# When was the last time you saw a door-to-door salesman?



## fuzzybuddy (Dec 29, 2021)

I saw this in another post., and it dawned on me- When was the last time you saw a door-to-door salesman? Remember the Fuller Brush guy? Vacuum cleaner guys? Furniture polish man?


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## Aunt Bea (Dec 29, 2021)

We had the Watkins vanilla man.


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## Bretrick (Dec 29, 2021)

Never have I had a door to door salesman knock on my door.
I do remember a Vacuum Cleaner salesman back in about 1970 knock on the door in Tasmania.
My Grandmother let him in and he vacuumed the loungeroom.
When done, Nan said the man of the house makes those decisions and he is at work. I have no idea when he will be home.
The salesman never returned.


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## Aunt Bea (Dec 29, 2021)

Oops!


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## hollydolly (Dec 29, 2021)

Not too long ago....
The sellers are usually young men who are dropped off en masse in suburban areas.. who go door-to-door selling household products at inflated prices. They will often claim to be working on behalf of a charity, to support their family, or that they are ex-offenders working as part of a rehabilitation scheme.  often they are armed  with a card which they  hand over explaining they're deaf .

I always catch the deaf ones out because I have been able to use BSL since I was a child, being born into  a predominately deaf family ..so as soon as I start to speak with my hands they grab the card ,  and beat it....

That said, I haven't had any doorstep sellers, now I think of it , since we installed the Video ring doorbell...


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## hollydolly (Dec 29, 2021)

Bretrick said:


> Never have I had a door to door salesman knock on my door.
> I do remember a Vacuum Cleaner salesman back in about 1970 knock on the door in Tasmania.
> My Grandmother let him in and he vacuumed the loungeroom.
> When done, Nan said the man of the house makes those decisions and he is at work. I have no idea when he will be home.
> The salesman never returned.


that would be the Kirby vacuum cleaner.. they were always sold by doorstep salesman back in the day because they were enormously expensive, and so the salesman would gain entry into the home, and demonstrate this Vac.. and often not leave until he'd got the resident to sign up to an expensive HP agreement


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## Bretrick (Dec 29, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> that would be the Kirby vacuum cleaner.. they were always sold by doorstep salesman back in the day because they were enormously expensive, and so the salesman would gain entry into the home, and demonstrate this Vac.. and often not leave until he'd got the resident to sign up to an expensive HP agreement


I do remember it was very expensive. $600 comes to mind but that might be a false memory.
Nan knew what to say to get him to leave.


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## Gemma (Dec 29, 2021)

Maybe an Avon lady back in the 80's.


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## JustBonee (Dec 29, 2021)

I remember a time back in the early 50's,   when my Grandmother was home alone on the family farm.   I was outside playing at the time.  

A salesman traveling out in the country stopped at the farmhouse,    and walked right into the house!    She looked at him surprised,  and he said,  "Oh!  I heard someone say "Come In" .     I walked in at that point, to see what was going on.  

 My grandmother,   who didn't speak English very well,   just looked at him   ... I guess he got the point ... he left,     before she  could go outside and get someone to  remove him.   

I don't  remember what he was selling...lol


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## Pinky (Dec 29, 2021)

I consider political volunteers to be salesmen .. the condo allows them to knock on doors in the building, close to voting day.


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## Pink Biz (Dec 29, 2021)

I remember the Fuller Brush man coming to our house in the 50's. There also was an insurance guy who came over on a regular basis to collect the premium. Why didn't my mom just mail it in?


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## Alligatorob (Dec 29, 2021)

fuzzybuddy said:


> When was the last time you saw a door-to-door salesman?


Probably almost 50 years ago.  Some young guy selling overpriced and useless books as I recall.

Don't miss them at all.


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## timoc (Dec 29, 2021)

When was the last time you saw a door-to-door salesman?​
A very long time ago, his skeleton is still sitting in the porch.


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## fmdog44 (Dec 29, 2021)

We still get Jesus nuts selling something probably bibles door-to-door. You can see them in black suits riding bicycles.


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## Lawrence00 (Dec 29, 2021)

When I had a house, the home improvement companies sent door knockers out each spring.


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## Jeni (Dec 29, 2021)

Many in my area are more like casing homes then selling anything..
we had a cable company leave flyers on doors on Christmas eve.... If anyone was out of town etc and flyer just sat there it invites criminals to see no one home..... if we left 30 minutes earlier then we did that could have been my house.


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## Gary O' (Dec 29, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> that would be the Kirby vacuum cleaner.. they were always sold by doorstep salesman back in the day because they were enormously expensive, and so the salesman would gain entry into the home, and demonstrate this Vac.. and often not leave until he'd got the resident to sign up to an expensive HP agreement


Wrote a little story in another thread about my experience.

*Knock knock, who’s there*

Back in the day, vacuum cleaner sales were enhanced by door-to-door folk.
One time, in the ‘70s, a hoard of ‘em attacked the little cul-de-sac we lived on.
They came in droves, piling outta vans and cars like locust.
Three were at my door, at dinner time.
But, hey, they were people tryin’ to make a livin’…..
The brains of the outfit began small conversation with me.

