the power of unsubscribe

[pinkytoe]

I don't know how there got to be so many but I realized that my three email inboxes were stuffed with consumer goods, services and other junk emails. I have been checking daily and as they come in, I am unsubscribing. Every time I hit the unsubscibe button, I feel like I am gaining control over the temptation to buy "hot sale" items or amass more information I don't need or want anymore. Very satisfying indeed...

[cdttmm]

What a great way to think about it, pinkytoe! I need to gain some more control over my temptations and do the same thing!

[Mrs-M]

Liberating, it is, however, related to email accounts and mega-retailers, etc, many overstep their boundaries in automatically adding customer email account addresses/information to their email notification list to receive "occasional" emails related to special sales/savings, but in actual fact, just the opposite takes place where multiple email notifications are received (daily), and in addition to, no physical sign-up process to receive such notifications was ever granted.

It's sly, underhanded, and violates what should remain a perfectly good relationship with big-box/mega distributors. To date, two mega distributors have lost out on our future business for making a nuisance of themselves Re: abuse of email notifications. So much for preserving good customers... Pressure, is not what sells, nor does being a nuisance/PITA.

With people like us, walking up to our front door and attempting to stick a foot inside, won't get you in, nor will it get you a return invite.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Liberating, it is, however, related to email accounts and mega-retailers, etc, many overstep their boundaries in automatically adding customer email account addresses/information to their email notification list to receive "occasional" emails related to special sales/savings, but in actual fact, just the opposite takes place where multiple email notifications are received (daily), and in addition to, no physical sign-up process to receive such notifications was ever granted.

Yea having the default to receive marketing messages is perfectly legal and very often done (of course only in transactions where you've given an email to begin with).

However, all marketing emails should have an unsubscribe option, as it's the law in the U.S. at any rate (called the "can spam" law I've always heard, but actually gives a way out of getting :spam:).

[Rosemary]

I've been unsubscribing to lots of things the past few days as well. I usually just delete the sale ads and coupons that come into my inbox, but I decided to both save myself time and to save the thinking about buying things and then deciding not to.

[Dhiana]

I did a big culling of those kinds of messages by using the unsubscribe option as required by law. Exactly 1 year later I noticed several of the companies were back to sending me their spam same as before.

We must be vigilant with our digital mailbox the same as our snail mail box.

[bunnys]

I usually don't open most of my emails anyway, so there's not temptation to buy. Temptation to buy has rarely been a part of what I am, anyway. Usually I mark as "junk" or "phishing scam" so the future emails automatically are deleted but occasionally I'll open the email and unsubscribe. I love the ones that say "can take up to 10 days to take effect." Right. You just want to be able to send me junk for the next 10 days.

[SteveinMN]

I love how, when you give them your email address for "notification" purposes, the emails are almost instantaneous. But when you unsubscribe, it "may take as long as 7-10 business days" to unsubscribe. Really?? >8)

[iris lily]

Here's what is currently bugging me: we've got (yet another) neighborhood online service to join. So ok, I joined to be a sport. My friends are heading this up and I feel obligated to populate the user database. I expected some notifications but damn it, I am getting notifications each time someone in the 'nabe joins. The software encourages me to "welcome them" i.e. send some stupid rah-rah message.

I will be sending a friendly comment that ability to turn off these stupid messages would be um appreciated.

[bunnys]

I love how, when you give them your email address for "notification" purposes, the emails are almost instantaneous. But when you unsubscribe, it "may take as long as 7-10 business days" to unsubscribe. Really?? >8)

You know what else is beautiful? When you hit "unsubscribe" and a warning message comes up saying "are you sure? If you say yes, we'll never send you another offer ever again." Read: You will be stricken from the will and your name will be erased from the family Bible. I'm thinking and that's supposed to be a bad thing?

[iris lily]

You know what else is beautiful? When you hit "unsubscribe" and a warning message comes up saying "are you sure? If you say yes, we'll never send you another offer ever again." Read: You will be stricken from the will and your name will be erased from the family Bible. I'm thinking and that's supposed to be a bad thing?
haha I ran into this just tonight when I got a couple of dvds from Redbox. Redbox wanted my email address and I didn't give it, and the message came back something like "now honey are you sure? That's a real mistake"

What am I an idiot? geesh.

[Gregg]

I spent hours one day unsubscribing from almost every emailer in my very crowded in-box. A week or so later I was down to 10 or 12 emails a day (from 50 or more). I then went through those and now, on an average day, I receive 2 or 3 emails that are not from family/friends or research related. For YEARS I didn't give it much thought, but now it really is like a weight was removed. I love it!!!

[Gregg]

Haha...this got me thinking there are a few more I could drop off my list. I unsubscribed from three more vendors and all three sent me emails to tell me my unsubscribe was successful (and, of course, to offer me a chance to opt back in). It's a crazy world.

[ToomuchStuff]

I have two email addresses, which can be used for sign ups. One is used for all the spam, while the other I tend to use for the actual orders. I may not check the sign up one for some time, just when I am looking for something. So easy to go in, look specifically for what I want, then click that check all box and delete.

[creaker]

One thing I've found helpful for some of the junk email I don't want to unsubscribe to (some ads I do want to occasionally check out), is setting up filters to direct it to an "ads" folder I set up in my email. That way I don't see the ads unless I feel like looking - and cleanup is easy since I know everything in the folder is just old ads.

[jp1]

Not being a shopper I've never understood the appeal of signing up for advertising email. But I guess some people do. I have a friend that is constantly telling me about this or that sale that so and so is having. She's pretty good about filtering to only things I might be interested in, which leads me to think she must spend a lot of time looking at others that she hasn't bothered to tell me about.

For a long time I had 3 email boxes. My personal one. My bank statements one. And my junk box that I used whenever I needed to receive an email confirmation but had no interest in ever actually receiving email from the site after that. I finally had to break down and get a fourth one, for purchases. (actually I got a new statements one and kept the old statements one for puchases...) I may want to go back and find the email for a purchase, so it can't go in my junk inbox, but I was tired of my bank and etrade statements getting burried under junkmail.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Not being a shopper I've never understood the appeal of signing up for advertising email.

I hear you. Apparently some grocery stores have a thing now, where you need to select what you are going to buy on the internet first to get the sales prices on those items. So you go on the web and select onions and bananas or whatever and then you head to the store and it's "I saved money on onions and bananas!". I don't particularly want to play that game.


For a long time I had 3 email boxes. My personal one. My bank statements one. And my junk box that I used whenever I needed to receive an email confirmation but had no interest in ever actually receiving email from the site after that. I finally had to break down and get a fourth one, for purchases.

Yea, I was wondering how so many people get all this junk email, when I pretty much never do. Then I realized I do have a "junk email" address. And then I realized even it doesn't have sales email. It has a bunch of emails wanting me to sign political petitions :0!

[bunnys]

Apparently some grocery stores have a thing now, where you need to select what you are going to buy on the internet first to get the sales prices on those items. So you go on the web and select onions and bananas or whatever and then you head to the store and it's "I saved money on onions and bananas!". I don't particularly want to play that game.


Yeah, that would be the grocery store that I stopped shopping at.

[ToomuchStuff]

One other option, is those sites, that give you a limited time, email address. Mailinator is one that I used for something that required one, for a one time visit.