# Door to Door sales by children: Scams? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 4, 2005, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670 "2005-10-04T00:26:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2005, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670/21 "2005-10-05T00:09:24Z")
> [@aamco](#): > > What do you mean by “scam”? > > (a) “I’m just pretending to sell candy so I can rob you later,” or > (b) “I sell candy under the pretense it’s for a cause, but I pocket the money instead,” or > (c) “I’m trying to sell candy but I’m inadvertently being used as a pawn for corporate greed.” > > I’m sure all three exist, but if you think it’s (a), I’d like to point out that there are much easier and faster ways to find out if someone’s home. I can see why being able to peer inside someone’s apartment might make it easier to, say, figure out whether it’s worth burglarizing, though. I figure it is easier for crooks to know that a certain apt has nice stuff and is empty between certain hours of the day. If I pay $2.00 for candy and it doesn’t go to the feel good youth, at least I have my candy. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2005, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670/22 "2005-10-05T00:09:41Z")
I never thought of it as a scam, but wrt the candy I think it would be a commendable act if someone would take aside whomever is responsible for sending these kids out, and explain to them that the candy-demand curve falls wayyyyyyy off once you pass the age of about 11, and maybe they could find something else to sell. When I first moved into West L.A. I frequently had kids come to the door, trying to sell me a subscription to the Evening Outlook (Santa Monica’s daily). Eventually I posted a small sign saying ``` **Evening Outlook Not Wanted Here Thank You** ``` and the visits ceased. ---
**Author:** ![aamco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@aamco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aamco)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2005, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670/23 "2005-10-05T00:34:46Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > If I pay $2.00 for candy and it doesn’t go to the feel good youth, at least I have my candy. And let’s face it, with the quality of TV declining rapidly, is it really worth more than a really good candy bar? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2005, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670/24 "2005-10-05T00:45:59Z")
At the two schools I worked at, there was the traditional wrapping-paper sale during fall semester and magazine sale during the spring semester. I got very unpopular with the administration because I referred to it as “pimping out the kids”. When they once insisted that these sales were important money-makers for the school, I once suggested that we should take the advice of Jonathan Swift and sell off our delinquent students as meat thus solving the fiscal and disciplinary issues. The meeting changed topics very quickly when I told them that May children futures were selling on COMEX at 9.32/lb. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670/25 "2005-10-05T01:14:09Z")
Just a general alert. I heard that the kids going door to door scamming is going to be really bad at the end of the month. Some will even go so far to conceal their identity. Home owners and apartment dwellers alike beware. ---
**Author:** ![mztery33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@mztery33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mztery33)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670/26 "2010-08-04T01:34:27Z")
My kids currently are selling candy in an effort to help Unicef help the children in Haiti. Occasionally we have people ask us for proof of our charitable contributions. I am always willing to show paperwork, and I tell people if you are ever in doubt, write a check to the Charity. We often get larger contributions when people write checks to Unicef. My children have a great sense of pride and community for helping people in need. Please treat them kindly, although I keep them in my sight at all times, they usually insist on “Doing it themselves” and don’t want mom hanging on to them when they knock on the door. Please don’t harass them with statements like: “Why aren’t you doing anything for people in the United States?” Or “Is this a scam?” They are kids, it’s a dollar for a candy bar, if you don’t want to buy one please just tell them “No thankyou.” They could be spending their summer glued to their video games, cut them some slack. If you have any doubts, ask for the name of the organization they are selling for, and write a check instead of giving cash. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670/27 "2010-08-04T01:52:30Z")
1. There are door to door scams to be wary of, but none involve kids. 2. No burglar is studying your arrival/departure patterns. If you got robbed, the chances are the n’er do well spent less than a minute figuring out whether you were home. Apartment complexes are exponentially more likely to be burglarized, for a variety of reasons. ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670/28 "2010-08-04T03:24:57Z")