‘Hey, that’s a n-i-c-e ship, you build it?’

‘Uh, yeah…..please git yer vacuum nozzle away from it.’

‘Well, sir, we’re here to show you how you can be germ free with our state-of-the-art filtered systems.’

The gentleman commenced to suck the living crap outta our couch…..really….living crap.

Then he opened his bag-o-living-crap and spread it onto some newspaper…my sports page.

I played along.

‘Wow.’

‘Do you know what that is?’ (rubbing the amorphous gooey granules between his finger and thumb)

‘No.’

‘It’s human skin.’

‘Really?!’

‘Yes, human skin….wanna touch it?’

‘Naw, that’s a used couch.
Bought it from the widow of a diseased old man.’

Once back from washing his hands, super sales guy was back on task.

‘This attachment can remove the most stubborn stains.
I’m going to pour this ink on yer couch and….’

‘WAIT!
How ‘bout the stain under the doily of that chair?’

Man, that guy scrubbed for a good twenty minutes, and actually got most of it out, building up quite a sweat.

‘Well, sir, that is one stubborn stain. What do you think it is?’

‘Probably the blood of that dead guy, got the chair from the same place, I think he actually died right there.’

Once back from washing his hands, he was ready to wrap things up.


I felt sorry for the man.
He was quite dogged about getting this sale.
And his white shirt had rings of perspiration growing at a rapid rate outta his underarms….tie was loose…..and foam was gathering at the corners of his mouth.

The vacuum systems were $800…back when $800 was closer to what $800 should be.
And they were about $787.34 more than I could afford.

I didn’t have the heart to tell him how much I appreciated him doing my curtains, couch, carpet, and chair….but.

‘Let me think about it.’

‘Sir, we won’t be coming back this way.’

‘Good.’

‘You don’t understand. This deal is today only.’

‘Good.’

‘Perhaps I could discuss this with the lady of the house.’

‘Of course, only make it your lady of your house…about career choices…..and get the ef outta mine.’

‘Here Kemo.’

Patience.
I learned I don’t really need mucha that virtue at given times…..and Kemo, well he jus likes people.


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## terry123 (Dec 29, 2021)

Not in years and won't happen again as I don't answer the door if I don't know who it is.


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## Jules (Dec 29, 2021)

They’ll show up at the door wearing a lanyard that you can’t read and say there’ve from the gas or home furnace or whatever city/company inspection team and have been authorized to inspect your home for leaks.   Yah, right.  

There have also been the ‘deaf’ collecting for charities.


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## jujube (Dec 29, 2021)

Very old joke:

The vacuum cleaner manages to make it in through the door and dumps a bagful of dirt, sand and cinders in the middle of the living room.

He goes into full overdrive..."Now, Madam, you are going to see something amazing that's goin' to revolutionize your housekeeping.  This here Hoover is the most powerful machine you can buy.  With just a few strokes, all this debris will be removed from your carpet.  Why, I'm so sure about its efficiency, I'll EAT anything left behind!" 

The housewife then hands him a fork and says, "Better get started.  They ain't bringing the 'lectricity down this end 'o the road til next year."


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## dseag2 (Dec 29, 2021)

If they don't send me a text first I'm not answering the door.


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## StarSong (Dec 30, 2021)

Although the wares they're peddling have changed over the years, door to door sales people far from rare around here.  They pitch solar panels, lawn and yard services, roofing, painting and remodeling contractor services, realty companies, political candidates, religion, and more.


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## Don M. (Dec 30, 2021)

We had a few when we still lived in the city....just gave them a "no thanks".  We live in a very rural area, so that is no longer a problem.  Perhaps the last "salesman" we've had was about 10 years ago when a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses stopped by.  I usually told them I wasn't interested, but this time I was feeling a bit "playful", and I kept them in a long extended conversation, until they started acting like they were about to pee their pants.  They haven't been back since.


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## helenbacque (Dec 30, 2021)

The last was a couple of Mormon guys selling their brand of religion.  It was years ago.


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## Vida May (Dec 30, 2021)

Gemma said:


> Maybe an Avon lady back in the 80's.


I was one, and I also went door to door with Fuller Brush products.  Selling Avon is a great way to meet neighbors.


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## Jules (Dec 30, 2021)

If an Avon Lady came to my door, left a book and said she’d come back for my order and *deliver the goods for free*, I’d buy some goods.  No way will I pay for the delivery.

We do have the occasional realty or home repair companies leave a brochure on the porch.


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## Vida May (Dec 30, 2021)

Jules said:


> If an Avon Lady came to my door, left a book and said she’d come back for my order and *deliver the goods for free*, I’d buy some goods.  No way will I pay for the delivery.
> 
> We do have the occasional realty or home repair companies leave a brochure on the porch.


Yeap, it cost a lot to be an Avon representative, and if a person doesn't have enough customers, it can cost more than the small commission covers.  But I never heard of a representative charging for delivery. 

