Stopping Junk mail from USPS

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HelloImAMac
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Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by HelloImAMac »

Hello
I receive a lot of junk mail in my mailbox via USPS. Most of these are marketing materials that I am not interested in. About 98% of the mail I receive is junk.
Please suggest a tried and tested method to reduce junk in my mail box.

Thanks !
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FelixTheCat
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by FelixTheCat »

Get the PaperKarma app. It takes a while to get all of the junk mail eliminiated.
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crg11
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by crg11 »

http://lifehacker.com/how-to-banish-jun ... 1569005690 should be a good starting point. Specifically, doing https://www.dmachoice.org/ and https://www.optoutprescreen.com/ really helped clean up my mailbox.
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whaleknives
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by whaleknives »

You need ways to stop the junk mail at the source, like calling the local newspaper that sends out weekly ad and coupon mailings. The USPS calls it "commercial mail", and can't afford to stop.
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The Wizard
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by The Wizard »

It's easy to put the junk mail in the recycle bin along with the yellow pages, etc.
There are bigger fish to fry on the list of things that annoy you, I would hope...
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moneyman11
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by moneyman11 »

The Wizard wrote:It's easy to put the junk mail in the recycle bin along with the yellow pages, etc.
There are bigger fish to fry on the list of things that annoy you, I would hope...
It's easy to not post a condescending reply that offers no help in accomplishing the OPs task.
There are bigger fish to fry on the list of things you could be doing, I would hope...
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cfs
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by cfs »

A note to sender.

Possibly not the best recommendation, but I used to send a nice note inside their stamped envelopes requesting to be removed from their mailing list due to -- I have no desire to buy your products or your services, save your money by removing my address from your distribution listings, yes this takes some time, but the good thing is that I no longer receive a large amount of junk mail.

Thanks for reading.
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dratkinson
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by dratkinson »

Try: http://www.directmail.com/directory/mai ... fault.aspx

Try searching for Direct Mail Opt Out for other options.

After above Val-Pac (blue envelop of coupons) kept coming. Found their online address and emailed them to stop. They did.

Nasty letter to newspaper required to stop them: they ignored multiple phone calls.

Now only get new junk mail from new insurance agents as they move into area. If ignored they stop in ~2-3 years.

Political campaign fliers, former school alumni requests, and former realtor calendars keep coming. Don't really mind the calendars.
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likegarden
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by likegarden »

Being over 70, we also get junk mail from senders who hope that we will make a mistake one day and actually subscribe their magazines via their very overpriced subscription scam. We throw those letters into the recycables bin. USPS did not respond to our complaint. This is similar to phone calls we get every day from callers not leaving a message, but hoping one day to talk a senior into some silly purchase. We do not answer unknown callers either.

Oh yes, political junk Emails by a friend, still a friend? not able to stop that even after debating that junk.
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nisiprius
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by nisiprius »

A long time ago I used the Direct Marketing Association's "Mail Preference Service," and while it did not, by any means, eliminate junk mail, it made a huge difference. One way I can tell is that I wasn't able to noodge my wife into using it, so she gets much more than I do.

http://www.dmaconsumers.org/offmailinglist.html

We still get print catalogs from companies we haven't bought anything from in years, and interesting-looking-but-too-rich-for-our-blood alumni travel offers from both of the universities I attended. I think we get almost one a week.
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The Wizard
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by The Wizard »

moneyman11 wrote:
The Wizard wrote:It's easy to put the junk mail in the recycle bin along with the yellow pages, etc.
There are bigger fish to fry on the list of things that annoy you, I would hope...
It's easy to not post a condescending reply that offers no help in accomplishing the OPs task.
There are bigger fish to fry on the list of things you could be doing, I would hope...
It's not condescending.
It's exactly what I do.
It's pretty easy to put the true junk mail in the recycle bag right away.
But there are local grocery ads, along with local restaurant promotions (buy one, get 2nd meal free) that I've taken advantage of. Stopping ALL unsolicited mail isn't in my best interest...
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The Wizard
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by The Wizard »

nisiprius wrote:...interesting-looking-but-too-rich-for-our-blood alumni travel offers from both of the universities I attended. I think we get almost one a week.
I actually save some of those over-priced travel brochures from my own alumni association. I've picked up some good ideas for a trip to Italy before too long...
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Toons
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by Toons »

"One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity" –Bruce Lee
dolphinsaremammals
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

It's not the USPS, it's the places sending the stuff.

Get on the DMA don't mail list.

Every time you get something, call up the sender and politely ask to be taken off the list. Also tell them not to sell or rent your contact information to anyone else. Many places will take 2-4 months to stop sending stuff, I kept calling so I didn't have to keep track.

