
Barns & Noble Purchased Borders' Email List - Going to Spam the Hell Out of You - wbracken
http://www.wcbracken.me/2011/10/28/barns-noble-purchased-borders-customer-emails-preparing-to-spam-the-hell-out-of-you/
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MattLaroche
I drew a different conclusion when I got that email from Barnes & Noble. While
I dislike B&N buying Border's customer list, B&N was transparent about it and
pre-emptively offered a clear opt-out before they started sending advertising
material. The opt out process tried to convince you that being on the list was
worthwhile, but also made it clear about how to finish the process.

B&N did something shady, sure, but in very plain language told you what they'd
done, how to be removed, and during the process suggested why it would be
worthwhile to be on their list. Their transparency is respectable.

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ddw
Exactly. At least they let you know that they have the data and the opt-out
was easy enough (I also did it).

Organizations share gtheir mailing lists ALL THE TIME. If I pay a membership
to museum for a year, I suddenly have five similar museums sending me their
marketing info in the mail.

I used to work at a non-profit where this happened constantly. Sure, it wasn't
a lot of data about what I have done, but it was basic demographic stuff. To
me it made no sense, you'd think that you'd want to protect your donation base
at all costs, but this is how deals/partnerships are made between
organizations.

Who knows what Facebook is doing with all of that data. If only they were as
transparent as B&N with it.

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rednaught
To put things into better perspective, here is the letter from the B&N CEO
that was sent out some weeks ago informing Borders' customers of the
acquisition of some assets. The sale was approved by a federal bankruptcy
court.

<http://www.barnesandnoble.com/container/stores.asp?PID=39742>

I think that they've done a fine job with disclosure and much better than many
companies have done.

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wccrawford
It was my understanding that they bought Borders, and the list came along for
the ride. As one of the assets of the company, and since everyone opted into
the list, it doesn't violate CANSPAM.

They are now giving you a very visual notice that you can opt out.

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gerggerg
This is a bit tin foil hat. They're a book store, borders was a book store.
Cross business customer relevance couldn't be higher. They offer a simple opt
out.

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alexchamberlain
It is illegal to transfer personal data from the UK to the US; they may have
fallen foul of that little Data Protection Act.

