Summer is the high season for door-to-door sales of everything from magazines to meat, alarm monitoring services to driveway repaving. Representatives will soon be ringing doorbells and peddling products in neighborhoods throughout the Southern Piedmont. While many of these companies are reputable, a few are not.

The BBB has tips for how you can shop at your front door without being scammed.

Out of all of the products sold door-to-door, magazine sales generate the most BBB complaints. “Some of these companies are legitimate,” said BBB President Tom Bartholomy, “but other companies have generated so many complaints that the BBB has labeled door-to-door magazine sales as a ‘highly-suspect’ industry.”

In the last 36 months, consumers have filed 92 complaints against local magazine sales operations. Charlotte-based Generations Making Differences (BBB grade F) has had 20 complaints filed against it, of which five are unanswered.

The Mecklenburg County Tax Collector is reminding business owners that their annual privilege license must be renewed on or before July 1, to avoid paying a penalty. Notices will be mailed May 28 through 30 to approximately 39,600 business owners in the County.

Most businesses operating in Mecklenburg County are required to obtain a privilege license. That includes businesses that are home-based, sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies, corporations, and those who have full-time and part-time operations.

For select nonprofit charities, it will be like Christmas, whether it comes in May, August, or December.