Did this guy want to rob me or am I just paranoid?

[skywalkrNCSU]

I get a knock on the door not too long ago and I decide for whatever reason to answer the door. I really should have just done nothing and ignored it but I didn't.

So I answer the door and immediately I wish I hadn't, it was a pretty shady looking guy. You know the type, dressed and his whole appearance was a little ghetto for lack of a better word.

I don't open the door very far and keep my left shoulder behind it just in case he tries to bust through and he starts talking telling me he is getting people to vote for him so he can win a contest. I ask him what he is talking about and he hands me a small piece of paper with a bunch of writing in a laminated sleeve. I quickly glance down and hand it back to him asking what it is. He tells me he can win a trip to Europe, asks me if I have been, asks me if I am a student and I tell him no to both.

He tells me that he just came from next door and he says, "yeah man those guys are crazy party guys, they say they don't smoke pot but they have a bong sticking out their window, have you seen that?" I say no and he says, "don't you want to see it" as if he was trying to get me to come out from behind the door so he could bum rush me. I tell him no and I think he gets the hint that I am not moving.

He then tells me to win all he needs to do is sell magazines and he tries to hand that paper back to me. As soon as he said sell magazines I handed it back and said no thanks and told him I was in a hurry and getting ready to go somewhere just trying to get him to leave (I am not going anywhere) and he tries to push his pitch again and I say nah man I'm good and he replies yeah you sound like it or something along those lines as he walks off and I shut and lock my door.

If his goal was to get into my apartment then I figure that handing me a piece of paper with a lot of writing on it was to get me to look down and read it so I would not be aware of what he was doing. Now I am all nervous about this guy coming back sometime when I am gone because I wasn't exactly friendly towards him and he seemed ticked off. Of course maybe he was actually trying to sell some magazines and I am just a little on edge.

Thoughts?

[MrNiceGuy]

you ran into a door to door magazine salesman

congrats




the ones you really need to watch out for are those jahovas witnesses... they're twice as dangerous... and they dont even offer magazine subscriptions

[skywalkrNCSU]

^ lol

I normally wouldn't have thought otherwise if it wasn't as if he wanted me to step outside to see the neighbors bong sticking out the window that didn't exist (I looked out the window after he left and saw nothing but some blinds)

[Tucker 1371]

HAHAHA, i ran into one of these goons, guy wouldnt take a hint and I had a few spare bucks so i got 12 months of Guns & Ammo

[Mannlicher]

nothing to worry about. Just don't buy from him.

[skydiver3346]

First mistake is talking to him too long. When you checked him out first time, you should have said no thanks and closed and locked the door. Believe me, he has had that probably happen a lot to him. But like most people, you wanted to be nice and let him deliver his pitch, etc. Describing this guy, you should have immediately closed and locked the door. These people get our guard down and distract us by "talking,etc"...
Protect yourself and family members by just saying "no thanks", period. You owe these people nothing! Forget about being a nice guy. These day and times, there are folks out there that will take advantage of you and you will be sorry. Maybe he was a guy down on his luck trying to make a few bucks and maybe he was a guy trying to set you up. It just isn't worth it in the long run. BE CAREFUL.................

[troy_mclure]

we got them around the army posts all the time, usually in pairs of hot chicks tho.

[12GaugeShuggoth]

the ones you really need to watch out for are those jahovas witnesses... they're twice as dangerous...

Well, while you're B.S.'ing.........about a week ago I was doing some morning errands around town and getting some groceries, as always I was carrying a concealed handgun. I haven't been carrying long, but have been working to improve my situational awareness for some time. Walking back to the truck pushing my cart of groceries, I did my usual parking lot scan along the way. It was a Sunday morning so things weren't exactly too busy, and I guess I got careless before I reached the truck.

I never spotted the two Jehova's Witnesses walking up behind me while loading groceries in to the bed of my truck, never spotted the brown and gold dresses as they approached. By time I noticed them, well, as the saying goes "If it'd been a snake it'd bit me!" Thankfully they weren't interested in mugging me . They're like well dressed ninja's, those sneaky heel-clad ladies.

[MrNiceGuy]

I never spotted the two Jehova's Witnesses walking up behind me while loading groceries in to the bed of my truck, never spotted the brown and gold dresses as they approached.

Brown and gold dresses?

Are you sure you werent accosted by some Hare Krishna zombies?



Jahova's witnesses usually wear suits and ties

[BamaBowtie]

I had the EXACT same pitch from a couple of girls the other day, right down to the "party guys next door". I told them I didn't have any money and they said "Do you have a debit or credit card? You can use one of those too." I told them I couldn't help them and closed the door.

[coondogger]

At the worst, I believe he was trying to sell you a magazine subscription which you may or may not have actually received. If he were going to rob you, he wouldn't have made himself known to you.

[Only S&W and Me]

Be nice and polite and hear a bit then shut it down...don't want these guys coming back and doing something to your house later.

[12GaugeShuggoth]

Are you sure you werent accosted by some Hare Krishna zombies?

I have to say, I just laughed harder than I have in a long time.....thank you for that. No, the two women were dressed up as if going to church or a similar function; it was a Sunday morning so they really didn't look out of place or anything. Brown dresses with gold accents. They were very nice and just wanted to give me a hand-out, I felt safe as they didn't strike me as zombie-like at all.

