7 ms·

This reminds me of how direct response companies would send out envelopes with pre-paid postage on them for return mail and people would fill them with pennies

This reminds me of how direct response companies would send out envelopes with pre-paid postage on them for return mail and people would fill them with pennies so that the companies had to pay a lot more in return postage. It's funny how clever people can be when they are annoyed by something.

tonyedgecombe 13y ago
I have wrapped a brick in a reply paid envelope from a very annoying direct mail company.
- Demiurge 13y ago
  And did you have to ship it as a package? I'm pretty sure it wouldn't work with a mailbox.
- eli 13y ago
  The brick is likely put in the trash and the direct mail company isn't charged. You're mostly just annoying your postman.
- ErsatzVerkehr 13y ago
  The official USPS policy is that such mail is just thrown in the trash: http://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-086.htm http://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-086.htm Here is some other coverage: http://consumerist.com/2007/11/01/update-taping-pre-paid-business-reply-envelopes-to-packages-does-not-work/ http://consumerist.com/2007/11/01/update-taping-pre-paid-bus... http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/566/can-i-mail-a-brick-back-to-a-junk-mail-firm-using-the-business-reply-envelope http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/566/can-i-mail-a-br...
  - icelancer 13y ago
    USPS is complicit in delivering junk mail, so it's fair game.
    - larrys 13y ago
      Junk mail keeps the cost of other mail down. Not to mention a whole industry and jobs are linked to it. And it works if it didn't the junk mailers would stop mailing.
      - pigscantfly 13y ago
        I'd be willing to pay slightly more in postage in order to eliminate junk mail. The mob (or patent troll industry or insert random undesirables) employs people, too, but you wouldn't argue for its protection solely on that basis. And the fact that it works ignores the fact that it irritates everyone who isn't a junk mailer. There are far more honest ways to advertise. Not sure what you're trying to say here.
        larrys 13y ago
        I'm not arguing for it's protection based on that fact at all. I'm pointing out that this idea that junk mail is bad because it annoys some people is wrong. Guess what? Not everyone is annoyed or bothered by junk mail. Not everyone is annoyed by spam either and I'm not talking about idiots who respond to spam or even read it. There are people that get so few emails that if they login and don't see any mail they think the mail is not being delivered at all. So they'd rather have something show up to show that "the system is working".
        pigscantfly 13y ago
        Guess what? The number of people who are annoyed by junk mail or spam greatly exceeds the number of people who gain some benefit from it (mainly spammers and junk mailers - and since they are dishonest actors, I give their considerations very little weight). My argument is not that junk mail is bad, because it annoys some people. My argument is that it is bad, because it annoys almost everyone. PS - Surely you can think of a better system of informing users their inbox is working than regularly spamming everyone who has an inbox...?
        13y ago
  - jff 13y ago
    "The Postal Service is unable to assure that a Business Reply Mail piece will only be used in a manner and for the purpose intended by the distributor; this is a risk assumed by the distributor. If the piece receives postal handling, the legal rate of postage and appropriate fee should be collected for the service given the piece upon delivery to the distributor. The fact that a returned BRM envelope may be empty or a BRM card may not have been completed has no bearing on the distributor's obligation to pay postage and fees on all returned BRM pieces." So if you just send back the empty envelope, it sounds like it will cost the company postage, even if it's less than a brick.
    - pwg 13y ago
      > So if you just send back the empty envelope, it sounds like it will cost the company postage, even if it's less than a brick. It will. They pay per piece to get each envelope/card back, the rates vary based upon volume (https://www.usps.com/business/reply-mail.htm https://www.usps.com/business/reply-mail.htm). So, if you notice how little they paid to get the letter to you, if everyone returned the empty BRM's, it could easily double or more their cost for postage to have mailed the things out.
  - gcb0 13y ago
    you just ruined a childhood dream...
- jacquesm 13y ago
  This is how direct mail companies acquire the bricks their offices are made out of.
cpeterso 13y ago
If the postage was pre-paid, why would post office mail a letter that exceeded the postage already paid?
- pwg 13y ago
  They aren't "pre-paid" but rather "we will pay the postage, provided you return the envelope". I.e., the PO charges for the count of what comes back through the mail. In the U.S., the postage cost is full first class rate plus a service surcharge.
jack-r-abbit 13y ago
I used to just send them back with the entire contents of (and including) the original envelope they sent me... but with nothing filled out. I would usually try to remove any references to me. Otherwise I'd just send the empty envelope back. I figured it put the burden back on them to dispose of the trash they had sent me. But I never thought to put some heavy stuff in them. :)
- Karunamon 13y ago
  True story, I had to do this to get the Good Sam (basically an RV services company) to stop mailing me. Phone calls didn't work, so the next time I got one of their mailers, I shredded the contents, stuffed them all in the reply envelope (that thing was at least a full pound - the junk was manilla-envelope sized), and added a note that says to remove me from their list. It's been two months now, no more messages from them.

tonyedgecombe 13y ago

I have wrapped a brick in a reply paid envelope from a very annoying direct mail company.

