Latvian Teens Sell Textbooks Door-To-Door In Small-Town USA...WTF?

My wife was sitting in our back yard, watching the kids play on our climber, when a couple of teenagers emerged from the alley behind our house and approached her. They explained (with foreign accents) that they were from Latvia, and had traveled to the US on some sort of special jobs program in order to sell textbooks door-to-door.

So...Somehow they ended up in Mascoutah, IL, population 7,000 and home to Scott Air Force Base. And they are supposed to randomly walk through town, knocking on doors and approaching people, in hopes that someone will want to purchase...Textbooks?!?!

THEY CAME FROM LATVIA TO SELL TEXTBOOKS TO MIDDLE-AMERICA!

Like, "Gee, I've been thinking of going back to community college to get my bookkeeping certificate. But rather than purchase the books proscribed by my syllabus, I think I'll buy some from these friendly Latvian youngsters..."

Can anyone make any sense of this? Has anyone heard of this before? Who is making money from this, and how? I am baffled.

Its entirely possible theyre there on travel visas and are just trying to make a quick buck. Its like all the weirdos with the kiosks at the mall. Paid in cash, under the table. Usually eastern bloc. No one sells E36 M3 door to door anymore, unless its suspect.

And very likely they have a- no idea what they're actually sellimg and are making E36 M3 up as they go and b- those textbooks are....compromised at best. Someone bought a load of knockoff books from china and is moving them along to 'mericans who want ro get their learn on.

The rest of the world really does think we're idiots.

They are casing the place.
Your wife saw 2. Where was 3 & 4?

Well, the rest of the world also doesn't necessarily abide by US copyright and intellectual property law. I have a friend from an Asian country who would purchase "legal" copies of textbooks for pennies on the dollar when traveling back home. Meaning $200 textbooks here were $30 back home.

JohnRW1621 wrote: They are casing the place. Your wife saw 2. Where was 3 & 4?

This..

You're in a nice community. I'd recommend picking up the phone, even well after the fact, and report a suspicious person.
True, it could have been nothing but let the cops decided that. Pointing it out may give the cops another dot or sighting while they try to connect all the dots.

That happened to us a few years ago. The kid was selling educational children's books for summer income. The books weren't bad and the company seemed legit, so we bought some. In hindsight, the only reason we shouldn't have at the time is that the books weren't quite age appropriate for the kids then.

They can buy those books 100% legally for pennies on the dollar, because textbooks are more expensive in wealthier countries simply because buyers can pay more (so much for all that "supply and demand" stuff - "what the market will bear" is king). Selling foreign bought books is actually not clearly legal thanks to asinine, publisher-pleasing IP laws. It's a gray area to buy a book in Latvia and sell it in the US.

The books are actually little transformer droids that will activate upon receiving a remote signal and kill you in your sleep. I just read about this. Or dreamed it. Whoa. My keyboard just turned into the back of an alligator, and all the bumps and ridges have letters and numbers on them. Cool!

Colporteur work is actually more common that you think.

GameboyRMH wrote: They can buy those books 100% legally for pennies on the dollar, because textbooks are more expensive in wealthier countries simply because buyers can pay more (so much for all that "supply and demand" stuff - "what the market will bear" is king).

That's actually how "supply and demand" works. "What the market will bear" is just another way of saying it. There's a greater money supply available in the US, so prices are accordingly higher.

I "know" a Latvian guy (Subaru-centric forum) whose younger brother did the door to door sales thing several years ago. He was in Florida for a few months. When he did it it was legit but definitely not profitable.

Who the hell buys textbooks?

In reply to spitfirebill:

I wouldn't mind a new set of World Book Encyclopedias. My current set still shows Kennedy as being alive.

I'll buy everything the neighborhood kids sell. I've asked, and offended some kids if they live in my 'hood and I pass on their stuff which is usually some magazine or newspaper subscription.

The ones in my area are felons from other areas that give a wrap about being troubled youth trying to make money. Is it coincidence that after they are seen in an area we get a rash of burglaries in the same neighborhood, I think not.

The county north of me has started going after the ringleaders of some of these groups of young people with human trafficking laws. Their MO is to collect "troubled youth" and runaways from around the country on their way and put them up in hotels (several to a room). If they refuse to sell, they get left in the city they just happen to be in. There has also been allegations of the females being raped and also left in cities if they refuse to go along with the rape.

For those reasons, I open the door to make sure they know I'm home. Then I tell them to get out of the neighborhood before I call the local smokies. Then call them anyway.

Was one of them named Latka?

HunterBenz wrote: The ones in my area are felons from other areas that give a wrap about being troubled youth trying to make money. Is it coincidence that after they are seen in an area we get a rash of burglaries in the same neighborhood, I think not. The county north of me has started going after the ringleaders of some of these groups of young people with human trafficking laws. Their MO is to collect "troubled youth" and runaways from around the country on their way and put them up in hotels (several to a room). If they refuse to sell, they get left in the city they just happen to be in. There has also been allegations of the females being raped and also left in cities if they refuse to go along with the rape. For those reasons, I open the door to make sure they know I'm home. Then I tell them to get out of the neighborhood before I call the local smokies. Then call them anyway.

That scam got run past me as kids selling magazines. Woman ended up in jail some time later for check fraud.

Wall-e wrote: In reply to spitfirebill: I wouldn't mind a new set of World Book Encyclopedias. My current set still shows Kennedy as being alive.

LOL. We still had some my mother gave me that was from before man went into space. I had to fight with my wife to dispose of them, and some later ones we got when we had chilluns.

We used to get the magic enzyme cleaner salesmen. 60 Minutes did an expose many years ago. The managers get these kids to work and charge them room, board and transport. They end up owing more money than they make. A modern form of indentured servitude.

I had some high school kid show up here selling some pyramid scheme amway-like junk with a pity story about college money. I offered him $100 cash to finish digging out my flower beds and wheelbarrow the dirt into the woods because I was already sore and tired. He turned it down. $100 for 2hrs work. After pleading for me to buy $20 worth of E36 M3 I don't need. Dumbass.

Couple years ago I was grilling on the back deck and a kid (teenager) came into the back yard to ask me if I had any odd jobs that needed doing for $15 since he needed the money for a class trip.

I had him wash the Suburban, gave him $20, a cheeseburger and a Coke.

KyAllroad wrote: Couple years ago I was grilling on the back deck and a kid (teenager) came into the back yard to ask me if I had any odd jobs that needed doing for $15 since he needed the money for a class trip. I had him wash the Suburban, gave him $20, a cheeseburger and a Coke.

We had a couple kids come knock on our door on a snow day to shovel for us. We gave them $20 each and my wife made them hot chocolate.

Now that it is summer and the lawn needs mowed they are nowhere to be seen. Damn kids.

spitfirebill wrote: Who the hell buys textbooks?

Public Schools.

One of my co-workers told me about his brother-in-law who washed out of the Police Academy when his background check revealed a prior allegation of spousal abuse. After getting washed out, he stumbled into a job selling text books to the Los Angeles Unified School District as he was friends with the guy the previously had the territory and was retiring.

Anyway, my co-worker does his brother-in-laws taxes and told me he was pulling down almost 400K per year just greasing principles & taking orders.

I hate to be cynical but all the “please give to the schools – it’s for the children” stuff is absolutely infuriating once you’ve gotten a rare opportunity to peer behind the curtain and see the epic squandering of money that takes place.