hank
I’m serious; if you’ve got the time and a big truck let’s fire it up. I absolutely hate the fact that they think I want a phonebook. Did they ever ask me? No. Did I ever ask them to give me one? No. Well this is an open letter to the phonebookers of the world and some ideas to getting ride of them…
Loading …Why are phonebooks still around in the first place?
One of the oldest types of advertising - in the yellow pages. It’s a dying art that really does need to go; you’re not reaching the eyes you once were when there wasn’t the internet. I have to think that the people that read the advertisers in phonebooks either come from small towns or are over the age of 70 and don’t know how to open Google and type what you’re looking for. Another interesting stat is that I got another book last week and noticed that plumbers and lawyers advertise the most in phonebooks. Do we have any of either on here reading this that could give advertising statistics on the thread?
I haven’t opened a phone book in close to 10 years. I have had no use for it since Al Gore created the internet back in the early 90s. Even then the main use for my phonebook was as a booster seat.
I’m a big fan of saving the environment and I have mentioned more than once that I support GreenDimes.com, but this should be at the top of everyone’s list of things to get rid of if they’re looking to save the world. I seriously get 2 or 3 a year that go directly from my driveway to my recycle bin in as much time as it takes to walk out and back to the bin!
If we really break it down, I would estimate that a phonebook weighs in the neighborhood of 2 pounds? We’ve got 300MIL people in the US so that adds up to about 600MIL pounds of trees that we’re immediately throwing in the recycle bin per cycle!
Yes, there ARE people that use them and I don’t discredit the need for them in SOME communities; albeit mostly senior citizen communities, but even they’re getting upgraded with high speed internet these days!
How about a new way to get in our out of phonebook deliverings?
The next phonebook I get I’m going to look through it to see if there is an “opt-out” email or something I can use to tell them to take me off the list. What would be the problem with phonebook companies just sending an opt-in or opt-out mailing or email with it before they just fire it off? Clearly they’re losing money by sending out phonebooks and 80% of people just put them directly in their recycle bin; wouldn’t it help them?
The only reason I can think of that they WOULDN’T want to do that is that it kills their sales pitch. Right now they can say they deliver to 300MIL people in the US that will see your ad. They say nothing about how only 1MIL keep the phonebook for one reason or another; nor do they say that of that 1MIL that keep it, only 20,000 actually open it to look for a phone number.
I was reading a post from TheGoodHuman and SPK remarks in the comment section something interesting:
I spent 7 years at Bell Atlantic/Verizon Yellow Pages in directory advertising sales in NJ and PA.
What a business! I started out in telephone sales handing customers who spent $2.50 per month up to $300 or so per month. Our job was to “run money”. What does this mean? Renew, renew, renew. See, when the customer keeps their ad the same, I got 10% of the monthly cost in commission.
In the late 90s and early 2000’s the renew rate was 85-87%. So, you had to up-sell and sell new businesses and non advertisers to make any money. We got 125% of the increased monthly revenue and Verizon got the rest. Where do they make their money? Renewals. I sell a $500 per month ad and get $600 in commission this year, and next year I get $50?
So, when the yellow page rep calls you - they want to first upsell you on ANYTHING, then renew you to move on. Be vigilant with them - don’t trust their marketing numbers.
Humminbird thinks a giant Jenga game is in order for all the books she sees lying around. I think I may agree. Another writer points out: “I don’t like them because a telephone book sitting on my front porch screams, “Rob this house! Nobody’s home!”
So wanna try to turn a dime on an idea?
I honestly
think you could make money by going through your community and asking who doesn’t want their phonebook and telling them you’ll keep them off a front porch. Ask for a dollar per year to do it and you won’t have many people say no.
Then just follow the delivery truck with your list of people that paid you to pick them up and as he laid them down, pick them back up and toss them in your truck to be taken to the nearest recycling station! Be sure to stop by my house, I’ll pay you for it!
Maybe a better way or 2 to get rid of them
I haven’t used any of these methods, but if you have, please let me know!
- IslandPacket.com says you can call Call (866) 416-2074, ext. 80555 to be removed from the list.
- Log on to PaperlessPetition.org and sign up to be removed. (may not be valid! thanks kenc [comment #7])
- Telephone book reduction project in Washington state.
- Hit up the Head of the Industry Association: (thanks Kenc [comment #7])
Mr. Negley (Neg) Norton
Two Connell Drive, First Floor
Berkeley Heights, N.J. 07922-2747
(908) 286-2385
Neg.Norton@ypassociation.org - Call them each individually:
Call 1-877-243-8339 to opt-out of receiving DEX phone books.
