I received a DVD in the mail today from Four Wheeler.  The cover letter says that I'm being let in on a new and exciting subscriber benefit and have been selected to receive a DVD for the special subscriber price of $7.  Wow, just what I always wanted - an item that I didn't order.  According to them, I have the option of paying for it or sending it back in the supplied envelope.

For the rest of you who are probably also receiving the same thing, be aware that you can legally throw away or keep the DVD without paying for it as you didn't ask Four Wheeler to send it to you - see the link to the relevant postal regulation below.

I sent the following letter to the editor:

What is Four Wheeler thinking?

Today in the mail, I received a completely unsolicited DVD for the "Ultimate Four Wheeling Series."  I'm presented with the option of keeping it and paying $7 or returning it in the included product return envelope and the hassle of dropping it off at a Post Office (I may or may not have a mailbox I can put it in - that really isn't the point).

Perhaps it didn't occur to you that I have additional options since I didn't solicit this DVD.  One is to discard it and the other is to keep it and not pay you a dime for it.  Refer to the USPS regulations in case you weren't aware of them:

http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/merch.htm

I'm sure you are aware of them and are just hoping that lots of people will feel uncomfortable sending the DVD back and aren't aware that they aren't obligated to pay for something they didn't ask for.  This is a very unprofessional way to do business.

I've been on the fence in deciding whether to renew my subscription or not.  I really don't have the time to keep up with all the magazines I subscribe to anyway, so I have an ever growing pile of them.  You just made my decision easy - I will NOT be renewing.  Thanks for making the decision an easy one.

Sincerely,  

So you're complaining about a free DVD? Makes sense.  

isn't that an old dvd? and the 7 bucks is for the current one?  

FourWheeler Web Editor:
So you're complaining about a free DVD? Makes sense.

No, I'm complaining about them sending me a DVD hoping that I'll buy it.  Perhaps they could have asked me first...

Actually after a more thorough reading of the cover letter, it appears I did overreact:

Say yes today and you'll receive the latest titles in the collection about ever 2-3 months.  You decide whether to add each title to your collection at the regular subscriber price, plus shipping & handling, or sent it back using the return label supplied with each title.  There are no minimum purchases - no obligation - no catch!  Because you didn't order this special introductory DVD, you are under no obligation to do anything, and you could consider it a free gift.

Still, the intent is to get people to pay the $7 for the DVD and of course subscribe to the series of DVD's.  Why can't these companies just leave people be?  They were getting money out of me for an annual subscripton, but that's not good enough.

Maybe it's just been one of those weeks, but I'm done with Four Wheeler at this point.  

Man, like this is something to really get upset about. If they sent me one I would not get upset about it and I would likely buy and keep it too if it was any good. Today, 7 bucks is not even 2 gallons of gas!!!  

SnoMan:
Man, like this is something to really get upset about. If they sent me one I would not get upset about it and I would likely buy and keep it too if it was any good. Today, 7 bucks is not even 2 gallons of gas!!!

I'm just sick and tired of all the unsolicited crap we have to put up with.  Sign up for the no-call list and you end up getting people calling with "surveys" instead - "I'm not selling anything, just doing a survey."  Funny how those surveys didn't seem to be as common prior to the no-call list.  Calls also come in from places that somehow missed the fact that you're on the no-call list.  The mailbox gets flooded every week with credit card offers, and now a DVD I didn't ask for.

This DVD arriving obviously isn't end of the world or anything, I'm just tired of it.  You go to Radio Shack to purchase a $1 battery and they want your entire family history (at least they've actually stopped asking for name and address for every purchase) and try to sell you a cell phone too (even though you clearly have one with you).  If I want something I go buy it - I don't need someone shoving stuff in my face.

Maybe I just need a vacation .  

A DVD in the mail is nothing, I actually got "slammed" a while back and it has taken me months to get that fixed. And I had my phone blocked against it too. Now that is something one could get upset about but I did not loose any sleep over it while it was being sorted out.  

What?? I could've kept it? Damn, I sent it back. So...um...is there a way to get another one sent to me "without my permission"? That was a cool DVD!  

jg09:
What?? I could've kept it? Damn, I sent it back. So...um...is there a way to get another one sent to me "without my permission"? That was a cool DVD!

duh.. LOL.  

As you've noted, you are under NO OBLIGATION WHATSOEVER to pay for the DVD under US Postal Code regulations. Our apologies for any problems this may have caused. Trust me, this kind of promotion is NOT how those of us on the editorial staff would choose to promote our magazine . . . but it's what happens when you work for a big corporate entity with separate marketing and promotions departments. Our work often gets recycled in a variety of forms (you should see the Chinese 4x4 mags we have laying around with FW articles translated into Mandarin! Yes, we're famous in the People's Republic), and sometimes, a company will stretch the limits of propriety to try to make an extra buck. But hey, welcome to Corporate America circa 2008.

Anyway, I've forwarded your complaint to our publishers (believe me, yours is not the first one we've ever received on this subject), and apologies again for any offense this mailing may have caused.

Douglas McColloch
Editor, Four Wheeler  

I feel left out, I didn't get a DVD.  I like free stuff.  

Me too though I would have gladly paid for mine if I kept it.  

Me too, I didn't get one... lol