Ha-Ha, Sucker!

So, I have been had. Yes, I was suckered into buying something I didn't really want by a door-to-door salesman. All right, so there's a story. A couple of days ago, a nice young man (I sound like my Grandma) knocked on my door. He had official Springville City badges around his neck -- Springville makes you do that to be a legitimate solicitor. With his Scottish accent he introduced himself as a student who is going around the neighborhood and sitting down with parents to give them educational activities (such as language) for their children. Well, I was confused. I couldn't tell he was a solicitor, and I assumed he was from the school district -- he mentioned student, I assumed BYU, and he mentioned language, I assumed he was here to do some student assignment. In other words, I'm an idiot. And then in my confusion, I committed the ultimate sin: I let him in my home.

His first order of business was to hand me a list of people in my neighborhood "that I might know" and that have also tried these activities. Okay, a list of testimonials, and surprise, surprise, I didn't know ANYONE! Well, he handed me a flier with the books and the software for kids. He kept using the term "guys" to refer to children and kids. He'd say things like "The guys like this stuff, ya?" and "The guys can learn math skills and how to read. Pretty cool, ya?" I kept thinking, "I have ONE 'guy', and he's only 3!" So, you could buy the 4 books for $99.99 (I think) or the CD ROMS for $69.99 or all of them together for just $150.00. Well, I ended up buying the six CD ROMS for $80 (after taxes and shipping). He let me pay him half, and he said I could pay the rest of the balance when he delivered them in September.

Within minutes I had the symptoms of "Buyers Remorse" badly. How was I supposed to tell Matt that I was suckered into buying something not worth its price from a solicitor! He would be so embarrassed. I went online to their website and learned all about the company and their student-internship program. Well, I talked to a couple of friends, and eventually told Matt that evening. Then next day I got a phone call from a friend and previous employer (she owns/runs a private preschool). She told me she saw my name on the list and then told me I can get a much better deal on similar products from Scholastic. Of course, I should have remembered that -- I was once a school teacher who used their book orders ALL of the time! Needless to say, I felt even dumber.

Well, I decided to cancel my order. I took the cancellation slip and mailed the letter and paid for it to be certified through the Post Office. That way I can receive a confirmation that someone picked up the letter. Hopefully, I'll get my money back, and if I don't, I'll pay the remaining balance and get some overpriced software. At least I've learned my lesson well. Now I just need to hope he doesn't remember what was in our house and come back and rob us. Oh, and ask my landlord for a peep-hole so I can see who's knocking on our door before answering it. Not that they wouldn't know I'm home -- Jackson yells in our stairwell as we answer the door, but at least I'd have fair warning to know's on the other side!