posted on February 5, 2006 04:00:58 AM
I live in the country hillside (at least I thaught I did) Thursday morning while I was sleeping (work 3rd) I am awakened by some vigorous knockling at the door. I lay there and come to my senses and the knocking continues. I go to answer the door and it's a 50 something man with a minivan and trailer handing out flyers with a HUGE list of collectibles he is seeking. He hands me one of his flyers (Tony Nard, Endicott NY) and tells me to consider selling him anything I might have that would resemble any item from his list. I say "sure" and close the door. I watched as he left and the two houses visible from my house were his next targets. Both homes have nobody home during the day so after getting no response he put his flyer in thier mailboxes...
Is this an acceptable way of promoting your business?? I found it to be rude and if nothing else just another way to pollute the area and lessen the quality of upcoming garage sales here in NY state. I understand dealers need to be aggressive to make a living but this really pissed me off for some reason. Thats probably the first person to randomly knock at our door in a few years. I dont think this guy saw to many plesant faces that morning, he was degrading himself in my eyes....
posted on February 5, 2006 05:47:53 AM
he's a hard working antique dealer and ebay seller, probably trying to find 'rare' things, to mix in with his not-so-rare things.
i feel his concept is correctly 'aggressive', EXCEPT he should just have put his fliers on the door (not be a-knockin')
posted on February 5, 2006 07:06:14 AM
I actually considered doing this at one time. If you want to make a living as an antique dealer, you have to go where the merchandise is.
I had had some success with classified ads but it became increasingly obvious that newspaper circulation has fallen off sharply.
The other idea I had (but never implemented) was to print up flyers to leave in unobtrusive places in antique malls. Something like "When you get tired of paying rent and getting no sales, we'll pay cash on the spot for everything you've got."
posted on February 5, 2006 08:14:25 AM
Knocking may annoy some folks but there are others who welcome such,if the dealer sees something he likes,he would pay cash on the spot and haul the stuff away.
posted on February 5, 2006 08:31:37 AM
There is a large antique dealer near the Twin Cities who goes to eastern Europe on buying trips. They solicit the poor farmers etc and pack crates full of country shabby/chic bona-fide antique furniture, carts, wagons, sleds, wrought iron (fences, arbors etc), wash basins, pottery..you name it they got it.
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posted on February 5, 2006 08:43:56 AM
First, if he were to wake me up by banging on the door, he probably would not get the chance to tell me why he was there. I'm a day sleeper and anyone knocking on my door had better have a darn good reason.
Second, if he put the flyer IN the maibox, then he is breaking the law. Nothing is allowed to be place inside a mailbox unless it has the properly affixed postage. That is why the pizza people tape their ads on the side of the box.
If he comes around again and wakes you up, report him to the mailman. Seriously.
posted on February 5, 2006 09:23:13 AM
Jeez, you guys are rough. The guy is just trying to make a living in an increasingly difficult business. Just say no, go back to bed, and forget it.
posted on February 5, 2006 09:38:14 AM
I'm a night person also but he probably wouldn't have gotten me up (I sleep like a rock). However I don't appreciate solicitation at my front door any more than I like it on my phone. If he wants to leave a flyer, fine, leave it in the door. I feel about this guy just like I do about telemarketers, don't call me, I'll call you.
As for leaving them in peoples mailbox's. CALL THE POSTAL INSPECTORS!!! He is breaking federal law. How many thousands if not 10's of thousands of dollars has this boob avoided paying in postage by dumping his junk in peoples mail box's over the years. Sorry but postal fraud hits a sore spot with me.
They say your memory's the second thing to go, I just can't remember what the first thing is.
posted on February 5, 2006 09:53:17 AM
I get something similar to that. I have had garage sales every summer for the last few years. The same people always come by asking the same questions: one mane comes by asking for watches and gold, another one kids toys (mine aren't old enough for him), another one books and one more demanding I have her help me sell my house!
posted on February 5, 2006 10:20:30 AM
Pelorus, someone knocking on my door in daylight is the equivalent of someone knocking on your door at 2 AM.
What would you say to a stranger wanting to snoop thru your home at 2 am??
Door to Door soliciting should be banned in a society where we can get anything we want at the local shopping mall, from a mail order cataloge or the internet.
And no, I do not feel sorry for the antique dealer. I used to be one and never felt the need to knock on a stranger's door or even show up at an advertised yard sale 2 hours before posted time. I consider those types of people inconsiderate and chose to not deal with them.
A serious business person could leave a flyer or better yet, build their business through community networking. I still have people contacting me to buy their stuff and I have not had a storefront in 10 years.
posted on February 5, 2006 12:20:14 PM
This has been going on ever since there has been an antique business. After all, how did most of these things appear on the market before the days of everyone having tag sales? The old timers used to scour the back country in order to buy (and lest you think they were always taking advantage of ignorant sellers, you should read some of the stories about how shrewd the old Yankees were about selling their heirlooms).
