"Earn 00's Weekly Stuffing Envelopes." "Want to Work From Home? Here's your Chance at per Envelope." "Stuffing Envelope Jobs - Earn Thousands Weekly at Home! per Envelope. Start Now."
Any of the above ads look familiar? They should. Every last one of them is an actual ad that I found. They are plastered everywhere whether it's the Newspaper, Magazine Ads and even on the Internet.
How many of you actually believe those ads? Believe it or not, many people actually do believe them. Years ago, I was one of them. I kept seeing these ads over and over again so I figured they were legitimate. I ended up responding to a few of the ads but never heard back from any of them. Surprise, surprise!
Actually, back then, I was surprised. I was young and naive and never thought people would lie just to get people's money. Boy was I wrong. Since that time, I've come across several other people who fell for those outrageous claims. I even have a family member who fell for a similar mail out scam and spent over 0 on envelopes and stamps and even went to Kinko's to have the circular printed out. How much did he make on that Envelope Stuffing job? Not one dime! I decided to do some research on Envelope Stuffing. I was actually amazed at what I discovered. If you are seriously considering responding to any of these Envelope Stuffing ads, here are some things to consider:
o What is required - There are actually several different Envelope Stuffing scams out there, so it depends on which scam you've come across. According to the ads, there really isn't much required at all. You basically just have to stuff envelopes with the company's mail out or flyer, address the envelope, put postage on it and seal it. Then take the whole package of envelopes to the company so they can mail them out, or some companies want you to take them to the post office and mail them yourself.
Now that doesn't sound so hard, does it? It actually isn't that hard, the only thing is that many times after you've stuffed all the envelopes and followed the directions, these many of these companies will not pay you and use the excuse that you did not do the job according to their requirements. So, they got you to do all that work, which you mailed out then they make an excuse not to pay you. Or, they will claim that none of the envelopes you mailed out brought in a sale. The thing is, they never told you that your pay would be based on commission.
Some Envelope Stuffing scams, like the one my family member fell for, require you to purchase all the envelopes, stamps and copies of the circular and have you mail them out to different lists of people (you have to buy a list of prospects as well). You then mail out a copy of the circular and you get to keep all the money people send you. This is a type of pyramid scheme that has been around for years and is still going strong, so beware.
Another Envelope Stuffing scam is after you pay them a fee they send you instructions on how to write and place ads (just like the one you fell for). So basically, they are teaching you to scam people like they scammed you.
o Do they charge a fee - Do not pay any fee of any kind no matter how small the amount may be. Some companies will claim that the fee is to pay for stamps, supplies, etc. Don't believe it! A legitimate company who is requiring your services would not ask you to pay any kind of fee for signing up. No company even has the right to ask you for money before you work for them. You are there to perform a service or job for them, so you should not have to pay them anything. Some people may reason that they were only asked to pay anywhere from to , which might not seem like a lot of money. But if 3000 people respond to that ad and send them to each, they've made 00 to 00! That can really ad up especially if they advertised in some of the bigger National magazines. So do your research so you won't get scammed.
o Don't believe the hype - Any company that tells you that you will be making thousands of dollars by simply stuffing envelopes is lying. Stay away from them. You can not make that much money just by stuffing envelopes. Why do I say that? Well today, most envelope stuffing is done by machine. Manual envelope stuffing is too costly and is done in great volume by high speed machines. No company is going to pay people thousands of dollars every week to stuff envelopes for them when they can invest in these machines and only have to pay for it once.
These people make these ridiculous claims because they know that there are gullible people out there looking for easy ways to make money. Open your eyes! Don't fall for it. You have been warned.
o Do your research - You must do your research before getting involved with any company. Don't just automatically sign up with any company advertising envelope stuffing. Check with the Better Business Bureau to see if there are any complaints against the company. Do a search on Google. Check online forums. Just make sure you do the research.
o Are there any legitimate envelope stuffing opportunities out there - Believe it or not, yes there are. These are usually freelance jobs from smaller companies just starting out that can't afford the envelope stuffing machinery or companies that are trying to see if they get sales resulting from mail outs.
I actually worked for a small water purifying company that I did mail outs for. I
went there to apply for a secretarial job but it was filled. Instead, they offered me the envelope stuffing job. I was desperate at the time so I took it.
It was very time consuming. I used to stuff 4000 envelopes a week. That was a lot of work! I had to get my family to help me. I would bring home the envelopes; my Dad would stuff and seal them. My Mom, sister and I would write out the addresses (we didn't have the sticky labels to work with). I would place the stamps on them. Then I would take them back to the company and they would write me out a check. I shared the money with my family since they helped me out. It took a lot of time and if I didn't take time each day to do it, I'd get behind, and then I'd be up late filling out the address and putting the stamps on them. I did that job for a year.
o Can you make money Stuffing Envelopes - When I worked for that company, I used to get paid around 0 a week. That was not a lot of money, especially after I shared it with my family for their help. I did because it helped them out each week and it gave me a little extra spending money.
o Is it worth the fuss - I had to ask myself if it was worth all the fuss to do that kind of work. Was it worth the lousy 0 I'd get each week? What did my family think about it? We all dreaded it each week, but we liked getting paid. The thing is, by the time I got through splitting the money with my family, there wasn't much left for me. Plus, I had to report that on MY taxes each year, not my family. So in the long run, it wasn't worth it for me. You may find it different in your case.
o Envelope stuffing is now called "home mailing" or "e-mail processing" - Envelope stuffing is a very popular old scam that's now being repackaged as e-mail processing. These companies are very clever and are realizing that many people are catching on to their scam so they are now changing their wording and calling it something else, but it works the same way as the other Envelope Stuffing scams.
Although there are a few legitimate Envelope Stuffing jobs out there, like most too-good-to-be-true offers, Envelope Stuffing jobs are scams that continue to suck new people in year after year. Envelope stuffing is an example of people who use persuasive skills and create an illusion of "easy money" - to lure people in and entice them to send in their money.
The FTC is actually cracking down on this type of fraud. Many newspapers are also cracking down on them by not allowing ads for Envelope Stuffing jobs. Despite all their efforts, I don't think that they will ever stop all the Envelope Stuffing scams out there. Envelope Stuffing scams have been around for over 50 years. It's one of the oldest scams out there.
After reading this article, if you are still interested in Envelope Stuffing jobs, please do your research on the company and remember not to pay for anything up front. Personally, I would find other ways to make money. Legitimate work at home jobs can easily be found, if you know where to look. It's all about research.
To Your Success,
Anna Allen
