Please explain this business model / scam to me

I live in "small town USA, " and I'm trying to make sense of the following scenario, which has played itself out in my back yard, at least once each summer, for the last three years:

I'm sitting there watching my kids play on the swing set, and 3-4 teenagers wander into my yard. They introduce themselves as being from Latvia or Estonia or some other eastern European country (their accents sound legit), and inform me they're on a summer work trip to sell textbooks, and...Would I like to buy any text books? Like, textbooks. For school. For, you know, classes I'm not taking. But maybe I have a casual interest in trigonometry. And maybe I'd like to buy a trig book from a Latvian teen who just walked into my yard.

WHAT THE ACTUAL berkeley?

Hey! Here's my business plan...I'm going to fly eastern European teens to the US each summer, drop them off in random podunk towns, and...Here's the brilliant part: They're going to do door-to-door sales of TEXTBOOKS! I mean, everyone wants TEXTBOOKS, AMIRIGHT??? How can we Lose !?!?!

Seriously, can anyone explain what the hell this is all about? I makes ZERO sense. I mean, even if the scam is that there are no books and they just plan to take your money, shouldn't they pretend to peddle something more desirable? I am thoroughly baffled by this.

I thought they were all selling magazine subscriptions. That's what we get here.

Had several through our neighborhood a couple weeks ago. Someone mentioned that one of them asked if they knew who else on the street had children. Then that led to a general panic that they were child abductors looking to traffic children. Took a couple days for the ferver to die down. I thought they were going to get out the pitch forks and torches.

Nick Comstock said:

Had several through our neighborhood a couple weeks ago. Someone mentioned that one of them asked if they knew who else on the street had children. Then that led to a general panic that they were child abductors looking to traffic children. Took a couple days for the ferver to die down. I thought they were going to get out the pitch forks and torches.

Maybe it’s the impending parenthood that has me on high alert, but potential child abduction/human trafficking was my first thought as well. Either that or casing the joint, just because textbooks are nearly the last thing I’d ever think of to sell Door to Door. 

My guess is some Russian gangsters stole a truck or shipping container that was full of textbooks and this is their solution.

Most likely it's someone trying to make a profit off of something like this:

College Textbooks are Cheaper Overseas

Someone, somewhere, probably heard we were buying Trigonometry books for 800 Turkish lira, and ye olde small town want-trepreneur sent a group of local kids who wanted a free trip to the states.

If it does anything to put your mind at ease, I've been up and down the entire eastern bloc, it's totally chill.  These guys are probably nothing more than excited kids who wanted to catch a glimpse of the States.  I'd say "buy em a beer and a burger for me" but they're probably not of "drinking age"...

but if you DO, PM me and I'll pay the tab

In my neck of the woods it's a variation of the mall kiosk scam. These kids come over on tourist visas with the lure of american money. They're set up with whatever to sell (textbooks, dead sea scrub, nintendo) and paid a percentage in cash of whatever they sell. The item in question is usually purchased extremely cheaply (with sites like Alibaba and wish, you can get inventory for like 4 bucks) and they turn around and sell it for a decent markup, but still well under the market price. With the textbook scam, they just move it door to door like magazines, hoping to prey on parents and grandparents that are looking to get the most learning possible for little Johnny. 

I don't know why but I'm having serious dejavu at the first post.

Robbie said:

I don't know why but I'm having serious dejavu at the first post.

 

Ditto, this has come up before

When I was in college, the price of textbooks might have made me talk to them a bit more.

My guess: You are not the one being scammed, the East European youths are.

They have probably bought a complete packaged including travel, accommodation, the books they are supposed to sell, visa fees, etc. The scum selling the package have placed them in some super cheap living quarters and sold them the books at a profit. What success (or not) the youths have in actually selling the books is irrelevant to them, they have already made their money. Actually, if the poor, scammed youths cave in and go home early (because the books are impossible to sell), they increase their profit further since they shorten the time they pay for accommodation.

Hungary Bill said:

Most likely it's someone trying to make a profit off of something like this:

College Textbooks are Cheaper Overseas

 

Someone, somewhere, probably heard we were buying Trigonometry books for 800 Turkish lira, and ye olde small town want-trepreneur sent a group of local kids who wanted a free trip to the states.

If it does anything to put your mind at ease, I've been up and down the entire eastern bloc, it's totally chill.  These guys are probably nothing more than excited kids who wanted to catch a glimpse of the States.  I'd say "buy em a beer and a burger for me" but they're probably not of "drinking age"...

but if you DO, PM me and I'll pay the tab

This, you beat me to it.

You guys make me proud. America isn't all "GIT OFF MA LAWN!"

Appleseed said:

You guys make me proud. America isn't all "GIT OFF MA LAWN!"

We chat with them. I just don't understand what they're doing.

