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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to put this unsolicited Avon catalogue in the recycling bin?

229 replies

Rae36 · 21/05/2021 12:43

Came home to an Avon catalogue on the doormat. I didn't ask for it.

It has a note telling me to leave it our for collection on Sunday afternoon. The actual wording is "Leave this catalogue out on your doorstep for collection on Sunday afternoon EVEN IF YOU DONT WANT TO PLACE AN ORDER".
We're going away this weekend so I don't want to put it out tomorrow morning and have it lying there advertising the fact that we're not at home until Sunday afternoon.
The note says that if I can't put it out on Sunday afternoon I can call the person and arrange another time to collect it.

AIBU to just chuck it? I didn't ask for it, I don't want to phone a stranger up and arrange for her to collect it at a different time. Or will she come knocking on my door at some other random time looking for it? How long do I have to keep it lying around my house in case she comes back for it?

And who does she actually think she is to drop this off at my house then tell me in capital letters what to do with it?

And finally, why has this pissed me off out of all proportion

OP posts:
mam0918 · 21/05/2021 15:21

I bin all junk mail.

I made the mistake of getting friendly with the local avon girl who moved to our village years ago, it started just as a quick hello handing her the catalog back, she was my age and its a tiny village so not many people to talk too and we liked the same tv shows etc... so for polite convosation all was fine.

She then started asking me for free labour (can you watch my house this weekend, collect my packages because I have an appointment and will be out, walk my dog while Im at work, let my friend deliver weed to your house etc... yes that last one is real turned out she was dealing drugs aswell which was my limit as I have small children so nothing to do with illegal drug and increasingly more insane requests) and then over time it turned into serious harrasment because she was crazy so would phone the police on me making stuff up and phone my gas/electric/water company pretending to be me to try and get it switched off etc...

Never again, I didnt ask for anything, I dont want it so its junk mail.

VolcanicEruption · 21/05/2021 15:22

Apart from paying for the stupid catalogues, they are also trekking round estates.
Whilst I appreciate people have had hard times lately but I thought the generous benefits took care of that.

GrumpyHoonMain · 21/05/2021 15:24

This reply has been deleted

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CovidCorvid · 21/05/2021 15:26

I did this once and the person came hammering on my door wanting it back.....I said I no longer had it. They went bonkers saying they'd have to pay for it.

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland · 21/05/2021 15:27

Bin it. If the distributor has paid for it they need to check you actually want one before they put unsolicited rubbish it through your door. Not your problem if they couldnt afford to lose the catalogue - stupid is as stupid does.

1starwars2 · 21/05/2021 15:29

My grumpy father went out and shouted at the last person who put a catalogue through his door. He didn't get any more, but I imagine he spent a lot of time in looking out for potential catalogue people ready to pounce.
We live on a steep hill that puts off most doorstep callers.

ramarama · 21/05/2021 15:30

I would recycle it. Surely these days it's highly environmentally unfriendly to deliver large unsolicited chunks of paper to people who are largely not customers?? I def wouldn't encourage that as a business model.

Janaih · 21/05/2021 15:30

Bin it.
If you leave it out then part of your holiday will be wasted by worrying whether it will be picked up, and if its advertising your house as empty (combined with lack of movement/curtains closed, probably yes).
As pps have said, they are quite often not picked up anyway.
I used to be poor AF, but never resorted to MLMs. Tbh if you think you're going to make money by paying for catalogues in this day and age you deserve to get fleeced.

Whammyyammy · 21/05/2021 15:35

Bin it, that way you wont get any through your door

PurpleWh1teGreen · 21/05/2021 15:36

The idea of an MLM catalogue going from house to house isn’t a pleasant one.

It would be going straight back out of my front door, with a note in even larger capitals.

Monkeymilkshake · 21/05/2021 15:37

I accidentally put the first avon catalogue i received in the bin. I didnt know anything about it and was mixed with all the other junk mail.
The lady (with her husband) came knocking at my door at 9pm one evening demanding it back. I was really confused and told them i had put it in the bin. They said they’d leave me a couple of days to find it and would then be back. They did come back and i had to just tell them i didnt have it! They were very rude about it.
The following week she put it through my letter box but luckly i was home and just gave it right back to her.

