Junk Mail Magic

Choose where gift-subscription renewal offers should go

Write to the publisher and ask how it handles the gift order. You want billing and renewal questions to come to you as the purchaser, and you want the recipient's address used only in the ways the recipient agrees to. The order form and the publisher's published policy show what the publisher actually offers, so check them before you ask for a particular setting.

By Junk Mail Magic. Updated .

Sort out the two names on the order

  1. Note the purchaser's name and address exactly as entered on the order, then the recipient's delivery details. Ask the recipient whether they want any renewal or promotional mail at their address.
  2. Read the order confirmation and the publisher's privacy or mailing policy for anything about gift orders or communication preferences. If the policy doesn't cover gift orders, add that question to your request.
  3. Contact the publisher through the customer service route on its own website. Ask who receives renewal offers: the payer, the recipient or both. Also ask whether that can be set separately for each person.
  4. Ask whether the recipient's address can be left off promotional mail while the subscription keeps arriving.
  5. Record the date, the channel you used and the reply in your worksheet.

Keep delivery mail separate from sales mail

Some publishers can split gift records and some can't. Quote the form or policy wording in your request, and ask whether an option exists instead of assuming it does.

Only speak for the recipient with their permission, and let them approve the wording. Ask to stop promotional mail only. Delivery notices and questions about the order should keep coming.

If a renewal arrives that looks like a bill, compare it with your own order records before paying. FTC guidance for businesses and nonprofits lists fake invoices as a scam risk and advises checking invoices against approved records before payment.

Private worksheet and sample request

Example for your own use. Replace the bracketed details and review what you share.

Worksheet: Publication: [name] Purchaser details as entered: [details] Recipient details as entered: [details] Recipient's mail preference: [preference] Date and channel of request: [date, channel] Publisher reply: [summary] Sample request: Order [order reference] is a gift for [recipient name]. Please send billing and renewal questions to me as the purchaser. With the recipient's agreement, please do not send promotional mail to their address while delivery continues. Can you confirm how you handle these records?

Act on the reply

If the publisher can't separate the records, ask whether the recipient can set their own mailing preference by contacting the publisher directly, and pass that answer on to them. Before you buy the next gift subscription, read the gift fields on the checkout form first.

Official source

Keep a gift recipient out of your mailing preferencesVerify a magazine renewal from another companyCancel a subscription through its actual providerBefore joining another listAll practical mail guides

Keep personal records with the organization that handles them

Junk Mail Magic is for ordinary unwanted advertising. Use the official contact route in this guide for records, account changes or someone else’s correspondence.

Compare removal routes