How to avoid buying stuff from coworkers

[greentea]

I hate office politics and one of the things that I dislike the most is when coworkers come around and ask you to buy things for their kids' fundraisers. This can end up costing a lot of money over the course of the year, so I have come up with an easy way to still be diplomatic while not having to buy nearly as much.

When a coworker asks me if I will buy something, I say, "Sure, I would love to, but since this is for your child, I need him/her to ask me themselves." I then give my contact number and a time when I can be reached. I guess than maybe 10% of the kids ever contact me directly. I think it's important if the kids are trying to raise money for something that is important to them, that they be the ones asking and not have their parents do all the work for them.

Do you have other effective tricks when coworkers ask you to buy stuff?

[disneysteve]

I just say, "No thanks". They stopped asking a long time ago.

[cardtrick]

"No, thanks" works for me too. We don't have many pushy coworkers who will go around asking. They send out an email, so it's not that hard ignoring them.

[hamchan]

I always offer to take a look at what they have and then say I will think about it. They rarely ask me again. I hated those things as a kid because I was terrified of most adults.

[dawnwes]

My husband makes a blanket statement: I am not buying from your kids and I won't ask you to buy from mine.

The only sales we are supposed to do is Boyscout Popcorn. The boys need to either sell $300 worth OR donate $100. I have three boys in the program. I started a $25/mo ING account last year and it is sitting there waiting for me to "buy out" my sales for the year. My boys will happily give up eating out or some other luxury to avoid selling.

Dawn

[cardtrick]

My husband makes a blanket statement: I am not buying from your kids and I won't ask you to buy from mine.

The only sales we are supposed to do is Boyscout Popcorn. The boys need to either sell $300 worth OR donate $100. I have three boys in the program. I started a $25/mo ING account last year and it is sitting there waiting for me to "buy out" my sales for the year. My boys will happily give up eating out or some other luxury to avoid selling.

Dawn

Probably a good skill to acquire? Selling... I used to sell pens at school. Made enough money in a year to buy a walkman. That was a lot of money when and where I grew up.

[hamchan]

I think there is some psychological difference between being a kid entrepenuer and being coerced into selling **** you don't care about to people you don't know for cash you will never see. My sister used to buy candy at Costco and leave it on the kitchen counter with a box that had a coin slot cut out of it and a sign that said 75 cents. She knew her audience.

[btctony]

I don't think anyone feels negative towards me when I say no at work. I don't have kids, so I'm never asking the same person to buy something from me for the same reason. Maybe if you do have kids, you get into that situation.

However, I usually do take a look at what they are selling. If they are selling something that I think would be a good birthday gift for someone, I'll consider it, as long as it isn't outrageously priced in comparison to what you could get the same thing for somewhere else. As much as I hate to say it, most of what kids are selling for a fundraiser is overpriced.

I agree with the other responses though. After you say no to the same person a couple of times, they usually stop asking. I just don't feel that anyone feels negative towards me due to the fact that I rarely ever buy anything in those situations. They should be the ones feeling like they are inconveniencing me, just by asking.

If you care enough about the cause/organization and figure this kind of stuff into a category of your monthly budget, go for it.

[disneysteve]

If you care enough about the cause/organization and figure this kind of stuff into a category of your monthly budget, go for it.

Actually, what we've done for our own kid rather than buying overpriced crap we didn't want was to just make a cash donation. Rather than buying a $10 box of candy that is $5 in the store, we just gave a $5 donation.

[TBH]

When a coworker asks me if I will buy something, I say, "Sure, I would love to, but since this is for your child, I need him/her to ask me themselves." I then give my contact number and a time when I can be reached. I guess than maybe 10% of the kids ever contact me directly. I think it's important if the kids are trying to raise money for something that is important to them, that they be the ones asking and not have their parents do all the work for them.

Love this!

I got annoyed a couple years ago about all the parents selling girl scout cookies. Now at the start of cookie season I tell everyone that I will buy cookies from the first actual girl scout who asks me herself. I have one extremely enterprising friend who drives her child to my house on the first afternoon of cookie sales. I buy the cookies directly from the kid. I get to support an organization I believe in, I get to eat nostalgic cookies from my childhood, and my friend's daughter gets experience dealing with a client that will help her when she starts looking for her first job. Win-win-win.

[dawnwes]

Yeah, there are other things I am happy to sell.

My boys spent about 30 hours each on three separate yardsales to raise money and were more than willing to sell there, and do some really hard labor to boot. They earned quite a bit to cover their backpacking equipment.

But the wrapping paper, popcorn, etc.....sales are just not to our liking.

Dawn

Probably a good skill to acquire? Selling... I used to sell pens at school. Made enough money in a year to buy a walkman. That was a lot of money when and where I grew up.

[bjl584]

I hate office politics and one of the things that I dislike the most is when coworkers come around and ask you to buy things for their kids' fundraisers. This can end up costing a lot of money over the course of the year, so I have come up with an easy way to still be diplomatic while not having to buy nearly as much.

When a coworker asks me if I will buy something, I say, "Sure, I would love to, but since this is for your child, I need him/her to ask me themselves." I then give my contact number and a time when I can be reached. I guess than maybe 10% of the kids ever contact me directly. I think it's important if the kids are trying to raise money for something that is important to them, that they be the ones asking and not have their parents do all the work for them.

Do you have other effective tricks when coworkers ask you to buy stuff?

Luckily, Human Resources where I work stopped this type of "high pressure" selling from coworkers a long time ago. All of this type of stuff sits at the front receptionist desk. You are allowed to send out an email to everyone stating that your son/daughter is selling 9insert product here) and that the sign up sheet and catalog is located at the front desk. You have until (insert date here) to sign up and pay if you wish to buy something. It may be worth it for you to have a talk with your HR manager and see if you can't have something similar implemented.

[disneysteve]

Luckily, Human Resources where I work stopped this type of "high pressure" selling from coworkers a long time ago. All of this type of stuff sits at the front receptionist desk. You are allowed to send out an email to everyone stating that your son/daughter is selling 9insert product here) and that the sign up sheet and catalog is located at the front desk. You have until (insert date here) to sign up and pay if you wish to buy something. It may be worth it for you to have a talk with your HR manager and see if you can't have something similar implemented.

At my sister-in-law's job, there is a big bulletin board in the break room. Everyone is free to post their fundraiser sheets and that's it. If you're interested, you sign up. If not, you don't. No pressure. No need to say no to anyone.

[cschin4]

At my job, most people just lay a catalog or order sheet in the lunch room. No direct face to face pressure. If you want something you can order or not. But, just say No Thanks and don't explain why. I have found that the more direct you are and the less you explain, the easier it gets.

[NetSkyBlue]

At my job, most people just lay a catalog or order sheet in the lunch room. No direct face to face pressure. If you want something you can order or not. But, just say No Thanks and don't explain why. I have found that the more direct you are and the less you explain, the easier it gets.

That's how it is at my work, too. I'd be really taken aback if I were put on the spot and directly asked to buy something!

The only thing I ever do buy is Girl Scout cookies, because...yum! The other order sheets maybe get 2 or 3 orders, but the Girl Scout order sheets are practically fought over.