Door-to-Door Magazine Salesmen

[Guest Glock23ForMe]

Just had a knock on my door this rainy Saturday afternoon, looked through the "Peep Hole" and saw two large guys looking right back at me, so I scampered around, put on some shorts with belt loops, fixed my Supertuck and G23 around back so they couldn't see it but I had it and opened the door to find that they "Wanted to sell magazines to get 1000 dollars to go to Cancun to get drunk." The lines were pretty good, but they worried me. The guys looked pretty rough, not being stereotypical, honestly, they just didn't look like the Bible Salesman that normally comes around. One guy was always looking and talking to me, while the other were looking around. My dogs were going crazy behind me and that made the "casing" one notice something. After I cautiously and courteously told them I didn't want anything, I googled the company name. Come to find out a huge scam where they just steal your money and anything else they can get there hands on. I live in the Nashville area so just a fair warning to all those others out and about Nashville that these creeps are roaming around... Not worried about the men, but for their wives who are home alone, probably need a heads up. The guys looked pretty rough, not being stereotypical, honestly, they just didn't look like the Bible Salesman that normally comes around.

[Garufa]

Did you call the law to let them know?

[Guest Glock23ForMe]

No.. I was more concerned with getting my door shut and them out of the way before I got mad or they did.

[TripleDigitRide]

This scam has been going on for a very long time in and around the Nashville area.

I was scammed about 6 or 7 years ago, by a young lady who claimed to be part of some Christian student fundraiser. She was dressed fairly well, and very well spoken. Even though I didn't need/want any of the magazines offered, I decided to help her out.

Three or four days later I see a local news segment about a group who had been traveling around the Nashville area selling bogus magazine subscriptions. Sure enough, I was one of the many scammed.

This group was fairly good though, they used actual brochures and order forms from a legitimate company. So, even if someone would have done a simple Google search, everything would have appeard to be legitimate.

Because of this, I will NEVER buy a magazine subscription from anyone, unless I know them personally.

[MCSCOTT]

Thank goodness no one comes down my driveway unless they have definate business here, such as the UPS man or the mail man. I'm always what may be considered over paranoid of strangers on my property, so if one guy was obviously trying to distract me while the other was looking around alot, most likely someone would have been injured. As far as sales like this, I only occasionally buy from my nephews or other kids that I know that are doing fund raisers for schools. Other than that, salesmen or scam artists better keep their behinds off my property.

[Il Duce]

Happened to me once in Chatt. girl looked like a high schooler and was selling them for a school trip. luckily i was only out 30 bucks.

[kb4ns]

Why don't they just ask for donations to go to Cancun and get drunk. I'm a reasonable man and would be likely to help out a bit.

[Guest clownsdd]

I usually answer the door to "solicitors" with my pistol on my hip and my Anatolian Shepard by my side. They go away.

[TGO David]

Why the hell did you open the door?

If it's not someone I am expecting, or they aren't wearing a badge and a uniform, they can piss up a limp rope before I'll even consider answering the door for them. Gun on my hip or not, my home is my castle and I don't lower the drawbridge for people I don't know or didn't beckon.

[Il Duce]

I have a gate now on the front steps that the boxer goes out before i do. scared the heck outta the FEDEX man one day

[Guest clsutton21]

I was expecting to hear a story about someone selling firearm magazines door-to-door. Now that would be a fun job.

[Murgatroy]

We have had that happen around here before. We don't answer the door.

The way I have heard the tale (not first hand mind you) is that one cases the place while the other one 'sells' you on the subscriptions. Sometimes they just take your money, other times they come back and night and rob you.

[Il Duce]

We have had that happen around here before. We don't answer the door.

The way I have heard the tale (not first hand mind you) is that one cases the place while the other one 'sells' you on the subscriptions. Sometimes they just take your money, other times they come back and night and rob you.

odd enough you mention that. the girl said to me, "you have nice stuff..." i was like thanks. she said this after she spotted my luggage cause i was going to mexico. at the end she said she was going to place a sticker outside the door so her friends would know ive already been talked to. i lived in an apt at the time and i was the last one to get to. i looked at all the other doors and i saw no stickers so i took it as a sign for later as a spot to be hit. i ripped the sticker off and had nothing happen while i was gone.

[Guest clownsdd]

gotta answer the door, or otherwise the dog gets antsy.

[Guest Plainsman]

It makes me sound paranoid, but its this kind of thing that really worries me these days. Its sad that it does, but its the reality of the world today. People always seem to have bad intentions...

[Guest Moody]

I refuse to answer the door, and have told my wife the same thing - but if they stand there (which they always do, and look stupidly at the door, as if it'll just magically open by itself), I will (and have) just walked around the side of the house and asked them if I could help them. I still demand that my wife never opens the door, unless it's someone that she knows.

[Mike.357]

I will (and have) just walked around the side of the house and asked them if I could help them.

yep, come out and hit them from the flank, throws them off every time.

