Besides all the junk mail..............

[CathyA]

The other day, we got this shiny, shimmering purple mailer in the mail, from our Insurance company (which is huge.......the company is). Inside this bublewrap-lined purple mailer was something about an inch wide and 7" long, wrapped in more bubblewrap. It was a a 3 musketeers bar. Then there was a big card that said "Happy Halloween!"
They must have mailed this crap to thousands of their clients.
Oh well........guess all I can do is eat it........but what a waste of plastic/resources, etc.

[rosarugosa]

CathyA: At least it wasn't a bill!

[Float On]

I wonder why a 3 musketeers and not a kitkat (flatter).
I got a $1 in what I thought was junk mail. Almost didn't open it.

[Gardenarian]

I hate the ones where they stick a nickle or a few pennies onto the letter - I can't throw money away!

[bunnys]

I wonder what I've been throwing away. I never open junk mail.

But the worst junk mail of all is the mail where they put the fear of God in you if you don't open it and then it's just a sales pitch. Seriously, you think you're going to motivate me to begin a professional relationship with you by starting off with a lie? Those I use their postage paid envelope to send all their junk back to them.

[CathyA]

bunnys.......that drives me nuts too. Sometimes they look like an official government letter and its just junk. I almost threw something out from an Insurance company a couple weeks ago, but decided to open it. Turns out, they were trying to find my dead father's relatives, since he had an unclaimed insurance policy! I have to fill out a bunch of paperwork, but between my brother and me, we'll each get about $1,500! I'm sure glad I didn't throw that away!
I guess the fact that I ate that candybar that came in the mail, tells you what a chocolate addict I am. haha I usually won't eat any food samples that come in the mail. But chocolate.......that's a different matter.

About junk mail.........I can fill up a grocery sack every week or 2, just with junk mail! And I quit subscribing to the local newspaper a couple years ago, and they keep sending me at least 2 issues a week, even after I called and begged them to stop sending it.

[SteveinMN]

CathyA, you can opt out of a lot of that junk. I've gone through a site called Catalog Choice (https://www.catalogchoice.org/); they've significantly cut down on the absolutely unrelated junk I was getting. It's free to start blocking junk mail; they do offer some additional for-pay services to keep their train running, but you can get a lot done without spending a nickel. I feel a lot better knowing that companies are not denuding forests to send me mail I don't want in the first place.

[CathyA]

Thanks Steve! I'll check that out for sure!

[Rogar]

I've eliminated most catalog mailings by called the toll free number on the catalog and asking them to quit sending them. I still get a few random catalogs and the assorted flyers and other junk mail. Our recycling center will accept junk mail and catalogs as part of their multiple stream recycling. I put all of these into separate containers and drop them off at the recycling center once a month or so.

[Blackdog Lin]

I always threw it all straight into the trash, till DH taught me better. Turns out that many of them have useful freebies therein, I just wasn't looking. Haven't received any cash yet, but I now have a year's supply of return-address labels to use up, just from opening junk mail.

[CathyA]

Hopefully you're recycling it Blackdog Lin.

[ToomuchStuff]

Opening it allows it to shred better (at least in my old shredder), so I still do that. Years back I did send a letter (opt out) to the DMA (direct marketers association) which DRAMATICALLY cut my junk mail down, to where I only get the local weekly fliers. After that I was careful about providing companies with my address/phone, etc (never give email for local businesses), as it established a business relationship and is an invitation to spam you. One more reason to pay with cash instead of plastic, IMHO.
I still think about taking a trash can with a lid out and mounting it to my mailbox. While I can (they can't) call it junk mail, I would have to label it third class mail.

[jp1]

Geez, I've always just tossed the junk mail in the recycling (or compost if it's printed on too shiny paper to recycle) and not even read what's on the outside. If someone wanted me to open the junk mail they'd just have to send it in a plain white envelope so that I'd think it was something "real" like a replacement credit card or my pay-stub. I'm devastated to learn that I may have thrown out a few nickels, or dollar bills, or heaven forbid, candy bars!!! (of course, if it came in a big thick package I'd probably go to the trouble of opening it just out of curiosity, so I doubt I've thrown away any perfectly good candy bars...)

I've also signed up for the no-junk-mail list or whatever it's called. I don't get much now, but since political junk mail is exempted we've gotten a lot of stuff in the past month or two. I also seem to recall signing up for some no-credit-card-offer list as well, since I used to get several offers a week and now get none, except upgrade offers from the few credit card companies from which I have cards.

As far as email goes I've got a separate gmail account just for junk mail, as well as one that's exclusively for bank statements and such. Anytime I have to give up my email address I weigh carefully if I'll actually care about the emails from whoever it is. Bank statements and credit card statements go to one address. Personal email to another. Pretty much everything else goes to the third, never checked email account. I also use that account if I need an 'email verification' address for something I'm doing where I'll be getting an email right then, but don't want to keep reading emails from that company for the rest of my life. I was just on that account the other day for that purpose and there were almost 500 emails from the last week. Unbelievable.

Toomuchstuff, I like the idea of having seperate first and third class mailboxes. If only the postman would be willing to sort it out that way!

[bunnys]

I just got a text, A TEXT from Best Buy with some stupid deal bc I'm a valued customer! It was a junk text. Is that legal?

I have no clue how to tell them to stop.

[jp1]

I just got a text, A TEXT from Best Buy with some stupid deal bc I'm a valued customer! It was a junk text. Is that legal?

I have no clue how to tell them to stop.

The CAN-SPAM act requires, among other things, that they give you an opt-out option. Since Best Buy is a reputable company they would likely honor your request, and also make it easy enough to do. If they don't you can always sue them. That's actually a fairly common thing, or at least common enough that it's one of the things I take into consideration when reviewing insurance submissions at work since my policy can, if I want it to, provide coverage for a suit alleging violation of CAN-SPAM.

http://www.fcc.gov/guides/spam-unwanted-text-messages-and-email

[ToomuchStuff]

I just got a text, A TEXT from Best Buy with some stupid deal bc I'm a valued customer! It was a junk text. Is that legal?

I have no clue how to tell them to stop.

Have you provided them with your number? Did you read everything provided (including the back of the receipt when doing so)? Typically, there is some legal language that gets around (you accept to let them spam you), the law:
http://www.fcc.gov/guides/spam-unwanted-text-messages-and-email

There are also those consumer report news services you could call and ask (then they call the store and corporate and it gets attention.

As for the letter carriers, I asked a few I knew and they actually liked the idea. (some might, others might think it too much work)