Stop Junk Mail Forever

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As computers make it easier to collect more information about more people and more businesses, the number of organizations you have to ask to STOP sending you stuff seems to increase exponentially. R.L. Polk says that its lists are developed by the "merging of 22 sources, totaling more than 1.8 billion records annually."

As the U.S. Post Office reports in "The Small Business Direct Mail Guide," which it puts out to encourage more junk mail:

"Direct- mail lists are compiled in hundreds of ways from numerous sources, ranging from voter registrations to attendees of trade shows, from the neighbors of your existing customers to people buying similar products/services."

The One-Shot SemiSolution

The quickest way to have your name and address removed from many—but by no means, all—lists is through the Mail Preference Service, sponsored by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).

When you request this trade organization's free service, include your name and address—in all the various ways they appear on the junk mail you receive. Send your postcard to:

Mail Preference Service
Direct Marketing Association
PO. Box 9008
Farmingdale, NY 11735
212-768-7277

Your name and address will be registered on DMNs "Delete File," which is reportedly used by the majority of this organization's 3,600 members, who receive it four times a year (January, April, July, and October). So it could take three months or more for your wishes to be acted upon.

Once your name makes it to the "Delete File," it will remain there for five years—unless, of course, you order something else and forget to say, "Please do not sell, rent, or trade my name."

Place a new order, or request a catalog, and—unless you say those magic words to an outfit that respects your rights—your name, address, and mountains of other personal statistics will again be fair game, as your mailbox will soon attest.

Even if you're careful, unless our nation comes up with a better system, you'll need to recontact the Mail Preference Service every five years, to continue your respite from the junk-mail lists that DMA members control.

And Now for the Rest of the Story

Unfortunately, although "business-to-business" junk mail accounts for about 25% of third-class mail, it's not covered by the Mail Preference Service. In fact, only about 70% of national direct marketers subscribe to DMA's Mail Preference Service. Nonprofit organizations, political groups, and local marketers generally don't subscribe at all.

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