I saw an ad in the Detroit Free Press today where you could get one of the new Washington Dollars just by sending in 3 posatge stamps. Has anyone else seen an ad like this?
Not that ad specifically but some like it. Read the fine print. They probably will send you a selection of other coins for you to preview and purchase or send back. Enough people don't return the coins in time and get charged (more then they are worth). Plus they collect names ,addresses and emails for mailing lists that they sell.
Even if you just send the 3 stamps - they are still making money on the deal. 3 stamps are $1.17 - they send you $1.00. Sounds like a plan to me, wish I could get away with it. Guaranteed profit - what a business.
After paying postage they're still a few cents under water, but that's pretty cheap for getting a live address for future junk mailings. Was it Littleton by any chance
Maybe, but with bulk mailing rates I wouldn't bet on it. And you're right, now they've got your address that they can turn around sell to someone else for even more profit. Any way ya look at it - they're making money or they wouldn't be doing it.
I think the way the law reads is that if you answers an add with your name and address the company has 30 business days to contact you with sales ad's and the like---now if you are talking about business to business the law is differnet.... Speedy
Corner grocery store, at the office, a flea market - just about any place. You can probably even cash them in at the Post Office.
Ruben: If you go to any coin show you'll be able to buy postage stamps for below face. But NOT at the Post Office!
Address Harvesting. I think the main idea is the collection of a mailing list. There are companies that deal in mailing lists, and varying prices are paid by clients based on various criteria. The most important criteria in purchasing an address in that it is for someone that has purchased by mail recently. Such addresses are worth several dollars EACH, which far surpasses the cost of the dollar coin and postage. I think these people are basically address harvesting for profit. By the way, Shire Post Mint NEVER EVER sells or distributes our mailing list. It is considered confidential information. I have had multiple offers to purchase my list for up to $3 per name... but all such offers are refused as a matter of policy. If you want to do an experiment and track the sales of your name from these lists... send in your order and use a different middle initial with each vendor. Keep track of which vendor you order from with each different initial. When the junk mail starts to arrive using those initials, you will be able to tell which outfit is selling your name.
Because they can't use them. A lot of people have sheets of stamps in large quantities and no longer collect them. The PO dosen't 're-buy' them, and they have no use for say $100 or so of postage, so they sell them at a discount. Haven't you ever gotten a package with a bunch of old stamps?