This worked for me. Every once a year or two stuff starts to reappear and I stamp it out in a similar fashion.

Unlike phone telemarketers, you really can stop postal spam.
Herekittykitty
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by Herekittykitty »

I never order from catalogues and I don't subscribe to magazines. If I buy online, it is from eBay or Amazon, who don't, as far as I can tell, sell your address. Occasionally I get a catalogue from out of the blue and I promptly telephone them and tell them to stop. My charitable donations are through my church or through organizations with good Charity Navigator ratings and either policies of not sharing mailing lists or with easy opt out policies.

Doing those things won't stop your current problem but it would cut it down in the future.

I don't know whether credit card companies share contact information, because I don't have a credit card. Maybe I'll get one sometime but not before making sure they won't be selling/sharing my information with anyone interested in mailing me marketing materials.
I don't know anything.
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heartwood
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by heartwood »

Catalog Choice is an option on a case by case basis. https://www.catalogchoice.org/

I did it for a couple of years and noticed a sizable decrease in mailings, although some would stop under an old ID number and then come back with a new ID probably from some other mailing list they bought. I also tried the direct mail association opt out lists. Again some success, but a loosing battle of modern life.

I gave up and just recycle them unopened.

Same as I've given up on the Do Not Call list type of phone calls. I do block calls from my Congressman. Caller ID is useless as well. We just screen all calls. Odd how very very few junk calls even go to voicemail on our home landline. Hmmm, can they detect an answering machine somehow even before it clicks over? I ask because we also have an elevator phone required by code. The ringer is off and the phone goes to Verizon voicemail with a recorded message that says "you've reached an elevator. Do not leave a message." We continue to get 3 - 10 robo voicemails a week on that line (verizon sends us an email each time). I can't remember ever getting a robo call recorded on the physical answering machine.
postingname
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by postingname »

heartwood wrote:Catalog Choice is an option on a case by case basis. https://www.catalogchoice.org/

I did it for a couple of years and noticed a sizable decrease in mailings, although some would stop under an old ID number and then come back with a new ID probably from some other mailing list they bought.
Question re: Catalog Choice..

I've had good luck with traditional catalogues that have blue and yellow boxes, but I've gotten mixed results with charitable/political organizations that don't have colored boxes. Can I assume that the two apparent "codes" on the address label are the customer and prioirty codes (or whatever they are called) or do they actually have to be in colored boxes to be valid? I've tried with and without those numbers and while mostly unsuccessful, I'd at least like to know if the unboxed numbers are the equivalent of the ones in colored boxes. Thanks.
denovo
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by denovo »

It goes without saying, but the best way to make sure to not get junk is to stop signing yourself for different things like those enter a sweepstakes to win a free car scams at the local mall and so forth.
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postingname
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by postingname »

denovo wrote:It goes without saying, but the best way to make sure to not get junk is to stop signing yourself for different things like those enter a sweepstakes to win a free car scams at the local mall and so forth.
As someone who is helping another with their overflowing mailbox, I'd say the best way to not get junk is to not donate to political causes. I've sent about 30 cease-and-desist requests via Catalog Choice to both the political organizations and the charities they sold the personal information to. I've gotten very little response and have escalated it to the "Complaint" phase.

The above (political/charity junk) counts for 75% of the junk mail. The other 25% is catalogs and they respond with 100% reliability to Catalog Choice.

Sort of makes one re-think things....
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heartwood
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by heartwood »

postingname wrote:
heartwood wrote:Catalog Choice is an option on a case by case basis. https://www.catalogchoice.org/

I did it for a couple of years and noticed a sizable decrease in mailings, although some would stop under an old ID number and then come back with a new ID probably from some other mailing list they bought.
Question re: Catalog Choice..

I've had good luck with traditional catalogues that have blue and yellow boxes, but I've gotten mixed results with charitable/political organizations that don't have colored boxes. Can I assume that the two apparent "codes" on the address label are the customer and prioirty codes (or whatever they are called) or do they actually have to be in colored boxes to be valid? I've tried with and without those numbers and while mostly unsuccessful, I'd at least like to know if the unboxed numbers are the equivalent of the ones in colored boxes. Thanks.
That's what I used. Its probably better than no identifiers at all.
trueblueky
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by trueblueky »

The Supreme Court has declared that obscene mail is in the eye of the mail recipient. USPS has a form (of course, they do -- it's the government) that will stop mail from the company that has been sending you the obscene mail. I happen to think unsolicited tobacco mailers are obscene. You can choose.

