I called the company figure out what was happening. Prestige sales usa doortodoor bookmagazines sales scam. These scams typically begin with a knock at the door and a young person on the other side claiming to be raising money for a charity, school trip, or other seemingly worthy cause by selling magazine subscriptions. En espanol joe and irene pellouso of madera, calif. Southwestern advantage is a direct sales company that helps college students start their own business selling educational books door to door. The firm sells books and magazine subscriptions door to door through independent contractors that travel from city to city and state to state all. In west virginia, a salesman sold coupon books offering discounts at area businesses to benefit a youth achievement program at an area college. This lets potential customers know the book is the topselling item in that category. Doortodoor charity magazine sales scam optimum reading. The book and magazine sales outfit based in memphis has racked up complaints in 15 states. Secrets of making the sale is the book to help you improve your communication and doortodoor sales skills this is a must read for new and experienced sales reps. The aim of this article is to fetch you information about the most unscrupulous doorto door scams that are threatening the home insiders. I am out both the books i was selling, and the payment. The aspect of traveling and selling door to door scared me at first but it proved to be the best decision ive ever made because i worked hard and trusted the system.
The old doortodoor scam isnt such an old trick that it no longer catches consumers off guard. Updates at end reports are being received nationwide about doortodoor salesmen selling childrens book and persistently asking for information about any children in the home or in the. My favorite newspaper, the wall street journal, ran a fascinating article recently on how some authors are buying their way to bestseller lists. Avoiding doortodoor sales scams aarp official site. I spoke with gilbert pd and they are already investigating. Dont let the salesmen in especially you are at home alone. Along with a receipt, legitimate doortodoor sellers should provide you with a cancellation form. One facebook post read, there is a lady going door to door trying to sell very expensive childrens books, which is actually a scam to see if your kids are abductable. A doortodoor scam artist will use social engineering tactics to play on your sympathy. In fact, consumers who take the bait and sign up for a subscription often report that they receive nothing in return.
In a door to door scam, the fraudster knocks on your door and typically offers a product or service, but their primary goal is to steal from you. Many scammers are still knocking on doors, especially as the weather warms up. But the woman who showed up at her house selling magazines had a compelling story. Usually sketchy book selling companies offer business internships for students of any major usually right before summer when many students. I go to my door with a bat in my hand ever since i found out a guy selling. I thought it was legit when the nice looking couple, kids of neighbors they said came to my door selling childrens books. Getting to the top by jeffrey trachtenberg details how several business book authors contracted with resultsource to get their books on bestseller lists published by the journal and the new york times. That pushy doortodoor book and magazine sellers exist doesnt prove those vendors are looking for children to abduct and. People do not need to rely on you the independent consultant because they can get these books new from any book store and amazon. Once part of a travelling team selling goods door to door, however, they. The most common doortodoor scams involve selling meat, magazines, asphalt paving and alarm systems. Some door to door salesman burglars may not lure you into the door to door water heater scams, door to door childrens book scams, candy sales scam or door to door alarm scams.
Southwestern advantage, formerly known as southwestern company, is a direct selling program that recruits college and university students as independent contractors to sell educational books, software, and website subscriptions doorto door. However i contacted one that is totally a scam and people need to stay away from booklogix in atlanta. Beware of doortodoor magazine sales, it may be a scam. Rodney hobson, author of the bestselling beginners guide to stock market investing shares made simple, has produced the first definitive guide to scams, categorising the different types, listing telltale signs and advising how to spot a fraudster and. Books we use cookies to improve your experience on our. And for that reason, they should just do away with it. In a report published on thursday, entitled knocking at your door, the antitrafficking. Apparently the receipt i signed gave sw advantage the ability to steal a monthly payment. In a doortodoor scam, the fraudster knocks on your door and typically offers a product or service, but their primary goal is to steal from you. They will typically do this by convincing you to pay cash upfront for a service that is never rendered, or distracting you while an accomplice ransacks your home. It would help them earn their way to a school trip to london. Sid kirchheimer is the author of scamproof your life, published by aarp books sterling. Virginias department of criminal justice services recently warned people about doortodoor salespeople selling alarm monitoring. Possible bookselling scam claims to benefit seattle.
A facebook post claiming that young women going doortodoor selling childrens books might be involved in human trafficking has gone viral. This summer, like every summer, deceptive doortodoor magazine sales crews are out in full force across the country. Some door to door salesman burglars may not lure you into the door to door water heater scams, door to door childrens book scams, candy sales. The knock can come in the morning, afternoon or evening, in late june, midjuly, even early august. They came to our door a few years ago selling childrens books. Use this guide to make your transaction as safe and painless as possible. He promised us it was a one time only purchase and wed get our books in a month or so.
