how much junk mail do you get?

[purbeast0]

i'm not talking email, i'm talking real snail mail.

i'd say about 95% of the real mail i get is junk. sometimes i don't even check my mail for 3-4 days at a time, and yep, it's all complete junk. from a bunch of news paper looking ads to state farm that has been literally mailing me shit for 10+ years to volunteer firefighter stuff.

is there anyway to STOP all of this crap from coming, like to get my address off of a list? like all of these news paper type of ads that go directly to the trash, how do they get our mailing address?

it would be nice if there was a "do not call" list for junk mail.

 

[pete6032]

You can call the number on the mail itself and ask to be removed. I started doing that a couple months ago and the amount I get has decreased substantially.

 

[purbeast0]

You can call the number on the mail itself and ask to be removed. I started doing that a couple months ago and the amount I get has decreased substantially.

what about the newspaper things that don't have phone numbers on them? or is there something hidden away in the fine print about it?

 

[Linux23]

I'm with you. I can't stand the junk that says "urgent: open immediately" and when I open it it's some bs from some dealership for trading in my car for an upgrade.

 

[kt]

Close to 99% are junk mails since I always sign up for paperless statement.

 

[Charmonium]

At home, it's over 50%. At the po box, it's probably less than 5%. Go figure.

 

[Imp]

A lot... That includes my credit card statements -- by the time they arrive, I've already checked it online and paid it off electronically.

I had to hand-shred a War Amps letter and some company peddling me insurance. My former professional association sold my info to an insurance co...

 

[IronWing]

Close to 99% are junk mails since I always sign up for paperless statement.

^^ This, but I also don't get that much. Due to buying habits (cheapskate), I'm not on many mailing lists.

 

[lxskllr]

I've thought about getting rid of my mail box, and picking my stuff up at the po once a week or so, but I get just enough good mail to make that inconvenient. I bet 90%+ of the mail I get is crap.

 

[gorcorps]

Way too fucking much, I hate physical mail. I don't know how to stop it. ATT, Comcast and directv send offers all the time and I hate it. My CC sends me balance transfer offers I don't want. Very little of my mail is useful.

I actually don't mind the local coupons as sometimes there's something useful, but for the most part junk mail is just one more chore.

 

[purbeast0]

yeah i forgot to say that i have absolutely 0 paper bills, i do it all online so nothing i get is bills.

my wife has gotten about 10 "final" mail pieces about her factory warranty expiring. literally about 10 in 3-4 months. each one says it is the last chance she has to buy an extended warranty.

 

[gorcorps]

yeah i forgot to say that i have absolutely 0 paper bills, i do it all online so nothing i get is bills.

my wife has gotten about 10 "final" mail pieces about her factory warranty expiring. literally about 10 in 3-4 months. each one says it is the last chance she has to buy an extended warranty.

I get shit about warranties an cars I don't even have anymore. How the hell can I get it to stop
...

 

[ponyo]

Freezing your credit with the three credit bureaus will cut down on junk mail.

 

[Red Squirrel]

You can call the number on the mail itself and ask to be removed. I started doing that a couple months ago and the amount I get has decreased substantially.

Doesn't that just confirm that your address is valid? Best to just mark as address invalid and return to sender.

What I hate about junk mail is often it contains personal info, so you can't just trash it, have to shred it.

 

[BoomerD]

You can call the number on the mail itself and ask to be removed. I started doing that a couple months ago and the amount I get has decreased substantially.

Sometimes it works...sometimes it's like hitting "unsubscribe" on spam email...it just lets them know they actually got a live person...and they sell your name/address on the mailing lists.

Most days of the week...if we didn't get "junk mail," we wouldn't get ANY mail...and I prefer it that way.

 

[purbeast0]

Sometimes it works...sometimes it's like hitting "unsubscribe" on spam email...it just lets them know they actually got a live person...and they sell your name/address on the mailing lists.

Most days of the week...if we didn't get "junk mail," we wouldn't get ANY mail...and I prefer it that way.

yeah i'd prefer to get none. i don't check it every day anyways. the mailman probably thinks we're on vacation a lot.

 

[Markbnj]

All I get is junk mail as far as I can tell. The post my mailbox is on is rotting out, and when it falls over I'm not replacing it.

 

[pete6032]

what about the newspaper things that don't have phone numbers on them? or is there something hidden away in the fine print about it?

I haven't done it with newspaper ads but I did with Comcast, AT&T, DirecTV, the local small business mailing ad agency, Macy's, and the few random places that automatically put me on their paper mailing list after buying from them. None had a problem removing me from their list.

Edit - the credit card mailings all have one hotline number to opt out of all mailings from all CC offers for 5 years. If you open the mailing there is a number to call. This significantly reduced my mail as well.

 

[Spacehead]

Junk mail Tuesday!
Actually, most days
Some of the stuff doesn't even have an address on it... it's just mailed to the whole county i guess.

 

[pete6032]

Sometimes it works...sometimes it's like hitting "unsubscribe" on spam email...it just lets them know they actually got a live person...and they sell your name/address on the mailing lists.

Most days of the week...if we didn't get "junk mail," we wouldn't get ANY mail...and I prefer it that way.

I have been getting less junk mail since calling the places that are mailing me.

 

[RaistlinZ]

The ones addressed to "Resident" are my favorite. If you're going to fill my mailbox with crap at least put a little effort into it.

I firmly believe that 90% of information we consume is either spam or unwanted ads.