GameboyRMH said:

Hungary Bill said:

Most likely it's someone trying to make a profit off of something like this:

College Textbooks are Cheaper Overseas

 

Someone, somewhere, probably heard we were buying Trigonometry books for 800 Turkish lira, and ye olde small town want-trepreneur sent a group of local kids who wanted a free trip to the states.

If it does anything to put your mind at ease, I've been up and down the entire eastern bloc, it's totally chill.  These guys are probably nothing more than excited kids who wanted to catch a glimpse of the States.  I'd say "buy em a beer and a burger for me" but they're probably not of "drinking age"...

but if you DO, PM me and I'll pay the tab

This, you beat me to it.

But does this explanation work if new groups of kids are being sent year after year? 

It only sorta makes sense if the kids are made to purchase their inventory prior to the trip, but who would do that? How would they predict which books are going to sell and in what quantities? That would be like asking girl scouts to buy their cookies upfront.

I'm still not seeing the angle here.

EDT said:

Robbie said:

I don't know why but I'm having serious dejavu at the first post.

 

Ditto, this has come up before

I hope I didn't start this thread last year. 

JamesMcD said:

But does this explanation work if new groups of kids are being sent year after year? 

 

It only sorta makes sense if the kids are made to purchase their inventory prior to the trip, but who would do that? How would they predict which books are going to sell and in what quantities? That would be like asking girl scouts to buy their cookies upfront.

 

I'm still not seeing the angle here.

I think it does. It's probably groups of kids looking up the books used in local schools, buying them cheap where they came from, and taking a trip to the States to sell them, at least to cover the cost of their trip. What they don't sell in person they can easily sell online, if at reduced profitability due to shipping, payment fees etc, not to mention that selling them online can bring more IP lawyer attention.

JamesMcD said:

EDT said:

Robbie said:

I don't know why but I'm having serious dejavu at the first post.

 

Ditto, this has come up before

 

I hope I didn't start this thread last year. 

Nope, 2 years ago! (I wasnt searching for this, I was searching for something else but found this)

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/latvian-teens-sell-textbooks-door-to-door-in-small/118856/page1/

Robbie said:

JamesMcD said:

EDT said:

Robbie said:

I don't know why but I'm having serious dejavu at the first post.

 

Ditto, this has come up before

 

I hope I didn't start this thread last year. 

Nope, 2 years ago! (I wasnt searching for this, I was searching for something else but found this)

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/latvian-teens-sell-textbooks-door-to-door-in-small/118856/page1/

 

OH my good, too perfect!  Is it Deja Vu if it really did happen before?

Torkel said:

My guess: You are not the one being scammed, the East European youths are.

They have probably bought a complete packaged including travel, accommodation, the books they are supposed to sell, visa fees, etc. The scum selling the package have placed them in some super cheap living quarters and sold them the books at a profit. What success (or not) the youths have in actually selling the books is irrelevant to them, they have already made their money. Actually, if the poor, scammed youths cave in and go home early (because the books are impossible to sell), they increase their profit further since they shorten the time they pay for accommodation.

Exactly THIS. Same with the magazine sales scam. It's those kids that are being scammed and taken advantage of. If you see some "underpriledged youth" selling magazines door to door as part of an "entrepreneur mentorship program" or whatever, and they keep going on about how rough their upbringing was and how this is their ticket to business school, STOP, ask them where their adult is, and call the police. It's quite sad actually.

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/04/trapped-into-selling-magazines-door-to-door/388601/

WilD said:

Robbie said:

JamesMcD said:

EDT said:

Robbie said:

I don't know why but I'm having serious dejavu at the first post.

 

Ditto, this has come up before

 

I hope I didn't start this thread last year. 

Nope, 2 years ago! (I wasnt searching for this, I was searching for something else but found this)

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/latvian-teens-sell-textbooks-door-to-door-in-small/118856/page1/

 

OH my good, too perfect!  Is it Deja Vu if it really did happen before?

Well, that's embarrassing. I probably annoy everyone around me by telling the same stupid stories over and over. 

In reply to JamesMcD :

I’ve been doing that for several years now. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve unknowingly clicked on a zombie thread here only to scroll down & see I’d already posted exactly what I was going to say - yet had zero recollection of it. 

Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. 

maschinenbau said:

Exactly THIS. Same with the magazine sales scam. It's those kids that are being scammed and taken advantage of. If you see some "underpriledged youth" selling magazines door to door as part of an "entrepreneur mentorship program" or whatever, and they keep going on about how rough their upbringing was and how this is their ticket to business school, STOP, ask them where their adult is, and call the police. It's quite sad actually.

I sometimes get the kids selling candy bars in my neighborhood to raise funds for some imaginary nonprofit.  Kind of similar.

SVreX said:

So, did you know that you posted Latka in my previous thread on this subject?