Junk Mail Discussion Thread

[Australian rePublic]

Some people hate junk mail, some people love mail, some people produce junk mail, some people distribute junk mail. We can discuss junk mail here. Continuation from this thread.
I've once distributed junk mail as part of job. I had quotas to meet and didn't give a shit about "no junk mail signs" as they would just slow me down. Here's why I didn't dispose of the junk mail and go on my very way

Why didn't I Chuck them in the bin and lie about it?
1. Why would I betray my customers' trust? They're paying to do a job. Why would I betray their trust? It's bad for business and I have a reputation to uphold
2. It's unethical. I don't do unethical, I'm too honest for that. She paid me to do a job, so I'm bloody doing it. I'm not lying to her regardless of business' reputation. Why would I do such a dishonest thing? There may be people in the world who are that dishonest, but I an not one of them
3. Most pamphlet distribution businesses will track you with a GPS tracker if I walk the route and distribute pamphlets vs walking the route without distributing pamphlets, I'll still get tracked for my progress along the route. Further, you have a specific radius where you must distribute them. You have to remain within that radius. Heeding no junk mail signs would potentially take you out of that radius How would it then benefit me to dispose of the pamphlets instead of distributing them if I'd have to walk walk route anyway? Granted, my client didn't track me in that particular instance, but it doesn't make the previous two points any less valid.
4. Some people actually like junk mail. I do. It's good to see what the weekly specials are, or what new business is opening up

Now, I get paid ABC money to distribute XYZ pamphlets. I'd get paid the same money whether it takes me 2 hours or 10 hours. Why would I then delay my route by heeding no junk mail signs?

[Major-Tom]

Love getting a little junk in my mail.

...Oh, that's not what you mean.

[Albrenia]

I personally don't like junk mail, but I don't see anything unethical about putting junk mail in a letterbox or doorstep even if a sign says 'no junk mail please' on it. Sure it would be nicer to ignore drop areas with said signs, but it's not big deal in my mind. Just trashing the junk mail would be failing to do your job as a delivery person, so I can see why you wouldn't do that.

Junk mail should be made of bio-degradable stuff though, because that shit is most definitely mostly going in the bin the vast majority of the time.

[Saiwania]

From what I've seen, you very rarely ever need to reply to emails and the sole purpose typically is to just read or glance at it before deleting it. I aspire to empty inboxes which I have more or less. Am never swamped. I don't have a use for junk mail but if you do- (such as if you need to subscribe to stuff to get discounts and etc. for shopping) I'd recommend a dedicated email just for that purpose for organization sake. You waste a ton less effort/time that way.

I have 2 emails more or less, one for exclusively job applying/work purposes, and another for everything else that's "off the clock." With a 3rd email that's only for junk mail to get coupons and other such similar crap if I have a use for that eventually.

So I'd maintain 2 empty inboxes with 1 inbox having junk to skim through each day. If I don't get back to the junk email in a while, would probably automatically delete everything except the most recent few days or current week. An expired deal or offer is no good anyways.

[Australian rePublic]

From what I've seen, you very rarely ever need to reply to emails and the sole purpose typically is to just read or glance at it before deleting it. I aspire to empty inboxes which I have more or less. Am never swamped. I don't have a use for junk mail but if you do- (such as if you need to subscribe to stuff to get discounts and etc. for shopping) I'd recommend a dedicated email just for that purpose for organization sake. You waste a ton less effort/time that way.

I have 2 emails more or less, one for exclusively job applying/work purposes, and another for everything else that's "off the clock." With a 3rd email that's only for junk mail to get coupons and other such similar crap if I have a use for that eventually.

So I'd maintain 2 empty inboxes with 1 inbox having junk to skim through each day. If I don't get back to the junk email in a while, would probably automatically delete everything except the most recent few days or current week. An expired deal or offer is no good anyways.

Um, this is about physical mail, not emails

[Heloin]

I don’t really get it. Once a month I get a magazine that’s nothing but coupons that I haven’t asked for but that’s it really. Everything else is monthly bank statements and nerd shite like figurines and plushies.

[Heloin]

Love getting a little junk in my mail.

...Oh, that's not what you mean.

Please sign up to my monthly box of garbage I stole from my neighbours bins. All the useless crap you could every want for only 19.99 a month!

[An Alan Smithee Nation]

I never buy anything from any company that uses junk mail, spam email, unsolicited phone calls, or door to door sales people. If the products were good they wouldn't resort to such desperate selling techniques.

[The Free Joy State]

I never buy anything from any company that uses junk mail, spam email, unsolicited phone calls, or door to door sales people. If the products were good they wouldn't resort to such desperate selling techniques.

Basically the same (I also note that a lot of these spam mail companies I get share the same postal address). Junk mail goes straight in the recycling, spam email sits ignored in my spam filter and calls and door-to-door get a very firm "Not interested, thank you."

Such spam mail deliveries don't bother me personally.

The only time I ever recall being annoyed was when I happened to be with my parents and they got a call by one of those unsolicited callers that had called repeatedly (those people who prey on the elderly). I dealt with it and they got an earful. Apparently, they didn't call back.

