The GreenDimes Killer?
*NOTE: I wanted to let my readers know that I was in a surly mood when I wrote this - obviously. I explained a little more in the comments section. I encourage you to read the comments from myself, readers, and from ProQuo directly.
There’s a new player in the junk mail war. It’s called ProQuo. You’ll recognize it by it’s generic Web 2.0 look and feel. The buttons are big with a shine to them. The icons are big and cartoon-like. The fonts are all web 2.0ish. It has fancy text quotes with giant quotation marks. Just add “Beta” below your logo and you’re all set. So what is it? It’s a free junk mail removal service. Yes - I said free. “How could that be? GreenDimes is like $20 for life, right?,” you say. Well - there is a catch.
So you setup an account and login. You’re all excited because your snail mail box is going to be free of junk mail. Then you start clicking around thinking “how the heck can they provide this service for free? This is amazing.” Let me look at the tabs…Junk Mail - okay - I can get rid of junk mail. Catalogs - sweet - I can get off of catalog lists. Credit cards - wait - why is there a credit cards tab?
Let’s click on catalogs. “Choose whether you want the catalog or not, and we’ll submit your request.” Oh - I’m starting to catch on. They make money by getting you to sign up for catalogs. ”That catalog cover looks so interesting - I should sign up - this is so easy.” Wait a minute…aren’t catalogs considered junk mail and contributing to these forests that are being cut down? SHHHH - don’t tell anyone - they think they’re being “green.”
What is this credit cards tab all about? Do they want my credit card information? I thought this was free. Big bold letters appear across my screen - “Find the Credit Card that is Right for You!” Huh? Credit card companies send a lot of junk mail - why do I want that again? Oh - okay - this is why: “We Analyze the Fine Print - The right card for you may be based on factors you don’t even know about.” They analyze the fine print! I don’t have to read! Wow - thanks ProQuo. You’re my hero. Can I sign up for a credit card now? Maybe I’m being too facetious. ProQuo does offer opt-outs on credit card mail - oops - my bad -they send you to yet another third-party site to do that.
ProQuo may stop mail for you - for free. Just be aware of their ulterior motives. If you cut down on some of your junk mail - it’s still a step in the right direction. I’m just not convinced. I’m biased. I’ve been a GreenDimes member for awhile now. Personally, I think it is worth every penny I spent for it. I originally signed up when it was an annual subscription, but now it’s lifetime.
Love this post - I just got some PR materials in my inbox yesterday from this company and among their tips to reduce election solicitation they say this: - “If you are registering to vote for the first time, register as an independent as it will prevent you from being added to the direct marketing machines of the
major political parties and minimize your “value” to data brokers.” Which, IMHO is horrible advice because then you can’t vote in the primaries (in future elections). Always worth looking at the fine print. I joined GreenDimes and Catalog Choice almost a year ago and am still battling down the catalogs. Baby gifts and ordering will kill ya. I had better success when I used to anally clip the labels and snail mail them in with a form letter of my own… sigh.
Dear Scream to be Green,
Thank you for interest in ProQuo. I wanted to take the opportunity to clear up a few misconceptions about our free service.
* Our mission — ProQuo’s goal is to give consumers choice and control over the offers they receive. We differ greatly from other services in this regard. It isn’t just about stopping postal junk mail, but enabling consumers to control what they receive, including limiting how much marketers know about them. If users want to stop a wide array of junk mail and do nothing else, that’s perfectly fine. (By the way, we offer the widest selection of opt-outs on the web, including six major data brokers — often the root cause of junk mail). If our users want to stop most paper junk mail, but keep receiving certain catalogs or circulars they enjoy, that’s fine too. It’s all about consumer choice.
* How we make money — As the headline of our home page states, ProQuo enables users to stop wasteful junk mail, and get the offers they really do want. It is this second portion in which we earn revenue. ProQuo wants to help users get the things they really are interested in based on THEIR preferences — not what marketers think they want. Our first example of this is our free service for managing credit card offers — if users want to stop all card offers, that’s fine. If they need help in finding a card, we’ll help them do that too. Their is never any obligation. It’s up to you. We will launching additional services in the near future.
* We represent consumers — ProQuo represents hundreds of thousands of consumers and acts on their behalf to get them the things they do or do not want, whether it’s helping remove their name from thousands of marketing lists, or getting them the offers that match their specific interests and needs. We always keep the consumers’ interests in mind — even above our own. For example, when we provide credit card recommendations, its based solely on your preferences and what’s right for you — not on how much we make in referral fees. Unlike most credit card sites, our fee is not even included in the back-end filter for sorting results. It’s about what’s best for the consumer.
