I got this in the E-mail the other day and thought I would share it with you. I don't know how to transfer it to this page so I will just type it in the best I can remember.

Do you ever get tired of receiving credit card offers and other junk mail every week in your mail box. Well here is what you can do with it and help the U.S. Mail service receive more money and maybe they will quite raising the prices of stamps since they will be getting a lot of extra money.

When you receive credit card offers they usually send a pre-paid stamped envelope for you to use if you wish to respond to their offer. The post office only gets paid if you send this envelope back. So everytime you get one send it back whether you want their service or not. Just take all the contents including the envelope they sent it in and place it all back into the pre-paid envelope and send it back to the company. Do not sign anything. This way the post office will get paid again, you will have less trash to hall to the curbside, and the company that sent it to you will be the responsible one that keeps filling the landfills up, and not you.

Make a game out of it. Place one companies offer inside another companies envelopes and vise-versa. Do the same with vacation resort advertisements and just whatever junk mail that just keeps coming to your mail box everyday,everyweek. Just remember, don't sign any of it unless you want it.

The postal employees should see a big increase in their salary without raising the prices of stamps. Plus, you have done your part in reducing landfills. And, who knows maybe in the future you will have saved a few trees when these credit companies are realizing that they are having to spend more money on postage. Maybe they will quite sending us their junk mail.

-- r.h. in okla. (rhays@sstelco.com), April 06, 2002

Answers

That's funny! Thanks. I get SO sick of the unwanted junk mail, and all the wasted trees that go into mailing them! This is a great idea. :0) Judy

-- Judy Hill (hillsacres@sk.sympatico.ca), April 06, 2002.

I have gotten this same email, and thought it was a great idea. So I do it all the time and it is a gratifying way of letting these people know how you feel about their junkmail without being hateful. My hubby just laughs at me when he sees the envelopes on the kitchen table ready to go out in the mail. But like you said, let them deal with the junk. I do shred anything with any personal info on it though and just send them the junk back. What a hoot!!!! Kim :-D

-- Kim in Indiana (kwcountrygirl@aol.com), April 06, 2002.

Its a double edged sword though. I saw a news program that indicated junk mail makes up 60 percent of postal revenues and priority and collectable stamps make up about 20 percent. If too many people did this junk mailing will decrease as they are terminated by the mailers. reduced revenues will equate to higher postage rates to increase revenues. But it is fun while we're waiting on the price hikes.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), April 06, 2002.

I remember seeing this discussed on this forum before. One poster said he attached the pre-paid envelope to a wrapped brick! That should cost a lot to send! LOL!

-- cowgirlone in ok (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), April 06, 2002.

This one I love, the mailman who usually dumps my mail on the side of the road came to the door because the envelope look like it was from an attorney. Probably nosey and wanted to see! Well I opened it quickly too and it was an invitation to test drive a car at a dealer in Tulsa! Debbie

-- debbie (bwolcott@cwis.net), April 06, 2002.

Many of the companies have wised up to this tactic, and print on the business reply envelopes "good for up to 1oz postage" or similar phrase now, so the brick won't go, and if they (the carrier) know where it came from, you might get a warning from the USPS about it. Also, part of the reason you get junk mail is the little phrase "or current resident/occupant", even if the main name is wrong. That too (current occupant), is considered a "valid name", so returning that won't go back to the company, often the carrier will just circle it and leave it in your box.

If you want to stop the the junk mail, you have to be vigilant every time you order or sign up for something. Every time you fill out a contest form, or sign up for free stuff (like diaper bags, formula, etc.), you're asking for junk mail. Magazine subscriptions, same thing. As SOON as you get something you don't want, like a catalogue, call their 800 number and get your name taken off. Even if they tell you it might take 90 days, call everytime you receive the catalogue. Tell the ones you do like to receive that you don't want them to rent, sell, trade or exchange your name and address.

As for credit card offers, because of mail theft from house boxes, burn the majority of the form, and just send the company the name and address portion to take off their list, unless you're willing to drive down to the PO and mail it personally.

The laws should be changed to where it is opt in, not opt out, but don't hold your breath.

Bulk mailers get the discounts they do because they send out uniform, easy for the carrier to read, pieces of mail in large quantities that are presorted by zip code (in other words, saving the PO some work). While, on the other hand, you and I drop in letters with illegible handwriting, no zip codes, etc. I never could understand the logic of just blanket coverage (every address) with junk mail--that's a stupid way for any business to operate, imho.

We get almost no junk mail because we do the above. Hope this helps.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), April 06, 2002.

There is a list kept by the Direct Marketing Association of people who do not want to receive junk mail. Marketers have to honor this list before they send out. I think the reason "blanketing" works is that they send out to huge amounts of people and are satisfied with a very small response---if they sent out a million pieces and get only one per cent to sign up, that's 10,000 orders.

-- Jeff (lorianandjeff@aol.com), April 06, 2002.

The Direct Marketing Association (note the name), is a voluntary organization only, and it doesn't cover any local businesses, same with the telemarketing lists--they won't stop Joe Blow Auto Glass from bothering you. Also, even those lists only assume you want your address/phone blocked for three years or so--they can't imagine that people would actually stay in one place longer than that.

Also, if you move, do NOT file a change of address card--whenever junk mail says "address correction requested" or "do not forward, address correction requested", that change of address card will provide your new address to them for up to 18 months. Change your addresses with the people you want to keep in contact with individually (at the same time telling them do not sell, rent, etc.--a pain, but works wonders stopping the junk.

Also, I wish they'd pass a law requiring all mailers to tell you where they got your name, so that you can go call those 8&!*% on an 800 number to get your name off, too. Advertising to the point of bothering people (junk mail from outfits you have never had a business relationship with and telemarketing) to me do NOT come under the umbrella of free speech.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), April 06, 2002.

I don't know, but I think they don't care how you reply, but just as long as you DO reply, they've got "your number". Now you're on lots more lists that they've sold to others. But I'm gonna try it anyway. Hehehehehe. What's to lose? I'll be outahere soon, off to the woods (no address). bye.

-- Susan in Northern Lower Penn Michigan (cobwoman@yahoo.com), April 07, 2002.

Yes, these are annoying but what bothers me more are things that come bulk thatare not advertising. I got a couple the past year. I don't remember what the one was now but the other was all antijewish1 It was so disgusting I was literally sick to my stomach1 It was so hateful, on and on about how "jews use their little girls and pass them around etc. etc. etc." I skimmed over it trying to understand why I was sent this or if it even had some point to it etc. I was so ill I threw it into the fire. I could hardly describe it to hubby. Although I knew it was a blanket mailing, it made me feel...I don;t know...like my mail box wasn't mine alone, ...like some stranger came into my house and began lectureing on the subject. What if my kids had got the mail first? They, don't open stuff but they would have been near when I opened it. It was much creepier than visa advertisements!

-- Novina in ND (homespun@stellarnet.com), April 08, 2002.

Novina, if you ever get anything else like that, do not throw it away, take it to your Post Office and have them report it to the postal inspectors--it probably falls under the hate crime laws somewhere. Also, it should be passed to your local TV station. Same with pornography that finds it's way to your mailbox.

There was a case a while back where we used to live where someone placed a racist ad in the paper using a PO box. As soon as the PO found out, that guy got into some trouble.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), April 08, 2002.