Capital One - my little project, I guess

[pips]

So I have finally gotten sick and tired of these stupid Capital One credit card "instant approval!" applications being sent to me almost everyday. The past, I think, four of them, I took the application and wrote some kind of, "save the trees/ stop sending these to me," messages on them with a Sharpie and sent them back with Capital One's pre-paid envelopes. I just got another one yesterday.

I thought maybe I'd ask all of you to do the same...to reply to these junk mailers (Capital One or anyone else) with their pre-paid envelopes, asking to stop sending so much junk to save the trees.

It would be cool if it would make some difference.

It just kind of bothers me how much junk-mail people get everyday...how much paper could be saved...even some money for the businesses sending the crap.

[Pascal]

An easier solution to your problem?
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consume ... alt063.htm

[C-Fan]

Not that I'm advocating this, but I read this solution in an Abby Hoffman book.

When you get one of those envelopes that are pre-paid, the company is obliged to pay the postage no matter what. So if you start gluing/taping/pasting these envelopes to bricks, and putting them in mailboxes, the company will have to pay for shipping the brick. Do this enough, and they will stop sending envelopes to your address.

This may not work anymore, due to the obviousness of a brick, but you can put other heavy things in the envelopes to send the same message. From an environmental standpoint however, this is in some ways worse, since delivering the heavy parcel wastes gas/energy.

Just throwing that thought out there, cause its cute.

[Iain]

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net ... k_the_junk

[pips]

Not that I'm advocating this, but I read this solution in an Abby Hoffman book.

When you get one of those envelopes that are pre-paid, the company is obliged to pay the postage no matter what. So if you start gluing/taping/pasting these envelopes to bricks, and putting them in mailboxes, the company will have to pay for shipping the brick. Do this enough, and they will stop sending envelopes to your address.

This may not work anymore, due to the obviousness of a brick, but you can put other heavy things in the envelopes to send the same message. From an environmental standpoint however, this is in some ways worse, since delivering the heavy parcel wastes gas/energy.

Just throwing that thought out there, cause its cute.

Haha...I will catch a falling star and start mailing pieces of it. I don't know how I'd pick it up or break it, but I will!

[Pyroman924]

I like this idea too, however what I normally do is just save all of them up and recycle them. I doubt that when you send them back that they do the same though, which would ultimately waste a tree. But I still think this is a very clever idea.

[pips]

I don't know if my little statement about the star made any sense. I just woke up when I said it. My point was that star material is very, VERY heavy. I don't even remember if it was any star or something else out in space.

Anyways. I got more mail today. I kind of took Ken's advice...ripped up all but the application paper and mailing envelope, stuffed the ripped up stuff in the mailing envelope, wrote more messages on the application, put that inside, and sealed the envelope. I got like 5 heavy envelopes waiting to be mailed on Monday (I did it to my mail and my family's).

My first message asked to recycle the papers for me...second was about my mom not wanting any crap either...third nor my sister or my dog or anyone else (I don't even have a dog)...fourth asking how much money has been wasted on me so far...fifth a nice, first message to Citi.

I feel like such a brat but not. Hehe. Eventually I'll try those numbers out.