Beware of door to door "Israeli" art student scam (buying, oil)

[Runemaster]

Originally Posted by J1ndo

I'm not an actor by trade, but I like to perform for the door-to-door set. My character is the normal-looking serial killer. I keep eye contact for longer than is comfortable, get outside with them and stand just a tad too close, act eager to hear what they have to say, but laugh inappropriately and abruptly while they rattle off the spiel (very important to "drill" the eye contact when you get their attention with the ill-timed laugh). The goal of all this, besides my own amusement (such as it is) is to get them to want so much to get away from my door to the point where they'll create the opening for me to tell them I'm not interested.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and most times I just don't have the energy or nerve (it takes a surprising amount of effort to look at someone in the eye for a long time) but yeah, it's sometimes worth administering some psychological revenge.

That's awesome. Years ago, when telemarketers would call it would go something like this in my house:

Telemarketer: Hello, can I speak to Mr. Smith.
Me: He died.
Telemarketer:...ummm, can I speak to Mr. Smith.
Me: I said he died. >sniff<
Telemarketer: ... >click<

Worked almost every time.

[XLadylawX]

Originally Posted by Runemaster

That's awesome. Years ago, when telemarketers would call it would go something like this in my house:

Telemarketer: Hello, can I speak to Mr. Smith.
Me: He died.
Telemarketer:...ummm, can I speak to Mr. Smith.
Me: I said he died. >sniff<
Telemarketer: ... >click<

This reminds me of the time when a Spanish speaking telephone solicitor called our non-Spanish speaking house and immediately went into a Spanish sales pitch. My husband stumbled a bit initially and spoke in English. Then the solicitor asked him if he spoke Spanish. My husband, in his perfect 1st semester college Spanish said, "Si, Si. Mi perro se llama Nikki. (My dog's name is Nikki) Mi perro tiene pelo color cafe y negro. (My dog has brown and black hair)"

Then the solicitor again asked if he spoke Spanish my husband said, "Si, si. Mi otro perro se llama Shamus (My other dog's name is Shamus)"

Before he could launch into the color of Shamus' hair, I ran over and hung up the phone and we promptly fell out in fits of laughter. We love to tell that story at parties. It loses something in the written word but if you can envision a sort of Peggy Hill a la King of the Hill accent you will understand.

[Runemaster]

When I lived in LA for a brief time I would answer in mock Spanish. I sounded like I was speaking Spanish, and I was using real Spanish words, but it made no grammatical sense whatsoever. I'd often ask if there were donkeys is good deals, that sorta thing. They'd hang up everytime.

[tongpa-nyi]

Originally Posted by XLadylawX

...if you can envision a sort of Peggy Hill a la King of the Hill accent you will understand.

Perfect! Her competence in Spanish is exactly what's needed in a situation such as you describe.

[Emily2121]

I also bought some art from one of them. Didn't cancel the check though because then I would be the scammer! I was mad at first but have no right to judge someone. I don't think I would go so far to call the police. There are car break ins and people being kidnapped, etc. I'd prefer they concentrate on. We don't need to distract them with this kind of junk. Next time lets all just google something before we buy something at the door. I've also been ripped off by magazine salesmen, but never called the police on them. I bought mine from Shaul Barnea. He didn't tell me the truth, but still was a very nice guy.

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by Emily2121

I also bought some art from one of them. Didn't cancel the check though because then I would be the scammer! I was mad at first but have no right to judge someone. I don't think I would go so far to call the police. There are car break ins and people being kidnapped, etc. I'd prefer they concentrate on. We don't need to distract them with this kind of junk. Next time lets all just google something before we buy something at the door. I've also been ripped off by magazine salesmen, but never called the police on them. I bought mine from Shaul Barnea. He didn't tell me the truth, but still was a very nice guy.

+1 to you. So happy to read your post. People could learn a lot from your attitude! We can't sit around being victims all the time. The more responsibility we take for our own decisions, the stronger people we become. Yeah, sometimes you trust someone and get ripped off, but you learn, and recover. Then you are in a better position next time not to get scammed. Not all life lessons are free!

[Mollicer]

Robert2go are you kidding? You pay $150 for a painting you can get on-line for $40 and your happy? I wish I lived near you...I have some stuff I would like to sell you! I bet you had it framed to! How much extra was that?

[Mollicer]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

Sure about that? Just askin'.

You can but them online for $5.95! Check out Chinese Oil Paintings For Wholesale

[Wendypv]

I had this girl come to my house around dinner time selli.g oil paintings. She claimed she was selling oil paintings for her friend who was an art student. They were nice but she wanted 130 for one I liked. When I told her I did nt appreciate art enough to buy any, she insisted I have it in my home. My dogs were barking like crazy. I had to step out side because they were being so loud. She then said she could call her friend to se e if she could get it cheaper. I almost bought it for 100, but she started asking me if I was the owner . Something told me not to buy it, then I actually drove around the block looking for her because the painting was pretty cool. Then I startedooking online and found so much on these scams. So glad I didnt buy it.

[austinnerd]

Well it may be $6.00 to purchase, but it's also $21 to ship, then who knows how much to frame. Will the total come to $120, probably not, but I don't think it's too far off when you also consider that you get to look at the real deal vs a jpg on a website plus one's time. Plus I'm sure you could easily negotiate them down. In cases like this, paying a middle man fee isn't a huge deal for many as long as it's not too out there.