[Guest Sgt. Joe]

I have a glass rather than screen front door and live on a busy 2 lane road. Last summer I noticed a very beautiful young lady walking down the road and thought she looked out of place.

The next thing I knew she was knocking on my glass door and asking to use the phone. I was CC'ing in the house that day and could see that she was alone so I went to the door.

The young girl was obviously very upset and I asked her what was wrong as I thought her car had broken down or something like that. She said she was with a group from MAINE-? and was down here trying to sell some magazine subscriptions in order to win a trip. I've heard that many times.

She said she had become separated from her group and needed to call the driver to tell him where she was, I told her I would get my cell for her, I had scanned the area and she was indeed alone. She asked if she could come in the house and use the phone and I told her I would just grab it, I was able to keep her in sight while I did.

She dialed a # and said it was busy and again asked if she could come in, I asked her WHY she was so scared as she could stay on the porch with me until they picked her up. She then tells me that she had knocked on the previous two neighbors doors and was met with men with OMG GUNS on their hips, neither had a cell and would not let her into their house.

I explained that we were having a rash of home invasions and everyone was on edge as they had not caught the perps yet. I explained that the neighbors were just nervous and for her not to worry.

She again tried the # with no luck, I told her not to worry and went in and just happened to have had a cooler with cokes close by as I had just got back from a short trip. I gave her a cold coke and we sat on the porch.

She was very much still upset and I sure didnt have the heart nor will to tell her I was also carrying a gun, normally it would have been open but like I said I had just got back and still had my shirt on.

Finally she saw a long white window van go by and turn into the neighborhood behind me, she had already told me that was what they were driving. I could see when it went by that it was full of people her age and she took off thanking me and chasing the van.

NOW....If I had been a BG I could have had that young lady in the house and at gun point with no effort at all. I had told her how dangerous what she was doing was several times but it was still the sight of my neighbor's guns that had scared her the most????

After she was gone I thought more about it all and called the Non-Emer police line and gave them the description of the van and where it was, there is only one way in and out of that neighborhood.

I did pretty quickly see two marked cars go into the neighborhood but never found out what was really up.....Probably nothing. But who in their right mind lets a young lady out in a strange place by herself? Why could they not have been in pairs and why did she not have a cell phone of her own?

I have thought of this young lady quite a bit, she was terrified of the site of a gun, to the point of tears... yet was willing to come into the house of someone she did not know.....????

Had I been a BG her day would have turned out very bad, I have wished and wished I had got in my van and went and found those folks and given that "leader?" a good talking to about how they were operating. Hopefully that is what the police did.

I can only hope some of what I told her about operating in pairs and having their own phones and NOT going into houses sank in. She was lucky that day but continued behavior like that her luck will not hold out forever.

Sorry for the mini novel but the thread title reminded me yet again of that strange encounter, I have not been able to shake the thoughts of what could have happened to that lovely young lady had she knocked on the wrong door that day.

Edited May 2, 2010 by Sgt. Joe
spalling

[Tempest455]

yep, come out and hit them from the flank, throws them off every time.

I have done that as well when strangers are at my door. I walk around from the side of the house and ask if I can help them.

[daddyo]

I buy NOTHING from door to door salesmen.

[kb4ns]

She said she was with a group from MAINE-? and was down here trying to sell some magazine subscriptions in order to win a trip.

That sounds really odd to me. Who goes from Maine to a relatively rural area of TN to sell magazines?

[Guest Joey]

Wow. The same thing happened to me when I lived in Dyersburg. A young lady came by saying she was raising money for her church for a trip. I think she might have mentioned she was from out of state. She wanted to put a sticker on my door too.

I think it was just a few weeks later that my house got broken into.

Edited May 2, 2010 by Joey

[Guest mosinon]

This door to door magazine sale is one of the old double scams. First the people selling you subs get scammed and then you do.

Door-to-Door Magazine Selling Kids: Protecting Yourself While Helping Them - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

[Guest Sgt. Joe]

That sounds really odd to me. Who goes from Maine to a relatively rural area of TN to sell magazines?

Same thing I thought.....

I guess if they were crooks they know the neighbors have guns.....heck one of the neighbors was one of the ones that was broken into and that is why he bought some.

It has been awhile back and the PD did grab up four and since they did the crap in my immediate area has stopped.

Talk about a group, a white, a black, a hispanic and an Asian they were renting a house in the area together, grab and go... and back in their house quick.....I think they got about 12-14 houses before they got caught. Four of which I can see from my yard.

[Guest Glock23ForMe]

I was reading about the company that they "work" for and what happens is: They recruit these troubled kids, ex-cons, etc and ship them across state lines, away from their homes, pay them next to nothing to con people out of their money. Like pay for subscriptions they never get and such. My Glock 23 hasn't left my supertuck in the back of my jeans all day long. Might be kind of paranoid, but I'm not gonna be scared in my own home. I refuse. I live in an apt complex so going out the back door and around the house wasn't an option.