Door-to-door sales may be rare these days, but Meelis Mikiver and Raido Raad are doing just that in the Flathead Valley this summer.

Their efforts, however, have raised concerns about whether they are legitimate.

The 24-year-old Estonians stopped at The Daily Inter Lake this week in hopes of making their presence more public. The pair already checked in and left identification with the Kalispell Police Department when they arrived in June.

Mikiver and Raad are independent contractors for a company called Southwestern Advantage, which recruits and trains college-age students in a sales program to directly sell educational books, software and other instructional materials door to door.

According to the company website, Southwestern Advantage has been in business since 1855 and is currently accredited with the Better Business Bureau.

A Southwestern Advantage representative confirmed Mikiver and Raad were participating in the sales program.

College students such as Mikiver and Raad sell the education materials to raise money for college. Mikiver is studying business management and entrepreneurship at the Estonian Business School. Raad is studying law at the University of Tartu.

Estonia is a country with a population of 1.3 million in the Baltic region of Northern Europe.

They will be in the Flathead through August. They have stayed with a host family in Kila but now are staying at a hotel in Kalispell.

Mikiver and Raad have been the subjects of several inquiries to law enforcement as well as online postings on social media.

This is Mikiver’s fourth year participating in Southwestern Advantage’s sales program and Raad’s first. Before traveling to Montana, they received training in Nashville, Tenn., where Southwestern Advantage is based.

Mikiver said their daily goal is to visit with between 30 to 40 potential customers.

In addition to carrying promotional material for their products, the students have identification badges that they can show potential customers.

If residents are not comfortable talking with a salesman or purchasing products, they can politely ask the salesman to leave, according to Kalispell Police Officer Tim Falkner.

“If they don’t, call the police,” Falkner said.

Falkner said his advice to residents when a door-to-door salesman contacts them is to keep the conversation outside.

“The first thing I would say is that if you don’t know who they are, don’t let them in the house,” Falkner said.

Falkner also added that people should do their own research on a company or products being sold.

“Don’t make a decision right then,” Falkner said. “Take time to do a little research.”

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at [email protected].