Card? Leave one on the porch.

You're welcome.

I speak as a woman living alone.

through a small side window. But moons ago when I lived in an apartment--there are peepholes.

Use Google. Read reviews. Get at least four bids on any complicated or large job you need done. You'll be shocked. You can also get a bid from one of the the TV Ad companies. You'll be more shocked. You're going to pay for those expensive ads you see over and over again. Yes, you are.

Choose your contractor on the basis of price, published reviews, and the sense their proposal makes. Don't use the reviews on their websites, either. Read Google reviews and lots of them. Don't just read the good reviews. Read them all.

If you take the time to choose a good, honest contractor, you'll get good, honest work at a price that you can afford.

at exorbitant prices

And there is a reason they have to run TV ads

Not on repairs.

Last edited Wed Jul 1, 2026, 03:11 PM - Edit history (1)

Most door-to-door salespeople are losers. Some have criminal backgrounds.

Some of them pretend to be a utility worker by wearing a reflective vest.

They have no business knowing who lives in your house or what you have or your daily routine.

Unless I can plainly see that it’s my neighbor or I’m expecting someone.

I used to when I was young and naive but I quickly learned how to shut the door on Jehovahs Witnesses while they were in mid sentence.

Well, I've thought about doing it anyway. Plus I don't have any Amway stuff, don't know if they're still in business.

Selling steaks (Trump steaks?). I said “no thanks” and he asked me why my husband wasn’t doing the yard work. I said “because I like doing it”, which is true, but I wasn’t about to tell him there is no man in the house.

Ordered groceries to be delivered by Instacart. The very pleasant looking delivery guy offered to bring them in my house and set them on the kitchen counter. I thanked him but said I’m happy to take them from him.

I soon learned that he had put all the meat and fish in one bag, and did NOT deliver it. I reported it to Instacart and they issued a credit but seemed unconcerned. The grocery store later started their own delivery service; employees said “Instacart doesn’t screen employees carefully.” No shit.

I don’t care what the reason. It’s just called being smart.

Was reading a Reddit thread not long ago about the safety precautions women must think of these days that most men wouldn’t ever consider.

teens, wayyyyyyy back in the last millenium, after an ex tried to kill me, I have advocated for all women and girls to take martial arts training, or, at the very least, basic self defense classes.

I do not open my door to anyone unless I am expecting them. I do not leave my dooor open if it will be out of my sight. Heck, I do not even answer my phone unless the number is in my contact list. My insurance company has a visiting nurse wellness check thing, which I refuse. They finally stopped calling and annoying me about them.


"Men are afraid women will laugh at them. Women (with good reason !!! ), are afraid men wiil kill them."

Smoking a cigarette, shirt unbuttoned halfway, really full of himself. He held his fingers a couple inches apart and asked, "How would you like a steak that's this thick?" I replied, "Not much, I'm vegetarian."

He just totally deflated and had no comeback. I've felt a twinge of guilt because it wasn't true, but really, more amused than anything.

So, if she opens the door to them, they may still be there trying to "convert" her three days later... Beware! (they are quire earnest, I'll give them that)

Nowadays, for most of us, it's potentially unsafe to open the door to strangers.

Even Fuller Brush does it mostly online now.

From Google:

Yes, the iconic door-to-door "Fuller Brush Man" is extremely rare, but a few independent dealers still make rounds in local neighborhoods.
The profession has largely transitioned online. You can purchase their signature cleaning supplies and personal care products directly through the Fuller Brush Company website or via Amazon.

Home ALONE? My goodness. How does the poor dear survive in the wild without your guidance? I just find it kind of gross that, because she has made a choice that is obviously way outside of your comfort zone, you’ve decided it’s because something about her daddy and she doesn’t understand the “real world” because you don’t live on an Air Force Base. How demeaning. Then you come to DU and berate her and make it clear when you explicitly state that “most people” wouldn’t need to take your advice because they presumably already know - but not your wife!

Just gross. Rethink this. See what you are doing here. Self-delete. That’s MY advice, Probably not needed by most people.

Like comparing the Trump Admin to door-to-door people, or something

But I like post #1 better.

I will also try to get useful perspective from it. So there's that.

the first thing I taught my kids was "we never open the door" unless it's friends/neighbors we know well.

When sales people come I can open my door and still be safe from them and get rid of them quickly.

Out in the woods, few people show, mainly because every house is heavily armed.

In the suburbs, the last person who knocked at the door was ... (story follows)

I was downstairs, and my wife was sitting on the stairs.

I heard the door knock, and said "I'm not opening it"

My wife said "It's OK"

It was a process-server from the court with divorce papers.

I never open the door for anyone.
(and bear spray is at the ready, for bears, though it makes a nice deterrent)


Now here's what NOT to do, unless you're into a certain lifestyle.

Cable companies and utilities companies. Had a security contractor pester us a few time whe we moved into the place we are now.

I don't answer the door.

Strangers are NOT invited, desired, or wanted.

Too many nutbars and shitbirds out there to take unsolicited offers.

Anything I do comes by referral from within my network.

We have Pella Windows in our 2006 house. They are hard to close, harder to latch and don’t lock properly.
And our Pella sliding glass door has a dead wheel that can’t be replaced, so we have to install a new door for $2000 instead of replacing a $2 part.
The Champion sunroom is another horror story.

signature to do a credit check. They want to put a lien on your house. If you tell them you are not interested they will keep talking while closing the door. Tell them you can't talk now because your parole officer is in the house because you previously assaulted a door-to-door saleman. Anderson Renewal are the biggest pests. Have a wonderful day all int is 91 farenheit here Stay cool.

