Work at home investigation: Envelope Stuffing

I decided to investigate envelope stuffing  because it’s one of the most prevalent work at home ads out there (not on my site, mind you). I also thought it was appropriate because I am asked on a daily basis whether or not you can really earn a living (or make any money at all) stuffing envelopes.

So, my research began with actually responding to a typical envelope stuffing ad. I think you will find my report very enlightening.

You’ll notice that I’ve replaced the company’s website with a fake one and I will refer to their company as “Our Company”. Don’t want to give them any free advertising!

Envelopes At Home
Want to work at home? Here is your
chance at $12 per envelope!
www.imnotlistingtherealwebsite.com/

Wow! $12 per envelope sounds pretty good. I wondered how many envelopes I could stuff in an hour, so I tried it. It took me about 5 seconds. So, that means that I could stuff about 720 envelopes per hour, right? That’s $8640 per hour! Hmm…even if I only did half of that, that’s still quite a good wage Ok, maybe I’m not being realistic. I don’t want to develop carpal-tunnel syndrome, so let’s be overly cautious and say I can stuff 10 envelopes per hour. That’s $120 per hour!!!

Seriously, though this is a very typical ad for envelope stuffing. I’m sure there must be more to it than that so let’s see what the website tells me….

Here are the highlights from the website:

Would you want to make money fast? Earn Extra Income! Make $1275.88 after stuffing ONLY 100 envelopes!!

Make Money from the Dorm, Home or Office!

Earn Extra Income for College!

Pay off those Loans!

Secure envelopes in your spare time and you will be paid twelve dollars for each and every one! Yes, you read correctly: You will be paid twelve dollars for every envelope you stuff regardless of whether or not the potential customer ever buys anything! Stuff envelopes in your spare time, make money. It’s that EASY!

We offer you a 200% Guarantee!
We guarantee you that after you have stuffed ONLY 100 envelopes for Our Company, not only will you get your money back but you will receive a 200% REFUND! That means after only one hundred envelopes, you will have received payment in the amount of $1275.88! That’s if you only do 100; you may continue long afterwards, too! Plus there is no limit to the number of envelopes you can stuff! Keep working at this opportunity for as long as you want. Start now, it’s SO EASY!

So I read their FAQ’s. Here are some of the highlights:

Q. Why is there a processing fee? A. We can’t afford to send out thousands and thousands of parcels to people that aren’t serious about doing this. We need honest, hard working, motivated people that are actually going to stuff the envelopes; we don’t need people who are just trying to satisfy their curiosity. The information we provide to you incurs costs, so we charge a processing fee. Once you’ve stuffed 100 envelopes for us, you’ve proven that you’re serious about working for us, so we refund you twice your processing fee which is a total of $75.88.

This is from the terms of agreement and I found it to be of particular interest:

REFUND POLICY (very important, please read) Do not try to send the First Parcel back to us in hopes that you may recover your processing fee; this is not possible. Please read. As promised on our website, once you have followed all of the guidelines, and after you have stuffed 100 envelopes, we will grant you a refund of twice the processing fee. This is in addition to the $1275.88 you will have earned for the first 100 envelopes. Don’t stop there, continue this opportunity for as long as you like, earning $12 for every envelope you stuff. Please note that our refund policy is very strict; if you fail to follow the guidelines, no refund will be possible. We have already invested a fair amount of money in obtaining your help (through advertisements, the web, etc.), plus printing and postage costs, which is why we require the processing fee. The only way to receive a refund is to follow the guidelines, and stuff 100 envelopes. Remember, this opportunity is only guaranteed if you actually put effort into it. If you have any concerns about this policy, please keep in mind that you agreed to read our web page, including the disclaimer and witness that everything we have stated within it is 100% congruent with what we’ve advertised when you sent in your processing fee. If you are still unsure about anything, feel free to write to us about your concerns. Please include a SASE if you wish to receive a response (this helps to keep the processing fee low and allows us to respond to everyone).

I find it very interesting that this is clearly written with the assumption that most people do not read the Terms of Use until after they feel they’ve been burned. They’re right, too. Most people don’t.

Ok, so on January 9th, I take the plunge. I click on “Application”, which is really just an order form. I pay the $37.94 for my packet. I immediately receive an email from the company, so I’m anxious to see what to do next. Oh, disappointment. It’s just an automated email receipt for my transaction. No worries, I’m sure my packet will be rushed right to me.

It’s been a week now and every day I open my mailbox expecting to see a box or a big envelope from them.

January 17th. I finally received my “packet” which was just an email containing instructions. Click Here to read the email.

A very interesting part of this message said this:

“WHERE ARE THE CIRCULARS? We have found that some people misread the contents of our Website and expect circulars to be included with the first parcel; this is incorrect. We do not advertise that your circulars will be included in your first parcel. Since, in the past, many people were posting unapproved fliers, we can no longer send out your circulars until we receive your approved flier (your first set of circulars (advertisements) arrives in your second parcel). Remember, the processing fee has already been covered, so send in your flier for approval and start receiving advertisements to be stuffed right away!”

Now, I am actually quite surprised that the “packet” is just an email message. Let’s read that FAQ from their website again:

“Q. Why is there a processing fee? A. We can’t afford to send out thousands and thousands of parcels to people that aren’t serious about doing this.”

Sending email is free, so it sure sounds like their sending out real parcels to me.

And let’s look again at parts of their Terms of Use:

“We have already invested a fair amount of money in obtaining your help (through advertisements, the web, etc.), plus printing and postage costs, which is why we require the processing fee.”
and
“Do not try to send the First Parcel back to us in hopes that you may recover your processing fee; this is not possible.”

Once again, this parcel seems pretty real, requiring postage and printing fees. Email message don’t require printing and postage fees.

I’m also confused as to why, if they’re so concerned with unapproved flyers, don’t they just provide me with an approved flyer?

So, already this is starting to really stink. But it doesn’t matter because my investigation must go on.

I have to make up a flyer and I’ll need to “hand them out at public events”. I won’t get the advertisements that I stuff into the envelopes until my flyer is approved. I cringe when I think that I actually made this myself. Take a look here.

So, I think I’ll just email it for approval. I do that and I receive an automated response that that address is not a monitored email account. Ok, so as I suspected I have to mail it in. Once again, I read through the long-winded fine print at the website and discover that I must include a self-adressed, stamped envelope with my flyer (they can’t afford stamps?) and I must be patient because, “Please also be patient; questions sometimes have a longer response time than applications.” I wonder why that is?

Considering that it took them 9 days to send out my “packet”, ahem…email, I wonder just how long it will take to review and approve my flier?

Really, this is the end. Remember, I sent my flyer in for approval back on January 17th. It’s now March 7th and I’ve not yet heard a peep. I’ve emailed (my messages returned with the message, “sorry, this is an automated email box. Your message will not be read.” I’ve also sent two letters to the address that was given. I even remembered to include my special number that I’m supposed to include in all correspondence.

Do you think I’ll ever get approval for my flyer? No, I don’t either. I do think they should revise their ads though. Here is one that more accurately portrays their program:

Envelopes At Home
Earn me some Extra Income!
I Make Money from my Dorm, Home or Office!
I’ve Earned Extra Income for College!
Help Me Pay off those Loans!
For Only $37.94 You Can Finance My Lifestyle.
www.ThereAreNoEnvelopesToStuff.com

So, what have we learned from this? I hope that none of you will ever respond to another envelope stuffing ad. They are a waste of time and money.

Tags: Scams, work at home jobs