Complaints Resound Against Door-To-Door Sales in Oneonta, NY

If you live in Oneonta, you may have been visited by an number of Sales Representatives selling anything from cleaning products to educational tools.  Many people have been complaining to the Oneonta City Clerk's office and on the Oneonta Police Department's Facebook page about this. Here's the response from Oneonta City Clerk Doug Kendall as to why door-to-door solicitation is allowed:

Sales canvasses such as those undertaken by out-of-state companies including the Southwestern Company and T & B Sales are exempt from local permitting under the Interstate Commerce clause of the Constitution. The City does not have the power to permit or prevent their activities and receives no fees from these firms. For many years, the City Clerk’s office has issued letters to such canvassers to give residents an avenue for complaints/comments through the City Clerk’s office. The City Clerk’s Office and the Police Department have copies of identification for all canvassers. If residents suspect any laws are being broken, they should contact the Oneonta Police.

So, at least for now, it would seem we have to put up with this.  So far this Summer, I've had one solicitation attempt at my house that I know of.

My husband was approached on the sidewalk to our house as he was carrying several bags of groceries, and simply told the young woman trying to sell him educational products, that he was definitely not interested.

I am surprised she even bothered trying to sell him something after seeing that he was clearly busy. Did she really think that he would just drop the groceries right there and say, "Of course!  I would LOVE to check out your products"?  Has common sense gone completely out the window?  It sure seems that way.

I've also heard of sales people coming to houses just before 9pm.  Do they really think someone's going to be loose with their wallet when their favorite TV show is interrupted?  They're more likely to get chased away by the family's dog.

If you hate the idea of sales people coming to your home as much as I do, then send in a complaint letter targeting the sales company represented by the solicitor to the Oneonta City Clerk's office so that they can forwarded to the company in question.  It seems like the only way to potentially stop door-to-door sales in Oneonta.