I love smc. They have helped me make my life so much better. Many thanks to the smc crew, you guys rock!

we had people come to our door (after dark)
in the evenings leading up to recent election. ignoring our "no soliciting" sign & asking for money, claiming to be from the dnc.

for sure these people were not authorized to
collect money for "obama" as they put it.
they are con artists. be very careful who you let
inside your home.

I didn't see any human spammers out there today, except for the LA Fitness table.

If it's for kids, I tell em I hate kids. If it's for African kids, I tell em I hate African kids... etc. etc.

Works every time

since when are bums interested on REAL change? All they want is your change and then peddle you some socialist non sense.

I've always had good experience with the Real Change folks with one exception. One evening last winter I was over in Wallingford and it was pretty cold. I bought the Real Change guy a coffee along with my regular groceries and he yelled at me that he could get his coffee for free at the shelter and he really needed my money.

Sheesh, I was trying to be nice and I felt bad because I didn't have any cash.

This is why the iPod is the greatest invention ever. "oh what? Can't hear you."

Real Change is the least obnoxious and you tend to see the same folks at the same places. As far as the other people standing around with clipboard, I just don't respond to them and keep walking, saves us both time.

I second the Real Change comment. I have no problem with those guys at all. They've always been respectful as far as my experience.

Gooner's reply is great! Some of the people by the market are overly aggressive. One Real Change guy is very friendly and polite. I've heard that they can legally be within a certain distance from a store door and the store cannot deny them being there. Still-the other day I saw three people by both entries to the Ballard Market-that was a bit much.

The gal that sings at the Ballard Market is bad for business. It's great that she feel inspired to croon but it is an invasion of privacy. Sing somewhere else or shut up and beg.

I like gooner's idea the best. Brilliant!

E.S.

that's exactly what i do. i ask for a website so i can research on my clock. and if they say they need the signature now and can't come back, there's your answer. reminds me of a car salesman. at least my experience w/them that is. not to generalize and offend somebody.

Wow, you guy's time is so important, I'm surprised that you have time to even blog during the day!

The most annoying are people on EVERY CORNER downtown from the ACLU or Greenpeace harrassing me everytime I go past.

They are worse than the crackhead beggers!

If the cause appeals to me, I will quickly take a flyer or jot down a name or website. I explicitly tell these people that I don't give out money or my signature to organizations I know nothing about or to people I don't know, and go on my way. No nastyness, just simple street smarts and common sense.

90% of the time, I find that the organizations in question have a CEO that could stand to donate 90% of their salary to their own cause (and still afford that mini cooper), or have some wierd messed up agenda that I have no interest in furthering. :-)

Actually, here's the relevant SMC for door-to-door solicitors, which states that it is indeed illegal for peddlers to knock at doors with "no soliciting" signs. But, again, it's reasonable to assume charities, political canvassers, and census-takers are exempt.

@Clamster: In the context of phone calls, WA defines commercial solicitation as "the unsolicited initiation of a telephone conversation for the purpose of encouraging a person to purchase property, goods, or services." Charities, census-takers, and pollsters are all clearly exempt from that definition.

I can't find any relevant RCW's for in-person solicitation, likely 'cause they don't exist. There are, however, various SCOTUS rulings exempting political & religious "solicitors" from anti-solicitation laws, such as this one.

Just tell them to scram and get over it.

We had our front stairs, newly stained, blocked off with bright rope and a sign saying not to step on them as they were wet. We had a solicitor knock on our door that night and when I pointed out the huge sign asking people not to stop on the stairs she said "oh, i checked and it seems dry." I was annoyed.

Solicit:
Etymology: Middle English, to disturb, promote, from Anglo-French solliciter, from Latin sollicitare to disturb, from sollicitus anxious, from sollus whole (from Oscan; akin to Greek holos whole) + citus, past participle of ciēre to move — more at safe, -kinesis
Date: 15th century

transitive verb
1 a: to make petition to : entreat
b: to approach with a request or plea
2: to urge (as one's cause) strongly
4: to try to obtain by usually urgent requests or pleas

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So, explain again how the door-to-door political interests are not soliciting. It seems to me that by definition, that's EXACTLY what they're doing and if someone has a "No Soliciting" sign on their door they should get a clue and not bother the resident.

Yes, political speech is exempt from the Do Not Call list.

Technically, it is exempt from "No Solicitation" signs, too, because it's not really solicitation. But sometimes the intention is to not have people knock on their door at all, as opposed to not be solicited. So, it's sort of a gray area.

Workethic - "Most people know walking down Broadway is really more of a game to count how many times complete strangers will ask you a question."

That should be a drinking game!

It's kind of unfortunate, really. Canvassers are out there, raising money (most of the time) for really good causes. I've known my fair share of canvassers, and let me tell you, the bottom line is not the cause. The whole system is based on quota, and that's how they get paid. So if the underlying drive behind gay rights, saving darfur, or ending the war in iraq is a paycheck, I think there is a conflict of interest. I think a lot of people REALLY hate canvassers on capitol hill. Most people know walking down Broadway is really more of a game to count how many times complete strangers will ask you a question. Excuse me sir do you smoke? Excuse me sir do you have thirteen cents? Excuse me sir can you spare three minutes of your time to save the world? Canvassing is like a weird gray area of good and bad.

I wish my no soliciting sign worked for us, but it hasn't.

i find that a simple "sorry, i don't speak english" makes them pause just long enough for me to walk away before they understand what is going on. it makes for some funny looks on their face too. ,

Kim, You can always put a sign on your door that says "Please don't knock, baby sleeping."

It doesnt matter if you don't have a baby, the person who knocks anyway can get an earful.

And, yes, I've been detained too. I've told them I have an appointment and they tell me how long it will take them. Look buddy, if I am half jogging down Market because I am late, it doesnt matter that it will only take a minute of my time!

I don't mind them as long as they don't try to detain me. Unfortunately, several times as either I or my husband was carrying a large and heavy CSA box, they would step in front of us and attempt to engage us. That I do not like. If I'm carrying something heavy, I don't want to be bothered.

i was told by campaigners that they're not considered solicitors and their exempt. any truth to that? the same reason why they don't have to honor the do not call list.

A No Soliciting sign on our front door has solved the problem of door-to-door spammers.

I went to one of those paint your pottery places and made one that looks nice, but still gets the message across.

I've watched them knock on my neighbors doors, walk up to my stairs, look on the door, then turn around.

My current favorite is the "Save the Children" folks who approach me when i am walking with my 10 month old, down Market. My response "I am trying to save this one." Theirs? "It's only a few dollars a day?" FFS. A few dollars a day is a good chunk of my grocery budget.

Hate, hate, hate the human spammers.

meh...its annoying but they have a right to be that way...what i really hate are those people at mall kiosks trying to attack me with their flat-irons or lotion..they should be sent to a place far away

While it is easy to say "No, thanks", after being approached over and over, it just gets old. I might actually want to talk to the person I'm with, or look at the veggies...

Agreed, Elttaes - flyers on my car is an automatic note to self to avoid their business. Reward them for littering? Nope.

If I get one more f-ing LA Fitness flyer on my car....