Call 1-800-929-3556 to opt-out of receiving Yellow Book directories.
If you want to opt-out of the Verizon phone book, you can call 800-555-4833. - UPDATE: There is a site that does allow consumers to opt out from getting telephone books: http://www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org Thanks you Alex Ireland on comment #22 on this post! I submitted my name here; we’ll see how they come back!
UPDATE: I pinged Greendimes about it and they chimed back and said:
> Hank,
> Thanks for supporting us! We do not currently have the ability to stop
> phonebooks, but we are constantly looking for ways to improve our service.
> I forwarded your message to our General Manager and while we don’t have
> any plans at the moment, you can be sure it will be looked into.
>
> Thanks again,
>
> Ben
> GreenDimes
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44 Comments
April 28th, 2008 at 5:47 am
Any facts to support these statements or are they just your assumptions based on your own use of the internet and that of other bloggers, who are also obviously heavy internet users?
>>I have to think that the people that advertise in phonebooks either come from small towns or are over the age of 70 and don’t know how to open Google and type what you’re looking for.<>Yes, there ARE people that use them and I don’t discredit the need for them in SOME communities; albeit mostly senior citizen communities,<>80% of people just put them directly in their recycle bin<<
April 28th, 2008 at 6:05 am
I am both over 50 and I live in a small community and I don’t even use it. I take that back, it makes for good firestarter as the paper is nice and thin.
April 28th, 2008 at 6:41 am
@Tom - The 80% piece was pulled from Reuters homepage here. But I’d say, in regards to the “over 50 and small communities” bit that there is a 97.28% chance I made those numbers up. However, in lieu of Helen’s comment above I will change that number to “over 70″. That should bump my theoretical number system up to cover 99.11% of people…
Also, I see your IP address is coming from yellowbook.com so clearly you have a vested interest in how this article is taken by the public. How about finding ways to keep it a happy medium? I have no problem with the phonebook (aside from the tree consumption). I more specifically have a gripe with MY phonebook. I personally don’t want one, and I’m sure there are others that feel the same way. Why don’t you give people an opportunity to get the phonebook if they want to?
Yea, your advertising arm may feel it a bit, but you’d be giving the phone book to people that want it, would save hundreds of thousands of trees, and stop evil bloggers like myself of criticizing your system…
April 28th, 2008 at 8:26 am
GreenDimes here,
Thanks for all the follow up. We still found many issues with getting rid of directory (though we did try). I just sent in a query to yellowbook.com. Let’s see what they say.
April 28th, 2008 at 8:46 am
I will admit to being under 70 and using a phone book from time to time. If I didn’t have a phone book, though, I’d find other ways to get the info I need.
My husband worked for a smaller phone book company in sales, and I think the reason businesses advertise in the phone book is that traditionally it was a good way to get customers. Same with the newspaper. But as we know, times are changing, and eventually the businesses will figure it out and move on to other advertising venues.
As far as getting rid of them, check with your local schools. Our elementary school does a phone book drive every spring. They get money for every phone book brought in to be recycled. Also, our local post office also has a big recycle box out, too, and people always dump their phone books (and junk mail) in there.
Lynnae’s last blog post..(Not) Keeping Up With Our Parents: The Cost of a College Education
April 28th, 2008 at 10:49 am
I’ll use one if I’m having a hard time finding businesses online. Some smaller, local ones don’t seem to have sites or even listings. But for personal numbers the only phone books I’ve used in a while have been group-books…like the church member directory. They’re small enough that it’s faster to use the directory than search online.
April 28th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Please get your facts straight:
1) the Paperless Petition is a bogus organization: http://ypgreen.wordpress.com/2008/01/21/when-is-a-petition-for-change-is-not-a-petition/
2) Neg Norton is the head of the industry association, not the publisher Yellow Book
3) the printed books were referenced nearly 14 billion times last year. Appears many people are using them.
You haven’t used one in ten years you say? How come? 87% say these use it at least once a year. It’s a heck of lot faster than culling through some one zillion hits you get on a Google type search
April 28th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Long time reader, first time poster. This article really caught my eye though. I agree that the phonebook is a waste of money for everyone involved and that an opt-in or opt-out method would be the best way about it. I do not own one. Internet works for me. the big thing for me is resource usage. Isn’t there a better way out there to advertise? The book ITSELF is just a big bunch of ads in itself. why would I voluntarily subscribe to a bunch of ads? Isn’t it considered littering to just dump something on my front porch anyway?