I would not leave a brochure with just anyone, because the representative has to pay for them and all the samples.   Then add the mileage for making deliveries and it is easy to see why there are fewer people selling Avon or Fuller Brush products.  

But how about Tupperware or lingerie parties?  I also remember parties that sold paints for handcrafters.


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## Pinky (Dec 30, 2021)

Many years ago, back in Adelaide, I had 2 young 7th Day Adventists knock on the door while I was painting.
When they heard my Canadian accent, we had a pleasant conversation about everything but religion. They even offered to help me paint! That was the nicest experience I've had from door-to-door salesmen.


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## Jules (Dec 30, 2021)

Vida May said:


> But I never heard of a representative charging for delivery.


I should have said Shipping and Handling, which was charged for last item I ever bought & it was delivered to the office, along with several other orders.



Vida May said:


> I would not leave a brochure with just anyone,


Don’t blame you.  Some representatives leave them in public waiting areas.


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## charry (Dec 30, 2021)

Years ago.....never see them now !


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## OneEyedDiva (Dec 30, 2021)

It's been decades. I think I still lived at home and I moved out when I was 21.


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## JaniceM (Dec 30, 2021)

fuzzybuddy said:


> I saw this in another post., and it dawned on me- When was the last time you saw a door-to-door salesman? Remember the Fuller Brush guy? Vacuum cleaner guys? Furniture polish man?


By your definition-  never.
Locally, all I've seen were guys from an internet company trying to push their services- which they now do by mail, and Jehovah Witnesses.  Both were around a decade ago.

Long ago-  other location-  kids often went around selling magazine subscriptions etc., for school fundraisers, and occasionally there were Girl Scouts selling cookies.


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## Tish (Dec 30, 2021)

About 6 years ago, Avon rep, but now they have closed Avon, they had some freat stuff, really miss their products.


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## JaniceM (Dec 30, 2021)

Tish said:


> About 6 years ago, Avon rep, but now they have closed Avon, they had some freat stuff, really miss their products.


Huh?  do you mean Avon doesn't exist anymore???


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## StarSong (Dec 30, 2021)

Avon is still going strong in the US.


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## Mandee (Dec 30, 2021)

Like JaniceM, I've really only seen internet company guys, and that was the same ones twice in the 3 months since 
I moved into this house, first time was to see if I was interested and at the time I wasn't as I had more important things
to think about - the second time they came I had sorted those things - and my internet too with someone else.


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## IFortuna (Dec 30, 2021)

1960


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## Tish (Dec 31, 2021)

JaniceM said:


> Huh?  do you mean Avon doesn't exist anymore???


Not over here, unfortunately.


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## fuzzybuddy (Jan 1, 2022)

StarSong said:


> Avon is still going strong in the US.


There was always some housewife, who was going to make a fortune selling Avon. My mom would get the word that some cousin, or other was selling Avon, and to avid her like the plague. The worst were the Tupperware parties. My mom said she was pressure to buy "plastics" ugh, ( "plastic" in the 50s was a name for cheap junk) so the host could get a free lettuce crisper.


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## StarSong (Jan 2, 2022)

fuzzybuddy said:


> There was always some housewife, who was going to make a fortune selling Avon. My mom would get the word that some cousin, or other was selling Avon, and to avid her like the plague. The worst were the Tupperware parties. My mom said she was pressure to buy "plastics" ugh, ( "plastic" in the 50s was a name for cheap junk) so the host could get a free lettuce crisper.


Maybe so, but I'm still using some Tupperware I bought over 35 years ago.  My kids split up some of what I had but no longer needed and they're using it...


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## Chris P Bacon (Jan 2, 2022)




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## Chris P Bacon (Jan 2, 2022)




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## jujube (Jan 2, 2022)

In my neighborhood, the tree service people are the ones doorknocking.

There's always someone getting tree service and the company sends a guy or lady around to look for business.

Everyone has massive oaks, so there's lots of business.  We've had three removed and some trimming done.


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## fatboy (Jan 2, 2022)

last week,trying to sell me cleaning products.


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## Remy (Jan 8, 2022)

Sadly they have been replaced by the intersection beggars.


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## RadishRose (Jan 8, 2022)

StarSong said:


> Avon is still going strong in the US.


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## fuzzybuddy (Jan 9, 2022)

Besides door-to-door salesmen, we used to get a lot of religious people, knocking on the door. And telling me that I was going to hell. Most would politely go away, if you didn't show interest, but there were others. One guy was standing in my kitchen screaming, well I chased him down the street. I haven't had anyone come by in a long time, they must think I'm a lost cause.


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## Tom52 (Jan 16, 2022)

In our area we get door to door solicitations fairly regularly. If a landscaper is in the area doing work he will knock on neighboring doors to see if you want any work done. Every few months we get a knock on the door offering to do a roof inspection hoping to find damage so that claims can be made for a nearly free roof courtesy of your insurance company. Then of course there are the people that ring the doorbell of new homeowners hoping to sell overpriced water softeners.


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## Rah-Rah (Jan 16, 2022)

If you are not including those trying to sell new windows, roofing, siding, desks and home improvement things it has been ages.


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