No I will not buy your magazines!

[Sunsetsky]

Another thread reminded me of this story. I had come home for lunch one day and was eating when there was a knock on my door. I should've checked to see who was knocking but stupid me decided to answer the door without looking. I figured it was the apartment maintenance guy or something. There was a guy standing at the door probably in his late teens.

Me:
Damn Solicitor: DS

DS: Hi there! My school is doing a cutest senior contest. Whoever sells the most magazines wins a trip to Puerto Rico. *attempts a 'cute' smile*
Me: Erm...
DS: Have you been to Puerto Rico before?
Me: No...
DS: Alright! Let me show you what I'm selling. May I come in and use you kitchen table?
Me: I don't have a table...(which is quite true)
DS: Oh...well...may I use your counter so I can write down the information.
Me: My apartment is messy.
DS: It'll take just a few minutes.
Me: *develops the uncomfortable posture at this point*
DS: Oh...well...I can just write on my folder.

He tells me he's selling magazines and is wondering if I would be interested in buying them. He goes over what he is selling.

Me: I don't read magazines.
DS: Nothing here looks interesting?
Me: No.
DS: Well...maybe you can help me out. You can always just donate some money. That will get me points. Your neighbor below you donated.
Me: *alarm bells going off like crazy. I don't recall there BEING people below me* I don't have any money. I'm rather broke. (which is true. I live in a fucking APARTMENT COMPLEX. If I had more money I wouldn't be living there).
DS: Oh...*he pulls out his wallet and ATTEMPTS TO GIVE ME A DOLLAR*
Me: *rather offended* I'm not THAT broke.

DS shakes his head while he's putting his dollar away and turns his back on me and proceeds to pound the door of my neighbor directly across from me. I slam the door and hear a *shink*. Going around the corner I see my fiance putting away his short sword. So if the guy decided to help himself inside...he probably wouldn't have gotten very far.

Anyways...I decide to call the apartment office. Apparently the girl at the front desk had gotten another complaint from someone in a different building and she had been walking around looking for him. She told me that she would go see if he was still in my area. I still wonder if he got caught.

I have a feeling he wasn't selling magazines and that it was a scam. I did have a girl try that with me when I was living at home. She was trying to win a trip to Europe and did the same ol' "Have you been there?" Her face was priceless when I told her that I lived there.

[rageaholic]

Yeeeeah, I think this was more than an annoying soliciter. Major red flag when he wanted into your appartment. I wonder if he was looking for something to steal.

[Andara Bledin]

I went to Hawaii, DC, and British Columbia by selling stuff to all my neighbors.

I was in the high school band, and I could craft a pitch that was short, to the point, informative, and wasn't pushy. I sold chocolate bars, junk jewelry, and one time, pizzas. M&M's were the best sellers, since I could peddle those to classmates pretty much daily. Gummy bears (for my German class) were a close second, for the same reason.

I'm with you on the scam, thing, since they were taking "donations." If they don't give you the school name, what group they're with, and they don't have a proper printed order form and some type of color leaflet brochure, it's likely a scam.

If you really want to help, but don't want to fall prey to savvy scammers, tell them that you don't have cash and ask them to come back the next day, and take the opportunity to call the school/organization and confirm that they are doing the fund-raiser, and that the student in question in participating.

^-.-^

[Stormraven]

I've gotten people like that, but the door never opens more than a few inches - with a quarterstaff braced against it if I'm feeling paranoid - and a simply 'I'm not interested', usually works. If they try to say anything else, it's usually cut off by me closing the door.

[bainsidhe]

I also encounter random people in parking lots selling candy for "a donation". Hmm, no mention as to the organization or supporting literature. Matter of fact, I'm pretty sure legitimate "donation" requests would be hawking their wares at the entrance, not in the back parking lot.

[KellyHabersham]

I've been fortunate enough to not have to encountered magazine sellers for a few years.....last few times I have, the guy always got snotty with me for not buying anything.

[PepperElf]

my old apartment in va use to get those creeps every month

one of the things i love about the current apartment - in an entire year i've had 2 physical solicitations, and both for the same thing: people trying to convince me to switch to another power company.