[djohn]

I had a guy come to my door where I used to live he was a Jahova and like you I just opened the door and he tried to hand me the pamplet they hand out. Normally I have no problems other then there timming sucks and they come during dinner it seems every time or just when walking in from work.No offense to jahovas but there persistent and dont give up and frankly a pain in the rear.Anyways I refuse the pamlet saying No thanks and have my own believes but thanks anyways and he insist I take the pamplet and I do said thank you and went to close the door and he had the nerve to put his foot in the doorway so i couldn't close the door. I told him to remove his foot now and he didn't remove his foot.I told him firmly he is going to loose it when I close the door if he doesn't remove it now. After the threat of his foot he looked to be angry and I so was I, so Gave him his final warning of my door was Going to close on his foot and he finally did.I slammed the door in his face and locked it.I watched him out the window and I never seen him go to anothers door. That was just weird and I thought maybe I came off the wrong way but I think I was polite initialy until the foot thing.I no longer just open my door to anyone and to this day still makes me wonder what the hell that was all about.

[Erik]

On "nothing to worry about."

That is not necessarily true. Many scam artists pose as door to door sales men. The info people are willing to provide is often times quite valuable to them. Others seek to case the joint from the door, deciding whether it is worth their time to visit when you are away. Still others seek to distract you while others attempt to steal what they may elsewhere on the property.

But yes it is true that most are merely involved in sales, trying to eek out what they may.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Funniest Jehovah's Witness story I was personally involved in was back in high school. My father, brother, and I had just walked in the back door from deer hunting, front bell rang, we just walked to the door all still carrying our rifles and dressed in head to toe camo. That's the only time I have ever seen them just back away and walk off...

As an on topic note, these "magazine salesmen" are generally legit, if a bit shady. They're usually "working their way through college" or some such BS. As other posters have mentioned, just give them a firm "No Thanks" and send them on their way. If you let them start a pitch they are halfway to their goal. Haven't seen any in a while, but I used to tell them anyone with such obvious sales skills doesn't need college.

[bottom rung]

Not to go off topic, but there are some greater underlying issues with the magazine sales pitch. I understand that the man in this situation was probably well above college age. There have been proven situations where shady folks recruit young college kids to sell magazines. However, it soon turns into a "forced to sell magazines" situation. There have been instances where folks have been approached by particularly nervous and scared teenagers who are trying to sell magazines. Those homeowners have noticed vehicles tailing the teenager. Typically the man in the vehicle is sending these kids out to sell for him. They are typically threatened with bodily harm if they attempt to get out of the situation. Such scammers generally prey on college kids who are far from home and are in need of cash. Be aware of your surroundings and be careful. At the same time I fear many of those who are in actual need are passed up by the overly cautious.

[Re4mer]

You made the right move, if things look bad don't take the chance.

[Whiteboy67]

I've had people come to the door while I was home and they just sit there and stall by asking for random people, "you sure he's not here" etcetc all the while looking around inside. I think they were trying to find an alarm system in the house or something but I've had that happend on two different occasions.

Funny you mention the Johovah witness people or whatever, I had a run in with them while filling up my truck at the gas station. They seriously popped out of nowhere and started telling me about God and all that. I looked at them as if to say "You seriously going to come at me with all that while I'm trying to fill up my truck?"
I said some things and they soon left though. Didn't insult them or God, but they didn't like what I said.
No problems with religion or anything, but I really hate people who come at you aggressively with their beliefs and try to force them at you.

[spikespeigel]

Some of these guys would come around "selling magazines" at my old apartment complex. Turns out they were scoping out houses for goodies. The police caught the same guys breaking into one of the apartments in the middle of the day. Their van was just about full as it was the third apartment they had hit that day. Being it was a military town, I guess these guys would go around during the day to see who was working the day shift and then they'd return later with the same van...

My dog must have scared them a bit...

[SteveRick]

I had two come to my door about the same European Trip BS. One was fat and the other was skinny. They asked if any parents where home, I said no, and continued to play along. These guys were up to no good and i felt it necessary to alert them to the presence that my house was a house of marine friends and family. They just said thanks and left, and I shut the door and locked it. No need to be confronting of hoodlums.

[OuTcAsT]

This happens every couple of months here, exactly the same pitch, college students yadda yadda, trip yadda yadda, I usually ask if they have a vendor permit (required to sell door to door) and they leave. I generally call police and report them and they are "asked" to leave town.

The strangest was a few months back, two guys show up at the door saying they are from the phone co. and are trying to upgrade services, THEN ask for my phone number? I said " you are the phone company, you already have it"

They leave immediately and do not go to another house.

Did I mention that when I am at home, or in the yard I OC my 1911

[kgpcr]

Just a kid selling magazines. If he would have had some good deals on AR-15 mags i might have helped him out LOL

[Dingoboyx]

I have heard in our bigger cities (Sydney, Melbourne) while one zombie keeps you busy at the front door, talkin' BS, the other one (s) try to get in the back door for a snatch and run...... So, my advice is, if there is someone yackety yacking nonsense at your front door, say no thanks, close and lock the front door, then head straight for the back door and check there as well
And expect the 'unexpected' (Be alert, we need more lerts)

[madmo44mag]

I live in a state with a Castle Law and also live in an area where I am always armed (CHL)
They seem to want to leave as soon as they see that gun on my hip or under my shoulder.
I had a very , very persistent magazine salesman one day and told him "No, not interested" and he kept on. So I told him he could ask Mr. Smith or Wesson if they were interested and he could not leave fast enough.
I expected the cops to show up next but they never did.
I hate door to door sales people.