Make thousands of dollars a week by stuffing envelopes at home. No really.

Darcy Musings Leave a Comment

So have you ever wondered about those ads you saw back in the day (or still see) that said “Make thousands of dollars a week stuffing envelopes at home”?

Well back in the late 80’s, I wondered too and I finally succumbed to the temptation and sent my $30 to address listed in the ad. I had a newspaper route at this point in my life so I was already raking in cash beyond my wildest 14 year old dreams. I just wanted to take it to the next level.

Several weeks later, I received a package in the mail and I eagerly opened it hoping to discover a way to rack in the cash. Inside was a stack of stapled papers. I quickly perused it to see what was the secret of making that kind of money but all I noticed that it was a lot of advertising/marketing advice. I was like “what?” So I sat down and started reading it from the beginning and it quickly became clear what this was all about.

Here’s a copy of the info (circa 1988):
Envelope Stuffing (aka – mail scamming guide)

In a nutshell, this is how it is done:

  • Step 1:  Send in money to get info on how to thousands by stuffing envelopes at home
  • Step 2:  Receive material on how to achieve your goal
  • Step 3:  Post advertising in newspapers, magazines or wherever to tell people that they can make thousands by stuffing envelopes at home by sending you money on how to do it.
  • Step 4:  When people send you money, photocopy the material from Step 2, stuff it into a an envelope and mail it to them.

Lather, rinse, repeat to keep you buys and the money flowing in.

This was my introduction to multilevel marketing / pyramid scams (the latter being illegal in Canada).  I was on the verge of starting up my little operation when a family friend (Thanks Mr. B!) told me that it was illegal in Canada and that pretty much stopped me in my tracks as I did not want to get involved into that world.  For the juniors our there, there was no internet to speak of back then and living in a rural town came with limitations on knowledge.  No Wikipedia, no quick fact checking.  The reason why I’m posting this today is that I was digging through some old boxes and I came across the old material  I had received and I thought I would share it for kicks and maybe to help some people out there from being scammed.

That aside, I considered the $30 well spent for two reasons:

  1. It satisfied my curiosity.
  2. It actually had some good marketing advice that applies to anyone in general.   In particular, that it worth it to take the extra time or spend the extra money to differentiate yourself from the crowd.

If you want more info about these types of scams, you can read about it here.

Now if only I get could those x-ray specs from those ads in the back of the comic books…

Worthy Quotes

He that lieth down with Dogs, shall rise up with Fleas.
Benjamin Franklin
Many people die at twenty five and aren't buried until they are seventy five.
Benjamin Franklin
There are lies, damned lies and statistics.
Mark Twain
When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a way that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.
Native American Proverb
Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
Winston Churchill
Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
Benjamin Franklin
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
Thomas Jefferson
To the man who only has a hammer, everything he encounters begins to look like a nail.
Abraham Maslow
History is written by the victors.
Winston Churchill
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
Winston Churchill
Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.
Albert Einstein
The manager administers, The leader innovates. The manager maintains, the leader develops. The manager relies on systems, the leader relies on people. The manager counts on controls, the leader counts on trust. The manager does things right, the leader does the right thing.
Forbes Magazine
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.
William Arthur Ward
Computer games don't affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music.
Kristian Wilson
Nintendo, Inc, 1989
A Man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.
Benjamin Franklin
Once in a while you will stumble upon the truth but most of us manage to pick ourselves up and hurry along as if nothing had happened.
Winston Churchill
Well done is better than well said.
Benjamin Franklin
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
Gandhi
Adam and Eve had an ideal marriage. He didn't have to hear about all the men she could have married, and she didn't have to hear about the way his mother cooked.
Kimberley Broyles
It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.
Benjamin Franklin
The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.
Mark Twain
We learn something every day, and lots of times it’s that what we learned the day before was wrong.
Bill Vaughan
When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.
Benjamin Franklin
Tis a great confidence in a friend to tell him your faults; greater to tell him his.
Benjamin Franklin
I am opposed to millionaires, but it would be dangerous to offer me the position.
Mark Twain
Never leave till tomorrow that which you can do today.
Benjamin Franklin
Never ruin an apology with an excuse.
Benjamin Franklin
You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.
Wayne Gretzky
Do, or do not. There is no 'try'.
Yoda
Jedi Master
History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.
Winston Churchill
People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.
Zig Ziglar
If the lessons of history teach us anything it is that nobody learns the lessons that history teaches us.
Anonymous
If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.
Mark Twain
Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.
Mark Twain
We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing!
Benjamin Franklin
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.
Plato
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt
It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.
Harry Truman
The measure of a life is not what that life accomplishes,but rather the impact that life has on others.
Jackie Robinson
Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.
Benjamin Franklin
Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.
Benjamin Franklin
Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.
Plato
It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.
Mark Twain
The most interesting information comes from children, for they tell all they know and then stop.
Mark Twain
Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else’s can shorten it.
Cullen Hightower
Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
Benjamin Franklin
Trouble knocked at the door, but, hearing laughter, hurried away
Benjamin Franklin
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin
Well begun is half done.
Aristotle
If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.
Mark Twain
If I only had a little humility, I’d be perfect.
Ted Turner
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.
Benjamin Franklin
Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand.
Kurt Vonnegut
Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
Mark Twain
Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.
Mark Twain
When a person can no longer laugh at himself, it is time for others to laugh at him.
Thomas Szasz
Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t.
Erica Jong
Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very'; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.
Mark Twain
Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.
Oscar Wilde
The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.
Groucho Marx
I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception.
Groucho Marx
It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.
Mark Twain
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou
Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.
Benjamin Franklin
Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.
Will Rogers
To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other.
Jack Handey
There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.
Steven Wright
Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger.
Franklin P. Jones
We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
Aristotle
You can do anything, but not everything.
David Allen
We’ve heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true.
Robert Wilensky
Try a thing you haven’t done three times. Once, to get over the fear of doing it. Twice, to learn how to do it. And a third time, to figure out whether you like it or not.
Virgil Garnett Thomson
If you don’t make mistakes, you’re not working on hard enough problems. And that’s a big mistake.
Frank Wilczek
Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.
Ovid
Poet (43 BCE - CE 17)
Don’t ever wrestle with a pig. You’ll both get dirty, but the pig will enjoy it.
Cale Yarborough
In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.
Robert Frost
A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.
Winston Churchill
Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress.
Alfred A. Montapert
The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.
Mark Twain
Whatever is begun in anger, ends in shame.
Benjamin Franklin
Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.
Albert Einstein
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
Benjamin Franklin

Subscribe!


Instagram Feed