B Machine Products

Whenever possible, we will not purchase anything from companies that we know to use "telemarketing" (trying to get us to agree to buy something during a phone call other than setting up an appointment or getting our address for postal mail); or those who use  junk fax (fax advertising sent w/o request or permission, i.e. "unsolicited"); or those who use "spam" (unsolicited e-mail advertising).

There are almost always competitors that we can buy products/services from.  We will not be helpful in propagating the use of these mediums for advertising and sales.  Our phone lines are for our use and for customers to contact us, not to provide self - proclaimed potential vendors, or even current vendors, with cheaper advertising mediums at our expense.

Our hope is that this type of zero tolerance policy will 'catch on' and similar policies 
be adopted by people all over the world.  If these types of advertising don't work, and actually work against the advertiser, they are practices that will eventually die.

If less than 5% of just American businesses were to send you just one message a year that takes up just one minute of your time . . . you and your phone line would be tied up 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year!   If you own a business, when would your customers be able to send you orders and price requests?  When would you be able to respond if they did?  

Some offenders send their solicitations out weekly.  What is 1/52 of 5% ?  The real numbers for total saturation lie somehwere between 0.1 percent and 4.7 percent of the twelve million American businesses out there.  Wanna go global?

Oh, you don't work 24 hours a day (you need sleep and some personal time), nor 7 days a week (five is more like it), nor 52 weeks a year (you want your holidays and vacation time)?  Hmmm.  Maybe we should adjust that figure to what . . . maybe .02 percent before you get so busy you decide to do something about it?

That's two businesses in ten thousand.  Think that many send faxes or market by phone?  Have they got your number yet?  They sell those lists to each other, so-o-o they will eventually!

Can you imagine every business doing this?  Why don't Walmart, AT&T, Sears, Pizza Hut, etc., etc., etc. use these advertising mediums?

Did you know?  Unsolicited fax advertisements are against federal law.  Congress saw fit to make a law against fax ads (Cite: 47USC227).  The law was submitted and passed due to "cost  shifting", which means that the cost of the advertising is shifted to the recipient.  If you send a fax ad without the recipient's permission you are liable for a $500 per page penalty to the recipient and up to $11,000 per transmission in fines. 

These types of advertisers use your resources at your expense and in doing so , interfere with your customer's ability to contact you.  These advertisers also inspire others to use such types of advertisi ng.

Why not a strong policy?

Note to Advertisers:
Want alternatives? The following are only suggestions from me, personally.  I am no expert.  I only offer my opinion as a recipient of many sales efforts.

Online, try opt-in mail lists or newsletters (not opt-out - who has time to opt-out of everything?).  Find a topic that people want to hear about and ask them to sign up  sending them a postcard through snail mail.  Or pay to advertise in someone else's newsletter.  Or use banner ads on other web sites.  There are other ways that don't involve using a recipient's resources without their consent.  TV?  Radio?  Billboards?  Magazines?  Newspapers?  Trade Associations?

You might also try just sending a postcard, via postal mail, with your product/service and web site noted.  We can save such a card until we want such a product or service.  Sending these out once or twice a year should be adequate.  If you bombard us every week or every month, you will only make us want to fight your efforts, and to buy elsewhere when we do want it.  That's one power we have to fight back with.

There are many such postcards going out periodically from trade magazines and associations.  Find one and advertise through them.  It may be cheaper than doing it yourself.  (If it's not, try elsewhere! Or, do it yourself.)

Another option is the US Postal Service.  They offer an online postcard service that allows you to send postcards online.  Depending on the total number & style of postcard, the cost will range from $0.21 to $1.25 each.  This includes paper, printing & first class postage.  You can even merge data & addresses from your address book.

We seem to be headed toward a "paperless society".  Let these postcards be the last printed paper we get rid of.

All this means that if you have to fast talk me into buying, you are out of luck, unless you want to visit in person.  Frankly, that's okay with me.  If you have to fast talk to get me to buy, then it's probably not something I really want or would be happy with anyway.

Pay for your advertising like most good business people do.  "Listings" work best.  Put your ad in the places people look for your type of products/services.  That may be with the postcards in my drawer.  But, don't call me.  I'll call you . . . as a potential customer.

Note to postal junk mail haters:
You might not like my suggestions, but at least the advertiser is paying for it, not the prospect.  Postcards are recyclable, decompose, and you have trash to be hauled away, anyway!  At least most of us do.

Wouldn't you rather get a postcard than the catalogs and magazines you get now?  That, and the fact that we have more trees now than we did in the 1920's, means saving trees  is no excuse to get upset about my suggestion. 

Too much of it?  Tell those that are sending it.  If they send you postage paid reply envelopes, or have a toll free phone number, you can let them know at their expense.  It will take about six months to get yourself off any list that is being sold to others. 

You can also promise to buy from competitors due to them sending too much too often.  That is one power that we all have.  We usually have a choice about where to buy .