> [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](#): > > My kids have at one time or another sold door to door: > … > Garbage Bags (who knew?) > … Gah, that brought back horrible memories of the year my 4-H club decided to raise money by selling light bulbs and car-washing liquid. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670/29 "2010-08-04T03:52:53Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > 1. There are door to door scams to be wary of, but none involve kids. That’s an awfully definitive statement. Anecdotally, yes there are door to door scams involving kids. I know, I ran one\* when I was a young teen. I’m not proud of it (quite the opposite; I’m convinced that if there’s a hell, this would be the reason I would go) but it happened, it was a huge money-maker, and I never got into a speck of trouble for it. It was a small town and I do think people are more wary in general these days, so it probably isn’t terribly common, but they are out there. All of our school’s fundraisers have a note on them that strongly discourages door to door sales, rather suggesting that parents take the forms/catalogs to work and ask family members and what not. I’m tired of fundraisers already and my kid is only going into the second grade. \*I will say that it is less likely to be a scam if A) they are actually selling something and B) they have what at least appears to be appropriate paperwork (order forms, catalogs, etc.). I had neither. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670/30 "2010-08-04T14:58:51Z")
A few times in the past I have had visits from kids selling door-to-door that felt scammy. Basically, the scenario was: Teenager, pretty obviously from the inner city, coming to my suburban house to sell magazines or something, with a very slick, used-car-salesman type spiel. The vibe I got was that they had been groomed by some high-pressure marketing organization. ---
**Author:** ![forgottenstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/46a35a/32.png) [@forgottenstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/forgottenstar)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670/31 "2010-08-04T15:16:50Z")
I sold door to door for everything I was involved with. (School, Sports, Girl Scouts etc). I generally would stay within 3 blocks of my home though. Most of the time, children will be told if they are doing door to door sales they should introduce themselves and the organization they are fund raising for- they are supposed to wear their uniforms. (Girl Scout sashes, sports jerseys-etc) They are also told to always bring an adult with them. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670/32 "2010-08-04T15:21:55Z")
When I was a little tyke we’d have competitions to see who could sell the most crap. We weren’t allowed to go door-to-door, though. We were only allowed to sell to people we already knew. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670/33 "2010-08-04T15:44:04Z")
Former band kid, current band kid dad, former cop, current neighborhood busy-body here. I know this is a zombie thread, but it’s always good to revisit things like this. SCAM, SCAM, SCAM! Virtually always! Back in the day (70’s, 80’s) various high school groups, (mostly band) would send kids door to door once or twice a year to hawk everything from candy bars to candles to light bulbs. Who doesn’t need light bulbs? Some of us were awesome sellers, running from house to house for 2-3 weeks to get the high-seller prize - 200 bucks cash plus some gadgets or trinkets we needed. But, the times, they are a-changin. No school I’m aware of will send kids door-to-door anymore; it’s all about safety and liability. There may be some, but the kids will be honest about who they represent, and they prefer checks instead of cash. \*\*Any \*\*kid approaching you at home, in a parking lot, or at your business with a box of candy under their arm is a ruse, and those selling magazines are hustlers. If you give them cash and get a candy bar, you’ve conducted a reasonable transaction, but don’t think for a minute that they’re earning money for their camp/school/kid center, etc. Just like the bottom-feeders that sell door-to-door artwork (“We just finished decorating the office down the street, but have these 19 oil paintings left over”), the whole program is about using kids to make money. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen parents or other adults drop kids off at a mall for the day so they can hit as many folks as they can in a small area. The magazine sales rely on some cash coming in. They’ll typically discard the checks and you get nothing. Sometimes they’ll try to cash the checks, and we’d arrest them for theft by deception. When they show you their “ID” on a string around their neck, close the door or walk away. The only people who do this are the liars who are trying to convince you of their legitimacy. “Wow- A laminated ID? You must \*\*really \*\*be with the Children for Education Alliance.” Bullshit. Today’s legitimate fund-raisers focus on 2 areas, generally. If they are selling a product, kids are encouraged to hit family, a couple of known neighbors, and Mom and Dad’s cow-workers. The other is a co-op between the band, cheerleaders, whatever, and a local grocery store. The parents (and grandparents) buy “scrip” from the band for 100 bucks. Spend it at Publix or Kroger and get $120 or so in groceries, plus the band gets a percentage back from Publix. Everyone needs groceries, and no kids were harmed in the making of this money. Girl Scouts cookies? Legitimate for over 80 years. Black kids with a box in Wal-Mart parking lot? Not. Save your vitriol. It’s just the way it is. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670/34 "2010-08-04T16:27:42Z")
