A friend of mine had a proper scam going once...
He once "acquired" a box of those surge protector strips. Big ol' box too, had loads of them in. He tried to shift 'em on the market, but they weren't going for much and weren't selling well.

So he had a top class idea.

He started selling 'em door to door.

But not as surge protector strips. He was selling them as electricity purifiers.

He even bought a label maker and added a fake brand onto each one.

Instead of selling 'em 50p a throw on the Market, he was getting twenty five quid each for 'em because he claimed:

"This device is designed to use electrostatic super conduction to strip away impure electrons from your electrical current. The large volume of impure electrons delivered by the power company is the primary cause of appliance and device failure and degradation in the UK. These electricity purifiers are guaranteed to double the life expectancy of your electrical equipment while having no affect on their daily performance."

Most people laughed in his face and told him to fuck off, but the law of averages stated that he would find plenty of idiots just by walking down a few streets and knocking on a few doors.

He had 'em all flogged in three days and ended up with nearly a grand in his pocket.
( MarkyH feels like the H in Bob Hoskins' name, Sun 18 Feb 2007, 5:00, Reply)