Is mailing a brick wrong?

[K. Darien Freeheart]

I was browsing Lew Rockwell and noticed a link to http://www.officeofstrategicinfluence.com/bulkmailer/ that tosses out an interesting thing.

In summary, you know those return mail envelopes that are inside credit card offers and all kinds of unsolicited bulk mail? Well, it seems that you can mail any package back using that, it's essentially a collect call. The recipient is billed for postage once the package arrives.

So, as a form of protest, one guy has launched a campaign to fill a box with a brick, attach one of those and send it back. As the cost of bulk mail goes up, the number of bulk mailers go down.

Now, the reason I bring this up is because Stephan Kinsella from Lew Rockwell called this a form of theft and then goes on to chuckle about how it can be used against political advertising campaigns. I'm not so sure that I call this fraud or theft, what does anyone else think?

[Kat Kanning]

They chose to send you their junk.  I don't think it's wrong.

[doobie]

I've done it plenty of times in the past....  I also used to use rotting cheese... but that was pre-911.

But according to this link: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_356.html you just waste the post offices time.

[William]

Not only is this not theft or fraud, it's a marvelous idea. I was just looking at this photoradar ticket and wondering what to do about it. Now I know! Will post a pic when I get it packaged up.

[ByronB]

I know someone who put cut a piece on lead the size of the envelope and mailed it... never got anymore junkmail from them from what I understand.

[grasshopper]

Knowing my luck, I'd get arrested for putting bimb making material in a package, lead oxcide, be carefull before you do this expect something stupid to happen, for instance, someposted that a molotov cocktail was an illegal firearm.......  get it?

[ali-cat]

if it wastes the postal workers' time it's just an added benefit of screwing w/goverment employees/agencies

[rmodel65]

i know of a man that puts blank chase application in house hold bank envelopes and vice versa. it will get sent and help the local mail carrier at mail count

[error]

I don't see the problem, as long as you paid for shipping.

[Puke]

I often take credit card offers and mail the original envelope and maybe some garbage back to them in the Reply Mail envelope.
It's good fun. 

[Giggan]

Before the primary, I mailed back info on Ron Paul.