Despite my repeated requests via online form and phone, and even a few posts about it, including one where I made a photo spread of burning the offending items, Dell keeps sending me catalogs. So here is another post for the online pillory, but, in celebration of Earth Day, instead of burning these catalogs, I have recycled them (see above). Their inability/indifference is all the more stupid because two different Dell execs contacted me to say they would look into the issue. They even had me email them the cryptograms on my address label to help remove me from their mailing system. Dell, please, help me save the planet and take me off your stupid catalog lists. Otherwise I guess I’ll just have to deem your material “pornographic” (hey, I know it when I see it, right?) and use USPS form 1500 to get you stop. When you decided to get people to lust after your XPS line, that probably isn’t what you had in mind.
PREVIOUSLY: Dell Won’t Stop Sending Me Catalogs So I’m Burning Them
I had this EXACT same battle with those turds. Word for word that is my experience. Except they would send us 5 copies of the same f’ing catalogue.
We moved and the catalogues didn’t follow, but I am so curious to see what happens here. Dell needs to stop this hugely wasteful practice.
Earth day?
We still have that?
Hmm … does the USPS have a form to opt in for pornographic mailings?
While I still like their products better than any other PC manufacturer (between me and my family, we own 3 nearly perfect systems), Dell is starting to fall by the wayside in my eyes. I don’t see the point in continually spamming your customers. Anyone who buys their products should have a fair understanding of Teh Internets, and should know that all catoulog deals will be on the website. Despite being a happy customer, the next time I get one of their mailings, I’m definitely complaining.
No one can beat Crate & Barrel though.
So recycle them. I don’t get what the big deal is…Yeah it’s wasteful, but how is it affecting your wallet?
@darkrose: Because they said they’d stop and turned out to be lying.
Nice, I didnt know about the USPS form 1500. I ordered lube online once, and ever since then I keep getting al kinds of porn catalogs, and pill order forms. Thaks Ben!
@Whitey Fisk: Restoration Hardware is the worst. I bought some $5 item from them five years ago (a soap dish that was like 80% off), and I get 4 catalogs a month, maybe more.
burn them anyways, it’s not that bad to burn something on earth day. ashes to ashes dust to dust.
Hardly surprising. Dell sends me catalog after catalog after catalog no matter how many times I tell them not to.
Agreed on that!
There are laws against sending SPAM via postal system. Look them up.
I think the scope and size of Dell’s operations has really gotten away from the people trying to run it.
They’re just not really in control anymore. Instead of one mailing list, they probably have thousands (or more) and untold number of third party vendors on top of that.
Still, they should have a privacy czar to take care of such things, no?
I get an ad for crappy Charter Cable in the mail EVERYDAY. I kid you not. I called them to tell me to please stop. The asshat CSR I spoke to gave me a 1-800 number to call to “opt out” of the ads. It was a porn number. Swear to God.
Why don’t you just mail the offending material back to Dell, They’ll get the message eventually.
@Jinx: Exactly what laws are you talking about? The USPS is very limited in what it can’t send, or what it can block based on complaints. In general the USPS is required to deliver what people pay for them to deliver. Things that violate their regulations include well-known scams like the infamous Nigerian windfall ones, pyramid schemes, etc. If a company wants to send you a catalog, and is willing to pay for it, then the USPS is pretty much obligated to send it.
Oh, and don’t capitalize “spam”. When it’s all caps it’s the food product from Hormel (they have a registered trademark). They don’t take too kindly to people infringing on that. It’s more appropriate to use the lowercase spelling when referring to junk mail.
I had issues with recieving too much junk mail – I’d get seven or eight catalogs a day. I got a sharpie and wrote “REFUSED! RETURN TO SENDER”
… wow do I stink at posting…
Anyway, I would write “REFUSED! RETURN TO SENDER” on each and every one of them and stick them back in the mail. From what the mailman told me, it costs the companies full postage for the return – not bulk rate. You will be amazed at how quickly you are removed from those horrible lists.
I usually send all their business reply cards with no return addresses on them too.
@dewsipper:
Actually, Bulk Rate isn’t sent back to senders, it’s put into the trash/recycle bins at the post office.
On any addressed junk mail, I remove all trace of my name and send it back “postage paid”, the mail equivalent of a collect call.
Here’s another way to do it, and perfectly legal, too:
[officeofstrategicinfluence.com]
By recycling you encourage useless polution.
Recycling does not save anything! (Not even trees!)
They probably have a customer database and a subscription database that gets synced up periodically. So they remove you from the subscription database, but when the two sync up, you get added back in.
Pure speculation on my part.
I had a similar battle with Dell. The only way i was able to get them to stop was by filing a claim with the better business bureau with the appropriate information that was on the catalog and my simple request to stop getting them. Some representative e-mailed me a few days after I filed my claim and said he looked it into and to e-mail him personally if the problem wasn’t solved.
Seemed pretty effective. I’d highly recommend it.
@jimv2000: “…but when the two sync up…”
Companies are supposed to maintain an opt-out list so things like that don’t happen.
You know what your problem is? You didn’t pay extra to be placed on the “premium” opt-out list…
And why does Radio Shack always want my address? They’ve never mailed me anything!
@dewsipper:
Regardless of what your mailman may have told you, bulk rate mail is not returned to sender.
It won’t be returned to sender unless it was sent first class mail.
You can write “Refused” on it and he can pick it up, but it won’t go anywhere but the garbage. If the mailer didn’t pay for return postage, it becomes Undeliverable Bulk Business Mail, which is tossed.
Also, you can’t open it and then refuse it.