In reference to kenc’s response above I haven’t used one in about that long either. I don’t know what you’re typing in google search that you’re getting a zillion hits, you should really get YOUR facts straight. NOTHING gives a zillion hits.
April 28th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
@Greendimes - Do let us know what they say! We’d be interested!
@Lynnae - Didn’t think of the schools and post office, but yea, they make sense! I have a big recycle bin at my dayjob also but am more complaining about the process than where to dump it - I’m all for recycling!
@MrsMicah - Good call - smaller directories seem to work just fine for me also. No ads and those are wanted phone listing for EVERYONE that gets one.
@kenc - Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the conversation. A few items of note though:
1. I didn’t say they were “facts” anywhere in the post; they were simply other resources that have referenced the material in question. See the links in each of the posts to see my source on them. I have corrected and credited you with the find - thanks for keeping me honest.
2. I am all for “seeing both sides of the coin” in regards to PaperlessPetition.org, but again, it’s just a place to go that I haven’t verified, as stated above. I usually like to see 3 or 4 things stating the same thing to prove or disprove what I’ve read and I’ve seen it here, here, here, and here. Additionally, I see you’re the author of ypgreen.wordpress.com, so please forgive me when I say I am not completely convinced and to please send more info on this, which leads to point #3.
3. I see from your email address that you are from yptalk.com which is “the voice of of the YellowPage Industry” as stated on the site there. I understand that I’m possibly chiming in against your marketing strategies, but instead of discrediting the non-factual information I provided (and stated that it wasn’t tested by me), how about working together with the proper organizations to come up with a solution instead of trying to push old-school advertising still? There are clearly plenty of people that are still “in” with phonebook directories, but instead of spamming the advertising, give it to people that want it, you’ll probably see better return on your investment by hitting up the people that are using it, and saving $ on people who are just tossing it in the trash.
4. I’m not saying it’s a bad service and that the Phonebook companies should be disbanded and thousands out of jobs; absolutely not. I’m just saying that I don’t think EVERYONE needs them. Yes, businesses, and bus stops, phone booths, shopping malls, etc. need them. I think they should stay there, but as for a persons home, that should be left to the homeowner. Some homes DON’T have internet and use the phonebook a lot. Feel free to give them a phonebook, I’m all for that, but give me the CHOICE is all I’m saying.
5. Finally, I referenced your information in the post, but I’d certainly be interested in your factual information that the book was used 14 billion times
last year. Does that count booster seat and firestarter paper like Helen said? Same thing with the 87% of people using them? 87% of WHAT people? Where’s that info?
I DO appreciate the conversation though. The post was meant to get some information like this that I, and the readers, haven’t had before. It’s nice to see both sides of the coin and this might even be a good place for a poll; which I’ve also added. No hard feelings at all, enjoying the convo, just interested to hear how we can help with the change that is certainly happening with the old media advertising morphing to new media advertising.
@JeffL - Thanks for posting! Nice to meet you! And yes, good point, I haven’t ever searched for anything with 1 zillion hits either! Good point about the littering too. I’m assuming there is some “fine print” somewhere that phonebookers are getting around, because by the looks of it here on the .gov site, that it isn’t legal. Anyone have any info on how that works?
April 28th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I rarely use a phone book. I have my Dr. Ph number memorized, pharmacy numbers on the bottles, I can access anything I need to order food online now or use a fridge magnet. For movie theaters I get on Yahoo and for anything else I usually use the smaller group specific directories that are in my house. As Lynnea pointed out there are other ways to access the information we need now besides the phone book.
Joe Cheray’s last blog post..Broken Heart
April 28th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
I know what you are talking about they just waste space. But the good news is that in my area they have not issued them in ages. No one uses them anymore they are just a waste of money to print and distribute.
Roman’s last blog post..Countercyclical Investments: Foreign Exchange (FOREX or FX)
April 29th, 2008 at 4:51 am
The nearly 14 billion references and 87% of people who use the Yellow Pages at least once a year that I mentioned come from annual research of over 9,000 interviews conducted by Knowledge Networks/SRI. Here is link to additional information: http://www.knowledgenetworks.com/news/releases/2008/040708_yp-multiplatform.html
April 29th, 2008 at 8:18 am
I got a phone number…
You can be put on our “Do Not Distribute” list by contacting our distribution department- 800-373-3280.