I understand that it’s a job and some people need the money etc but it’s a bit rich tp put something through someone’s letter box and then want it back. I guess that’s how Avon makes some of their money!

KaleSlayer · 21/05/2021 15:37

Bin it. If you leave it out then part of your holiday will be wasted by worrying whether it will be picked up

Your holidays must be really fun. 😬

Monkeymilkshake · 21/05/2021 15:37

Not week. * month

SionnachRua · 21/05/2021 15:41

Tbh I'd leave it out on the doorstep. It's annoying yes but MLM companies milk their sellers for enough money as it is. Why help them do it by causing her to lose catalogue stock?

I hate junk mail but I hate pyramid schemes even more.

SionnachRua · 21/05/2021 15:43

@ramarama

I would recycle it. Surely these days it's highly environmentally unfriendly to deliver large unsolicited chunks of paper to people who are largely not customers?? I def wouldn't encourage that as a business model.
You're absolutely right but these companies don't care about encouraging their reps into a proper business model. It's all about fleecing them for as much as they can.
FuckyouCovid21 · 21/05/2021 15:49

I have a sign in the front window - no junk mail, catalogues, newspapers or advertising. I am regularly put out to find an Avon or Kleeneze catalogue through the door so now it goes in the junk bin. A couple of years ago a disgruntled Avon rep posted on the area FB group moaning that her catalogues were regularly stolen and not returned. I'm sure you can imagine some of the responses she got

BigHeadBertha · 21/05/2021 15:54

I agree that you are under no obligation to take orders from the Avon lady. I'd dispose of it however I wanted to.

SpiderinaWingMirror · 21/05/2021 15:58

I had a friend who did Avon. When she did a new round, she stuck a note in saying tick one
A) please leave a catalogue each time
B) please leave one at xmas
C) please dont leave one, not interested.
She collected them promptly, wrote it down and moved on to the next round she could get.

mediumbrownmug · 21/05/2021 16:02

I bin all junk mail. Especially reused items that aren’t ever thrown away and are delivered to multiple houses during a global pandemic.

Carbara · 21/05/2021 16:03

It’s a dismal little marketing technique, ‘I have to keep this booklet lying around till Sunday, might as well look through it while I’m here..’
MLM schemes are repugnant, who the fck is still signing up to be a HunBot these days? Ridiculous.

Dontbeme · 21/05/2021 16:07

@bigbaggyeyes

If it's unsolicited then hun it
Laughing my head off at the idea of "u ok Hun?"ing an Avon catalogue until it walks itself to the recycling in frustration. In my defense I am operating on three hours sleep today.
AlternativePerspective · 21/05/2021 16:11

My eXH used to bin them. Then one day the cleanease woman came round and asked for the catalogue. I hadn’t even seen it so I said that I assumed my DH had binned it. She became very aggressive and started shouting that she had to pay for that book, and how dare we throw it away when it was part of her business yada yada yada.

I pointed out that if she didn’t want to lose the catalogues she shouldn’t put them through my door again.

This kind of selling is just MLM. I wouldn’t tolerate being spammed by juice plus reps or foreverliving or whatever other shite is out there these days. This is no different.

Sunnysideup999 · 21/05/2021 16:11

If she wanted it back she should have checked whether you wanted it in the first place.
This is why your angry - because you’re being told to do something about something that you didn’t want or ask for.
Would you feel differently if it were a charity brochure ?

Lovemusic33 · 21/05/2021 16:12

I always put the, back outside, it’s not exactly hard work is it? It’s someone’s living and I’m pretty sure they pay for the catalogues so need them back.

Molehillfromamountain · 21/05/2021 16:13

I definitely wouldn't leave it out if you are going away. We were burgled when I was a kid, we think they knew we were away as the paper boy had shoved a free paper in the hedge where it stayed for a week advertising the fact the house was empty.
I'd recycle it I'm afraid.