# Have you ever actually bought something from a telemarketer?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-actually-bought-something-from-a-telemarketer/84401
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [September 28, 2001, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-actually-bought-something-from-a-telemarketer/84401 "2001-09-28T23:00:22Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Nefarious\_Chipmunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nefarious_Chipmunk)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2001, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-actually-bought-something-from-a-telemarketer/84401/1 "2001-09-28T23:00:22Z")
After recieving three calls from telemarkers in a 10 minute time period I started to think, “If so many companies use telemarketing, it must work.” However, I know that I would never buy anything from a TM. Even if they weren’t so annoying, I would never give that sort of information over the phone, because I would be afraid it was fraud of some sort. This is how all of my friends, and everyone I have talked to feel about it as well. But, if this is how so many people feel, then why the hell do they still call and interupt my dinner?
So, I figure that some people must have bought something, and it can’t be all that rare, so I wanna hear about it. Have you ever bought anything from a TM. What was it? Was it worth it?
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### Author:  [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2001, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-actually-bought-something-from-a-telemarketer/84401/2 "2001-09-28T23:05:28Z")
Nope…I usually cut them off pretty quickly. I always figure if I need something that much I will seek it out on my own. If it happens to be a product (which has happened once, maybe) I will research it on my own and make an informed decision.
I would assume that very lonely people (um I am lonely but hate to be bothered) and the elderly are the most succeptable (sp) than the majority of us.
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### Author:  [@permissiontofreelspeekly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/permissiontofreelspeekly)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2001, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-actually-bought-something-from-a-telemarketer/84401/3 "2001-09-28T23:21:12Z")
I’m pretty imune, but I always listen to newspaper hawkers.
They have given me so many good deals in their circulation wars I can’t count them.
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### Author:  [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2001, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-actually-bought-something-from-a-telemarketer/84401/4 "2001-09-29T00:29:44Z")
I have a friend who ruins it for everyone by actually buying things from telemarketers. I know, I know…but she’s really a nice person. So I won’t reveal her name.
It’s not me! I absolutely refuse to buy from a telemarketer just on principle.
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### Author:  [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2001, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-actually-bought-something-from-a-telemarketer/84401/5 "2001-09-29T00:46:19Z")
When I was younger and dumber, I bought those long-lasting lightbulbs being sold by crippled Amurricans.
One of the batch actually lasted a couple of years, while the others seemed to go on longer than the regular bulbs.
Then I read the BBB report on the company and found it had some pretty shady practices. After that, I told them no.
Now, we just cut 'em off with a no.
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### Author:  [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2001, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-actually-bought-something-from-a-telemarketer/84401/6 "2001-09-29T00:59:05Z")
It’s been years since I even allowed a telemarketer to get to the part of their spiel that tells me what they’re hawking. As soon as I hear that telltale pause, I ask immediately if they’re a telemarketer, and if the answer is “yes”, I bust out the [JunkBusters Anti-Telemarketing Script](http://www.junkbusters.com/ht/en/script.html) on their ass. I estimate it’s cut down on our telemarketing calls by about 90%.
I only know one person who’s ever bought something from a telemarketer. My Uncle Joe (God bless his soul) bought a flag and flagpole kit from the Disabled Veterans Society (or something to that effect) about ten years ago.
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### Author:  [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2001, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-actually-bought-something-from-a-telemarketer/84401/7 "2001-09-29T01:35:12Z")
I fell for that also, only the lady on the phone said she was blind–I got kind of a kick out of the irony of a blind person selling light bulbs.
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### Author:  [@GreatKingRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreatKingRat)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2001, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-actually-bought-something-from-a-telemarketer/84401/8 "2001-09-29T02:46:29Z")
I must have been calling all the right people, I telemarketed for nearly ten years.
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### Author:  [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2001, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-actually-bought-something-from-a-telemarketer/84401/9 "2001-09-29T04:04:35Z")
I’ve gotten some decent magazine subscriptions from telemarketers. I hate the “credit card protection” calls, though. Like I don’t see all the crap you pile in the envelope with my bill :rolleyes:
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### Author:  [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2001, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-actually-bought-something-from-a-telemarketer/84401/10 "2001-09-29T04:17:30Z")
I subscribe to magazines via the telemarketer … they claim it’s a charity thing, where some of the proceeds go to a local charity that you can pick. I’m somewhat deliberately naive so I want this to be true, and I figure even if the charity is only getting a few cents, I still get the magazines I want. For the past few years, I’ve picked the Fire Department’s Widows and Orphans fund, which makes me happy, especially now. They (the charity) sent out a thank you form letter, so I’m hopeful that it’s at least somewhat legit.
The funny thing is that we moved recently, and every telemarketer seems to have our new phone number, EXCEPT for the magazine one, and I need to renew my subscriptions. I’m actually hoping they will call soon.
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### Author:  [@King\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Rat)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2001, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-actually-bought-something-from-a-telemarketer/84401/11 "2001-09-29T04:48:22Z")
> [@](#):
>
> _GreatKingRat_
I’ve been outflanked, outranked, and out-manouvered!
:eek::eek::eek::eek:
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### Author:  [@Caracticus\_Potts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caracticus_Potts)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2001, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-actually-bought-something-from-a-telemarketer/84401/12 "2001-09-29T10:28:23Z")
I was another one of those (about ten years ago) who caved and bought the “long lasting light bulbs” from the handicapped telemarketers. Bought a case of them, put them in all the hard-to-reach fixtures.
They didn’t last any longer.
And curiously, in six months they were calling me again. To which I responded, “If your lightbulbs last so damn long, why are you calling me again?”
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### Author:  [@ski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ski)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2001, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-actually-bought-something-from-a-telemarketer/84401/13 "2001-09-29T15:08:27Z")
I never have to actually talk to telemarketers. Whenever I answer the phone and there’s no response for about 2 seconds after my “Hello?”, I hang up. I don’t do the multiple “hello? Hello? HEELLLOOO?” routine, so they never even get a chance to talk to me. Telemarketers ALWAYS have this few second pause, I imagine it’s something to do with the person realizing that somebody actually answered the phone.
If it’s personal call, the caller will always answer back almost immediately, so there’s no problem. Although I did accidentally hang up on my mom once! :eek: (She understood.)
The only other situation would be if it’s one of my drunk friends, but who wants to talk to them anyway?
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### Author:  [@GreatKingRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreatKingRat)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2001, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-actually-bought-something-from-a-telemarketer/84401/14 "2001-09-29T20:13:08Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Telemarketers ALWAYS have this few second pause, I imagine it’s something to do with the person realizing that somebody actually answered the phone.
The calls are dialed by a computer, the customer gets connected to the call first, then it sends the call to an available sales rep, causing a slight pause.
Hanging up before the call is connected to a rep will not stop the calls, the call will be rescheduled(we had ours set for 18 minutes on hang ups).For those of you who do that think about how many times another call came within that time. Dont answer the second call? Rescheduled for the next day.