JeffS
Member 
Posts: 2,635
What I collect: Oranges Philately, US Slogan Cancels, Cape of Good Hope Triangulars, and Texas poster stamps and cinderellas
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Post by JeffS on Feb 24, 2022 23:28:48 GMT
I've not opened this since receiving last year. Magnification shows it to be a real dollar bill.
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stainlessb
Member
qaStaHvIS yIn 'ej chep
Posts: 4,666
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Feb 24, 2022 23:48:26 GMT
Nothing surprises me anymore.....
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tomiseksj
Moderator 
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,276 
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
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Post by tomiseksj on Feb 25, 2022 0:42:08 GMT
I thought it was illegal to attempt to buy votes...
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stainlessb
Member
qaStaHvIS yIn 'ej chep
Posts: 4,666
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Feb 25, 2022 1:24:29 GMT
that was my first thought
It reminded me of when I was younger an d a union carpenter- The business agent would hand out cards to unions members who told him they would vote for him... the cards was for a free drink at the bar he frequented, which where you could frequently find him!
I remained business office the entire time I was in the union- I was promoted to a field superintendent, who (management) were barred from being in the union- it was considered a conflict of interest
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khj
Member
Posts: 1,470
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Post by khj on Feb 25, 2022 3:21:46 GMT
Charities have been doing it for at least 2 decades. It used to be pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters. I guess the price of enticing people has gone up!
I have no qualms nor guilty conscience about ripping off the envelope corner for the stamp, and then yanking off the coins to put in my "Fund My Sugar Addiction" jar. Hey, if they want to contribute to my next purchase of M&M's, that's fine with me. I hope they aren't expecting a Thank You.
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hrdoktorx
Member
Posts: 6,651
What I collect: France (and French territories), Africa, Canada, USA, Germany, Guatemala, stamps about science, flags, maps, stamps on stamps...
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Post by hrdoktorx on Feb 25, 2022 6:29:37 GMT
The one time I received such a commercial envelope with cash inside was from a ratings agency that wanted me to record my radio listening habits for a couple of weeks. But they sent a two-dollar bill, which I still have.
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khj
Member
Posts: 1,470
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Post by khj on Feb 25, 2022 6:52:30 GMT
Hmmm, I only got US$1 to entice me to fill out a car survey about 10 years ago, which I didn't. Sorry, but the candy bar distracted me.
Call me greedy, but survey-takers are making money off of my time. $1 is less than minimum wage. It makes no sense, other than they have realized that can't get people to participate for free anymore.
Compare, before I quit 30+ yrs ago, I could make $25/hr part-time participating in market research focus groups for selected products. I was in graduate school at the time, so any money was useful. Oddly enough, I originally got recruited to get my opinion on items that USPS was planning on marketing to collectors! If they were paying $25/hr for me to participate in market research groups (typically only takes ~2hrs) 30 years ago, what do you think they might be paying now?
Today, I only agree to participate in surveys for free if they are run by a university as part of a research project. If you are a company, pay me the professional rate. Otherwise, quit calling me. But yeah, go ahead and send me coins/bills to entice me -- I need to refill my "Fund My Sugar Addiction" jar.
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JeffS
Member
Posts: 2,635
What I collect: Oranges Philately, US Slogan Cancels, Cape of Good Hope Triangulars, and Texas poster stamps and cinderellas
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Post by JeffS on Feb 25, 2022 11:17:44 GMT
I suspect it is a donation request. Remember, “it takes money to make Money.” Right?
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khj
Member
Posts: 1,470
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Post by khj on Feb 25, 2022 18:29:08 GMT
It is. The idea is that supposedly a certain percentage of people will feel guilty about not responding when they get money. It's like when some people will write a thank you card after receiving a gift. Charities and political organizations try to feed off of that sentiment. Studies have shown that enough "additional" people will respond to produce a net increase in receipts. The only issue is determining what amount of money to stuff in the envelope to maximize the increase.
As an officer of multiple NPOs, I find this practice by some charities to be extremely distasteful and any charity that practices this is assured to not receive anything from me. To me, it's a sign that a charity has failed to get across the value of supporting its primary mission statement. JMHO
For survey-makers, it's a different story. They are desperately trying to avoid paying you minimum wage, and at the same time trying to make the sample pool more accurate by trying to include cheapskates like me.
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tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,276
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
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Post by tomiseksj on Feb 25, 2022 18:50:37 GMT
I suspect it is a donation request... Perhaps, but I still like the "buy your vote" hypothesis.  |
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angore
Member
Posts: 5,392
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Feb 26, 2022 11:15:13 GMT
It is usually a guilt response mailing whether it is unsolicited money, mailing address labels (some are higher quality than some stamps), calendars, etc.
Some of these mailings get written off by the charity as education expenses.
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