01-17-2010, 02:55 PM
Phone companies have local monopolies and one trade-off for that is their obligation to print phone directories. (They usually contract with a company like Yellowbook to do it for them.)
They sell ads to cover the expense (and make a little folding money) and they have to disclose circulation numbers to advertisers. The larger the circulation, the more they can charge for an ad.
They do all sorts of stuff to inflate those numbers. Distributing extra copies is a tiny part of it.
I'm sure that with the competition from online phone number and business searches and free (or at least easy) 411 services they're digging for every penny they can scrounge up.
They sell ads to cover the expense (and make a little folding money) and they have to disclose circulation numbers to advertisers. The larger the circulation, the more they can charge for an ad.
They do all sorts of stuff to inflate those numbers. Distributing extra copies is a tiny part of it.
I'm sure that with the competition from online phone number and business searches and free (or at least easy) 411 services they're digging for every penny they can scrounge up.