Logos in Decline?

An article in the 9 November 2024 Wall Street Journal suggests some people are tiring of being walking advertisments:

The New Status Move: Designer Logos So Subtle They’re Barely There.

Mind you, I am not sure this is progress. It turns out miniscule logos can be intended to assert one's status to the knowing, not hoi polloi. The article observes:

In an influential 2010 Journal of Marketing study exploring the concept of “quiet luxury,” the authors argued that subtle brand cues act as “horizontal signals” (i.e., communicating from one wealthy person to another), rather than “vertical signals” (from the wealthy to non-wealthy).

But thanks to social media, a wider group of enthusiasts is becoming aware of subtle signifiers, says Joseph Nunes, a professor at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business who co-wrote that 2010 study. “Nothing is secret anymore in the digital age. Hardly anyone might have recognized a Loro Piana Extra Pocket bag a few years ago, but consumers now see these niche products all over social media,” he said, referring to a pouch with a small “LP” and “Loro Piana” etched on the zippers that starts at $2,450 and has become an unlikely luxury holy grail for many women.

Calvin and Hobbes Got It Right

Pacific Magazine Billing Scam

 They’re at it again.....

Five years or so back there was an outfit known as the White City Scammers. They were notorious for sending magazine subscription solicitations that looked like bills. They ran into a variety of legal difficulties.  Their prices were always the "rack rate" for subscriptions, much higher than elsewhere.

Well, they or someone like them is back under the name “Pacific Magazine Billing.” If they are like the White City scammers, they will use a variety of names on their mailers.

They seem to particularly target the elderly, who may be more willing to pay what seems to be a bill without looking at it very carefully. Pacific Magazine Billing also has a poor evaluation from the Better Business Bureau. Reading the BBB file is entertaining.  There are lots of complaints, and Pacific Magazine Billing seems to respond to most by providing specious verbiage.

The AARP has a recent article on this type of scam. And the National Geographic has a long list of similar scammers.

Should you get anything that looks like this in the mail, beware!

In Praise of Uniqlo

If you’re not familiar with Uniqlo, pay a visit to a store if you have one in the area or visit the web site.  As a recent issue of The Atlantic noted, the company offers good quality clothing without logos:

“A person can dress sock-to-cardigan in the company’s wares without announcing herself as a devotee of the brand. In an industry as label-oriented as fashion, such anonymity would seem to be a detriment to success. Today, however, Uniqlo has more than 2,000 stores in 15 countries.”

I’ve been a Uniqlo fan since discovering it years back on New York’s Fifth Avenue.  I welcome a company that provides good clothing without logos.

Logos Becoming Uncool

The Wall Street Journal of 22 December 2016 has a fascinating article titled “Crocodiles (and Polo Ponies) Go Missing as Scalpel-Wielding Consumers Revolt.”  It reports that “Some brand-snubbing consumers will do whatever it takes to remove logos from their clothing and accessories.”

If you search for “removing brand logos,” you’ll find lots of pages on the subject.  There is even a Wikipedia page on “debadging,” removing logos from automobiles.  As the article notes, “Drivers are not being paid to advertise the brand so some decide to remove this commercial aspect of the vehicle.”

Avoid Remington Registry

Do an Internet search for “Remington Registry” and you’ll have no difficulty finding out what kind of scam artists they are. To start, try this Facebook page.   They purport to be an impressive source of biographies.

All "Registered in the Library of Congress” means is that they sent a copy to the Library of Congress.  I have no idea what they mean by “recognized in the New York Times,” but you can be sure the NYT does not use it for reference purposes.

They also lie in their material.  Their brochure states: “As per our phone conversation....”

They never talked with me.

Given that they have a gmail address, I assume this is a small group, perhaps even one person, who has found a profitable way of preying on the gullible.  The mailing address is a house at 22 Dellaria Avenue, Southhampton, NY 11968.  Since that’s an expensive neighborhood, I assume there are lots of gullible people who fall prey to this scam.

The only happy part is that they sent me a stamped return envelope, which will save me postage writing to someone else.

Stop Robocalls !

As technology developed to allow scoundrels to ignore the “Do Not Call” list I began getting two or three junk calls a day.

It turns out there are ways of stopping the crooks.  For those still with landlines, a company called Nomorobo has a system that blocks most robocalls.  It doesn’t work with every system, but  I have ATT’s Uverse and it works just fine with it.  I’ve hardly gotten a robocall in the last three weeks.  It’s free — they make their money by
 collecting from companies.

For those with cell phones, there are a variety of apps that well help block the increasing number of calls there.  I use Whoscall for the iPhone, but there are a variety of possibilities.

White City Scammers Lose to Oregon

There is good news on the magazine scams front.  The State of Oregon recently settled their lawsuit against the White City scammers for $3,000,000.

Since four other states have outstanding lawsuits against those scoundrels, more good news may be on the way.

Texas Sues White City Scammers

The details of the Texas suit against the White City scammers are here.

New York Sues White City Scammers

The State of New York filed suit against the White City scammers in March 2015.

