Embarrassing, Misleading Mail From Magazines, Etc.

13 years ago

I just got another one today in the mail: a business-sized envelope, with nothing to identify who it's from, but it says in very large black letters, all caps:

"SECOND NOTICE

OPEN IMMEDIATELY"

Now, what would you immediately think this was? An overdue bill that you haven't paid? That would be my guess and it was DH and DD's as well.

We pay our bills on time, but this did get our attention . . . and I believe that it was designed for just that reason . . . by the publishing company wanting to sell me a subscription to, of all things,

"Vogue Magazine"!

This new tactic just infuriates me!!! It's not the first one I've gotten. They've arrived from car dealerships as well as magazines.

So why do they do it? I have no idea, but for such a formerly (my opinion now) classy magazine to stoop so low to get subscriptions is, IMO, beyond sleazy!

What if my daughter and her friends had picked up the mail for me and seen that? Or our house-sitter? What would they think? What does my mail carrier think???

That I don't pay my bills on time, more than likely.

I'm on a rant and I'm sorry but I just HATE that kind of sleazy tactic.

Sooooooo, does it make me feel all warm and cozy towards the companies stooping to this sleazy way of doing business? Absolutely NOT!

The last thing I would do is support any company that stoops so low and promotes itself so sleazily.

And, please don't tell me that the publishing industry is in bad shape and desperate. In this tough economy, many companies and regular folk are, too. But they don't resort to such tastelessness and crudeness . . . can you tell that I'm really ticked off ;^D

Any ideas of how to get these companies to clean up their act? Anybody else getting this kind of mail lately?

Lynn

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Comments (6)

natal
13 years ago
I probably wouldn't even have opened it. It would have immediately gone in the recycle bin like so much of my mail. I'm sure your mail carrier sees crap like that all the time.
IdaClaire
13 years ago
For me, the more alarming aspect of this underhanded tactic is that I have come very closed to tossing out mail that was actually important. Something recently arrived marked CONFIDENTIAL and URGENT, and I set it aside, assuming it was just more crap mail that needed to be destroyed. Out of sheer luck I opened the envelope and found it contained a PIN for a new savings plan account; definitely information I needed.

I really don't care what anyone else "thinks" about my mail - certainly not my mail carrier, and I'm sure natal is right ... they aren't interested in what they're delivering, they're just hurrying to get through the bulk each day. I do care when I come **this close** to tossing out important information because underhanded sales gimmicks like this have desensitized me. And to that end, I agree with you that it's a tasteless practice, but because it gets noticed - even in a negative light - it's not about to stop, I'm afraid.
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les917
13 years ago
I wouldn't worry about it. Your mail carrier sees this stuff all the time, and I am guessing that perhaps it didn't even have first class postage, another clue.

I guess because we pay all our bills on line, we wouldn't even assume this was a legit notice. I know when I see the stuff it is advertising. "Second notice" really doesn't mean anything but, well, it is a second notice. And I think most people today are used to this tactic, and don't think twice about it.

I am sorry you are upset, tho. Take consolation in the fact that likely no one around you thinks anything of it, or questions your financial responsibility. :-)
User
13 years ago
From an article on consumerist.com

"Direct mailers don't believe in the concept of opting in, so if you want to cut down on the amount of straight-to-the-trash mail you receive, you'll need to contact them directly and request that your name is removed. ForestEthicsÃ¯Â¿Â½the group behind the Do Not Mail Registry petition we blogged about earlier, has gathered several ways to contact the offending parties.

1. Use their form to generate 17 ready-to-mail requests to different direct mail companies. DoNotMail will take the data you enter and create a PDF document with all 17 letters ready to print and send. If you don't want to enter your personal info into a random site, you can use fake data and then download the PDF document for a reference to create your own letters.

2. Contact Opt-Out Prescreen online or at 1-888-567-8688 (888-5-OPT-OUT) from your home telephone .

3. Email your removal request to Abacus Direct at optout@abacus-us.com

3. Remove your name from ADVO Inc. by calling 1-888-241-6760 or completing the form at www.advo.com/consumersupport.html

4. Fill out the form on the Direct Marketing Association's website at www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailing

5. Email your removal request to Publishers Clearinghouse at privacychoices@pchmail.com

6. Get off Val-Pak's list by filing out the form at http://www.coxtarget.com/mailsuppression/s/DisplayMailSuppressionForm

7. To remove yourself from Acxiom's list, you must request a mail-in opt-out form by calling 1-877-774-2094.

8. DoNotMail.com notes, 'Catalogs may stop coming when your other removal requests are processed, but you can always call the catalog company.'"
stinky-gardener
13 years ago
I get those on a regular basis. When I first saw one of these "notices," I had the same reaction & feelings you described. Now I'm used to it, I guess. I agree, it's a tacky tactic. I think Les makes a good point to keep in mind: our mail carriers see this stuff all the time and must realize that this is nonsense. I may consult a couple of the numbers on Patser's list. (Thanks, Patser, for the resources!)

Marketing developers just scrape from the bottom of the barrel for ideas these days!
lynninnewmexico
Original Author
13 years ago
Patser, thanks for those; I'm going to contact a few in the next day or so.

Embarrassing, Misleading Mail From Magazines, Etc.

Comments (6)

natal

IdaClaire

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les917

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stinky-gardener

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Embarrassing, Misleading Mail From Magazines, Etc.

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natal

IdaClaire

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les917

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stinky-gardener

lynninnewmexicoOriginal Author

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lynninnewmexico
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