Today in the mail I received an interesting item from the “Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Inc”. I have never been to this RR nor did I solicit anything from them. Ever.
I got a nice four “page” double sided fully color foldable shiny brochure inviting me to "Become a “Shareholder” In America’s Premier Historic Railroad".
For the mere price of just $30 {$40 outside the USA, mind you} I could be a “Basic/Family member” OR for just $50 I could be a “Shareholder”!!! For ONLY $5,000 I could be a “Honorary Chairman”!
Further more,. “To double your gift to the Friends, please contact your employer’s human resources or community relations departement to find out whether they offer a matching gift program”. Yeah. Right. Like I’m going to do that too.
Apperantly there ARE some benefits… I would get a “quarterly publication of the C&TS Dispatch, invitations to special events, the privilege of praticipating in work sessions each summer, and the satisfaction of investing in America’s historical and cultural heritage”. So It is NOT jsut wanting donations. I actually get somehting for my money.
Now, mind you, since I have not visited them and never solicited them then the only POSSIBLE way they could have my name and address is by buying it from either a train magazine I subscribe to OR from a online Hobby e-tailer I have done business with.
What gets me is there is:
1} a cover letter
2} teh shiny brochure
3} two envelopes {they included a return one}
4] they paid postage to mail it to me
That all requires some expenditure on their part on the HOPES I {and others I am positive} might “join” and become a “shareholder”. ANd there is no “other” line for a gift of any other amount other than their suggested amounts to be various levels of members or “shareholders”.
I got the same one today. They don’t bother me at all. I can take care of them at my leisure. And they are train related. It’s like the Walther’s flyer and any number of other train related stuff I get in the mail. I look them over, enjoy the pictures, and toss in the trash can.
Frankly, I have never been bothered by the mail. Unlike the spam that can fill my email, popup ad, ad videos, etc. that interrupt me while doing something else on the web. I get really frosted by the ads on DVD movies that can’t be skipped by after I have already paid money for the DVD. But junk mail - 2 seconds or less into the trash can or shredder if it doesn’t interest me. Plus, as I said above, it doesn’t interrupt anything else that I am doing.
WEll, 2 seconds or less after opening and I can determine if I keep or throw or shred {I shred ALL sheets for money or order sheets that have my name and address on them}.
I don’t mind the Walthers Flyer of the other flyer that are Model RR related. They might actually {and have} have something in them that I want to order.
I don’t expect I will ever get out west to the C& TS RR EVER, so it is just an annoyance to me.
What am to do? cough up a plane ticket and motel room everytime I get a “special invitation”? There are still plenty of historic trains operating here in the east I haven’t yet gotten to to ride on, if they shut down before I get to them.
Just wondered what people thought of having their addresses sold by mags or e-tailers.
Buy a house and you’ll get a load of mail. Same with having a baby.
I turn 65 in 4 months and am getting a boatload of mail for supplemental insurance, long term care, etc.
Then of course every time you use a credit card, or a local store’s “loyalty” card a record is kept of what you buy and used to generate junk mail.
I suspect the credit agencies are selling your information as well.
And if a company isn’t selling it then some employee usually is.
Now if you want to have a little fun, use a different middle initial when you subscribe to a magazine, buy online, etc. That way you can tell who originally sold your name on a piece of junk mail.
A few years ago I saw a video of a way to find out who or what publication has sold your name. One particular individual said he would make up a ridiculous name such as “Fubalub Armour” (his real last name was Armour) when he subscribed to any publication or purchased anything by mail order. As long as the last name and street address were correct, he would get the item no matter what first name was on the label.
Then, when he began receiving junk mail with that name, he knew where they had gotten it and cancelled or never renewed that subscription, or never purchased from that company again.
But if you’re going to pay by credit card, you probably couldn’t get by with this.
The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad is operated by volunteers, and the Friends of the Cumbres and Toltec is the organization that operates it. Operating something like the C&TS is not cheap, particularly when a major disaster happens such as the fire on Lobato Trestle, which closed down portions of the line for one season.
