Don’t Postal Pester Me

For several years now, I’ve been receiving baby-related sample products in the mail. Diapers, wipes, coupon packets, you name it. It’s been going on much longer than I’ve been in a kid-related business and began about a year after I got married so I suspect my information was pulled from various wedding vendors by companies who figured diapers and formula were the next logical step. More recently, I’ve been stocking some of it away for client emergencies although I suspect they’ll stay on the prop shelf because most clients come prepared with those sorts of things.

But last week I received two 13oz cans of Similac and that’s put me over the edge. I began my quest to stop the mailings. Similac’s enclosed materials list strongmoms.com as their website. You have to call them to be removed from their list (1-800-227-5767) but it was a very easy process and they were quite apologetic about it. I asked if they could tell me how my name  might have been added to their list and the operator said it looked like it came from People’s Choice but that she didn’t know anything more about it.

Good enough – I googled and found People’s Choice Lifestyle Database for post pre-natal and post-natal mailing lists. It listed Michael Piczon (703) 547-4973 as the contact. After several calls and a voicemail, I spoke with Michael who took my name, said they’d “see what they could do about it” and hung up. I’m not feeling reassured.

However, that reinspired a kick I was on last fall to rid my life of all junkmail. So today I printed, signed, addressed and mailed letters to 13 different mailing list/marking companies, requesting that my name and address be removed. I don’t entirely trust companies to do as I ask but I have noticed a marked decrease in junk mail/catalogs, etc. since my attempts last fall.

If you’re interested in cutting down on junkmail, here are some websites that I found to be helpful:

• http://www.dmachoice.org
• http://proquo.com/
• https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx
• http://www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/

And for some additional interesting reading, Ed Koehler over at thedeets.com has detailed various ongoing battles with the Yellow Pages industry. (The rest of his blog is a good read, too.)