Thank you
I would try that and use yellowbook.com for your listings. I’m curious how people like using yellowbook.com as opposed to their paper directory.
April 29th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Although it might feel like they must be losing money by printing up and distributing phone books, I’d suggest otherwise. The very fact that phone books continue exists suggest that they are in fact making a profit.
I think you’re right Hank that allowing millions of people to easily opt out would affect their sales pitch. So they really aren’t wasting money, it’s simply the cost of doing business. The phone book industry will eventually be forced to change, much like newspapers are changing to co-exist with the internet.
Btw Hank, it looks like you’re using a mii for your Gravatar. Have you tried the new Mario Kart yet? We got it yesterday. It’s a lot of fun and the online play even works (which I wasn’t expecting after Smash Bros failed to work online).
Aaron Stroud’s last blog post..“I deserve it” thinking
April 30th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I don’t like my phonebook either. I have had MORE than enough and welcome an option to get out of getting it for sure!!!! Thanks Sanjdimes for the info! I like your service too! good blog!~
April 30th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
@Joe - no kidding on the nice heads up from Lynnae; that’s a big one to keep in mind!
@Roman - where are you from that they don’t offer them?
@kenc - thanks for the references, but I was hoping for a little more info back on the other questions I had asked earlier. Pleading the 5th on those?
@Sanj - Thanks for the tip! Keep us up to date about anything around this subject as you clearly have a forum here if you want to him my readers up on it!
@Aaron - I’m not saying they don’t make money; clearly they do, and still turn a big profit, but they could make MORE money I think by throttling it back to target just a specific market saving money on deliveries that never hit their mark.
@Eduardo - Thanks for stopping by!
April 30th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Hank:
Not sure what other items you feel you are missing out on.
1> if you are not posting the facts and not wanting true full information then why are you you running this blog? I can only give you the facts and then you have to decide how to present and/or accept them.
2> the site you reference has NEVER contacted a singular publisher in the years they have been collecting names/information. After repeated attempts to contact them, no response has been received. What would you call a site like that other than bogus???
Yes, I have a blog http://www.ypgreen.info which was only started to combat the misinformation that folks like Paperless Petition continue to spew in hyperspace.
3> yes, I do run a site http://www.yptalk.com which provides information to people who work in the YP industry, but your suggestion of “working with people in proper organizations to come up with a solution instead of trying to push old-school advertising” is naive. Who are those “proper organizations”?? Groups like the Paperless Petition are clearly far from that. And there are several million small businesses that rely on that “old-school advertising” better know as print Yellow Pages to communicate their business message. There have always been people that for one reason or another don’t choose to keep a phone book. Ok, please recycle it and let’s move on, It’s just a phone book. You do have a choice. Don’t want it — recycle it.
5> I can only provide the factual information. Whether you or others choose to believe it is up to them. But the research conducted is by some of the most highly respected media research groups out there. To think they are baking the results of some 9000 surveys is just silly at best.
Your posting of these comments does reflect positively on your site. Prior experience has been that others who don’t really want to hear a balanced discussion will block it , so kudos on posting these comments
May 4th, 2008 at 6:08 am
I never post comments but I had to post one here because this topic got me interested and actually tried to do some research on it. I have to admit I use both. If I need a number and I’m at my desk I will use my computer but to have to go and turn it on, wait for it to boot up, etc…. is to time consuming. I rather just grab my book. I asked my friend (whom I know puts ads in the yellow book) how well it works for him. He owns a taxi cab company in the North Shore of Mass and he has a different number in the book so he can track exactly how many calls he gets when his bill comes in. He told me in the first three months that the book was out he got over 250 calls! I had to admit I was shocked. He’s been advertising in yellow pages for years so he knows a lot about it…. again I was shocked. He explained to me that people use the books all the time and more then they actually are willing to admit. He explained why and how they are used and I’m not going to get into it on here but it all really made sense and he doesn’t have a vested interest in supporting the yellow page industry besides the fact that he’s in them.
It seems like this is one of those situations where a lot of people use them (obviously some more then others) but it’s the people that don’t that bark the loudest. I know if my water heater bursts in the middle of the night I’m not going to run to my office downstairs and turn on my computer. I’m going to pick up the book and look for the first 24 hour plumbing company I can find and call them. I feel bad for those people that decide to opt out of the book delivery and then have to deal with that situation.
