TranquilMind Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 (edited) This is so annoying. I haven't purchased mailing labels in 20 years nor Christmas cards, because charities I support send me large packets of this stuff all the time. I got 25 blank Christmas cards this year in the mail! 25!!! Come ON. All it does is let me know that your marketing is more important than your charitable giving, and tells me to mark you off the list. It doesn't even matter if I only gave a little bit, or just once...I get packets of stuff! Stop. Edited December 7, 2015 by TranquilMind 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Dd was just going through a pile of Christmas cards, asking where we got them. "Some charity that wanted us to send them money." I had thrown out everything else from the charity ... she threw out several of the cards. We both remarked what a bad marketing move it was. But I suppose others think they "owe" money for the products sent to them, so send in a donation. Agreed that it's annoying. I think they probably make money off of it, though.At least enough money to accomplish whatever it is they're trying to accomplish, which might simply be for the marketing department to continue being paid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted December 7, 2015 Author Share Posted December 7, 2015 Dd was just going through a pile of Christmas cards, asking where we got them. "Some charity that wanted us to send them money." I had thrown out everything else from the charity ... she threw out several of the cards. We both remarked what a bad marketing move it was. But I suppose others think they "owe" money for the products sent to them, so send in a donation. Agreed that it's annoying. I think they probably make money off of it, though.At least enough money to accomplish whatever it is they're trying to accomplish, which might simply be for the marketing department to continue being paid. That is what I suspect. And what I will not support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I've always wondered just how good a marketing strategy it is, to send free stuff. I don't like it, either. I will admit to occasionally using the cards/Christmas Seals/whatever without sending in a dime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I've always wondered just how good a marketing strategy it is, to send free stuff. I don't like it, either. I will admit to occasionally using the cards/Christmas Seals/whatever without sending in a dime. I freely admit to using any stuff sent in the mail without sending in a dime. I can't stand waste. I feel absolutely no obligation at all - never requested the stuff - so won't "pay" for it via donations. I just won't waste it either if I can use it. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Frog Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 My mil received a lot of these unsolicited and felt compelled to donate to cover the cost of the "gift". I believe there are many senior citizens who do this. Mil felt guilty if she didn't send something. Then, because she sent something to one charity, her name would be sold to other charities, who would send other merchandise (or money, either coins or bills), expecting to receive compensation. I believe it's a despicable practice. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 (edited) I get those from charities to which I never donated at all. It's simple psychology: I am supposed to feel guilty because they sent me stuff, and give them money. I just won't, because I object to this kind of manipulation. ETA: I use the stuff anyway. It has been sent; nobody benefits from me throwing it out. Edited December 7, 2015 by regentrude 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 The St. Joseph's school for Lakota children is one of the worst offenders: http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/17/us/south-dakota-indian-school-fundraising-investigation/ They send 30 million mailings per year and get 50 million dollars in donations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 My mil received a lot of these unsolicited and felt compelled to donate to cover the cost of the "gift". I believe there are many senior citizens who do this. Mil felt guilty if she didn't send something. Then, because she sent something to one charity, her name would be sold to other charities Absolutely. I remember helping my mom go through her mother's mail a few times in the late 90s. One time my mom went through 18 paper grocery bags of mail, mostly from these charities. My grandma wouldn't just pick one place to donate and ignore the rest. Instead she'd give some here, some there, which meant that we had to open everything to look for receipts for tax purposes. Her name must've been sold over and over. I can't tell you how many hundreds of blank cards and other trinkets we found, plus coins and even dollar bills. Many of the mailings were addressed to my grandpa who'd died in the mid-1980s. My mom didn't make much progress trying to get my grandma's name off lists until I suggested we start using all the prepaid envelopes to mail back a letter saying my grandma was deceased. It worked! Over the course of a few years (?), the amount of mail decreased to only 2-3 paper bags in a few months. So if you've asked to be removed from lists and haven't had luck, you may have to pretend to be dead! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 This is so annoying. I haven't purchased mailing labels in 20 years nor Christmas cards, because charities I support send me large packets of this stuff all the time. I got 25 blank Christmas cards this year in the mail! 25!!! We have more mailing labels than we'll ever use, especially now that we rarely use the postal service anymore except to mail packages. All of the labels came from a charity. Some sent them with their request letter whether we ever gave to that charity or not. We never got Christmas cards, but have a bunch of all occasion cards, some with sayings and some blank inside, that also came unrequested from charity organizations. I don't know how much such things actually cost the organizations, but even if it's a tiny amount it seems to me like a waste of funds. I'm aware that charities have expenses. I'm not opposed to paying a salary to a CEO and to a certain number of employees. And I also understand spending some of their money on raffle items (though those are often donated). What I don't understand is spending money on things to send to people without knowing if what they send will ever get used or if it goes straight into the trash can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Mousie Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I agree! And now that I have approx. 10,000 address labels, I can bring myself to throw out the ugly ones. But what really kills me is the ones that include a nickel. I simply *cannot* throw out real money! Please, charities, stop using my money to ask me for more money! