Thank goodness nobody thinks that's safe for kids anymore. (Can you tell I hate-hate-hated selling stuff as a kid?) Well, now that kids don't sell door-to-door anymore, the field is wide open to everyone else. But, I never buy stuff from people I don't know who show up at my door, for three reasons. One is larcenous, one is villainous, and one is just plain icky-ous:
The Larcenous Reason:
I don't buy from people who show up on my doorstep asking me to buy magazines, because I'm still waiting for the ones I ordered from those girls who said they were paying their way through college by selling magazines. Oh, that, and they were competing with other college kids to try and win a Spring Break trip if they sold the most magazines. That was 1992. I wonder if they've graduated yet...
The Villainous Reason:
I don't buy from people who show up on my doorstep asking me to buy something big, because of the vacuum salesman that I politely turned down (and did not allow in the house) back in 1998. Turns out, my neighbor across the street called the cops and had him arrested. Why? Well, after I shut my door, said vacuum salesman decided to case my house and try to find a different - and unannounced - way in.
The Icky-Ous Reason:
I don't give contributions to people who show up on my doorstep asking for charitable donations because of this one year, when a local charitable group (NOT where I live now) knocked on my door well after dark, with flashlights, looking for contributions. Legit or not, that's just creepy.
So, I'm not a big fan of buying from the door-to-door peeps. Buying from brick-and-mortars aren't really my cup of tea, either.
But, that's another post for another time...