* Our privacy promise — Our commitment to privacy is more than a policy or statement, it’s a promise to consumers. ProQuo will never rent or sell your personal information to anyone without your instruction. You can see, edit or delete your account at any time. Compare this with the major data brokers who buy and sell your data in secrecy, often without your consent, and who make it very difficult to remove your name from their lists. For more information please visit http://www.proquo.com/privacy/promise.php.
Thank you for this opportunity to tell your readers about what we are doing. We are very proud of our service and believe we are offering something unique to consumers. If you or your readers have any additional questions or comments, you can email me at ebratt@proquo.com. I’d love to know what you think.
Thank you,
Erik Bratt,
Director of Marketing Communications
ProQuo (www.proquo.com)
Click here to receive all the junk mail you never knew you always wanted. They should put that on the homepage.
Very well put, ProQuo. I think there is room for more than just GreenDimes. The more, the merrier, right?** My point is that when you go to this site - and before you sign up, it’s not very transparent. Everything is masked behind ridding the consumer of junk mail. Sure, the site does that. The catalog section is very finite right now - but you can type in others that aren’t pictured. I fear that instead of reducing junk mail, it’s going to get consumers to sign up for more - or at least replace the mail they get now. I don’t want to entice anyone to sign up for something that will produce more waste.
It is a business, though. You can’t promote sustainability if you can’t sustain yourself. So there has to be a viable business plan. I understand that.
I hope you succeed and continue to grow your business - and be more transparent about your operations along the way.
I do commend you for actually following your Google alerts. I think more companies need to be aware of the world outside and what people are saying about them.
PS - Welcome to Twitter.
**originally expressed by terri falvey in pure argumentative fashion to which all around her have grown accustomed
Email is the new snail mail. Waiting for the spammers to buy off twitter next.
I signed up for GreenDimes back when it was $20 per year, and would have paid for it every year if they hadn’t knocked it down to $20 for a lifetime. It is such a valuable service and has thrashed the amount of junkmail we receive to hardly anything. I highly recommend GreenDimes.
As proof of GreenDimes’ success, other companies are jumping on the bandwagon with not-so-stellar offerings. Thanks for pointing this out.
Katie @ GardenPunks
Thanks for your comment. I think you are right. We explain much of this in different places on the site, but we need more transparency on the home page. Best. Erik
Yes, was admiring your twitter feed from your blog … how did you do that?
This is a really interesting conversation. I don’t know that there is any one magic bullet answer. We reviewed Green Dimes and it did help but was not a perfect solution.
Regardless, Jason, great job! It is always impressive when the company is coming to your site to comment on the article. Nice work.
Aimee
Dear Pro Quo, thank you for commenting, could you please hire writers who know the difference between there and their? 2 typos in close sequence signal lax workmanship in the visible ranks.
As a green i do not participate in mass marketing orgies–i do practice barter/bargain techniques.
i do not click on anything which will bring a downpour of tempting offers, nor do i send for sister ads which would open the sky to colorful mind sappers.
Certainly there is much to profit from offering control over choice or is it choice over control?
Again thanks for engaging readers into a healthy debate about their self control and not to forget their personal choice to stay away from perfidious predators.
signed: zero consumer. okay 7% consumer, ns
To be perfectly fair- they DO have to make a profit some way or other, and you don’t have to sign up for credit cards or more junk mail. Consumers aren’t stupid, and most people who go to the site with the idea of getting rid of junk mail waste aren’t likely to start signing up for more….I never used the company myself, but from the way everyone is describing it it sounds like a useful service.
MrTumnas - I did address this in my comments above. I agree with you - they do have to make a profit one way or another. Whether it’s getting people to sign up for catalogs and credit cards or from straight advertising on their site.
It is a business, though. You can’t promote sustainability if you can’t sustain yourself. So there has to be a viable business plan. I understand that.
I hope you succeed and continue to grow your business - and be more transparent about your operations along the way.
-Jason
It’s fair to say that Proquo are trying to represent the consumer and the choices they wish to make, right? We can all relate to wanting to still receive certain catalogs. My fav is REI, even if I don’t shop from the catalog, it’s like getting a good magazine. Then I go online and shop or down to my local store. They also don’t send out that many catalogs, maybe 4 a year, so it doesn’t clog up my mailbox.
http://www.stopthejunkmail.com like greendimes is a pay service that has been around since 2001 helping consumers make just these kinds of choices. If you use the DMA it used to be all or nothing with them but now you have a choice with them too, they joined the movement.
In this day and age the crux of the matter is that we all like choice. All or nothing just doesn’t do it for anyone.