Questionable door-to-door salesman pushing educational materials

[Anonymous]

Beware of these people! They ask some very suspicious questions, like what’s your religion, the religion of your neighbors, do you have a gun in the house, etc. Why would they need this info? They smell like foreign agents. They are too nice and also too nosy. I would never trust them with any of that information, and I hope nobody else falls for this crap, either!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually opened the door to some of these salesman before and bought a hard cover set of subject area books for the kids. THE BEST PURCHASE I EVER MADE. Can you believe it. I go to them all the time. I still can't believe I fell for it and bought them, but I've never seen anything before or after like them.

We bought the books also, and totally agree. They are amazing.

[Anonymous]

^^. Same. Same story from the seller too. I think it was Usborne, maybe? We used those books from 9 months till 6 at least.

I don't think there's anything sinister. I just think it's the sales model that hasn't caught up with the 21st century.


Had a friend in college who used to do this but that was 1994. I think Usborne probably needs to catch up with the crime drama television generation

[Anonymous]

But wait for it... Someone is going to come here and call us stupid or some other insult because we have a different opinion or experience

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband did this as a college job about 20 years ago. It sounds exactly the same. The students get assigned to a neighborhood (often hundreds of miles from home) and work 12 hour days knocking on doors trying to get people to buy educational books. He actually made money doing it but it's very tough to do so. It's commission based and unless you are pushy it's hard to get a sale.

My college boyfriend did this too. He made a fortune selling educational books door-to-door in poor rural areas like Appalachia. He was wildly handsome and charismatic and people would buy anything from him. It actually caused a lot of friction in our relationship-I thought he was an ass for selling the books (as a sociology major none-the-less!). Or perhaps I was just jealous.

[Anonymous]

Most of these companies are run by Mormons. They come back from their mission where they spend two years knocking on doors to sell their religion and get very good at the craft.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Back to the original question: has anyone in the DC area encountered this type (this product) of salesman?

Yes, they come every summer. Usually from chicago’s South side. You can google to find more about them.

[Anonymous]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8NrdlckO_E [/youtube]

[Anonymous]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8NrdlckO_E

[Anonymous]

Seriously OP? You're THAT neighbor on Nextdoor who gets very dramatic about solicitors or paranoid that someone is walking around your neighbor's yard (who turns out to be the pest control guy doing their yearly termite inspection).

[Anonymous]

I've had this happen a few times - not the exact same sale, but similar. I always turn them down. They're all scams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^. Same. Same story from the seller too. I think it was Usborne, maybe? We used those books from 9 months till 6 at least.

I don't think there's anything sinister. I just think it's the sales model that hasn't caught up with the 21st century.


Had a friend in college who used to do this but that was 1994. I think Usborne probably needs to catch up with the crime drama television generation

Usborne is an excellent and legitimate publisher you can buy online or in bookstores. They are originally British. There is no need to buy from shady people on your doorstep!

I know, I used to live in the UK, and we would buy educational Usborne books in our town's bookshop. They are similar to DK.

[Anonymous]

I remember back in the day, people would go door-to-door peddling everything from vacuum cleaners to bibles.

Heck even Avon representatives used to sell their product this way!

But nowadays, people need to be very careful on anyone who comes knocking on the door.
There have been just too many creepers out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1:49 is correct, especially if you are alone at home w/ a child. There have been several instances in Great Falls where men opened the door for someone (need directions? help? Can I use your phone? whatever) and then two men blast in, wrapped the man up in duct tape and took everything.

"Several" instances? no.

[Anonymous]

It’s insane to open your door to complete strangers.
Who does that?