Does anyone know the economics of postal reply envelopes?

[Squeech]

Those gazillions of unsolicited invitations we get every day, to buy time share condos or term life insurance or funeral plots, take out yet another credit card ("yuppie food stamps" they've been called), or subscribe to magazines that seem to have been published for the lucrative dentists' waiting rooms market...

Most such snail spam comes with those envelopes that don't carry any actual stamps, but are bar-coded such that the postal service will deliver them to the address of the original sender, and charge them for the privilege.

I used to stuff the material that *didn't* have my name and address on it into the return envelope and send it back, as a token of my annoyance. My then-wife convinced me that it was a petty and stupid thing to do, since it wasn't costing the recipients enough, and was only irritating some low-level functionery who had to throw out the trash. So I gave it up.

I'm thinking about resuming the practice. We're getting inundated with junk mail. Petty and stupid I may be, but at least I'll be petty and stupid and savoring my teeny little victory over advertising.

Does anybody have any hard information about the actual results of direct mail non-cooperation? How much does it cost the recipients? Who gets irritated at having to throw out the fancy brochures and used Kleenexes, and by how much? And at what point do direct mailers conclude that such campaigns are no longer cost-effective?

[radfringe]

1. no postage due envelopes

companies don't get charged postage for them unless they are "mailed" back to the originator

typical response level to this kind of mail is about 2% of the total letters sent out

[Limbought]

2. Count me in the "Petty & Stupid Club."

I make it a habit to send back any junk mail that I can.

[jburton]

3. These usually go to a processing center

Especially since the anthrax attacks.

If their mailing is large enough that they include these envelopes, it probably doesn't cost them much.

A five percent return on these is considered huge. One-two percent is the norm. They know most people chunk the junk.

[Limbought]

5. You're probably right,

but somehow it makes me feel better.

[Rabrrrrrr]

6. and even if they do go to a processing center,

at least we've cost the spamming company some money - money which goes to the postal service, and they need it.

So think of that way - by NOT mailing the envelopes back, you're taking money away from the postal service!

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. Attach them to a box of rocks

and mail 'em back. :-)

[CharG]

7. I look at it this way...

of all the ways to get spammed...

unwanted telephone calls.....(they're using my phone)
email......(they're using my computer and connection and wasting my time)
unsolicited FAX.....(they're using my paper and ink)

I find the postal service the least objectionable......(yes it takes trees to make the paper, but at least the SOBs' have to PAY to send it to me and I can just throw it away.

[Limbought]

8. PLUS!

They have already killed the tree that you are returning.