You can also use their post-paid envelopes creatively. We received one glued to a brick when I worked for an org with direct mail.
derosa
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by derosa »

Some of these proposed solutions might partially work but they are complicated, time consuming and costly. But are not perfect. You are going to get junk mail the rest of your life -No matter what you do.

With these schemes to contact people, etc all you have done is create a job for yourself that will last your lifetime!

As you walk in from picking up the mail at the curb sort the mail into two bunches - stuff to keep and stuff to recycle. As you walk in go by your recycle bin and drop the recycle stuff in. Job done. I estimate that it will take about 1 second to drop the stuff in the bin.

The BONUS for this method is that it also takes care of all the stuff that gets shoved into your newspaper box or attached to your mailbox.
Jeff7
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by Jeff7 »

If a place mailed me something with a form and a postage-prepaid envelope, I'd write "REMOVE" on the form and send it back.


It takes a few weeks for them to receive and process it, but I don't seem to get as many credit card offers as I used to. :happy
postingname
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by postingname »

derosa wrote:Some of these proposed solutions might partially work but they are complicated, time consuming and costly.
Speaking for Catalog Choice, it's a very easy solution. Someone else is doing all the work for you. For regular solicitations like catalog companies, it works. It's the poliltical organizations that won't let go. One can lead a relatively junk-free life, but in order to do it, one has to give up political donations and (some) charitable giving. The political donations are a particular problem since it is a requirement to give out one's address.

As for the purely commercial junk mail, the more rampant a consumer one is, the more one will get the junk. So tapering the consumerism will help -- not an option for everyone, but it does work.

The benefits of reducing junk mail are not just for the environment, nor for preventing overloaded mailboxes during travel (a signal to burgalers), nor for causing organizations to which you donate to MISspend that money by sending you junk, but also, the reduction of junk mail keeps one from overspending. There's a certain type of person -- those with little spending discipline -- who actually responds to all this junk mail (exactly the target of all the mailings!), and they can spend themselves out of their budgets.

With Catalog Choice and the DMA equivalent, etc., it makes the job easy getting rid of the junk. Again, with the caveat of political organizations, where more effort is required.
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dratkinson
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by dratkinson »

postingname wrote:... with the caveat of political organizations, where more effort is required.
One of my neighbors is an unregistered political independent... so on no lists and claims to get no political mail. Also claims to get no political phone solicitations/opinion surveys. It's a thought. May try it the next time I move.
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jidina80
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by jidina80 »

dolphinsaremammals wrote:It's not the USPS, it's the places sending the stuff.
It IS the USPS in some cases. I was told by a USPS employee that there is no way for me to stop the weekly newspaper-ish advertisements that come to my U.S. townhouse mailbox. Apparently the USPS is paid to deliver one in every residential address in the area.

These bundles of supermarket ads, restaurant coupons, etc. don't even have a label on them with my address. Since I live overseas and my mailbox isn't emptied often, it is always stuffed with them. When I receive 'real' mail the postal employees are usually kind enough to remove some of that unaddressed junk mail to make room for the real thing.

I was told there is no way to opt out.
postingname
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Re: Stopping Junk mail from USPS

Post by postingname »

dratkinson wrote:
postingname wrote:... with the caveat of political organizations, where more effort is required.
One of my neighbors is an unregistered political independent... so on no lists and claims to get no political mail. Also claims to get no political phone solicitations/opinion surveys. It's a thought. May try it the next time I move.
I agree that that would work. The avalanche of political mail comes when one has donated to one of the major parties. After that, the party just assumes that you want to become a regular contributor. If their assumption is worng, and you just one to be a one- or two-time contributor, they'll force you to become a regular contribuator by burying you in mail and other communications. If you do so much as to unsubscribe from their e-mails, they will use marketing survey companies to telephone you and figure out why you wnat to "leave the fold".

I suspect the above system is more true with one major party than the other. (And it happens to be the party I'm dealing with for this other person.) There was in fact a big "Time Magazine" article on how this party's fund-raising system works. It's a very sophisticated enterprise based almost entirely on computer wizardry -- intensive data analysis to "customize" messages and analyze each individual or "class" of individual to determine which message works best with them. And a constant feedback loop of what worked, what didn't work and how we can get X and Y back into our donation system again. After seeing how this works, I determined that if I ever get politically involved in anythng, I would concentrate more on a person-to-person approach like "getting the vote out" with friends and sympathetic colleagues. IOW, everything would be done in private. -- no data-crunching computers would have to know what I'm doing and thus I'd escape the blizzard of "DONATE NOW!" communications.
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