Most folks are either (A) not home during the day ... or (B) not gonna waste time talking to any door-to-door salespeople ... or (C) actually afraid to open the door because they might get robbed or molested.

If someone rings your doorbell and it's unexpected, you can be sure it's not a person you want to talk to.

I ordered a "NO SOLICITING" sign from Home Depot. I got two stick on signs for less than two dollars and they delivered them for free the same day! I stuck one on the front door and it has worked like a charm.

Also, our township has a No Soliciting without a permit from the township law. We still get the occasional salesperson and I always inform them that there is no soliciting in our sub or township unless they have a permit. Sometimes they get sneaky and say they have one, but I ask them to show it to me and then they say, "Well, it's in my truck and I have to go back and get it" to which I respond, "OK. I'll wait here for you to get it." Of course they never come back.

This doesn't happen when I open a door. In the good weather I'm almost always out in my yard so I can see them going house to house before they get to mine. After I do all this I call the condo board president on the other side of the sub from me and tell him there's a guy going door to door and I've already informed them they are to leave, but if you see them coming down your way tell them you are calling the township and reporting them. I live in a complex with mostly older people and people coming to your door just isn't safe but a lot of them are gullible or too trusting.

There is a door-to-door pest control 'subscription' company that goes through the neighborhood every year harassing homeowners and renters. "We're doing your next door neighbor and 8 other houses on the block. Ants around here are a real problem…yada yada". Online reviews of this company are abysmal - people sign up for a one year contract for quarterly service, and they either don't show up or come by and do an absolutely minimal job, and the contract has a massive cancellation fee buried in the fine print. There are dozens and dozens of reviews about them breaking local laws by ignoring the NO SOLICITING signs, but they never address that aspect and seem to encourage it.

First I ask to see their permit (which they are supposed to wear visibly on their clothing). Somehow it's always 'around the corner in the truck'. I point to the NO SOLICITING sign and tell them that I would NEVER consider hiring a pest control company with employees that are SO illiterate that they can't even understand a simple two-word sign, because there's obviously no way that they could possibly understand all of that complicated safe application information or MSDS information on the products they might be using.

have been women who live alone and they're followed while shopping at high-end grocery stores. The perps look for women wearing expensive clothing/jewelry, follow them out to the parking lot, and to their home. They come back later, break into the home to steal whatever is valuable. In at least two cases, the homeowners were killed.

Women have to stay vigilant.

Doesn't matter if it's in person, on the phone or online. Nope. Just show them the door and be done with it.

A reputable contractor doesn’t do business this way. They very probably would have taken a deposit check and never be heard from again.

Where I live, you have to have a license to do door-to-door sales. I've had people come to my door trying to sell something and I ask to see their license. Some have them and other don't but I tell them I'm not interested.

If you do express interest in buying contracting services, check with your state contractor licensing board for the following:
1. The classification of the business
2. Current contractor's license
3. Current bond with an insurance company
4. Current Workman's Compensation insurance

I was the president of our small 1-unit HOA and when I went out for bids I ask for their contractor license number so I could check them out.

Also, lowest bidder or highest bidder doesn't mean you get you're money's worth so weight each contractor carefully to ensure you're not overspending.

...

PornHub that started exactly like that 😉😉

If needed, be home with her.

Give her a script if necessary.

Just don't open the door to them again.

When we were first married, we fell for some people who came into our home (However, they were friends from church selling vacuum cleaners, water softeners, financial services, etc though, not door-to-door.. We would see them at church and they would invite themselves over other pretenses like "getting together for coffee".) It was a real pain. Basically, after that type of pitch, they were no longer our "friends". We cut them off. We were Catholic, but even in that circle there were also charismatic Catholics, who pull the same stuff with religion.

We were never scammed. Just wasted our time....

There's an active Facebook page for residents of our subdivision. That makes it easy for someone to ask if a given vendor or company is reliable, or even legitimate; or if they're reliable, if there are other companies that are just as reliable, but less expensive; or if a company is reliable, but a particular employee should be avoided.

We really don't get door-to-door salespeople here. We get flyers in our mailbox, which is just fine.

My life stays simple and enjoyable that way.

That way, we can see who is at the door. I seldom answer.

when i ask them for payment its amazing how fast they scurry away. I also tell them why would i buy from a company whos employees ignore no soliciting signs.


Ive actually called the company before and asked for an address and have send an invoice to them.

the door till their knuckles bleed .... I'm not opening the door!

in the 50's and 60's the Number One Rule was NEVER open the door to people you don't know. Those were much safer times, ya know?

And I'm not even nice to Jehovah Witnesses. I can speak to them through the door bell camera. They don't seem to like that.

Don’t answer the door. That’s what I do, especially if I am home alone. If it’s someone I know, well they know better. Call me first.

from the Captain Beefheart wiki

Van Vliet enrolled at Antelope Valley College as an art major, but left after one year. He worked as a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman, and sold a vacuum cleaner to the writer Aldous Huxley at his home in Llano, pointing to it and declaring, "Well, I assure you sir, this thing sucks."[

wanting to sell a home security system. First thing he said was, "My boss was in your neighborhood yesterday, and noticed there weren't any of our signs in the yards there." Wanting to go eat, I cut him off fast. "REALLY? You don't suppose someone's STEALING them, do you?" He started laughing, and I hung up before he could say anything else.

demanded of a chief execvutive in today's business climate

"sarcasm" as needed