I got an email from a reader, warning me about an aggressive group of men selling magazines and books door to door in the neighborhood.
They’re from an Illinois group called Paragon Magazine Sales, and they first turned up in Contra Costa County earlier this month where residents reported of aggressive sales tactics and unpleasant encounters. The large group of about 40 were staying at the John Muir Inn and police were called a couple of times during their stay.
RichmondSFBlog reader Terence saw them earlier this week here in our neighborhood:
Had an unpleasant experience with one of their crew leaders at my place earlier this week, then saw him and his crew in a banged-up van at 25th/California today (with Illinois plates, since this crew is from the Midwest).
And a commenter on SFGate on December 21st had this to say about their sales tactics:
One of these guys was working door-to-door in the Richmond district of SF yesterday. The encounter started off pleasantly enough, but when I declined to pay $120 for three books that the salesman claimed would be donated to a local charity, he turned nasty — “so you’ve just been blowing smoke up my a**”, he said. I hope people aren’t falling for this scam.
I also found this complaint online about their aggressive tactics.
Please be mindful of who you’re opening your doors to this weekend. I am not sure if the Paragon team is still working the Richmond District but if you encounter them and are uncomfortable, do not hesitate to contact the police.
Sarah B.
One of those times I’m glad to live in an apartment with a buzzer.
Thanks very much for publishing this entry. I answered the door for one of these young men at about 9pm a couple of weeks ago. The pitch was VERY aggressive, something almost threatening about it, but what really spooked me is that the guy claimed to have just had a great conversation with my next door neighbor … except that he used my name and a non-existent address to describe the neighbor. When I tried to shut the door he kept repeating “you’re going to help me, right? You’re going to help me!” Scary. I had no idea what this was about but your blog entry explains it. I left a message with the district police station about the incident. These guys are bad news.
1/12/10
They’re baaaaack! At least in San Jose.
But I had an exceptionally GENIAL young man in his early 20’s from North Carolina tell me that he was on a “mission” to extract himself from “the hood” because he used to be a “banger” and drug pusher and wanted to better his life; Completely CONSISTENT with the sales script that’s been posted many places elsewhere on the web about other Paragon door-to-door marketers.
He didn’t have a real chance to get his whole sales pitch out; I stopped him and said that I was unemployed (true) and have been looking for work for over a year (true…unfortunately) and that magazine subscriptions simply were NOT going to be a part of my budget regardless of his apparent circumstances.
He smiled, said, “Thank you” and left. On to the next house.
Jan 25, 2011. Just had an encounter in Napa. The young guy entered our gated courtyard to come to the front door. His initial politeness was lost during the long sales pitch. He oddly cheered when I said I never heard of the Paragon company. The overall ploy is based on the promise of not selling anything and not accepting donations. The rambling pitch itself becomes a huge turn off. I asked him four times to get to the bottom line, but instead he kept congratulating himself after completing each talking point: Will you vote for me? Will you allow me to prove I can make something of myself? Will you give me a chance to work instead of getting into trouble? Will you support literature without having to buy any books or magazines for yourself? The aggressive aspect is in the training to control the entire conversation. When I politely but firmly told him I would not be making any ‘contribution’ today, his false smile dissolved into hostility. The pitch became a rant, shouting all the way down the driveway and into the street.
I should clarify… The ploy of selling magazines apparently has changed a bit. The guy today explained he was not trying to sell me magazines or books since nobody wants to buy them. Instead he wanted me to show my support for literature by contributing books to inner city children. He flashed a price list, the cheapest item being $26 while most were in the $50-60 range. He had two or three handwritten checks claiming they were from neighbors. If real, the donors will obviously never know if any books are ever delivered. I highly doubt it.
I run a small business on the peninsula. I want to assure you that this group has departed to the NOrth…Portland Oregon…I am in direct contact with these individuals each day. They stay at a hotel across from my establishment. If something changes I will update this accordingly.
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