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linked from Magazine Sales Scams 

Purchasing a magazine subscription from a person who comes to your door poses several risks. While there is a risk that you may not get what you paid for or you may pay too much, the more serious risk is to your personal safety.

But buying magazines from some adolescent who comes knocking on your door isn't just a bad situation for you, it's bad for the person trying to do the selling as well. These kids (frequently under age 16) have been lured by the possibility of earning money while having the chance to "see the world."

The truth is that for the long hours they work, they see very little of the money they are supposedly earning. They are instructed to make up stories about earning money for their education or saying that the money will go for some charitable cause, they can't appreciate the risk they take every time they knock on a door, and the nights spent at the cheapest motel around are most likely to be unpleasant if not unsafe.

If one of these kids comes knocking at your door, the biggest favor you can do them is to offer to call their parents for them, because they are probably sick and tired of pounding the pavement with very little reward.

The clearing house defends itself by claiming that the people who do the sales and send in the completed orders are independent agents and are not employed or directed by the clearing house. But the clearing houses have made a conscious decision to do business with the people running these sales crews, if they are not in fact arranging the whole operation.

It's not clear if the hands of the publishers are completely clean either. While publishers will certainly try to distance themselves from any questionable operations, publishers know that youth field sales can boost their circulation in a way that can be much more effective than a legitimate direct mail solicitation.

Nevertheless, the clearing house knows what's really going on and is the party most directly responsible for luring young people into this activity.

• Youth Field Sales Crew Legislation In Wisconsin 

• Parent Watch
• Mag Crew
• Dedicated Memorial
• Traveling Sales Crews
• Womens Clubs Child Sales Alert 

media reports

• Youth Field Sales Clovis Police Blotter 
• Youth Field Sales Langford Assault 
• Youth Field Sales Modus Operandi 
• Channel 3000 (3/25/1999): Crash prompts warnings about subscription company: http://www.channel3000.com/news/consumer_news/onyourside/news-consumer-onyourside-990325-184224.html [Wayback archive]
• Dodge Globe (3/26/1999): Six killed in crash of van carrying magazine sellers: http://www.dodgeglobe.com/stories/032699/new_0326990022.shtml
• Morning Sun (3/28/1999): Driver remains jailed after van crash kills seven: http://www.morningsun.net/stories/032899/usw_0328990065.shtml
• Times Record News (3/31/1999): Magazine companies under investigation: http://www.trnonline.com/archives/1999archives/03311999/magazine.htm [Wayback archive]
• Dodge Globe (4/1/1999): Driver in Wisconsin van crash stands mute: http://www.dodgeglobe.com/stories/040199/new_0401990013.shtml
• Jefferson City News-Tribune (6/12/1999): Van Driver Sentenced: http://www.newstribune.com/stories/061299/wor_0612990061.asp [Wayback archive]
• Daily Ardmoreite (7/2/1999): Subscriptions Plus Settles Case: http://www.ardmoreite.com/stories/070299/new_subs.shtml
• Redding Record Searchlight (2/10/2000): Driver Cited Before Fatal Crash: http://www.redding.com/newsarchive/20000210_01.shtml [Wayback archive]
• Quad-City Times (11/3/2000): Magazine busines owner sentenced for DWI deaths: http://www.qctimes.com/rednews/2000/11/03/build/gatelocal/FOWI.html
• Louisville Courier-Journal (6/13/2001): Solicitor for Interstate Subscription Service charged with attempted murder of 27-year-old woman
• Quad-City Times (5/16/2002): Magazine Company Sued in Crew Van Crash: http://www.qctimes.com/rednews/2002/05/16/build/state/story92.html
• Quad-City Times (5/19/2002): Magazine sales company found guilty: http://www.qctimes.com/rednews/2000/05/19/build/local/STORY1.html
• Quad-City Times (7/18/2002): Magazine scam suspect faces tax debt
• Fulton Daily News (7/29/2002): Magazine sales company settles with family of murdered woman for $1 million: http://www.fultondailynews.com/html/8532.asp
• Fulton Daily News (7/29/2002): Traveling sales companies should check worker backgrounds: http://www.fultondailynews.com/content/2002/072902/073002cooper_backgroundchecks.shtml
• Oswego Daily News (7/29/2002): Cooper's Family Wants Traveling Sales Industry To Check Workers' Backgrounds: http://www.oswegodailynews.com/content/2002/072902/073002cooper_doortodoorsales.shtml [Wayback archive]
• Florida Times-Union (7/29/2002): Magazine pays $1 million to settle murder lawsuit: http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/apnews/stories/072902/D7L2QA5G2.html