Which brings me to a point related to the OP -- sometimes, those "No Junk Mail" signs are stuck there by concerned relatives to prevent their vulnerable parents/grandparents getting hounded by "You have won a grand prize; just buy X-amount of products" (and ending up on "suckers' lists"). So, yeah, I do think it's pretty unethical to ignore those signs.

[Ethel mermania]

We get a mailer with local services and discounts, and have used the coupons.

Most of it goes in the trash, but every once in a while something catches my eye and gets used.

[Grinning Dragon]

The junk mail that has paid return envelopes can be useful in packing them full of other junk mail and sending it back, or use a bunch of the paid envelopes from the same solicitor and tape them to a box and fill the box full old junk mail magazines, or bricks or just about anything that isn't food trash or hazardous material and send it back, they paid for the postage might as well stick it to em.

[Australian rePublic]

I never buy anything from any company that uses junk mail, spam email, unsolicited phone calls, or door to door sales people. If the products were good they wouldn't resort to such desperate selling techniques.

Basically the same (I also note that a lot of these spam mail companies I get share the same postal address). Junk mail goes straight in the recycling, spam email sits ignored in my spam filter and calls and door-to-door get a very firm "Not interested, thank you."

Such spam mail deliveries don't bother me personally.

The only time I ever recall being annoyed was when I happened to be with my parents and they got a call by one of those unsolicited callers that had called repeatedly (those people who prey on the elderly). I dealt with it and they got an earful. Apparently, they didn't call back.

Which brings me to a point related to the OP -- sometimes, those "No Junk Mail" signs are stuck there by concerned relatives to prevent their vulnerable parents/grandparents getting hounded by "You have won a grand prize; just buy X-amount of products" (and ending up on "suckers' lists"). So, yeah, I do think it's pretty unethical to ignore those signs.

Yea, that's a scam, and that's unethical whether or not there's a "no junk mail" sign. Things such as "hey, our new restaurant opened" is not unethical

[Australian rePublic]

I never buy anything from any company that uses junk mail, spam email, unsolicited phone calls, or door to door sales people. If the products were good they wouldn't resort to such desperate selling techniques.

It's mostly used by brand new businesses to say "hey world, I exist" and mainly because they're not established enough to afford proper advertising

[Australian rePublic]

I personally don't like junk mail, but I don't see anything unethical about putting junk mail in a letterbox or doorstep even if a sign says 'no junk mail please' on it. Sure it would be nicer to ignore drop areas with said signs, but it's not big deal in my mind. Just trashing the junk mail would be failing to do your job as a delivery person, so I can see why you wouldn't do that.

Junk mail should be made of bio-degradable stuff though, because that shit is most definitely mostly going in the bin the vast majority of the time.

Can't you chuckle it in the recycling bin? It's usually recyclable paper, at least here in Australia

[Ethel mermania]

Yet direct mail works.


https://neilpatel.com/blog/direct-mail-effectiveness/

[SD_Film Artists]

I like looking at political leaflets from different parties but other than that it really is junk.

[Borderlands of Rojava]

Junk mail is a good thing. When I'm running a bonfire on memorial day, nothing keeps it going all night like the mound of junk mail I got from that very week. "Buy now, save later" brocure? More like burn now.

[Australian rePublic]

I like looking at political leaflets from different parties but other than that it really is junk.

Uh yes, all the pro-environment parties wasting trees and printer on something that will most likely end up in the bin. Gotta love politicians!

[95X]

I once called it a "government-sponsored dead tree delivery" on IRC, and someone commented that it made me sound like a Libertarian (I'm not). But reality is that's exactly what it is. I'm fairly mild-mannered about it, I just look at what interests me and recycle the rest.

I would support a 'do not mail' list, I know the USPS is staunchly against it though.

Speaking from life experience, it used to be much worse: those advertisement/coupon mailers used to be about an inch thick; there were 'free weekly publications' distributed to everyone with a mailbox printed and produced by a local newspaper that were also mainly coupons and advertisements, mail order catalogs (shakes a fist at the still-existing Fingerhut, Seventh Avenue, etc.), mailers in official-looking envelopes that were also ads, probably ten times the political ads, etc.

But what put things over the top for me was getting about two to three "pre-qualified" credit card offers per week, most of which were for the same card from the same company. BTW, "pre-qualified" means it's an ad, someone who applies can still be denied. For that, at least in the USA, there is an opt-out website and phone number. I went to that and almost all of them went away.

[Partybus]

I recall a story about a postal worker (somewhere in Pennsylvania I think) that was fired for burying all the junk mail, as I recall his customers thought he was a hero

[Alcala-Cordel]

Lots of junk envelopes have return things with postage that they pay for, I get a little bit less these days because I send them back with other junk mail inside.

[Luziyca]

I just chuck junk mail into the recycling bin. The only times I've directly placed junk mail into the blue bin or in the garbage was when my household received those extremely graphic anti-abortion flyers or their ilk around 2016 and 2019 because frankly, I don't want to contaminate my house with that.

[Grinning Dragon]

Lots of junk envelopes have return things with postage that they pay for, I get a little bit less these days because I send them back with other junk mail inside.

That's what I do. I figured since they payed for metered postage, they might as well get their bang for their buck.