I did some further research on this subject and tried to look into paper consumption for these books. Now I personally try to be as ‘green’ as I can so I was concerned and interested in this. It was tough trying to get actual data but I did find that one company, Yellow Book USA, actually uses wasted sawdust to produce its paper for the books! I felt a little bit better for the trees when I heard that, especially since Yellow Book USA says it’s the largest yellow page producer in the US.
Bottom line I guess…. yellow page companies have a right to make money just like any of us. We all get spam mail and email and if you consider the books spam then recycle it but if you don’t then keep it and use it how ever you want. I get ValPak all the time in the mail and hardly even open it anymore. I don’t think that gives me the right to try to hurt thier business. Just like the emergency senario for the yellow pages… thier might come a time when I open up those coupon mailers and use one… who knows. The more I looked into this subject the more it feels like a witch hunt. It’s not that I feel bad for them (considering that I saw that Yellow Book USA is a 2 BILLION dollar company) but they do provide a service and it has and I guess still does make a lot of people (small local buisnesses) money and next time your in a jam could bail you out as well.
Live and let live……..
J
May 4th, 2008 at 6:10 am
BTW…. I’m 26 and still use the books as well as the internet too.
Thanks,
J
May 4th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
@kenc - thanks for the reply, sorry I didn’t get back until today on this, been a long week!
In response to your responses:
1. I’m running the blog just to spew my opinion. Nothing more, I’ve never mentioned or claimed that I was a factual site. I write about what interests me and you and thousands of others are free to read or not. Ideally it’s meant to keep my on a financial track, but I’ve got to admit, it’s also nice to hear what others have to say. My disclaimer says I’m not a professional and that it is all opinion, and just that.
I’m all for presenting the facts as well; but I really haven’t seen anything else showing PaperlessPetition.org being a hoax but on your site… On that same though, I see their site hasn’t been updated in the right column for coming on 2 years now, so I have a feeling I may be leaning your way on it.
2. I actually just sent them an email myself, we’ll see if they kick anything back my way. We’ll get to the bottom of this one!
3. I’m trying to help YOU on this front - you guys must be losing money by giving the book to people that just dump it in the recycle. That just seems like good business sense to hit your mark without creating extra cost. As far as the “proper organizations” I have to say that I dug this article on your site stating that YellowBook is on that track. So thanks for that info!
4. Ditto.
5. Oh, I agree, but I was just questioning whether there is a link or something you could send that would reinforce that number.
Thanks for the kudos on the comment posting. I figure everyone has an opinion that’s as good or better than mine so I’m all for allowing anyone speak up as they like as long as it isn’t defamatory.
So I actually dug on your site a bit tonight and really liked the article referenced in point 3 and also liked seeing this one. Interesting to know that Yellow Pages doesn’t use new trees for the books! Kudos to that!
In reading the article, I actually found an interesting post to toss the next comment…
@Justin - thanks for stopping by and chiming in, it certainly IS an interesting topic. In regards to the taxi driver advertising I’m in the same boat. I’ve had some friends that have posted their services and made good return on the investment. I completely agree with your “live and let live” stance. I’m not saying to dump it, I’m just looking for another option for delivery. I think it would help both the producers (less production of books) AND the consumers (they could choose to get it).
I hear you on the water heater bit, you want something QUICK! That’s why I’ve got the “list” of numbers I may need to call on the wall like MrsMicah mentioned above. But another number to throw in the repertoire was listed in the article from kenc’s blog that had a comment in it from “Matt Lopez” that said:
on March 25, 2008 on 9:27 pm
If yellow page publishers teamed up with companies like 1-800-info-FAST (1-800-463-6327), who gives yellow and white page information over the phone with live U.S. operators for FREE, they would not be such a target from the environmental groups. They would also be able to recover some of the recent and future lost revenues by embracing the future. It would show that publishers are on the cutting edge of technology and conservation.
Thank you both for stopping by again!
May 12th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Wow. What a passionate discussion. But there is a site that does allow consumers to opt out from getting telephone books: http://www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org
This site does contact publishers (Ken C - unlike the paperless petition people you reference)
If you go to their site: http://www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org you can see the Top 10 suggestions people have provided to stop the delivery of unwanted telephone books. The site states they are not against the books just the way they are dropped off and the consumers is responsible to recycle something they may not have wanted in the first place.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Hank, I agree with you that the Yellow Page industry is not a bad business and some people use them. But I agree with the suggestion from Alex that if I want one I will call and ask for one. If not, do not drop them off. What other industry, other than direct mail and free weekly newspapers - which I am not fond of either, drop their product off on your door and make you responsible to get rid of it? And, I do not care if it is free. I don’t want it.
