Mmmmmmm more was I too reasonable ... ???

[pamelat]

I think I am a soft touch.

(loud) knock at door (sleeping baby upstairs) so I rush to answer it to find a young lad on the doorstep. He tells me that he is an ex offender and selling stuff.

I am keen to help so ask prices. Its extortionate!! Anyway I bought a pack of household wipes 40 for £4.99 .... !!! Thats expensive per wipe, they better be good

Am all for helping people but why cant the prices be a bit more realistic, or AIBU to complain ..... ??? Its the festive season etc etc.

He was very nice to me (well at £4.99!!) but I cant help but feel conned.

[WinkyWinkola]

This happened to me a couple of weeks ago. I too found the products very expensive. But then I just thought I'd do this maybe once a year and a good deed.

[tessofthedurbervilles]

I work with people who have criminal records and the idea of these schemes are to give them a chance and stop them offending...Not many people give them chances.....however I brought some yellow dusters from a guy and they left yelloe bits everywhere. It looked like I had strangled a canary in my house....

[Wizzcarol]

I never buy from doorsteppers. Am always wary of being scammed. I am afraid I am not a kindly person like you and get really peed off if I think I'm getting conned. I usually don't even let them give me their patter, I just tell them I'm not interested.

You were probably conned but at least you got a product out of it, even if it was pricey. Put it down to experience.

[Wizzcarol]

Tess, so these things are sometimes legit, I should give them more credit. Am a cynical b'stard.

[tessofthedurbervilles]

They are completely and done in conjunction with the local police. I cannot, however, vouch for the products as my dusters were sh*te....!

[tessofthedurbervilles]

Forgot to say they should always carry ID with the police contact details on if you want to check.

[wotuhohohoinat]

Where I used to live they used to come quite often and there was always a supervisor with them.

[pamelat]

I believe he was credible. He was very clear in telling me he was not a charity and he was polite etc. It was more than the products were rubbish looking and expensive.

I bet I paid £5 for something with a retail value of under £1.

I would prefer the prices to be lower and to buy more stuff.

Is the idea to not sell a lot but to make a lot of money on what they do sell?

I am sure they would make more if they reduced prices and offered better goods. I am happy to pay over the odds to help him/them but £5 really was a lot.

I almost offered him £5 to fetch me some milk as DD was asleep and I really wanted a cup of tea, but I thought that might be exploiting him! The shop is only a few minutes walk away though.

[Ripeberry]

I've had people like that around here. Its a quiet village so you notice anyone "new".
But last year one guy nearly made me scream!
I was in the front garden trying to put up some Xmas lights and this guy comes out of nowhere and does not say anything and is holding out his hand.
I was thinking "What on earth?" and then i read the card and it said "Hi, my name is X and i'm deaf and dumb, i'm selling some artwork would you like to look and maybe buy some?"
I felt a bit of a pratt then for thinking the worst but i was still half tangled in lights so i just said no thank you.
About 5 mins later i felt a bit guilty and went down the road to see if i could find him, but he had dissapeared!

[wotuhohohoinat]

Do you live in Royston Vasey, Ripeberry?

[Ripeberry]

Well we do have a shop only for local people! Lol

[wotuhohohoinat]

[Lotster]

They used to knock on our doors, and were really sweet TBH, relieved me of £10 for a pair of oven gloves They are kosher, but as you say, pricey to say the least.

In London there is one awful scam I've had at two different addresses, where girls have knocked on the door saying they needed £30 for a cab across London to a hospital ASAP but with different reasons - first girl said her mum had died and the second said she was in labour (didn't look prgnant though so was a crap attempt), we fell for it the first time and gave the girls a fiver just in case her mum had died but they are well known scams for drug money apparently.

[Sycamoretree]

I once bought a pack of 2 dusters for about £8 - what a twat.

[ScaredOfEverything]

Sorry to break this to you....but I also bought from a guy with a similar story once and now he comes back EVERY WEEK. It is starting to make me feel a bit uncomfortable.

[mrsgboring]

I had this the other day too - bought a pack of clothes pegs for 4 quid , but at least I haggled him down from six. Bugger.

Will say no if he comes again. He kept telling me about gadgets for cleaning down the back of radiators and suchlike and I thought, but I never ever do this...

I've met the folk who need X amount of money to get the train back to High Wycombe or somesuch scam. That is definitely not true. I always tell them to go to the police and ask for assistance.

[mawbroon]

I've had this too, not in this house though.

I got off lightly buying an air freshener for £1.50 or something.

I've had the buy some artwork thing too, but I don't think he was deaf/dumb. I don't remember his story exactly, but it was also a bit of paper with stuff written on it. I think he was claiming to have just arrived from Eastern Europe.

My DH's elderly grandfather had the one about needing to get a taxi for something or other. He had no idea it was a scam, and offered the girl a lift. He started getting his coat on and stuff, and funnily enough she scarpered!! This was in Holland, so it seems to be a universal con.

[mrsgboring]

Artwork round here is being flogged by "local art school" students.

[pamelat]

I did ask for a price list and he didn't have one so I think that the price may depend on who answers the door.

I hope he doesn't turn up every week. Like I say he was lovely and polite but I was still in my gym kit and he seemed to appreciate that and told me I had a nice smile .

I basically advertised the fact that I am home alone with a baby. But then I shouldn't think the worse, its just that I am not sure that I would be happy with any unknown bloke turning up frequently. I mean, what would the neighbours think !

More to the point, I dont earn any money and can't pay £4 a week out!

[Gorionine]

Pamelat, bless you lovely heart. Maybe you have been conned, maybe not...

[wotuhohohoinat]

Now you lot have me worried if someone comes to the door. From now on I'm going to say that my husband has the money, not me!

[mawbroon]

I used to find that saying, "sorry, we are completely skint", was a good way of fending off door to door sales people.

There's not really an answer to it, and loads of them used to say "fair enough"

[retiredgoth2]

...even if not strictly legit (as in an organised scheme), it is not a con.

He told you he was an ex offender (not likely to make this up, as I bet he faces quite a bit of hostility) and didn't pretend it was for, say, a fictitious charity.

...it seems the scheme is working, as he has learned considerable social skills (employed on you to the sum of £4.99). He may use these skills to move towards a productive life. At the very worst he will not steal the £4.99 from someone else to feed any unsavoury tastes.

It's an investment. I'd have bought them too!

[daffodill6]

Agree with Op. Have experienced this a few times, totally agree with the theory behind it but the prices don't lend themselves to the kids making a success of it.

Let them sell things at market rate prices then they can get the buzz of achieving sales and feeling good. Don't know the overhead costs though?

[pamelat]

You see I say I am "skint" and I am really (in terms of cash flow as on maternity leave) but I have an ISA and credit cards, so compared to him I am not skint - would have felt a fraud to tell him that?

I have just spent over £300 on the (much hated on here) boden sale. Will send most of it back though and next year I am earning money again, I have self justified it!

In that case I cant complain about £5.