays)

if stamps are .42 now with the post office being subsidized by the junk mail, let's think how much it would cost to send our mail:

i'll figure using bulk mail and what not, the spammers are saving half.
you spend: 5x .42= 2.10
they spend: 130x.42x half= 27.30

if they "outlaw" the spam, your stamps would run you:5.88 each.
27.30+2.10=29.40 / 5 = 5.88

and no mail would be delivered. junk mail keeps the post office in business.


just a theory folks. but it makes sense to me.

rob

[Doug Jones]

It would take a lot (almost everyone) of people to get this done, but if everyone that received junk mail would open it and send back the return envelope ONLY it would cost them (the junk originator) the price of the sent junk mail and the price of the empty returned envelope. If enough people would do it, that would cost them a pretty penny and gain nothing in return.


Junk mail gets shredded and poured into my compost bin along with my lathe shavings and non-meat table scraps.

[Ed62]

Brilliant idea, Doug. I'm willing to join the list. If this went around the internet, I'd bet a lot of people would jump on it.

Ed

[DaveW]

Brilliant idea, Doug. I'm willing to join the list. If this went around the internet, I'd bet a lot of people would jump on it.

Ed

This has already been around the internet and back

I've seen people do all sorts of things based on this concept - the funniest one was where they taped the return envelope to a box of old tires. If that worked, it probably cost the junk mailers a small fortune.

[Ed62]

Are you telling me I get all that spam, but something important like this, I don't get?

Ed