Is this legal??

One of my competitors offers a discount if people provide them with 6 wrestlers email addresses. With the spaming laws is it legal for them to offer this?

 

Really? Weird. It just seems pretty unprofessional to me to go fishing for email addresses in order to spam them.

http://www.wrestlersexpress.com/emailpopup.htm

 

How is it different than a "tell a friend" link?

Conventional commerce depends on referrals and recommendations. It is standard for an insurance salesman to ask youfor a list of your friends as well as car salesmen and real estate agents.

I really don't see what you are upset about. It sound like you're just mad because you didn't think of it first.

 

"Conventional commerce depends on referrals and recommendations. It is standard for an insurance salesman to ask youfor a list of your friends as well as car salesmen and real estate agents."

Conventional or not- it is still unprofessional behavior. Do people like car salesmen? No.

"I really don't see what you are upset about. It sound like you're just mad because you didn't think of it first."

If I was upset about it because I didn't think of it first, I would still implement the idea. If I thought for a second it was a professional business procedure, I'd do it.

 

I agree- and the reason found out about this was because I was added to their spam list and received some of thier offers.

 

Shannon,

If I'm a friend of yours and recieve some really outstanding service, say from a financial adviser, that I think you would really enjoy and profit from, would you "be madder than a wet hen" if I gave him your telephone number?

That's called a referral. It's done all the time. It is a standard way to get new business. Why do you hold the internet to a higher or different standard that ordinary brick and mortar business?

It isn't spam if someone provides me with your name. In sale terminology I've been provided with a lead. I would be an idiot not to follow up on the lead.

Have you never received a letter or a phone call from someone who says "Hi, your best friend suggested I get in touch with you". Does that make you a drowning chicken?

 

I've been actively involved in the sport of wrestling since I was 5, and I still couldn't come up with 6 e-mail addresses that would want to be put on a list about wrestling gear. I'm willing to bet that 90% of their email addresses come from people copying the addresses off of forums in order to get the discount. Otherwise how would I have gotten on the list, did one of my good friends think I would want to buy gear from another wrestling gear supplier Bob?

 

No, but s/he might have thought you would be interested in how your competitor was doing business and put you on the list so that you could learn first hand. In fact s/he might have thought it was a good idea for you to use, and just wanted to show you how it worked. There are all kinds of legitmate scenarios for someone to put your email address on the list.

I'm sorry schlottke, I hope you won't be offended but this entire whine smacks of sour grapes to me. People have been asking for and working with referrals for as long as anybody has been selling things. There is absolutely no reason that it shouldn't be done on the Internet.

 

No offense taken Bob, we simply take a different approach to getting sales. You opened my eyes on the fact that it may be a useful tool, but I will definatly use a different approach than they do. Not quite sure what exactly it will be yet, but I'll be looking in to it. Thanks for the feedback.

I still think SIX emails is a little overboard. 2-3 maybe, but SIX!

 

Bob, the correct way to handle that situation is to contact your friend directly and refer the company/service. You should never offer your friends', family's or neighbors' contact information to strangers. Give the strangers' info to your acquaintances instead. It's common courtesy.

 

I agree with that Bernard- If it is something worth while, I wouldn't sell them out for $5.

 

I think bob is a wrestler.

Hexed

 

I have been a professional salesman for most of my adult life. Sure in the UK, wehere we do things a little different. I have always asked for referrals, it is the life blood of the pro salesman.

There is one difference though, I have always, after getting the referrals, told the person who referred them to me, to contact them, and let them know they have done so. THAT is the professional way to do things, for two easons.
1) the person referred to you knows they are going to be contacted, and will either pass you off, or welcome you in.
2) the person being called will have been warmed up, increasing the likliehood of success.

Seems to me that what this person did wrong was to not get the person referring you to contact you first and take the blame. If I am going to get referrals online (Which I have to for a new client project) I will be sending out a 'Ihave referred you' email to the person referring to me, that they are supposed to forward to their referrals.

The second point that has not beenmentioned here is the point, (and it has been assumed) that the referrals are added to a spam list, SAYS WHO?

If these people are sent a polite, 'You have been referred to us by your friend , who has indicated you might be interested blah blah blah. If this is the case click here (Link to add me to your list) if not click here link to be removed.

Someone now tell me how this can possibly be classed as spam?

OWG

 

This is the way I look at spam, if it comes in to my email inbox and I am not interested in the subject, ie. viagra, blow up dolls etc, then this is spam, and it'll get treat as that.

If say OWG emailed me and said I know a Mrs Bloggs who might be interested in your services or products feel free to contact them then no I would not see this as spam.

I think people get a little carried away about spam, myself included, to be honest nowadays I'm scared about emailing potential clients because I don't want to be blacklisted by the likes of AOL, etc.

It shouldn't be like that because these are people who I know would be interested in my service, and are not someone off the street, I really think something needs to be done about educating people what real spam is before it ruins many small businesses.

IMO.

Darren

 

I think that it's a completely different approach to
a) Offer a "refer a friend" link which leads to a one-time mailing script (with or without a tracking number)
or
b) Save email addresses you "received" by somebody else to a database, be it a customer or visitor.

I hope that you can see the difference here. Actively using somebody's email address without the consent of him/her is just SPAM, to talk in mailing terms again. There is no way you can be sure that this person is actually interested in your product or service and thus I would personally never rely on a list of emails somebody else submitted to me.
That's what opt-in and double opt-in lists are for in the first place...

 

But how are you going to opt in if you have never heard of it in the first place. Have you never opened a magazine and seen an ad for a product you had never known about and never considered purchasing, and suddenly become interested in that product?

Have you never received a flyer or some other document in your surface mail and found a product or offer you would never have thought of looking for and said "that's a good idea" or "that's a great deal", "I think I'll get one of those".

The question is why do you expect the greatest communication device in the history of the world to suddenly treat you like a hermit? Who know you might actually learn something. You might actually have your life enriched.