[Aethian]

Me: *alarm bells going off like crazy. I don't recall there BEING people below me* I don't have any money. I'm rather broke. (which is true. I live in a fucking APARTMENT COMPLEX. If I had more money I wouldn't be living there).

While the guy was a jerk this stuck out at me...

Whats wrong with living in a apartment complex?

[elsporko]

I got scammed once. At a gas station a teenage girl came up to me and said she and her friend were out of money and needed gas to get home. I have her some money I had in my coat pocket, no more then two dollars, and they just drove off without getting gas. The thing that confused me is that this was back when gas was incredibly expensive. I don't know how their panhandling could have been cost effective.

[Sunsetsky]

While the guy was a jerk this stuck out at me...

Whats wrong with living in a apartment complex?

Nothing wrong with an apartment complex. It's just that my place is too small for two of us. I'm really wanting to move into a townhome or something bigger. We were supposed to move into a bigger place at this time last year but my fiance got laid off two weeks before the move.

[Pagan]

The guy wanting to come in was nothing nefarious. I get these jokers from time to time. Completely ignoring the signs posted at all of the entrances saying "No Soliciting" and usually waiting until after the complex office has closed. Of course, our security patrol come on duty about the same time, so they get a phone call from me.

These guys aren't trying to win a trip anywhere, it is a scam, but I have never once felt threatened by them, just annoyed. Normally, I don't even open the door cause I'm not expecting anyone and my friends don't just show up out of nowhere. But if I do happen to open the door, quick "not interested", close the door, and pick up the phone and call security so that they quit annoying everyone.

While the guy was a jerk this stuck out at me...

Whats wrong with living in a apartment complex?

Nothing wrong with an apartment complex. It's just that my place is too small for two of us. I'm really wanting to move into a townhome or something bigger. We were supposed to move into a bigger place at this time last year but my fiance got laid off two weeks before the move.

I live in an apartment complex. Doesn't mean that I don't have any money. I just don't see the correlation.

[JLG]

I live in an apartment complex. Doesn't mean that I don't have any money. I just don't see the correlation.

One time I got a call about a bill from a magazine I ordered stuff from 20 years ago. I was a teenager and used the bill me later option. I was working at the daycare next to my high school at the time and I was paying the bill but when that job ended I stopped paying the bill. It of course went to collections and I was stupid and never did anything about it. Well 20 years later I get a call about it (they tracked me down as I have moved 3 times since then) and the girl on the phone was really rude and told me "You live in an apartment cause you have no money and don't pay your bills!"

I told her that it is just me and my daughter so I really don't need the expensive of a house. I hung up on her after that and they never called me again.

[protege]

20 years later...I'd have told them to get bent

Seriously though, if the guy was trying to talk his way inside, something sounds fishy. It does like he was either trying to case the apartment...and return later. Or, he was simply going to rob you in your own place. Either way, good call on not letting him inside. Locally, we've had similar problems in my neighborhood. There have been a few instances of "salespeople" trying to gain access to homes exactly like this. Either they're trying to sell something, or they'll ask to come inside because of the cold.

There's nothing wrong with living in an apartment. Hell, I rented out a room from my mother before I moved out But, in my borough though, "apartment complex" does have a negative connotation. Many people think of those buildings as the "low-rent" district. Why? Well, they do have a hefty crime rate, and they're literally falling apart--the landlord only does the bare minimum of repairs.

[Broomjockey]

I live in an apartment complex. Doesn't mean that I don't have any money. I just don't see the correlation.

The correlation's been explained. She needs a bigger place. A bigger place costs more money, and due to being bigger would be unlikely to be in an apartment complex. So, for her, being in an apartment complex is only because she doesn't have the money to move to a suitable for her location. Sunsetsky's already said there's nothing wrong with apartment complexes beyond being too small for her needs. I think we can move on.

[isitdeadyet]

I remember having two girls come bug us at my old apartment. They didn't take the hint and leave even though we told them multiple times we weren't interested. Our cat ended up chasing them off when she jumped from my finance's shoulder to one of the girls' shoulder. Never had any problems after that.