This is just to prepare you for the inevitable. Your mailbox is about to be bombarded with junk mail. “Direct mail” (as it’s called by those who send it) peaks in January. And it’s no coincidence. There is a breed of businessmen known as list brokers who have determined that January is the prime time to hit you with postal solicitations.
Why January? “In this business,” says one broker, “we don’t ask why. January just works.” Some, however, speculate that it has mostly to do with a post-holiday, settle-in-for-the-winter syndrome, with a penchant for purchases for personal and home improvements.
To get to you, the direct mail industry has to get your name. Often they get your name from magazine subscription lists; most magazines sell the list of their subscribers (with addresses) to a list broker, who in turn peddles it to any direct mail operation that might want it. Some magazines, Harper’s Bazaar for example, don’t release their list at any price. Most do. And the value of a list depends on the demographic quality of the subscribers.
The hot lists: Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Money, Mon-eysworth, and the Wall Street Journal. At $35 per thousand names, these lists are in most demand. Higher-priced gems with lesser-known names: American Natural History magazine, Architectural Digest, Classic Magazine (a horse-owners periodical), and Hill’s Court (directed at tennis buyers). These go for as much as $65 per thousand names and are considered the direct line to big spenders. Top of the line: The specialty store catalogue subscriber lists such as Sakowitz of Houston ($70 per thousand) and Dallas’ own Horchow Collection ($100 per thousand, or 10￠ a name).
If 10￠ seems like a lot to spend for a name and address, consider this statistic: It is estimated that by 1980, annual sales by direct mail will exceed $1 billion. You can see why the people on the other end don’t call it junk.
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