It just does not make sense. And the industry charges customers advertising rates based on how many books they print and deliver. If people had the ability to opt out this would greatly impact the fees charged by the industry. Ken C, who appears is an advocate for the industry, stresses a lot of stats about how great the book is. I am sure the stats either came from the industry or some “3rd party” that has no affiliation to the industry (yeah, right), and the war in Irag is about democracy and not oil.
May 12th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
@Alex Ireland - AH! Nice! I’m signing up now! We’ll see how it cooks up, I’ll re-post this in the future if we’re seeing progress here…
@ Andrew Spears - I hear you man. I’m all for signing up if I WANT one, otherwise, please refrain!
Thank you both for stopping by to comment!
hank’s last blog post..Lower Your Monthly Power Bill, Make $256, And Save The World!
May 12th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Hank, I got an e-mail from Alex telling me he posted some info about my organization on your blog, Great. http://www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org is the first true opt out site in the country. We started the site on April 1 and we have received thousands of sign ups. I have had e-mail conversations with Ken C (one of the bloggers above). Ken has been very generous and insightful with his views. I appreciate the opportunity to discuss this issue with him and we agree to disagree on the issue.
One item that Ken C has pointed out and separates http://www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org from other sites is we do contact the publishers and provide them with an electronic file of the people that request to opt out from receiving telephone books. Some of the publishers have accepted the information and some have been resisting the request.
But in the end we have the complete database and the info has been shared with law makers that have been told no system could be put together. http://www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org has taken off and we appreciate the support of the individuals like you that discuss this issue.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
@Phillip - glad to have you around. Indeed a good service to have you swing by to discuss! It gives credibility to the service! Looking forward to having you stop my phonebooks! Just signed up today!
May 13th, 2008 at 7:17 am
@Philip - You say that “some of the publishers have accepted the information” you gather on your site. Can you share with us who? Frankly, I’d be surprised if any publisher would rely on names submitted to an internet site - even one with good intentions (as I assume yours has.)
Even if you can convince people to give their personal information to a site with which they have no relationship, there is simply no way for a publisher to know if the requests are legitimate as opposed to coming from a mischievous competitor, a teenager who may not be speaking for other members of the family, or a disgruntled husband/wife/former employee/you name it.
It’s like the old New Yorker cartoon - on the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.
May 13th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Bill - Thanks for the follow up. The information is sent to all the publishers in North America. We have received feedback from some asking the info be sorted in a different format and from some saying that they do not accept this info from a 3rd party using comments similar to yours as the reasons.
We were told that one publisher audited the info and stated that 50% of the people did not sign up. We proposed that the database be given to another 3rd party to verify the people did indeed sign up and the names are not bogus. Every sign up receives and auto reply that they have to click to submit their name. If the auto reply is blocked (Comcast.net is bad at this) we contact the individual to inform them we received their request.
We even proposed that we will turn the list of to any Attorney General from any state to verify each request.
I understand your issues but have to wonder what motivation would a mischievous competitor, a teenager who may not be speaking for other members of the family, or a disgruntled husband/wife/former employee/you name it want to come into http://www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org and opt out a residential home from getting a telephone book delivered? Would an ex-husband think this is the most disastrous thing he could do to his ex-wife by having the telephone book not delivered to her house? I would propose he would like to know when she is out of town and have many books delivered so potential thieves canvassing her house can see she is out of town because the books are piling upon her front door. Do you realize this is one of the reasons that communities are asking for an opt out program because thieves canvass areas after the books are delivered and see which homes the books stay on the front porch and target these homes?
We have thousands of people signing up and the information is not being used other than to notify the publishers to act on the behave of the consumers to opt out from getting telephone books delivered that they do not want. The unsolicited delivery of telephone books is a big issue. To see some of the legislative initiatives that has been proposed or pending you can go to http://www.productstewardship.us/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=282.
May 13th, 2008 at 8:55 am
Hank - Thanks for your very smart posting on how to handle the yellow page directories. I’ve added your link to YellowPages the Dinosaur http://blog.yellowdinosaur.net and anticipate that it will peak many people’s interest.
Keep on thinking, great job!
Mitch
Editor
YellowPages The Dinosaur
Mitch’s last blog post..“Consumers Top Ten Suggestions to Stop Getting Telephone Books” (via YellowPagesGoesGreen.Org)