When I pick up my mail each day, I stop at the trash can on my way back into the house and deposit 90% of it without even opening.
Just wait until you reach Social Security age or become a member of AARP – you’ll start getting bombarded with junk mail for all manner of supplemental Medicare insurance, burial plans, savings schemes, pre-paid funerals, real estate offers, etc., because your name and address goes onto a government-operated public accessable web site that all of these junk mail originators screen daily.
I got the same thing. Appears the Friends of the C&TSR is pretty similar to the Friends of 261 here in the Twin Cities (which I’m a member of). I don’t have a big problem with the mailing, I’m sure they figure if 5% of people getting it join and continue to be members, the costs of mailing it are well worth it (plus they probably qualify for bulk rate postage so aren’t paying full price for the mailing). For me, it’s not a big deal if they got my name from one of the other historical societies I belong to, or from MR or RMC or whoever. If it’s railroad related it’s not a problem for me.
Whoa, TELL me about it, LOL! My mailbox is crammed with this stuff since I retired. Actually, it makes for good fireplace starter. My favorite so far is the American Express offer–Gold or Platinum, or some such–that I get once a month. Especially the ‘fine print’ that says that I won’t be considered if my annual income is less than $100,000. Hello? I’m a retired TEACHER, for cryin’ out loud. [:S]
Frankly, if I got a letter from the Cumbres and Toltec, I’d send them off a little donation just to make myself feel better. After all, those narrow-guage steamers need a lot of TLC.
I AM a member of AARP. WE DOn’t get a lot of junk.
There is DANGER DANGER DANGER in doing something like changing your middle initial or adopting a first name-no matter how rediculous the name may seem !!!
The DANGER is that SOMEONE WITH that initial or first name {no matter how rediculous} MAY OWE CREDITORS!!!
MY father has been getting collections calls for a guy with same first and last name as him but Different middle initial and he can’t get them to STOP even though it is NOT him they are {maybe legitimately} after!!!
This page includes directions for opting out of not only Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax - the ‘big 3’ - but also the Direct Marketing Association. Opting out won’t completely stop all junk mail, but it will greatly reduce the amount of junk you receive in the mail.
There is also a National Do Not Call Registry to opt out of telemarketing calls:
A friend of mine I worked with ( long since passed away ) had a great way to deal with some of the unwanted mailing’s. If the mailing came with a pre-paid return envelope he would shread the material and mail it back to the sender.
There’s another “layer” to this, which has just barely been touched on by the previous responses:
The number of steam operations in the U.S. has declined dramatically in the past 20 years and many railroad museums are on very shakey ground financially. If “we” (the railfan and rail modeling folks) don’t support these institutions in some way, they may cease to exist.
I suppose that those modeling only current-day railroading might not have as much interest in such support, but many of us understand the value of being able to go an see a preserved, restored, or operational steam locomotive or antique diesel. How will they stay preserved or operational if we view any solicitation from the museums or operators as nothing but junk mail? It is certainly granted that we have to be selective, as more needs are out there than any one of us can support. But if (for example) one is a narrow-gauge fan and modeler, then supporting the C&TS after their difficult year due to the trestle fire may be a very appropriate thing to do.
One previous response mentioned being a “Friend” of a steam restoration project in their area. I send a donation to at least one museum that preserves steam locomotives each year, and it has not always been to places I have ever visited. One group had a “matching” program a few years back where a major contributor had offered to match each dollar raised by the mailing solicitation. Knowing that it was a quality museum, that seemed like a good investment for my tax-deductable donation that year. Visiting someplace with well-preserved or operating steam always renews my interest and efforts in modeling - I had the recent joy of seeing the Strasburg operate their 2-10-0 in the snow on October 30th after that Nor’Easter snow storm.
The endless stream of credit card offers may be well worthy of a gripe - especially since those envelopes may be more valuable to those trying to steal our identity, but