Door2Door "contests"

[MrGutsy]

I live in an apartment complex in GA that is unfortunately very accessible to all sorts who are plying various door2door trades. The other day, I came across a new one. Got a knock on the door in the early evening. I wasn't to concerned as I had borrowed something from a friend earlier that day and thought he might be coming by to get it back. It took me a few seconds to get there as I was seeing a man about a horse at the time. Anyway, I pull my trousers up and holster my P2000SK. I look out the hole and see no one, so I open the door slowly. I see 2 late teens males chatting with one of the neighbors. As they approach me I casually put my hand down on the weapon while staying turned away such that they won't see it. One of them goes into this pitch about being involved in some "public speaking" contest that they need to collect points for to go on some trip. I looked at the brochure he had, and several magazines were listed on the back. I think this was one of those magazine selling deals, but I'm not positive. I was curious if anyone else had run across this before. Are these things legit or are they part of some criminal scheme? Anyway, I'm not about to let a couple of univited strangers into my place. Read about the Dartmouth Professor murders. Case of two teen males who gained access to their victims house with a bogus story about a school project. Therefore, I'm very suspcious of people who show up at my door without a clear story.

 

[atomd]

They come by here every summer. It's some sort of scam. They always have a story similar to the one you heard. These guys travel around all over in a van together similar to the "White Van Speakers" scam (look that one up). Most of the guys doing it are young and look like they might have just got out of prison or something. They came to my house 2 times in one day last summer. The first time I was very cautious. The 2nd time was at night and I was on "red alert". The police were called and they got rid of them. When they came back the 2nd time I thought they might have cased out our place the first time and came back to rob us later. You can never be too careful.

 

[lions]

Are these things legit or are they part of some criminal scheme?

If there is any doubt, there is no doubt.

 

[DogStar]

What they're doing is in no way illegal. There is a lot of question to the ethics of it, but the racket doesn't break any laws. Typically it's a group of inner city kids rounded up by a handler who drives them out to other areas where they go door to door selling magazine subscriptions. A lot of the time they have a story about their monetary troubles back at home, or how they're just trying to improve their lot in life or pay for something at school.

It's probably better to look at those as sales tactics rather than a malicious threat to your property and well being. If you do sign up for magazines and the check you write them clears, you will receive the issues you subscribed to. Not everyone who knocks on doors is looking for victims to prey on.

 

[Pyzon]

In my area the criminal element uses such techniques to case your property for a later visit, and it is always a couple of younger guys, one of which does most of the talking while the other is observing and "recording" your situation.

One way to identify these door to door people is to immediately ask for official photo identification, and I don't mean some paper ID tag with "John Smith, salesperson" written on it. I'm betting a nervous and hasty departure will result, especially if you ask to write down the ID of the talker on the porch. Maybe snapping a cell phone pic would also work to help separate the dirtballs from the good guys.

I have found that over the past 10-15 years that there are almost no legitimate door to door salesmen operating anymore, and that includes the meat and speaker salesmen.

Beggars for charitible causes ? Oh yeah, they're still alive and well, and should be equally questioned and identified.

Sorry to those that are still convinced that these guys are on the up and up. And what they are doing is quite illegal in many towns.

 

[atomd]

What they're doing is in no way illegal.

It is if you never get the magazines. When I researched these guys online I found tons of complaints about people never receiving any actual magazines. The place where I live is posted no soliciting also, which they should respect...but don't.

There is no way to know whether or not they are legitimate because you never actual see the product until a month or two after you pay for it. There is also no way to know if they are even selling anything...or they are people who are pretending to sell something while being up to no good. They have zero credentials so it's a total gamble.

Legitimate door to door sales is pretty much gone these days. There's only a few reputable companies left doing business that way (a couple of vacuum companies like Kirby for instance). They usually call to make appointments now too. When someone is knocking on your door at night to try and sell you something, you have every right to be very suspicious.

 

[scottgun]

So I was feeling generous one day when I had a door to door kid selling magazines, I signed up for a subscription. He gave me the whole line about how he's trying to make something of himself and that he'll win a trip and so on. As far as S&T goes, we sat on my front porch while we filled out the info for the subscription.

I did actually receive the magazines, it wasn't that bad, but it was a thin magazine printed on newspaper quality paper, and not the thick glossy magazines you would see at the news stand. The part where they get you is adding like 10 bucks on the subscription cost for signing you up. It was a hunting and fishing magazine specific to my area, so all in all not bad, just over priced for what you actually get. I probably wouldn't do it again. These kids seem sketchy, but I don't think that they are as big of threat as everyone is making them out to be.

 

[archigos]

The high school that I went to did have a legitimate yearly fundraiser that was selling magazines at discounted prices door-to-door.
I'm sure that there are some scammers out there with this scheme, but it is legitimate in some cases.

 

[Hardtarget]

A young girl came to my door this past week. Same story. I watched her close...kept an eye outside...let wife take care of her. There has been no further contact. Maybe they're in a different neighborhood.

Mark

 

[DogStar]

There's absolutely no reason to invite anyone inside your home, that's for sure. If someone were to come to my door selling something and then ask if we could go in, my answer would be a polite 'no'. If they pressed the issue, that is when I'd start to get suspicious.

I have to be honest, I'm a little bothered by the OP's telling that he had his hand on his gun while the two salesmen were walking back over towards his door. They obviously weren't beating or harassing the neighbor of his they were talking to, so where was the cause for caution? Why was he expecting any different treatment?

And Mr. Gutsy, please don't take my talking about you in the third person to mean that I'm not interested in your side of things. I'm sure you had your reasons, I just don't see them from what you've written. My concern is that your caution and/or fear put you dangerously close to becoming the aggressor rather than the victim of the situation.