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valley Girl Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 The charities send token items because the numbers work for them. They want you to feel obligated enough to send a donation. It's manipulative, yes. And effective, or they wouldn't do it. But the recipient is NOT obligated to them in any way. It's the same reason they send so many mailings. Even if you've only donated once, you're more likely to donate again than someone new on the mailing list. I agree with Tranquil Mind, though. I want my donations be used for the purpose I intended--not on stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomeontheprairie Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 We live right next to my husband's grandpa . He. Gets. So. Freaking. Much. Junk. Mail. Seriously, this week he brought me up no Less than a hundred Christmas cards, and my choice two dozen 2016 calendars. Two blankets, four toothbrushes, five dream catchers, two totebag's. countless nice notepads, sheets of stickers and address labels. And that doesn't count all the stuff he throws away before it gets to my house. It's a ridiculous amount of waste. However some of the best baby blankets I ever received he got in the mail. And I haven't had to buy thank you cards birthday cards or sympathy cards for the six years we've lived by him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 I agree! And as a matter of principle I never send money if they send stuff because I find it offensively manipulative. I also find the magazines they send me annoying. I never read them. I know they're doing good work because I hear about it from reputable news sources, not because they tell me in expensive glossy marketing magazines! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted December 8, 2015 Author Share Posted December 8, 2015 We live right next to my husband's grandpa . He. Gets. So. Freaking. Much. Junk. Mail. Seriously, this week he brought me up no Less than a hundred Christmas cards, and my choice two dozen 2016 calendars. Two blankets, four toothbrushes, five dream catchers, two totebag's. countless nice notepads, sheets of stickers and address labels. And that doesn't count all the stuff he throws away before it gets to my house. It's a ridiculous amount of waste. However some of the best baby blankets I ever received he got in the mail. And I haven't had to buy thank you cards birthday cards or sympathy cards for the six years we've lived by him What?? You mean it is only going to increase as we get older? Ahhhh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 I freely admit to using any stuff sent in the mail without sending in a dime. I can't stand waste. I feel absolutely no obligation at all - never requested the stuff - so won't "pay" for it via donations. I just won't waste it either if I can use it. I use the stuff too. And I learned my lesson (don't donate money to them ever). Years ago I got one of those packet of address labels from the March of Dimes. It was the first time I was on my own and had my own address and I thought oh aren't these sweet. So I sent them the staggering sum of $10. For about three years after I got probably 100 fund raising mail packets with address labels. I moved before I could use half of them. How can they be making money if they do that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 What?? You mean it is only going to increase as we get older? Ahhhh. Yes. My dad does give to charity sometimes and they hound him after. If he gives money they then call him weekly on top of the mounds of junk mail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne in CA Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 This thread reminds me of my BIL who was on some sort of academic exchange in college. He resided in Oregon, but was in Nebraska for a few months. While in Nebraska he was cornered at Christmas time for a small donation to a local humane society. They tracked him down with his check and have continued to send him things in Oregon for many, many years. They have spent far over the amount of the original donation, but will not quit. I guess they figure that once someone is on the hook they will donate again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigs Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 From time to time I send back the donation envelope and card with a request for them to remove me from their mailing list (especially if it is postage paid). There's one charity that will include a stamp instead of a printed postage paid envelope. Whatever, they get it back with no donation. Someone even sent me a sock (just 1). I think I was supposed to send it back with a donation so they could provide socks to someone. The sock went into the Goodwill bag. I've stopped contributing to organizations that send out letters every month (some send out several a week :eek:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 JAingWY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 When my elderly neighbor moved, her family refused to have her mail forwarded so I picked it up for her. It was appalling. She got so much crap in an effort to guilt her in to donating (she did, hence me getting her mail). There are softies who feel like they should send $5 to pay for the 2 cents worth of labels so they keep sending them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
***** Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Yes, when I helped clean out my elderly mother's house, I became thoroughly disgusted with charity requests. It is sick how they prey on the elderly. My mom had some dementia and she felt so bad for the 'poor little children'.She gave and they kept hounding her for more. There should be a cap on what these places can get from the elderly. A nice thank you, or certificate of some sort would make the elderly so happy to let them know they made a difference, and that their money helped someone to be successful, therefore, discontinuing their need to donate. She had so much correspondence that I even threw away a 'women's lifelong survey', to study cancer, I think. I thought it was just another piece of junk they were trying to get from the elderly. She took it to heart, filling out all the little squares. I wish I had taken that one seriously, because it was for a good cause. After she passed, they were able to contact my brother to find out why they hadn't heard from her. They offered their condolence. I felt badly that I hadn't followed through for her on that one because again, she felt like she was doing something very helpful, which she was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 That annoys me too. I don't give to such charities, but I have a friend who gets a ton of those because she sends them some small donation (or did once upon a time). She gives the cards and stickers to my kids to play with - but even that gets annoying after a while - too much stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 I do my elderly friend's annual tax return, and she and her husband also give to all these miscellaneous and dubious charities. It's usually just a little bit of money, but I can see how those "charities" could be getting rich off duping well-meaning older folks. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnwife Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 We must not be donating to the right places. I've never gotten mailing labels, cards, or calendars. I am perfectly fine with that. My mom cuts the pictures from the mailing labels and gives them to my kids as stickers. We have plenty thanks to her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 I appreciate the mailing labels. Use them all the time. Not sure what I would do without them...other than write my own address on an envelope... I got some once that were really pretty. They had birds on them. Audubon Society maybe? I don't send them donations...think they don't manage their money wisely if they are mailing out free stuff to everyone. I am getting low on mailing labels now. Wonder who might send me some next? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 I don't think it's quite as bad here in the UK with all the stuff being sent, we get the odd coaster or pen, but it's all so ugly I can't imagine it inspiring me to give money. There was a case earlier this year where it was suspected that being hounded by charities contributed to the suicide of an elderly woman. It seems like when they get any response you'll get hounded and the elderly are easy targets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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