Experiences With Door-to-Door Salesmen and How to Avoid Them

Soooo... A youngish man just came to my door and showed me a very dirty piece of paper which he said verified both his name (which he had written on a line at the top) and the non-profit young-adult organization in East Philly that he worked for (which I could not find listed anywhere on the paper).  He said he had to get people to buy magazines from him so that he could earn 10,000 credits (1 credit equals each dollar of magazine sales - so basically, $10,000) in order for his non-profit organization back in Philly to give him a promotion.  Because, of course, until he gets this promotion, he's not allowed to be a mentor to the teens in the program (what does selling magazines door-to-door in Chambersburg have anything to do with mentoring kids in Philly??)  I told him I'd be happy to take any order form he might have and possibly send something in after I'd talked to my husband about it.  He said the credits only counted if he got the sale "at the door" and he needed to walk away then with a check in his hand, and also, that they didn't have an order form.  What he did have was another dirty piece of paper that listed all the magazines which I could use to make my choices from (I had to pick at least two) and then I would just tell him which ones I wanted and hand him a check...

sighhhhh... I told him no thanks... I'm not saying I'm 100% sure this was a scam, but I'm like 98% sure... The sad thing is that he might not even realize it's a scam either according to what I've read about this stuff.  Sometimes "organizations" (scammers) higher young people - usually fresh out of school or looking to improve poor living conditions - and lure them into employment with the promise of traveling around the country and earning future promotions for steady jobs.  Many times these young people really believe they are actually selling magazines!  Here are 3 informative articles about this scam:

Don’t Fall Victim to High Pressure Magazine Sellers at Your Door this Summer

Don't Buy Your Magazines From Door-To-Door Salesmen This Summer

Watch For Unscrupulous Door-To-Door Magazine Sales

(Apparently, a lot of this stuff happens during the summer) 

I really hope not too many of my neighbors spent a lot of money on these "magazines"... In case something like this happens to you, be informed!  It's okay to say no!  Even to a "good cause"! Especially knowing that there are plenty of other ways to "give back" that you can be sure are legitimately helping people.

On a different note, I had a landscaper who was doing work in the neighborhood knock on my door the other day.  When I opened it he asked me if "my mom or dad was home"... hahaha! oh my.  I stared kind of blankly for a moment at first, thinking, "why in the world would my mom or dad be here right now?" and then it struck me... this guy thinks I'm still in high school or something and I'm too young to have a house! And then I burst into laughter.  I told him (kindly, of course, except for all the laughing) that my husband and I were the owners and our parents didn't live with us!  I felt kind of bad cause he seemed very embarrassed and apologized profusely, and also that I kept failing to hold in my giggles (which probably did make me seem like a young school girl). lol! but come on, dude!! I had make-up on and everything!  I should have looked at least 20! right? ....right, guys?? no one?? sighhhhh...

I almost wish this last guy would have thought I was too young, too.  I could have just said, "Nope they aren't here right now!" and closed the door! ...well there's always next time... :)