I got a postcard today from vote-now.com which on the address side looked exactly like the one I got last week which contained PDGA election instructions on the reverse, only this one says on the reverse they want to buy my house in generic marketing jargon.

How does one go about making this stop RIGHT NOW? The PDGA has made it very clear that our personal info will not be sold to 3rd parties, yet it has clearly happened in less than one week of participating in this election. If this policy has changed, I would certainly like to know asap.

I'm wondering if this isn't a screw-up by a mailing service.

I was shown one of these postcards, and it's only soliciting to buy houses in the Atlanta area. Hardly something someone would pay to mail all over the country, especially since a home-buying company could easily buy and solicit a list of 100% home owners, as opposed to a PDGA-member list which might be less than 50% home owners.

For anyone who cares, and hasn't seen this---

It's a plain white postcard. On the mailing side, the return address is PDGA Ballot/Vote-now.com and their address, and it is addressed to a PDGA member with automated addressing. I haven't received a postcard for my actual ballot, but I'm guessing this is identical. On the reverse is a very plainly typed pitch from a company offering to buy homes "in just a few counties of Atlanta".

I've used services that print and mail postcards, based on our company's list. It looks very like a system that printed someone else's message on cards with our mailing lists.

Further evidence that this is probably a mistake is that the card I've seen was not only mailed to another state, but addressed to a 1-year-old PDGA member. (Not a member for 1 year, but a toddler).

Anyone who cares more than I do might wish to ask PDGA if they know about it, and what's the story, and post it here. The original post could be right, and it would be an issue of concern to some members....but it looks to me like a 3rd-party mistake.

it's not a screw up. PDGA has allowed info to be used for marketing in the past and will in the future. I tried bringing it up in the past and got nowhere. they also give it to disc golf retailers.

Vote-Now.com is not selling the PDGA's postal addresses! The following is a letter from our online voting service that is being sent to a small number of PDGA members in the southeast who received a business solicitation instead of their correct voting cards:


Dear PDGA member,

As you know, the PDGA elections are underway. We mailed post cards to each member (who did not have an email address on file) with the access information for the electronic ballot. It has come to our attention that a small group of these cards were printed in error with the correct member�s name and address on the front of the card but the back of the card (which should have included the voting information), was instead an advertisement from a
home equity company. We are writing with your voting access information below to make sure that you have the opportunity to vote. Our printing vendor (Click2Mail) assures the error was just due to the wrong image being printed on these cards. Your mailing address has not been shared or sold to any other vendor.

Please accept our sincere apologize for this mix-up and any confusion it may have caused.

James Claiborne
Vote-now.com



Please contact the PDGA office or Vote-Now jclaiborne@vote-now.com if you encounter any difficulties voting.

it's not a screw up. PDGA has allowed info to be used for marketing in the past and will in the future. I tried bringing it up in the past and got nowhere. they also give it to disc golf retailers.

Curious as to where you brought it up in the past? A simple call or e-mail to the PDGA office would have gotten you the following explanation:

The PDGA does not give membership contact information to retailers and we certainly do not provide this information to anyone without the members consent. When you join/renew with the PDGA, there are two boxes on the registration form for members to either check or uncheck. One is for "PDGA Mailing List" and the other is for "PDGA E-mail List". Each member makes his/her own choice at that time whether they want to allow their address to be used to receive mailings or e-mailings. Once you make this choice, this information is entered into the database and your name and contact info will appear on our mailing list if you chose that option.

https://ssl.breinerlogistics.com/pdga/MemberEdit.php?NewOrRenewal=New

If you no longer want to receive mail or e-mails as a result of being on our mailing list, then you simply need to contact the PDGA office to notify us of your wishes to change your status. The choice is yours and it always has been!

Thanks for the clarification - I certainly do not want my personal information shared with anyone outside the PDGA, especially marketing firms.

it's not a screw up.

An absolute statement---based on what evidence or inside knowledge? Did you look at the postcard carefully? Did you look at it at all?!

Not sure which logical fallacy states that "it happened before; it has to be happening again." I guess it's always easier to start with a conclusion, though.

For myself, I pity the home-buying business that would be sloppy enough to buy OUR membership info for their direct-mail campaign, instead of an appropriate one.

An absolute statement---based on what evidence or inside knowledge? Did you look at the postcard carefully? Did you look at it at all?!

Not sure which logical fallacy states that "it happened before; it has to be happening again." I guess it's always easier to start with a conclusion, though.

For myself, I pity the home-buying business that would be sloppy enough to buy OUR membership info for their direct-mail campaign, instead of an appropriate one.


Did you read Brian's explanation above?

I did.

It came after I had already speculated that it was a screw up by a mailing company.

I hope my post, which you quoted, was clear that I was merely incredulous at someone stating as fact that it wasn't a screw-up by a 3rd party, but a deliberate action by the PDGA, contrary to all appearances.