Stop Junk Mail

Several years ago I lost an important piece of mail because it got lost in the heap of junk mail we received.  So I went on a mission to reduce the amount of crap we got in the mail.  It worked, at least for a while, but now we’re back to getting about 5 to 10 items of junk for every piece of actual mail.

In order to help other people and to help myself remember next time, I’m posting all the information I found about removing our address from the junk mailing lists.  I’ll try to update the list every time I find something new.

• Privacy Rights Clearing House good place to start, they have a ton of information about unsubscribing from various mailing campaigns.
• ValuePak Coupons
• www.yellowpagesoptout.com I’m somewhat skeptical about opting out of the phone books.  They are delivered by workers on foot that just put a copy on every stoop and door know; I don’t believe that they actually check any opt-out list.
  • 1-866-60-MY-DEX (866-606-9339) or Select Your Dex
  • 1-800 YBYELLOW  or Yellow Book Opt Out
  • 800-888-8448, select Option 2 or Supermedia Opt Out
• Foster and Smith Catalog, call 1-800-826-7206 and request them to stop sending the catalog
• RedPlum coupon mailings
• Bed Bath & Beyond, Unsubscribe From Our Direct Mail List
• Costco Connection:  send an email to subscriptions@costco.com (or subscription@costco.com)with you member number and the following information from your mailing label.
  • Code above your name (I think it’s the three letter one, ours is GLD)
  • Name
  • Address
  • City, State, and Zip
• Money Mailer: Unsubscribe (they want you to check out a page about the impact of direct mail first.  They talk about how mail isn’t filling up our landfills or deforesting our planet, but neglect to mention the amount of fuel wasted by junk mail.)
• Thrivent Magazine:  there is no dedicated unsubscribe, but their contact form is located here.  I filled in the form using “unsubscribe” as the subject and filled in my mailing address in the body.  I’ll update this page if it actually works.
• Slumberland:  Their privacy page here has an email address that you can write to.
• Credit and insurance offers
• DMA Choice:  This gets you out of mail from members of the Direct Marketing Association

Catalog Choice:

Some catalogs like Crutchfield subscribe to a service called Catalog Choice.  Here’s a blurb about who they are:

Catalog Choice’s mission is to help people reduce unwanted mail, save natural resources, reduce clutter and take control of their mailbox…Many companies work with us to make the opt-out process efficient and effective. Participating companies include catalog mailers, nonprofits, phone book publishers and other advertisers who use Catalog Choice to demonstrate best marketing practices and to honor consumer choice and privacy.

Catalog Choice is a nonprofit corporation based in Berkeley, California. We have a small, dedicated team and we use technology to maximize what we can accomplish for our members and participating companies.

Catalogs I’ve tried to stop through Catalog Choice:

• Crutchfield

Updates:

I got an email back from Costco confirming that I am off the list.

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I got this letter back from Thrivent:

Hello X ( I deleted the name),

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is unable to grant your request to have your name removed from our Thrivent magazine mailing list, however we can offer you an option to receive the magazine and other communications from Thrivent Financial through email.

As a member of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, you receive the magazine as an essential member communication. Thrivent is a membership organization, and the magazine is its official publication. As such, it contains information that is critical to how members interact with the organization, such as our annual report, board-approved changes to the bylaws and information regarding the annual Board of Directors election. This information is critical to ensuring that all members are informed and are able to execute their rights and privileges as part of Thrivent Financial, a membership organization.

The newly launched Preference Center on Thrivent.com provides expanded document delivery choices including email delivery for the magazine, the Financial Insights newsletter, various financial statements, reports and notices. If you select email delivery in your preferences, you will receive an email when documents are ready to view from the website. This option provides fast and convenient access to information you would otherwise receive in your mailbox. It’s also environmentally friendly, reducing the amount of paper you receive.

To receive these communications through the convenience of email, log in at Thrivent.com/preferences to make your selections.

Thank you, and have a great day!

Kelly L. Effa/Ruth A. Anderson
Senior Administrative Assistant
kelly.effa@thrivent.com
ruth.a.anderson@thrivent.com

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
4321 N. Ballard Road
Appleton, WI 54919-0001
www.thrivent.com

I think this is clear BS, they want to get you to register with their website. I wouldn’t have anything to do with this company if my wife’s parents didn’t buy her a life insurance policy from the company they used to be when she was born. I have no interest in anything they offer and I don’t want to interact with them.  I hate these companies that treat you like members.  Sell me the policy and then go away.  I don’t want to be your friend.

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