Cons of soliciting

I have learned the hard way of the dangers of being friendly with solicitors. These people are out to get something from you and honestly don't care about the tight college budget you're scrapping by on. It really gets under my skin how they have the nerve to take it upon themselves to push their crummy product down the throat of an unsuspecting, na've person.

Everyone in my apartment complex has to deal with magazine peddlers every few months.

In fact we have a phone tree set up to let others know when they're coming so everyone can prepare themselves or refuse to open the door.

Now they're not as cunning as some of the creepy phone marketers but some day with the right training, they just may be the one to scam you out of your life savings. Their techniques are already shady for being so young. Some have claimed to be in high school while others never mentioned their affiliations.

It's like a scene from A Clockwork Orange. The one when the protagonist Alex breaks into an woman's place and answers her question of why he is there by stating "To be perfectly honest, madam, I'm taking part in an international students' contest to see who can get the most points selling magazines," Illustrating the pushiness of magazine peddlers.

They are a few steps away from taking their next customer hostage in their own home. To prove my point, one year I had a young man mumble at me about looking for someone. At that point I had a roommate who liked to party.

So I look over and call for her all the while he managed to slide in the door and goes on a spiel about his magazines. But oh no, it gets worst.

A year later one guy somehow managed to not only get past my threshold but makes himself at home and begins looking through my mail on the coffee table to get information for his for magazine form!

I don't care where you're from but it's NOT acceptable behavior. Come on, there is a large red sign on my entrance door that states "NO SOLICITING!" In layman's terms, don't come around here with selling magazines on your mind. The words "no" may have to be repeated several times before they give up and prey on their next consumer victim.

These people have toed the line when it comes to selling their "product" but the whole barging into someone's home is more than crossing the line.

If the item is good it will sell itself not the other way around. I've known people who have had these seedy salesmen go so far as to jump into their car. The said person agreed to subscribe to their $90 magazine subscription in order to get them out.

A day later she canceled the check at her bank. I should have done the same thing but ended up out a hundred bucks with no magazines.

This made me start to contemplate why this blatant sign of saying "kiss off" in front of buildings do not make these people falter before they pound at your door. I have come up with the reason behind my concern about pushy sellers is either one of two things.

One, it might just be a change from country life when saying no thank you does not come with a rebuttal.

Or two, the people are becoming too desperate or confident in their selling techniques. Either way, I'm not buying. I live by the phrase, when it comes to shopping; don't call on me, I'll call on you.