Currently the Villager is delivered to our mailboxes by saturation mailing. Why would they opt out of saturation mailing for a mailing that will cost them more? They will be increasing their costs by mailing the Villager to specific addresses. Why would they do this? Think about it.
By ‘coincidence’ we received the Putnam Town Crier for the first time in a long time by saturation mailing. Are these two events connected? On a personal level I found the current Putnam Town Crier more readable. I won’t be checking the YES box.
People should ask Bob Wester at the Woodstock Post Office what this is all about. “Saturation” mailing does not mean fill-out-this-card. Advo company pays for the mailing of Villager newspapers and in turn gets to stuff it with all, the circulars and junk mail. I would be afraid to give my address to junk mailers!
Well, this does sound like the Villager wants to generate more revenue by forming a mailing list to sell to outside advertisers or even internet advertisers.
It would be interesting to see what the Postmaster says about this. If it’s “news” to him, I’d ask the U.S. Postal Inspectors in Hartford. I wonder if it’s even legal for the Villager to extort personal info like this?
I mean, what about that company that sends those “Val-Pak” coupons to people’s homes unsolicited? Are they also required to have signed cards with the name and address of recipients? If this is a new Federal law on the books required by the Post Office, why am I still getting alot of unsolicited mailings from other companies (catalogs, credit card offers, etc.) who have not begged for my personal info in order to solicit me?
I notice there is no check box to opt out of mass marketing mailings or to disallow them from selling your contact information.
Kevin
This post represents my personal opinions and in no way should be considered an official act of the BOE or that I am speaking on behalf of the BOE in any way
I called the Woodstock Post Office today. Apparently all of the area Post Offices have a call in to Southbridge (the Permit #231- assigned to the Villager was issued out of Southbridge). No Post Masters seem to know what this is all about. Doesn’t sound like government policy after all. I do not know who actually owns Permit #231, but before the Villager, Linda Lemmon’s Putnam Town Crier used it.
Why doesn’t Preston Schultz actually do something constructive, and file a Freedom of Information notice to find out who owns Permit # 231 in Southbridge?
That was a rhetorical question about Mr. Schultz, yes?
On one hand, it’s good to have people like Mr. Schultz around. We need to question our officials to keep them honest.
On the other hand, Mr. Schultz and people like him assume that every elected official who does not agree with CPS are out to pick their pockets.
Vallasis has bought out Advo. The latest bunch of junk mail no longer has permit #231, but has a Vallasis name only. I will be curious to see if the Villager has a “Valassis” permit in the upcoming months. I think that the form that requires residents names is either a way for the govern to protect people from junk mail over load or a way for Vallasis/Advo, to get a junk mail list. Perhaps junk mail can no longer be a “saturation” mailing and needs a specific target. The Villager probably needs to comply or have to pay for it’s own mailing.
[...] following statement by the Villager was captured in a previous article at the Cafe. What the Villager is saying basically is ‘to send in the damn form stupid!’ [...]
I just thought that you should all know that I called the Villager today and they were very helpful in clerifying my confusion.
Apparently, the USPS has issued a new permit that is being used by several newspapers throughout the country. If they can recieve a certain number of responses from us they can mail for cheaper. This is a way for them to save money and deliver the paper to those who are interested in what is going on in our town.
The Villager encouraged me to tell people with questions or concerns on this matter to contact them. They are more than willing to answer your questions.