What I don’t understand is the money that is spent advertising on things like billboards or radio. Billboards are just blocking the view and it’s nearly impossible to try to write down a phone number (if there is only shown) while you’re driving past and I know that when I’m listening to the radio I want to hear music not commercials and the station is quickly changed when I hear them.

From what I’ve seen, the phone books seem to all have online directories as well. When I am researching something that I’d like to buy, then I most definitely use the internet. When I’m ready to buy, I look in either my phone book or yellowpages.com. and call.

I guess what I’m saying is that a printed phone book is no more or less relevant than the internet. I expect businesses to be in both places. Otherwise they’re missing out on potential jobs.

I’m not saying that I don’t LOVE the Internet and the ready reference it is for all sorts of information, because I do, but I think sometimes there are other more convenient methods for some tasks. I would be happy to note a few, but don’t want to get off on a bunny trail.

My last question would be “what do you do when the power is out at your house and you need a phone number?” I guess you could call 411, but in my area, they charge for this service. I would rather have my trusty phone book to look up a number than pay someone to look it up for me. But that’s me…..and a few others I suspect. It’s nice that you have the Internet, but a lot of people still do not (my mother for one) or with dial up it takes so long to get a search downloaded and useful, that a phone book is much faster, so phone books are still a necessity for some. So opt out if you want and let the phone book companies continue to publish until it no longer works for them. By then, maybe everyone will have high speed Interent. Have a nice day!

I think this comment may have been applicable in the late 90s, before everyone advertised on the Net. I think that “traditional” and smaller businesses were slower to post online and you might have been able to find quality work in the phone book.

But now since everyone under the sun has a website, it’s easier to search, research, and purchase products and services online.

A phone book can’t do that.

But assuming you’re not: I typed “tailor, 80206″ into Google and found 10 tailors within a mile of my house. You can’t get more local than that, and it took me all of two seconds.

If I searched “tailors” in a phone book I’d have to pore through businesses from one side of town to the other. If I’m looking for something CLOSE to me, (or local,) a phone book will provide a large percentage if irrelevant returns due to outlying locations.

Sites like Google and City Search provide even MORE local detail by allowing me to drill down my results, and they allow the “long tail” of specific businesses to wag right into my neighborhood or anywhere else I want to find them.

Not only that, but in addition to finding businesses on mobile devices or using GOOG-411, I can also see customer reviews, so if a certain tailor has a history of botching clothes I can avoid them. User reviews are extremely important to people today in making purchasing decisions.

Sorry, but properly used the internet is a tool akin to a precision laser, whereas a phone book is a rock tied to a stick.

If you never do, of course, you don’t need a book.

However, if you’re looking to reduce the number or eliminate unwanted phone books, you’ll need to call the companies and request removal from their delivery lists.

Call 1-877-243-8339 to opt-out of receiving DEX phone books. Call 1-800-929-3556 to opt-out of receiving Yellow Book directories. If you want to opt-out of the Verizon phone book, you can call 800-555-4833.

It took us approximately five minutes to work through the opt-out process by phone with DEX and Yellow Book.

DEX asked for an address and immediately removed it from delivery lists.

A Yellow Book representative asked for a personal phone number during the opt-out process, saying it was needed so the company could call next year to see if we still wanted to opt-out. When we declined to provide a phone number, the Yellow Book representative said we may still receive unwanted phone books.
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How about this for a solution: have an online address where you can either stop receiving the phone book altogether or just have it sent to you as a link to a PDF online. I’m sure advertisers would approve of the high-quality tracking resulting from this.

I’ve probably referenced the phone book five times in the past year, three of them for yellow pages. If they put it online, accessible via text message, whatever, they could probably get more people to use it (fancy that!) and not have to spend however much money on paper, ink, shipping and plastic to give everyone a free fire starter. Wait…I have a sense that something in the phone book is toxic when burnt, not sure what…

Here’s his info: http://yptalk.com/kenc.cfm kenc.consulting@mindspring.com