Opt-in, eh?

Overstock.com is a great site -- with some mediocre email marketing – if you happen to be Canadian.

Having found a great suit on the site a few months ago at a steep discount (even with duty and taxes at the border), I decided to keep checking back regularly to see what else might become available.

I signed up for the “O-mail” service to keep on top of the latest sales and discounts through the site. Almost immediately I was besieged with daily emails from overstock offering further discounts on purchases. Great...but there's a catch.

Read the fine print and you get a let down – “Not applicable to international orders."

And yes, like our marginalized friends in Alaska and Hawaii, Canada isn’t part of the continental US, so the offers are not valid.

Why am I getting these emails? I had already made a purchase and clearly established that I live in Canada. I then signed up for the email service. So why bombard me with offers that you know from the start I can’t take advantage of?

It’s a small thing, but it’s an example of bad email marketing. Pay attention to the details. When someone opts-in, take a look at their preferences and target your content. The days of email blasting and one-size-fits-all communication are over.  

Comments

[David]

I agree this is a lack of attention to detail... although they did send me a special discount for Canuck customers only on Canadian Thanksgiving, Oct 2009.

[email archiving]

The O mail service seems like a promising email marketing platform for mobile users. It is growing by followers as well as brands signing up.