In the trade, these people were called "knockers" since they went around knocking on doors. One trick was to hire a nice, polite young woman, who would be more likely to be allowed in by women at home alone. I suspect that this has method has lessened nowadays since, for one thing, most people are not at home most of the day, and also people tend to be more suspicious. However, there is nothing inherently dishonest in asking people if they have any old things to sell. I used to work a late shift, and it didn't take much effort to just have a "do not disturb/no soliciting" note on the front door.
As for diluting the quality of the garage sales, well, doesn't that just seem a little bit self-serving? Would you be complaining about the knock on the door if was the owner of the house full of antiques that wanted to just let you have the stuff because he didn't want to bother with a yard sale?
[ edited by Damariscotta on Feb 5, 2006 12:21 PM ]
[ edited by Damariscotta on Feb 5, 2006 12:23 PM ]
posted on February 5, 2006 01:32:35 PMI actually considered doing this at one time. If you want to make a living as an antique dealer, you have to go where the merchandise is.
I'll let you in on a secret - instead of going door-to-door hoping to hit a decent mark, sorry old person, why not go to a concentration camp full of them a.k.a. a retirement home. Loads of old fogies in there all happy to sell their worldly goods for a pittance (but make sure their relatives aren't around when you call). Most have their goodies in storage so you may need to make a return visit. Cash works wonders too, as many elderly are cash strapped! If you don't get it now, some corpse-picking, money-hungry relative will only get it later (for FREE).
posted on February 5, 2006 01:55:06 PM
Aside from a cheap flyer that could be printed for a penny, you have no way to verify that Mr. Nard is in fact an antique dealer from Endicott, N.Y. He could just as easily be a convicted felon on parole wanting to case the inside of your house and learn when you would be gone so he can return later and rip you off. There is no reason to believe thay you, living in the country, would be any more likely to have antiques for sale than a person living in town. He was working rural areas for the sole purpose of avoiding the requirement to have a city business license which can be costly, but is also subject to review by the local police department. This same scheme is prevalent in California also, but instead of antique dealers, it's usually someone representing a non existant burglar alarm company wanting to perform a "security survey" or someone offering to demonstrate floor or carpet cleaning products. They all have one thing in common, to get inside your house. And they mostly confine their activites to areas just outside the city limits of the area they are working.
If Murphy's law is correct, everything East of the San Andreas Fault will slide into the Atlantic
posted on February 5, 2006 05:05:12 PM
I realize you don't mean one word out of five that you post on any given day, however...
why not go to a concentration camp full of them a.k.a. a retirement home
Sorry, that's just plain offensive to someone whose 80 year old MIL would rather stay in her own home but realizes she can no longer maintain it. You know nothing whereof you speak.
On another level, it's also ineffective as a technique regardless of its tastelessness because most seniors have to seriously downsize their belongings before they move to a smaller residence.
posted on February 5, 2006 05:36:16 PM
If I ever cought someone pulling a fast one like that on a elderly family member of mine I would either crack your skull open or report you to the athorities, but more than likley just beat the living dog piss out of you. I had a scum bag scam my grand mother once for a couple of thousand dollars. Took me 6 months and a couple of hundred dollars to track him down but I finally found him and I doubt he will ever do it again. He probably spent at least a year in a wheel chair and if I thought I could have gotten away with it I would have made that arrangement permanent. People who scam elderly people should have two choices, either a 45 in the skull or being drawn and quartered. I'm not cruel, they can choose which.
They say your memory's the second thing to go, I just can't remember what the first thing is.
posted on February 5, 2006 05:45:41 PM
Apologies if I overstepped your boundaries, but in this part of the world, both my parents and great-grandparents witnessed first hand the German and British Konzentrationslager (in Europe and Sud Afrika respectively).
As for the money-hungry relatives, I speak from (sigh) experience.
Those who forget are doomed to repeat the same mistake. Returning to our regular program...
posted on February 5, 2006 07:05:37 PM
"...in this part of the world, both my parents and great-grandparents witnessed first hand the German and British Konzentrationslager (in Europe and Sud Afrika respectively)."
And what, pray tell, does THAT have to do with your belief that elderly people in nursing homes are good targets for a swindle?
posted on February 5, 2006 08:12:39 PM
Don't kill the messenger. I was merely conveying details as told to me in confidence by Antiquarian dealers who go by the "nothing personal - it's business" credo. I'm sure we here are all too ethical to stoop to such levels...
Occasions are rare; and those who know how to seize upon them are rarer. — Josh Billings
