Sorting Snail Mail

December 1, 2004 12:26 PM

SnailMailFilterFilter: Are there any failsafe rules to separate USPS junk mail from real mail (or vice versa) without opening it? I know I needn't worry about an ink SoBig virus, but I just hate being suckered into opening an important-looking envelope only to find another Visa/MC application. [More Inside]

I feel pretty confident tossing anything with no return address and I'm slowly catching on to meaningless markings like "Time-sensitive Material", "Please Do Not Discard", and "Please Open Immediately".

I've noticed that many, if not all, of my monthly bills come in an envelope that's clearly marked "Your Statement is Enclosed" or "Your Bill is Enclosed". I checked the USPS.gov site but couldn't find any reference to this as a requirement. Is it?

How do you determine what to open or toss without opening and tossing?

posted by klarck to grab bag (14 comments total)

If it says "Pre Sort Standard" or something to that effect where the stamp goes, and it's not a bill, then it's almost definitely junk.
posted by gramcracker at 12:32 PM on December 1, 2004

What gramcracker said about presort standard. Presort standard and bulk mail are things the Post Office won't forward so are almost never (I've never seen it, in fact) bills or anything particularly important. The companies pay a higher rate for first-class, which the PO will forward, so you want to check those.
posted by librarina at 1:03 PM on December 1, 2004

Slightly off-point, you can use the Direct Marketing Association website to receive less advertising mail at home.

To rephrase what gramcracker said: Look at the stamp. If it's a first class stamp (or metered for at least 27.5 cents), then the sender cares enough to pay for the post office to forward the letter, and it's probably worth your time to open it.

On the other hand, if the stamp or metered amount is less than 27.5 cents, or says "Standard Mail" (the post office doesn't like the term "junk mail"), then it's pretty safe to toss the item without opening it, if you have no other reason to believe it's something worth looking at.

And, for what it's worth, "bulk mail" can be either first class or standard mail.
posted by WestCoaster at 1:33 PM on December 1, 2004

OT: When returning credit card payments, I put them into the pre-printed envelope that comes with the bill. There are some funny lines up near the stamp "square." Is a stamp necessary? Or is the credit card company just trying to get me to pay another 37 cents?
posted by Alt F4 at 2:07 PM on December 1, 2004

go to JunkBusters and print out their mailers to the various bulk mailers to remove you from their mailing lists. I found the volume of junk I got dropped quickly to a trickle after that.
posted by inthe80s at 2:25 PM on December 1, 2004

Bills and personal correspondence are *required* to be sent first-class mail. So while junk mail can also be sent first-class, it usually isn't because standard mail is much cheaper.

First-class postmarked mail requires that I at least look at it.

Standard mail postmarked mail *can't* be personally identifiable, and is often junk. I throw away Standard Mail unread.
posted by Jeff Howard at 2:32 PM on December 1, 2004

The thing that cracks me up is when I get my bank statement and an ad for a new credit card from my bank on the same day and guess which one is marked "Please Do not Discard?" =)
posted by idontlikewords at 3:13 PM on December 1, 2004

Anything that says "Do not discard" or various other "Important information inside," I usually toss.

Check the return address or postage thingy. If it says Wilmington, DE, it's a credit card offer.

If it's your statement, it will say "Your Statement is Enclosed." Non-statement mail that I get from my CC and from Verizon, I can tell without opening it that it's not my statement and can throw it.

Just test yourself for a month or so. Pick out stuff to toss then check and make sure that it's junk. If it's actually important, it will be clear. I rarely ever open junk anymore. (Who knows how much important stuff I've thrown. Well, none, as far as I know.)
posted by BradNelson at 4:25 PM on December 1, 2004

When returning credit card payments, I put them into the pre-printed envelope that comes with the bill. There are some funny lines up near the stamp "square." Is a stamp necessary? Or is the credit card company just trying to get me to pay another 37 cents?

Credit card companies have no reason to collude with the USPS to scam you out of 37 cents. If someone is paying the return freight (typically, for donations or membership renewals), you'll see a stamp or some other very clear indication. The funny lines you see in the upper right corner are (I think) for helping the automated sorting equipment used by USPS to figure out which way is up (letter-wise).
posted by WestCoaster at 4:37 PM on December 1, 2004

I got an ad in the mail today that would have fooled anyone. I'm on the do-not-mail lists, so I get barely any crud. This one had a real 37 cent flag stamp, and the address was printed on a home inkjet printer. Santa Clara, CA postmark but no return address. Inside was a folded over full page newspaper ad, with hand-written(?) Post-it's stuck on. If I was in the market for illegally imported European cigarettes, I might have been tempted to buy just on the basis of being impressed by the effort that was put in.
posted by smackfu at 5:14 PM on December 1, 2004

The thing that cracks me up is when I get my bank statement and an ad for a new credit card from my bank on the same day and guess which one is marked "Please Do not Discard?" =)

I get at least 4 of these "Please Do not discard" CCard apps weekly. Since I, for one, welcome our plastic overlords, I decided to obey. It only takes a second to write "VOID" using my Sharpie on the application. Then I wad up everything and put it into the thoughtfully provided 'No postage necessary" envelope, and send the junk back to them.

Since I started online bill pay, these SASEs and my returning netflix DVDs are the only thing my mailman ever picks up anymore.
posted by HyperBlue at 6:08 PM on December 1, 2004

Anything that says "Do not discard" or various other "Important information inside," I usually toss.

Be careful, though. Make sure it isn't a company you do business with. Credit card companies and cellular phone companies in particular have a little habit of burying changes in terms and conditions in what looks like junk mail. So you might see an offer for a new phone plan, throw it away not wanting it, when in fact they also decided to double your late payment fee or impose arbitration on you without your consent too.
posted by calwatch at 10:27 PM on December 1, 2004

Alt-F4: When returning credit card payments, I put them into the pre-printed envelope that comes with the bill. There are some funny lines up near the stamp "square." Is a stamp necessary? Or is the credit card company just trying to get me to pay another 37 cents?

The barcode near the stamp area tells postal sorting machinery that the mailpiece already has a zip barcode printed on it, and can thus skip a step in the usual process. Since about 1965, US postage stamps have been phosphor ink tagged so the machines can tell they are there or not. Similarly, the ink used for meter imprints has a component that flags the machines. Some mail will get delivered totally sans any paid postage, some will not, depends on the sensitivity of machines, and the vigilance of your local letter carrier.
posted by ackptui at 7:11 AM on December 2, 2004

Thanks, ackptui.
posted by Alt F4 at 2:53 PM on December 21, 2004