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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!genrad!panda!talcott!harvard!bu-cs!bzs
From: bzs@bu-cs.UUCP (Barry Shein)
Newsgroups: net.consumers
Subject: Re: Question about Sweepstakes
Message-ID: <829@bu-cs.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 31-Dec-85 14:32:30 EST
Article-I.D.: bu-cs.829
Posted: Tue Dec 31 14:32:30 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 1-Jan-86 05:14:15 EST
References: <474@iheds.UUCP>
Organization: Boston Univ Comp. Sci.
Lines: 26

Re: How do they make money on those $10M sweepstakes selling magazines?

I was always under the impression that besides selling magazines or
whatever, they were carefully cultivating massively valuable mailing
lists. If I remember correctly by sending you something and receiving
a reply (even if it's a 'no thank you') the price of your name/address
goes way up in the mailing list biz. Once built up they can sell your
name (and millions of others) over and over again through the year. I
don't know what the per name cost is to people buying mailing lists
(and I am quite sure it depends on lots of selection factors) but I
believe $0.50 to $1.00 is not unusual for well gleaned lists, so a
little quick multiplication and the profits start to appear.

(old joke warning)

Every day this guy leaves work with a wheelbarrow full of sand,
every day the guard carefully searches the sand to find nothing,
finally one day the guard confronts him:

"Ok, I give up, what are you stealing?"
"Wheelbarrows"

See, they may not be in the magazine biz at all, or just barely
(like, why do they only solicit subscriptions once a year?)

	-Barry Shein, Boston University