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Comment by secabeen | Hacker News Reader

Yep, I have a standing rule that I don't buy anything marketed by someone standing at my front door (I will make an exception for Girl Scout cookies). Someone at your front door is interrupting you, and creating a power imbalance leveraging long standing cultural norms that you invite people in and are courteous. That may apply to neighbors and friends, but not to salespeople.

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A good more general rule is not ever to buy anything from anyone who has initiated the first contact. Not sure that's going to be an entirely popular thought on a forum of entrepreneurs who live and die by their marketing to an extent, but from a recipient's point of view I do advocate it.

I try not to buy anything that I haven't of my own free will realized I needed or really wanted and then sought out a solution for.

And this is why I canceled my amazon prime membership

On the flip side, it’s far easier to sell to someone that comes to you. In fact, many businesses do just that and don’t even bother with cold sales. This is trivially true in the case of stores but also marketing companies, SaaS offerings. And really it’s better that way. It’s not unsolicited, both have mutual interest and the buyer clearly sees value enough to talk to somebody on the expectation it’ll cost.

This works extremely well as a tourist too. If someone is walking up and offering something to me that is almost always a no. Scams frequently depend on seeking out targets.

I remember my dad telling me about a farmer he knew, who said to him once, (pointing at his lane), "Any time Jim, I see a f*er driving in that road I know he's not doing it for my benefit"

Indeed. I always think to myself: if it’s worth coming to my door or cold-calling me there must be a pretty margin. And then they claim it’ll be so much cheaper than my well-researched current contract. Yeah, right.

The only thing that will sometimes peak my interest enough to listen to the pitch, is if they offer non-monetary upside.

Pique (sorry couldn't not do it)

This is exactly the reason why there are specific limitations on so called "Haustürgeschäfte" (sales made on the perch of your own home) in German and European law. For example you get a reasonable time period to rethink those sales without any charges.

Yes exactly (I've lived in Germany). And where I live now in southern California, thank goodness, it's actually against the law to "solicit door to door" (I think that's how the law is written).

Before I lived "here", every weekend, guaranteed, at least 4-5 knocks on the door on Saturday & Sunday afternoon (combined). Trying to sell me something that I didn't need, didn't want, and often it felt like a scam.

There are limitations in the US, too:

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2015/08/door-door-sales-an...

Last time I just opened the door and spoke first: "Sorry I don't have time to talk to strangers right now" and closed the door before he could say one word.

I'm thinking of preparing an mp3 of a chaotic household (think 10 kids screaming and fighting) for improved effect in the future.

I do something similar.

Before they can speak, I say, "Are you selling solar, politics, or religion?"

They always protest, "But I'm not selling anything..." and go into their sales pitch.

I interrupt with again with, "Solar, politics, or religion?"

90% of the time it's solar. I tell them I rent, and they go away.

I outright reject anyone trying to sell me a subscription model at the door - a lot of charities do that, and their sales talk nowadays includes that I can cancel at any time.

But the caveat there is that if I were to do a one-time donation, they would still have my information and the permission to receive mail on file.

Charities are marketing companies; they collect money and advertising permission, and give you direct mailed marketing in return.

True on cultural norms. Myself I have found myself being rude and when I answer the door, I point at the "No Soliciting" sign directly below the door bell and keep repeating "No Thank You" until they leave or I decide to close the door if they persist.

this is absolutely true and any product or service that requires sending people to knock on doors in order to sell it is by definition not worth buying, because if it were, they'd sell plenty using regular advertising. anyone that comes to my house to sell something is automatically a scam in my perspective and it is usually those fake electric company / gas people, though sometimes someone offering to redo my driveway.

As an urbanite: Lol good luck. If you ain’t texting “here” , I ain’t opening the door. What’s a doorbell? :D

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