Even the “legit” ones are scams in a way. My kids get these packets every fall and while they’re not supposed to go door-to-door, there is a lot of pressure from the school to SELL SELL SELL including - if you sell enough hundreds of dollars of this giftcrap - getting to go to a KEWEL PARTYYYYYY. I point out how much the stuff costs, how junky it is, then ignore their whines of anguish as I toss the packet into the trash. One year - not two weeks after I did that, my son brought home a nearly identical one for Band fundraising. Yes, the school had nearly identical back-to-back fund raising. The stuff is all overpriced crap, the kids are pressured with the intention of pressuring the parents to bug all their co-workers… it’s infuriating. Now, let’s also discuss the kids who are brought in from outside the neighborhood. Whatever goal they’re supposedly working for is not legit, one way or the other. Those kids are (I gather) genuinely stranded. I feel bad for them but I won’t buy a damn thing from them. I’ll support neighbor kids but not the purely-for-profit strangers. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670/35 "2010-08-04T16:36:32Z")
A Washington Post article (of similar vintage to the original thread): > **[Police Warn of Door-to-Door Magazine Sales Scam](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/17/AR2005081700684.html)** > > Authorities are warning area residents about young scam artists going door-to-door selling books and magazine subscriptions and falsely claiming they are raising money for school teams, sports clubs and other nonprofit organizations. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670/36 "2010-08-04T16:53:57Z")
I don’t know if the OP’s still here, but I wonder what he does at Halloween. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670/37 "2010-08-04T17:37:16Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Even the “legit” ones are scams in a way. My kids get these packets every fall and while they’re not supposed to go door-to-door, there is a lot of pressure from the school to SELL SELL SELL including - if you sell enough hundreds of dollars of this giftcrap - getting to go to a KEWEL PARTYYYYYY. Yep. The school didn’t seem to mind making my kids cry because they failed to meet some quota. After all their hard work (actually, my hard work) they would get a crappy prize like a pencil case. I can’t believe that child labor rules don’t apply here. My kids couldn’t work in a factory like I wanted them to but it was OK for them to roam the streets selling overpriced candy for the school system and their corporate sponsors? It looks to me like the sponsor makes a very good profit with zero overhead other than printing the colorful brochures. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670/38 "2010-08-04T17:40:54Z")
Talk to your local Neighborhood Watch. If you don’t have one, start one. Around here (suburbia outside of Seattle), many of the kids ARE scams in one way or another. Most of the break-ins here happen during the day when everyone is out working. A common technique is to have kids either knocking on doors to sell candy or having them running around in yards pretending to look for a lost dog. Either way, if they can verify no one is home, the adults (or at least older kids) show up and burgle the place. Of course, when I say “many” of the kids, that’s still a minority. I’m sure 70-80% are just out fundraising for schools, sports teams, clubs, etc. Apartments are less prone to this kind of break-in, and they’re densely packed, so I’d expect most of the kids in the OP are honest. But a Neighborhood Watch is an excellent way to keep everyone informed about what’s going on and what to look out for. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670/39 "2010-08-05T02:45:17Z")
[quote=“Silver\_Fire, post:29, topic:324670”] > [@anson2995](#): > > Anecdotally, yes there are door to door scams involving kids. Kids taking orders for stuff they never deliver, kids claiming to sell stuff/collect for a charity and pocketing the money… sure. Adults can also run these sorts of scams, but that’s not really what we’re talking about. The OP worries that kids selling door to door are actually casing his place for a burglary by using the sales as a ruse to see who is home and who isn’t. That’s highly unlikely. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-sales-by-children-scams/324670.md?page=1)