Catalog Opt Out Guide 

Most people don’t want them, yet millions of catalogs are sent to American households every year. The best way to stop this slew of unwanted mail is to complete catalog opt outs. 

In this guide, we’ll explain why you’re receiving catalogs and how to cancel them from being sent to your home.

Why am I receiving catalogs? 

The easiest explanation could be that a previous resident of your current address subscribed to the catalogs you are now receiving. However, you may also have registered at a site or online service wherein you agreed to share your personal information.

More than likely, however, it’s because the companies who send you these catalogs purchased your personal information from data brokers.

Data brokers gather the personal information of consumers like you to sell to various companies or organizations or basically anyone willing to pay.

How do I cancel catalogs from being sent to my house? 

Since the reasons you receive catalogs vary, there’s no one solution to make them all stop. 

If you want to permanently remove your address from catalog mailing lists, take one or all of the actions below. 

1. Opt out of catalog mailing lists via Catalog Choice

Catalogchoice.org  is a great place to start when attempting to reduce the number of unwanted catalogs taking up space in your recycling bin. It’s a nonprofit organization that aims to stop junk mail and conserve natural resources.

With Catalog Choice, you can opt out of any catalogs you’re currently receiving. Its significant database lets you remove yourself from multiple mailing lists all at once.

To get started, simply sign up, verify your email, select the catalog or catalogs you want to opt out of and click “Opt Out From This Catalog.”

Fill out all required information in the form and click “Confirm.” 

The opt-out process at Catalog Choice can take up to 8 weeks to go into effect. 

2. Contact the catalog companies directly 

Contacting companies directly is a good way to stop them from sending you catalogs you’re already receiving. 

This method takes more time than opting out of catalogs through Catalog Choice, but it is effective.

There are a few ways you can opt out of companies’ catalogs directly:

• Visit the company website for a direct process for removal from their mailing list. 
• Call the company customer service directly to formally request an opt out.
• Request an opt out via company email.
• Request an opt out via traditional company mail.

Pro tip: Quote the “customer number” and “source code” that appear on the back of the catalog (beside your name and address) to ensure you’re unsubscribed from catalogs even if your name or address is misspelled. 

3. Opt out of all catalogs through DMAchoice

If you want to stop your information from ending up on new catalog mailing lists, a good option is to register at the Association of National Advertisers (formerly the Direct Marketing 

Association) consumer website DMAchoice.org 

DMAchoice is a non-profit service that allows you to customize direct mail preferences and opt out of entire categories (including catalogs and credit card offers).

Visit the DMAchoice website and fill in your information to register.

After you pay a nominal $5 processing fee, you can change your mail preferences to opt out of any of several direct-mail categories.

After registering, you will not be added to a new catalog mailing list for any DMA partner for 10 years.

This service only helps you unsubscribe from catalogs from companies with which you don’t already have a business relationship. For catalogs from companies with which you do have a relationship, you have to contact those companies directly to request an opt-out.

4. Use an app that stops catalogs and junk mail

Mobile apps like Paperkarma and Donotpay can reduce the amount of catalogs and other junk mail you get. With most of these apps, you’ll need to take a picture of the unwanted mail you’ve received and click “Unsubscribe” – they will take care of the rest. 

5. Opt out from data brokers

As we mentioned above, one of the main reasons your name and address end up on catalog mailing lists is because of data brokers.

The most effective way to stop catalog mailings for good is to opt out of their databases and prevent your information from being sold by data brokers in the first place.

However, since collecting and selling your data (including your address, phone number, education, employment history, and family details) is a billion-dollar industry, these data broker platforms don’t make it easy to opt out of their databases.

To successfully remove yourself from data broker sites, you must opt out of each one individually. Thankfully, we’ve created a free opt-out guide to show you how. Or, you can subscribe to our data broker removal service to have our privacy experts take care of the entire process. 

This is time-consuming work, but it’s effective. It can also protect you from telemarketers and spammers, prevent identity theft, and stop other junk mail.

How can DeleteMe help me stop catalog mailings?

Because manually removing your information from every data broker site can be tedious, and many people don’t have time for it, we started DeleteMe. 

DeleteMe is a service that does the work for you. We’re experts at removing personal data from the internet. 

As soon as you sign up with us, our privacy experts use sophisticated AI technology and manual processes to identify and scrub your personal data from all data-broker platforms. 

Once your data is removed, companies can no longer buy it. We then monitor and remove any new personal data added to these platforms, ensuring your personal information stays off the Internet.

Our plans start at just $10.75 per month. Visit us to learn more.