However, the real scam happened when she used my bank information to pull a monthly automatic payment out of my account. It may include services such as home maintenance services such as pest control, garden maintenance, building or roof repairs, insurance or homecare products. Seattle some queen anne business owners believe a man going doordoor asking for donations to benefit seattle childrens hospital is all part of a bookselling scam. They claim that you can make millions by selling door to door. I think of this every time i see children selling candy in this manner and wonder. If i didnt need the books myself, i could have them sent to a school or hospital. Southwestern advantage, formerly known as southwestern company, is a direct marketing sales company that recruits and trains college and university students as independent contractors to sell educational books, software, and website subscriptions door to door using direct selling methods. They claim you need no isbn number for your book, dont recommend s. When i was a kid late 70searly 80s, my pos stepdad would buy lots of cute pencils in bulk, then make me go doortodoor selling them for school. However, there are many different industries that depend on the labor of exploited adults and children. There have been abductions from this scam in other states. Doortodoor scams involve people selling products or services that are of a very poor quality, or are not delivered at all.
A young guy just came to my house and said hes here from toledo doing an exchange program internship with kids from uva and va tech for early education and learning. In order to create our list of 9 best selling products doortodoor we used reddit and warrior forum as our sources to see what are the best selling products. Southwestern advantage stirs controversy on campus the. He was a nice enough kid, out here from the midwest to earn some money for college. Instead, they might try to enter your house and look around your home for the nexttime burglary. Dobbs says her thenboyfriend, harvey, never let her see the books while they. Before you place an ad to sell a used car, youll need to be aware of common scams and learn how to avoid them. Trapped into selling magazines doortodoor the atlantic. Hundreds of young people are being abused and exploited within the travelling sales industry in the us.
It is based on the belief of the law of attraction, which claims that thoughts can change a persons life directly. Southwestern advantage, formerly known as southwestern company, is a direct marketing sales company that recruits and trains college and university students as independent contractors to sell educational books, software, and website subscriptions doortodoor using direct selling methods. Every summer i wait for the knock on my front door from a heatflushed college student carrying a heavy canvas bag. Doortodoor scams sales, childrens books, household items. There has been quite a few people going door to door selling education booksand after researching it is a scam. Foreign book sellers with accents going doortodoor. Based on commission so making money is possible, but you can also owe money, or have payout equal to profit. Hundreds of young people trafficked into doortodoor sales in the us. Traveling crews have been exploiting young workers and scamming customers for decadesand neither. Well, the books came after about 4 months and then about a month later we received another book in the mail. Today i found out there is a scam of two women with heavy accents going door to door pretending to sell children s books but who are targeting young girls for sex trafficking. Hundreds of young people trafficked into doortodoor. Lennys proven techniques will advance any sales reps skills from fortune 500 sales professionals to strip mall shoes salesmen.
Foreign accents, wellbuilt, persistent and seeking information about any children in the house have you seen any in your neighborhood. Labor exploitation on doortodoor sales crews global. Be wary when a stranger shows up at your front door with a limited time offer that has to be purchased right now. Shady characters go doortodoor selling everything from magazine subscriptions, meat and alarm systems to roofing and tree trimming services. Are doortodoor booksellers actually sex traffickers. Sometimes they even provide false identity or contact information, making you believe them that they are genuine enough to trust. They will attempt to make you feel horrible for not making the purchase, explaining that kids in some thirdworld country will go hungry. Southwestern advantage complaints better business bureau. The book has sold 30 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 50 languages.
In my opinion, they scam some of the people, some of the timeso youre taking a chance by selling your books with them. Maybe this particular lady was not running a scam, but its hard to know or feel safe anymore. Instead, they might try to enter your house and look around your. Southwestern advantage is part of the southwestern family of companies. Door to door sales education books scam hackettstown nj. They also spoke of traveling, it seems that they want to take you to a different city as.
Ive read here about a scam involving supposed college kids selling magazines and am wondering if an encounter just now was also a scam. A door to door scam artist came to my door selling books. Online claims of human traffickers going doortodoor in. Many people at some point in their lives have opened their front door to face a child or adult trying to sell them a product. Unless you are extremely popular and you have a huge social circle your business will stall and you will be left selling any inventory. Sell textbooks for cash sell used books cash4books. Scams arent just something for buyers to be aware of sellers can be common targets, too. Southwestern advantage, formerly known as southwestern company, is a direct selling program that recruits college and university students as independent contractors to sell educational books, software, and website subscriptions doortodoor. The secret is a bestselling 2006 selfhelp book by rhonda byrne, based on the earlier film of the same name.