• Brkdncr@lemmy.world
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    18 hours ago

    I used to get a ton of garbage mail at an apartment i lived at. I’d just take as many of the coupon booklets from my box, jam them into one of those return envelops, and stuff it back into the outgoing mail box.

  • JcbAzPx@lemmy.world
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    21 hours ago

    Reminds me of a webcomic I used to read where the mad scientistesque physics student realized he could use the lead bricks he’d been using to prop open doors for exactly this purpose.

    • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works
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      1 day ago

      It wouldn’t surprise me if one slipped through, there are overrides on stuff that get rejected and USPS is a massive organization with millions of parcels moving at any given moment.

      This idea came from people mailing wooden shims back to the credit card companies because it would increase the postage cost over the normal weight… Please don’t do that though. Letters go through a Dr. Seuss Esque sorter system and the shims are too sturdy and sometimes get ripped out of the mail and shot across the facility…

        • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works
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          21 hours ago

          Feel free to stuff as much paper as you can fit, it’s just wood, plastics and the like that are too rigid for the machines to handle sometimes. USPS gets money for return mailing, so it’s a benfit to them as long as shims or pieces of plastic arent flying around the facility like a bullet.

    • Ajen@sh.itjust.works
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      1 day ago

      No, this is fake. You can put whatever you want in the envelope and send it back, but they won’t deliver a whole package. They only prepaid postage for a letter.

      Of course if you send something dangerous/threatening you might get arrested.

    • iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works
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      1 day ago

      For putting some crap in a box, taping on a flyer, and then lying on the internet?

      You don’t actually think this happened, do you? Why would the post office ship a heavy package for free just because a no postage needed flyer is stuck to it?

        • Excrubulent@slrpnk.net
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          1 day ago

          Also weirdly accepts the premise of the story then calls it a lie. Like at least have some narrative cohesion in your snark, people, it’s not hard.

        • iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works
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          1 day ago

          I’m sorry that it came off as condescending. Truly, that was not the intent. Tone is difficult over text, but I was more going for an incredulous sarcasm that beckoned critical thinking.

          • JcbAzPx@lemmy.world
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            21 hours ago

            incredulous sarcasm that beckoned critical thinking.

            That would be where the condescending tone comes from. If you don’t want to come off as condescending, don’t do that.

  • Delphia@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Friendly reminder.

    Make sure that you use a box with no identifying information. Scribbling out the barcodes isnt enough.

    Mailing restrictions still apply. Mailing them back rotting fish or potentially hazardous materials is a federal offence.

    Mailing any kind of threat is also against the law.

    • nickiwest@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      If you’re concerned about your anonymity, keep in mind that companies frequently put ID numbers on their return envelopes to help match the returned mail piece with your record in their database. Sometimes the number is invisible (UV ink) so it doesn’t look “mass produced” to the recipient.

    • Natanael@infosec.pub
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      2 days ago

      Doesn’t help when you use a return postage slip. They have unique codes. Being “just annoying” is probably the safest bet.

  • sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz
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    2 days ago

    USPS got so pissed at me for just leaving my junk mail in the box. I told them over and over I didn’t need trash delivered to my place. In the end, I just stopped all USPS deliveries. I had nothing of importance coming in through the mail.

    • MisanthropiCynic@lemm.ee
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      19 hours ago

      I tried to stop all deliveries and they said I could not. There’s even a criminal penalty for removing your own mailbox

      There is no reason to ever mail me anything. When I order a package I have it delivered to a business

      • sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz
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        13 hours ago

        It wasn’t too long ago that I did it. Maybe 8-10 years ago. I realized nothing I needed came in the mail, so I just stopped checking. At one point the postman literally just took all the junk mail and dumped it on my front step. I raised holy hell with the post office about littering, after jamming it all back into the outgoing mail. I think the way the postmaster did it, instead of dealing with my assholeness, was just setting my residence to unoccupied in or something along those lines. Spam, of all sorts (aside from Spam musubi) is just a fucking drag. Like all marketing and advertising.

    • Track_Shovel@slrpnk.netOP
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      1 day ago

      Lol. I just stick it back into the outgoing mail slot if they dont listen to me. My box is clearly marked with 'no junk mail’s signage.

      • acchariya@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        You just have to move to a place where the post office is a disaster and you won’t get mail anymore. Northern new Mexico, for one.

      • iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works
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        1 day ago

        No, stopping all USPS deliveries is not an option. They can usually hold mail for up to 30 days if you apply for it, but I think this even varies by local office.

        You can, however, refuse some mail. This is a manual process. You can also apply to be removed from mailing lists, which is almost certainly what the other poster did.

      • sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz
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        1 day ago

        Yeah, it got so bad I was worried I was going to rage on the delivery driver (for what it’s worth, I support the USPS and have not heard a legitimate argument about why it should be stopped. But fucking junk mail. I know it accounts for a chunk of their income, there has got to be a better way. Like making the price of every single piece of junk mail that is delivered to me is $10. Something. Cut out junk mail and only have delivery 4 days a week. Not consecutively.

        But yeah, to get back to your question. I talked to the Postmaster at the local Post Office and they had me write and sign a piece of paper saying,“I DON’T WANT THIS SHIT NO MORE!”. The trouble it caused in my life was absolutely dwarfed by the positive of not having to deal with that shit anymore.

    • anachrohack@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Postal Employee: “May I help you?”

      Kramer: “Yeah, I’d like to cancel my mail.”

      Postal Employee: “Certainly. How long would you like us to hold it?”

      Kramer: “Oh, no, no. I don’t think you get me. I want out, permanently.”

  • Matt3999@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    I once sent a thick telephone book with “Return to Sender - not at this address” on it after receiving mail addressed the previous house owner. This was after receiving their junk mail over several years and returning it with the same message scribbled on the envelope. This tactic finally worked and stopped the junk mail coming.

    • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
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      2 days ago

      This must’ve been a long time ago. Otherwise where would you find a phone book, let alone a thick one.

    • MisanthropiCynic@lemm.ee
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      19 hours ago

      Why? I don’t care if they know I sent it. Maybe they’ll be less likely to fuck with me any more.

      Of course I haven’t checked my mail since 2020 when I got a stimulus check. I don’t even have an ID showing my address anymore. It’s still my old house

  • kieron115@startrek.website
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    2 days ago

    IF you’re going to do this, make sure use some sort of sealed package (like the box in the photo). You used to be able to slap these things on like a sheet of plywood and just send it as is but now if the package isn’t sealed and is obvious misuse the post office can just throw it in the dumpster. If its a sealed package then the post office has to deliver it and the permit holder has to pay the charges. https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2019/pb22525/html/updt_001.htm