What is most irritating is those businesses that I have already unsubscribed from, or clicked a box saying I didn't want to be contacted, who, months later, start a new list and make the default subscribers everyone who has ever had any business with the company. Saying I don't want to get your marketing emails doesn't mean I don't want them until you invent a new category of marketing; it means I don't want them ever.
It's a lack of respect and it pisses me off.
My other pet peeve is that unsubscribe is one click. Anything more is hostile, especially those that want you to login or perform similar tricks.
I've resigned myself to automatically being signed up even though I think it's a shady business practice. These mailing lists should always be opt-in not opt-out. I shouldn't have to scour the checkout page to find the box I need to click that says, "No thanks, I don't want crap in my inbox every day."
Regarding the iPad thing, I rather dislike anything web-oriented, or anything for that matter, that requires I have a specific resolution. I keep my browser as a half-screen always and generally speaking if I have to resize it to read content I just don't bother.
Lastly, I sort of disagree with the use of the word cost in this context. This isn't really a cost, at least not in the way I think of the word cost. Unless they're paying out this money for infrastructure, wages, etc. to process unsubscribes it's not a cost.
More to the point, it's the piracy argument all over again. If I unsubscribe from a retailer's list, I wasn't going to buy anything from their mailings anyway. It's apparent that I had no intention of reading them. They're missing out on nothing.
But maybe I'll buy something in the future, who knows? If it was an otherwise pleasant experience I'll keep them in mind. When I unsubscribe, I hold no ill will toward the sender if they make it a one-click, easy unsubscribe. Make it a pain to unsubscribe, however, and get nothing in the future.
Take Musician's Friend as a prime example. My first and only purchase from them was a Fender Greta amp (highly recommended, BTW). I gave them (my gmail alias)[email protected]. They took it. They also spam me every other day. Fine, I'll unsubscribe. But the unsubscribe form's regex rejects "+" and tells me the address is invalid. Too bad for you, MF, as I'll just filter your mail, the paper catalog that I didn't ask for will go straight to recycling without ever entering the house, and I'll bad-mouth you to anyone that asks. That's because post-sale MF came across as obnoxious.