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Is it legal... someone buys, now you have their email so...

by selma
13 replies
Hi everyone,

I have a quick question. When someone buys my digital product, I know their address and their email. Is it legal for me to keep this information for future marketing purposes whether snail mail or on an email list? Or should I just completely ignore this information and try to get them to opt-in to my list as well?

Or does a purchase justify me to contact them again?
#buys #email #legal
  • Profile picture of the author icemonkey9
    Hi Selma,

    I'm nearly positive this needs to be in the T&C (terms and conditions) when they purchase your product in order to be legal. You should always be trying to get them to opt-in to your list and I'd recommend making that opt-in part of your sales process.
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  • Profile picture of the author selma
    Thanks, duh... I read their terms and conditions and it is laid out in it
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  • Profile picture of the author TravisO
    It's legal in the way that you will use another email address to mail them and for your future business.
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    You are definitely entitled to follow up with customers who have purchased from you. This industry would be a very different story if that were not the case.

    The important thing is you give people a clear way to opt-out of those messages should they not wish to receive anymore from you. That is as simple as putting a working unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email sent.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rob Whisonant
    Take a look at this CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business | BCP Business Center In the Q&A section they cover your question pretty well.

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    Rob Whisonant
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    • Profile picture of the author Dan Grossman
      There is no legal requirement that you have permission before e-mailing anyone. Feel free to read the bill twice, it's not in there. Mailing customers is legal. Mailing someone else's customers is legal. Mailing someone whose e-mail you found on a scrap of paper in the trash is legal.

      There are only legal requirements about the content of your mail and the ability to opt-out of future mails.

      So, there's no legal issue. There are, however, both ethical and practical issues.

      If you're using a hosted service to send your mails, you likely entered into an agreement not to mail anyone without permission. The e-mail service, in turn, is only requiring this to reduce their staff time handling spam complaints and RBL listings, and to ensure high deliverability. If you're not using a service and send the mails yourself, mailing people that haven't asked to be contacted is likely to result in spam complaints, which will quickly get your mailing IP blacklisted so your mails start ending up in spam folders or not delivered at all.

      You're also risking your business's reputation if your actions might be perceived as spam, legal or not.
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      • Profile picture of the author WillR
        Originally Posted by Dan Grossman View Post

        Feel free to read the bill twice
        Originally Posted by Dan Grossman View Post

        Mailing e-mails you scraped off webpages is legal.
        Perhaps you need to read the bill twice. Specifically this point:

        Sending behavior compliance
        - A message cannot be sent through an open relay
        - A message cannot be sent to a harvested email address
        - A message cannot contain a false header
        Don't tell people it's ok to send email to harvested email addresses, because it is NOT ok.

        Those games of Chinese whispers don't help anyone.
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  • Profile picture of the author MartinPlatt
    You should get them to opt-in before you deliver the product (so you know where to deliver to, and set out your terms there) or give them the opportunity to opt-in for updates.
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    • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
      Originally Posted by MartinPlatt View Post

      You should get them to opt-in before you deliver the product (so you know where to deliver to, and set out your terms there) or give them the opportunity to opt-in for updates.
      That's your personal opinion and not a legal requirement, though...

      Scroll up, click on the link to CAN-SPAM and read. Read a lot, until you find the legal answer to the OP question.
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  • Profile picture of the author CRGreen
    Just because you have a name and email address does not mean you should add them to a mailing list without their permission! If you're not going to make opting into your mailing list a part of the sales process, you need to make it very clear somewhere on the sales page or download page that they will receive communication from you in the future.
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  • Profile picture of the author selma
    Just to make it clear to everyone I am selling on one of those teacher to teacher sites, its not my own website, I have established my self enough to start getting people to go directly to my site... now, there in lies the problem...

    lol...
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    • Profile picture of the author WillR
      Originally Posted by selma View Post

      Just to make it clear to everyone I am selling on one of those teacher to teacher sites, its not my own website, I have established my self enough to start getting people to go directly to my site... now, there in lies the problem...

      lol...
      So long as they are your customers then it's perfectly fine. I sell on this website (Warrior Forum) but I can still email my customers after they have purchased from me. The Can Spam Act allows this so long as you have a clear method for them to opt-out of further emails should they so wish.
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    • Profile picture of the author BIG Mike
      Banned
      [DELETED]
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Originally Posted by BIG Mike View Post

        Ironically, hosting services, ISP's and even many of the popular autoresponder services provide better anti-spam measures than CAN-SPAM
        You have to remember that hosting services, et al, are run by people who live and die by Internet use, while CAN-SPAM was written by hourly employees who still think spam is something that goes well with scrambled eggs...
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