I just received a "free" book from Wodworker's Journal and
just returned it to them with their "postage paid label".

I marked it (the book) SPAM so they couldn't foist it off on
someone else (and still had to pay the return postage).

I consider this an egregious form of spam.

I will cancel my subscription -- it's a lousy magazine anyway;
many of their articles are pure advertizing.

"mfmadden" wrote in message
oups.com...
I just received a "free" book from Wodworker's Journal and
just returned it to them with their "postage paid label".

I marked it (the book) SPAM so they couldn't foist it off on
someone else (and still had to pay the return postage).

I consider this an egregious form of spam.

I will cancel my subscription -- it's a lousy magazine anyway;
many of their articles are pure advertizing.

If the book was sent to you unsolicited and without your authorization you
have no obligation to pay for it.

Dave



Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
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http://www.usenet.com

"mfmadden" writes:

I consider this an egregious form of spam.

Ads cost them money. It's self-limiting. And it cost you nothing.
This is the opposite of spam.

Spam costs us $50 billion a year.

http://www.informationweek.com/story...cleID=60403649


--
Sending unsolicited commercial e-mail to this account incurs a fee of
$500 per message, and acknowledges the legality of this contract.

In article .com,
says...
I just received a "free" book from Wodworker's Journal and
just returned it to them with their "postage paid label".

I marked it (the book) SPAM so they couldn't foist it off on
someone else (and still had to pay the return postage).

I consider this an egregious form of spam.

I will cancel my subscription -- it's a lousy magazine anyway;
many of their articles are pure advertizing.


I liked the book. There are a couple of tips I may try, and it was free.
I hope they send me some more.

Zeke

Bruce Barnett wrote:
"mfmadden" writes:


I consider this an egregious form of spam.


Ads cost them money. It's self-limiting. And it cost you nothing.
This is the opposite of spam.

Spam costs us $50 billion a year.

http://www.informationweek.com/story...cleID=60403649


Yeah maybe. As the article says... those are estimates based on guesses.
Spam is a waste of time and expensive -- but how expensive is just
guesswork.

In the meantime he should have kept the book and enjoyed it...
:-)



--
Will
Occasional Techno-geek

"mfmadden" wrote in message
oups.com...
I just received a "free" book from Wodworker's Journal and
just returned it to them with their "postage paid label".

I marked it (the book) SPAM so they couldn't foist it off on
someone else (and still had to pay the return postage).

Too much trouble. I'm just keeping the book. No obligation to return it.

On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 21:39:56 -0500, Zeke wrote:

In article .com,
says...
I just received a "free" book from Wodworker's Journal and
just returned it to them with their "postage paid label".

I marked it (the book) SPAM so they couldn't foist it off on
someone else (and still had to pay the return postage).

I consider this an egregious form of spam.

I will cancel my subscription -- it's a lousy magazine anyway;
many of their articles are pure advertizing.


I liked the book. There are a couple of tips I may try, and it was free.
I hope they send me some more.

Zeke

Wonder if this was a trial balloon to see how many people would pay for
the book despite the fact it was unsolicited as well as how many people
would send the book back?




+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The absence of accidents does not mean the presence of safety
Army General Richard Cody
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

You really should do a search for the definition of spam. Not everything
you get in your mailbox (real or virtual) that you don't like is spam. Next
time your car sputters and coughs, are you going to say it's got a virus?

Clint

"mfmadden" wrote in message
oups.com...
I just received a "free" book from Wodworker's Journal and
just returned it to them with their "postage paid label".

I marked it (the book) SPAM so they couldn't foist it off on
someone else (and still had to pay the return postage).

I consider this an egregious form of spam.

I will cancel my subscription -- it's a lousy magazine anyway;
many of their articles are pure advertizing.

On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 21:56:11 -0700, the inscrutable Mark & Juanita
spake:

Wonder if this was a trial balloon to see how many people would pay for
the book despite the fact it was unsolicited as well as how many people
would send the book back?

The first time this happened to me (at the ripe old age of 15 with the
Columbia Record Club), I questioned it and found that it's illegal to
force people to buy something they didn't order.

What amazes me is how many people get mad and do silly things without
ever questioning the validity of the program.

Morals of the story: Don't be a lemming. If you have questions, ask
'em!

--
Remember: Every silver lining has a cloud.
----
http://diversify.com Comprehensive Website Development

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 21:56:11 -0700, the inscrutable Mark & Juanita
spake:

Wonder if this was a trial balloon to see how many people would pay for
the book despite the fact it was unsolicited as well as how many people
would send the book back?

The first time this happened to me (at the ripe old age of 15 with the
Columbia Record Club), I questioned it and found that it's illegal to
force people to buy something they didn't order.

What amazes me is how many people get mad and do silly things without
ever questioning the validity of the program.

Morals of the story: Don't be a lemming. If you have questions, ask
'em!

I was always the nerd and read up on all this stuff as a kid. I got onto
some mailing list back then and got some unsolicted "gifts" along with a
bill complete with a postpaid envelope. In the best consumer activist
tradition of the time, I wrapped up a concrete block and pasted the return
mail authorization to it.

These guys must have paid $50 worth of postage before they stopped sending
me stuff.

I even demonstrated this and wrote a paper on this in high school. Got an A
on the paper too.

"Lee Michaels" wrote in message
I was always the nerd and read up on all this stuff as a kid. I got onto
some mailing list back then and got some unsolicted "gifts" along with a
bill complete with a postpaid envelope. In the best consumer activist
tradition of the time, I wrapped up a concrete block and pasted the return
mail authorization to it.

These guys must have paid $50 worth of postage before they stopped sending
me stuff.

I even demonstrated this and wrote a paper on this in high school. Got an
A on the paper too.

Used to work. Postal Service will no longer deliver bricks.

On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 03:11:13 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:


"mfmadden" wrote in message
roups.com...
I just received a "free" book from Wodworker's Journal and
just returned it to them with their "postage paid label".

I marked it (the book) SPAM so they couldn't foist it off on
someone else (and still had to pay the return postage).

Too much trouble. I'm just keeping the book. No obligation to return it.

============================================
That is exactly what I intend to do also....
Way too much trouble to return it...I never ordered it and have
absolutely no intention of paying for it...

Bob Griffiths

Bob G. states:

============================================
That is exactly what I intend to do also....
Way too much trouble to return it...I never ordered it and have
absolutely no intention of paying for it...

I haven't gotten one of these mailings, but from what I was told
elsewhere (WoodCentral), the book comes with a letter explaining what
to do, along with return postage and label. One of the options, legally
required (though notification of the option isn't), is to keep the book
and do nothing, after which no more books will be sent.

I don't get the uproar. Essentially, if you want the series, respond.
If you don't, keep the book. It's a form of bulk mail, similar to what
we all get every day of the week, and has been an accepted part of
mailbox contents for decades. It is not a marketing tactic I'd care to
use, but I cannot understand why it irritates so many so much. WWJ's
marketing department (distinct, by the way, from the editorial
department, which is also the case at other magazines) has done about
all they can to ease the load for the recipient.