more news articles about 1999 Subscriptions Plus van crash

archive search

• Beloit Daily News: http://www.beloitdailynews.com/shared-content/search/index.php?search=advanced

more reports

• California State University (5/4/1999): Door-to-Door Sales, Tactics Scrutinized: http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/spring99/v6n114-sales.html
• Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (7/22/1999): Company fined for labor law violations: http://www.dwd.state.wi.us/dwd/newsreleases/1999/34da_536.htm
• Wisconsin Professional Police Association: Traveling Magazine Sales Crews Endanger Children: www.wppa.com/Oldarticles/attgentravMag.htm [Wayback archive]
• University of Iowa (10/26/2000): http://www.uiowa.edu/~ournews/2000/october/1026magazine_scam.html
• University of Nevada (12/15/2000): http://www.unlv.edu/News_Bureau/News_Releases/2000/Dec00/606.html
• Wyoming Attorney General (10/11/2001): Attorney General Secures Refunds for Magazine Subscribers: http://attorneygeneral.state.wy.us/CPU1PR101101.pdf [pdf]
• Wisconsin Department of Consumer Protection (5/24/2002): Door to door magazine sellers arrested: http://datcp.state.wi.us/press_release/result.jsp?prid=1074
• Fort Hood Legal Assistance Office: http://pao.hood.army.mil/corpssja/scams.htm [Wayback archive]
• Bexar County (TX) Sheriff's Office: http://www.co.bexar.tx.us/BCsheriff/scams1.htm
• http://www.2scamu.com/submits13.html
• Illinois Attorney General (5/15/2002): Circulation I, Circulation II charged in magazine sales scam: http://www.ag.state.il.us/pressrelease/051502.htm [Wayback archive]
• Emporia State University Emporian (9/5/2002): Students plagued by solicitors: www.esubulletin.com/090502/N_Solicitors.html [Wayback archive]
• National Consumer League: Teens and Unsafe Work: http://nclnet.org/childlabor/jobreport.htm#traveling
• Door-to-door industry has few regulations: Youth Field Sales Alert Knox News 20040104 
• Traveling Sales Crews Alarm Law Enforcement: Youth Field Sales Alert Naples Daily News 20040104 
• Usefulness of Door-to-Door Salesmen Registry Debated: Youth Field Sales Alert Tennessean 20040106 

the Clearing Houses

• All Star Promotions 
• Atlantic Circulation Inc 
• American Community Services 
• Chapel Sales 
• Fidelity Reader Service 
• Great Lakes Circulation 
• Hoosier Magazines Subscription Service 
• Intercontinental Subscription Service 
• Integrity Sales Llc 
• Interstate Subscription Service 
• Magazine Fulfillment Corporation 
• Mountain Subscriptions 
• National Community Clearing 
• National Publishers Exchange 
• New River Subscription Services 
• Pacific Coast Clearing Services 
• Palmetto Marketing 
• Paragon Marketing 
• Publishers Certified Service 
• Publishers Consulting Corporation 
• United Family Circulation 
• World Wide Circulation 
• Worldwide Readers Service 
• Xtreme Marketing 

the trade group

• National Field Selling Association 

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