Demiurge 13y ago
And did you have to ship it as a package? I'm pretty sure it wouldn't work with a mailbox.
eli 13y ago
The brick is likely put in the trash and the direct mail company isn't charged. You're mostly just annoying your postman.
ErsatzVerkehr 13y ago
The official USPS policy is that such mail is just thrown in the trash: http://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-086.htm http://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-086.htm Here is some other coverage: http://consumerist.com/2007/11/01/update-taping-pre-paid-business-reply-envelopes-to-packages-does-not-work/ http://consumerist.com/2007/11/01/update-taping-pre-paid-bus... http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/566/can-i-mail-a-brick-back-to-a-junk-mail-firm-using-the-business-reply-envelope http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/566/can-i-mail-a-br...
- icelancer 13y ago
  USPS is complicit in delivering junk mail, so it's fair game.
  - larrys 13y ago
    Junk mail keeps the cost of other mail down. Not to mention a whole industry and jobs are linked to it. And it works if it didn't the junk mailers would stop mailing.
    - pigscantfly 13y ago
      I'd be willing to pay slightly more in postage in order to eliminate junk mail. The mob (or patent troll industry or insert random undesirables) employs people, too, but you wouldn't argue for its protection solely on that basis. And the fact that it works ignores the fact that it irritates everyone who isn't a junk mailer. There are far more honest ways to advertise. Not sure what you're trying to say here.
      - larrys 13y ago
        I'm not arguing for it's protection based on that fact at all. I'm pointing out that this idea that junk mail is bad because it annoys some people is wrong. Guess what? Not everyone is annoyed or bothered by junk mail. Not everyone is annoyed by spam either and I'm not talking about idiots who respond to spam or even read it. There are people that get so few emails that if they login and don't see any mail they think the mail is not being delivered at all. So they'd rather have something show up to show that "the system is working".
        pigscantfly 13y ago
        Guess what? The number of people who are annoyed by junk mail or spam greatly exceeds the number of people who gain some benefit from it (mainly spammers and junk mailers - and since they are dishonest actors, I give their considerations very little weight). My argument is not that junk mail is bad, because it annoys some people. My argument is that it is bad, because it annoys almost everyone. PS - Surely you can think of a better system of informing users their inbox is working than regularly spamming everyone who has an inbox...?
        13y ago
- jff 13y ago
  "The Postal Service is unable to assure that a Business Reply Mail piece will only be used in a manner and for the purpose intended by the distributor; this is a risk assumed by the distributor. If the piece receives postal handling, the legal rate of postage and appropriate fee should be collected for the service given the piece upon delivery to the distributor. The fact that a returned BRM envelope may be empty or a BRM card may not have been completed has no bearing on the distributor's obligation to pay postage and fees on all returned BRM pieces." So if you just send back the empty envelope, it sounds like it will cost the company postage, even if it's less than a brick.
  - pwg 13y ago
    > So if you just send back the empty envelope, it sounds like it will cost the company postage, even if it's less than a brick. It will. They pay per piece to get each envelope/card back, the rates vary based upon volume (https://www.usps.com/business/reply-mail.htm https://www.usps.com/business/reply-mail.htm). So, if you notice how little they paid to get the letter to you, if everyone returned the empty BRM's, it could easily double or more their cost for postage to have mailed the things out.
- gcb0 13y ago
  you just ruined a childhood dream...
jacquesm 13y ago
This is how direct mail companies acquire the bricks their offices are made out of.

cpeterso 13y ago

If the postage was pre-paid, why would post office mail a letter that exceeded the postage already paid?

pwg 13y ago
They aren't "pre-paid" but rather "we will pay the postage, provided you return the envelope". I.e., the PO charges for the count of what comes back through the mail. In the U.S., the postage cost is full first class rate plus a service surcharge.

jack-r-abbit 13y ago

I used to just send them back with the entire contents of (and including) the original envelope they sent me... but with nothing filled out. I would usually try to remove any references to me. Otherwise I'd just send the empty envelope back. I figured it put the burden back on them to dispose of the trash they had sent me. But I never thought to put some heavy stuff in them. :)

Karunamon 13y ago
True story, I had to do this to get the Good Sam (basically an RV services company) to stop mailing me. Phone calls didn't work, so the next time I got one of their mailers, I shredded the contents, stuffed them all in the reply envelope (that thing was at least a full pound - the junk was manilla-envelope sized), and added a note that says to remove me from their list. It's been two months now, no more messages from them.