Wisconsin Sues the White City Scammers

Turns out Wisconsin beat Oregon in filing a suit against Laura Lovrien and the White City scammers.  There papers were filed at the end of November 2014.

Oregon Sues the White City Scammers

On 30 March 2015 the  Attorney General of Oregon filed suit against the bad guys from White City, who flood the mails with dubious subscription solicitations. The suit alleges a complicated “criminal enterprise” involving quite a variety of people and shell companies.

I wish the lawsuit well, and will keep an eye on its progress.

Newspaper Articles on the White City Scammers

Since the last time I did some investigation, the Arizona Republic did a good story on the bad guys from White City, Oregon. A woman named Laura Lovrien is one of the people behind the collection of shell names that perpetrate the scams.  She seems to get help from her sister Lydia Pugsley.

A recent article from Daily Finance notes that various states are going after her, and that the Wall Street Journal has spent an estimated $3,500,000 trying to combat such scam subscription companies.

And an April 2015 article from the Oregon newspaper Mail Tribune says that the White City scammers have cheated consumers out of $20,000,000.  

Avoid Any Mail from White City, Oregon

The folk doing business under a multitude of names from White City, Oregon, are even worse than I thought.  Recently someone posted this comment on an earlier post, which deserves more prominence:

American Preferred Readers are a scam. My 75 year old mother is being harassed daily by this company. She is being told that she has a contract and they can substantiate that by a taped recording of her and if she doesn't pay she will sent to a collection agency. This has been very stressful for her. Unfortunately, She has paid them almost $400.00 thinking they would finally leave her alone before our family found out about this situation. Despicable!

They operate under dozens of names.  Here is only a partial list, courtesy of The Nation:

1. Billing Services Association
2. Billing Services of America
3. Circulation Billing Center
4. Circulation Billing Services
5. Magazine Billing Services
6. Magazine Billing Network
7. Magazine Billing Services
8. Magazine Distribution Services
9. National Magazine Services
10. National Magazine Subscriptions
11. Orbital Publishing Group
12. Periodical Billing Services
13. Publishers Billing Association
14. Publishers Billing Center
15. Publishers Billing Exchange
16. Publishers Payment Processing, Inc.
17. Publishers Subscription Services
18. Readers Billing Network
19. Readers Billing Services
20. Readers Payment Center
21. Readers Payment Services
22. United Publishers Services

Avoid anything having to do with magazine subscription offers that come from White City, Oregon.

The Annoying Macy’s Discount Hertz Keychain Card

Well, I’m renting a Hertz car in Hawaii.  The key comes with a plastic tag good for a 10% Macy’s discount.

The tag can’t be removed without cutting it off (it is attached to the keychain with a metal loop).  Unless I have a nail clipper along (which I do), I have to look at a Macy’s ad every time I use my rental car.

Avoid Circulation Billing Services (II)

The hydra-headed folk in White City, Oregon, continue to send out fraudulent magazine subscription solicitations under every-changing names.

The latest I got was from “Circulation Billing Services,” offering a subscription to the Readers Digest at their usually exorbitant rates.   It’s the second one I’ve had with that name of late.

As always, ignore anything coming to you from one of the many names used by these scammers  in White City, Oregon.

Research on Logos

The October 2014 issue of The Atlantic has an interesting article titled “Status Anxiety.”  It briefly summarizes eight recent studies of logos.  To me, the most interesting study argued that people with resources but no great desire to display their status (e.g., those with old money) prefer understated logos from companies like Gucci.  Another study found that people of lower status were more willing to pay a logo premium, “presumably to compensate for lower status.”

It’s short but interesting.

Abercrombie Drops the Logos

The Wall Street Journal of 29 August 2014 reports that Abercrombie and Fitch is dropping logos from its North American clothing. “The move follows a change in teen behavior that caught Abercrombie & Fitch Co. on the wrong side of a trend.  Teens who once sought brand names have shifted to cheaper, unmarked gear that they can use to put together their own individual styles. The change had undermined Abercrombie’s pricing power and hurt its sales.”  Abercrombie chief executive Mike Jeffries says: “In the spring season, we’re looking to take the North American logo business to practically nothing.” However, logos still seem acceptable in Europe, and Abercrombie is not reducing its logos on clothing sold there.

The article also notes that Louis Vutton and Coach are also reducing logos.

Getting “Paid” for Displaying a Logo

A car dealer in Michigan is rewarding people for displaying its logo.  Fox, which has a range of outlets, offers $1 car washes to people who both have their license plate holder and their discrete logo of a fox.  That’s a $5 savings from the regular price.

That’s not quite enough to lure me, but at least it’s a step in the right direction.

Publishers Distribution Services Scams Again

Those incorrigible scammers, the scoundrels with almost a thousand names, are at at again, this time offering me a subscription to a magazine for $59.95, as always “the lowest available rate we can offer.”   As always, their mailing is intended to look like a bill to a careless recipient.

This time, they are “Publishers Distribution Services.” Going to the website for the magazine, I find the standard subscription is $29.95.

Although they go by many names, the mailing address always seems to be White City, Oregon.  Never subscribe to anything through them.