An article published in this newsletter two weeks ago in which a marketer claimed to have been scammed in a list deal prompted David Kanter, president of list concern AccuList to write a letter to the editor explaining how e-mail list rental actually (or should) work:
“There are several red flags associated with Barry Sokol’s so-called ‘list deal.’
“E-mail lists are not generally sold for unlimited usage, particularly those that are sourced from verified third party opt-in names. They are rented for one-time use. The list owner handles the deployment of the list, rather than surrendering custody to a third party such as PL Marketing.
“Well sourced business-to-business (B2B) e-mail lists always command a premium on the rental market. Costs vary from several hundred dollars per thousand names, on up. According to your article, Mr. Sokol paid $50/M or $2,500 for 50,000 records. While that price is low, the overall cost can be quite high in terms of campaigns that not only go straight to junk boxes, but get the company’s e-mail server blocked and blacklisted.
“As list professionals, we are sympathetic to Mr. Sokol’s plight. Mr. Sokol apparently did not get what he paid for, nor should he have expected a high quality list for a garage sale price. The common law principle of Caveat Emptor applies to his situation. To use a cliche, ‘let the buyer beware.’”
