How your latest eBay purchase could influence the junk mail you get

Posted in 'Neighbourhood' by Richard Catlin

05 March 2010

Bidding on that drum kit, full size Jukebox or collectable Michael Jackson tickets might have seemed like innocuous fun at the time, but thanks to a new deal signed between Royal Mail and eBay, it could determine the junk mail and advertising that drops through your door.

By combining data of over 140 million transactions on the auction site with postcode areas, Royal Mail now allows advertisers to target consumers who are perceived to be most likely to buy their products.

The move is likely to set privacy campaigners into a bit of a spin, even though the data is aggregated and contains no personal information about individuals. Essentially, it will show advertisers what people in each postcode have been purchasing in the last month, segregated by age, gender, and things like level of spend.

It’s not the first time that detailed purchase data has been used to send targeted advertising messages – Tesco regularly use data collected through its Clubcard programme to push certain products to consumers – but Royal Mail claims that its new programme is more powerful.

Your postcode plays a part in more than just the advertising you receive of course. Insurance premiums, pension annuities, health care and even credit scores are determined to an extent by where you live.

You can find out how your own postcode (or any other in the UK) is rated for free on checkmyfile. As well as finding out what the average credit rating is in your area, you can check what the social classification is, actual house prices, demographic information about the people who live there, and a whole lot more.

You can check as many postcodes as you like, anonymously and completely for free each time.

Check how your postcode is rated