Ethics of buying from a kid

[coxfan]

Thanks to all for your comments. I'm personally uncomfortable trading with 12-year-olds without parents' okay.

I will point out that the Gamecocks's national championship this year made that HR ball worth a lot more than $20 to a lot of gamecock fans. College baseball is big in the SEC and ACC, where the crowds and spirit-level exceed those of most minor-league professional teams. Considering that nearly 300 Division I schools have baseball teams, but only one wins the national title, a HR ball from a national champion would be a rare and virtually priceless artifact to a lot of that team's fans.

[34swtns]

He's probably the same guy that goes to Toys r us in the morning and runs to the Hot Wheels and Mcfarlane sections.....

In which case he's probably wasting his time. The employees pick through that stuff and take the "chase" items before they ever hit the shelves at all the stores in my area. They know what to look for and what it's worth.

[treant985]

I guess going to the parents can't hurt, but I can't count how many times I've gone to games where parents are making their little kids go to the dugout to ask for cracked bats....which the kid doesn't want, but the dad sure does.

I've bought some bats from people who are about 17yrs old. At that age, I don't feel bad if I get a good deal on the item. These people are old enough to get a drivers license (notice I didn't say old enough to actually "drive"). But I usually let them set the first price, so that way I'm not unduly influencing them if I start with a lowball offer.

All I can say is that if people hadn't dealt with me when I was 12 yrs old and buying basketball cards, I never would've gotten into collecting. Even when you're 12, you learn real fast which people you can trust.

[treant985]

In which case he's probably wasting his time. The employees pick through that stuff and take the "chase" items before they ever hit the shelves at all the stores in my area. They know what to look for and what it's worth.

Did you just self-identify as 'that guy' who goes to toys r us in the mornings to get hot wheels?

[trsent]

He's probably the same guy that goes to Toys r us in the morning and runs to the Hot Wheels and Mcfarlane sections.

I know that guy! Every morning for 15-20 years he is at Target when they open their doors. Now get this, he won't sell any of his findings. He bought like 50 Hot Wheels for $8.00 each, told me they are going for $50.00 each on eBay. I said why don't you sell 25 and the other half are free and profit. He didn't like that idea. He thinks they will be worth more down the road.

Most everything he has had has gone down in value down the road, and the funny catch is the guy is always broke! Go figure.

This thread reminded me of when I used to set up at card shows and there was this dealer's kid that would go around and try to trade with other dealers. On more than one occassion, I saw the kid's dad go storming to the dealer that the kid traded with and demand the cards back. Us dealers use to say that it was really the dealer's cards but that another subject in itself.

I think legally you cannot trade with a minor and you can be forced to return the trade (money for goods and vice versa). I know of some dealers who at least ask the kid if he get his dad's permission before pawning off his unwanted cards. Personally, I told the kid no thanks for his offer to trade.

In your example, personally I think its unethical for the transaction to occur. To me, whether he got fair value is the transaction is not the point. It's the behavior of an adult who feels its acceptable to negotiate with a kid that is wrong. I think the best thing for the man to do is to ask the parent first before asking the child. I can see this being a difficult and uncomfortable situation for a kid. I would be upset with any man who offered money to my kid without my knowledge.

As a former sports card store owner I can clearly tell you that if you buy/trade with a minor, the parents have legal rights to void the contract as you cannot enter into a contract with a minor.

Buying or selling or trading with a minor, this is a risk all merchants take but it is also when common sense has to be used.

[Chris78]

As a former sports card store owner I can clearly tell you that if you buy/trade with a minor, the parents have legal rights to void the contract as you cannot enter into a contract with a minor.

Buying or selling or trading with a minor, this is a risk all merchants take but it is also when common sense has to be used.

I remember back when I was that age that I had bought at baseball card shows. Some dealers sold to me while others may have wanted a parent. However, the real reason why I may have gotten my father would be to help "deal" with the dealer depending on the situation. My father told me then that sometimes you may not have to pay that price and he was normally correct. A dealer is more likely to "deal" with an adult then with a kid.

As far as with the situation mentioned with the college ball for $20, it would probably be a good topic for a college business classroom discussion. You could add info to it (i.e. middle aged man was player's father, 10-11 year old wanted a cracked bat from team store that was $20) to see how people's opinions would change on the topic. Personally, as I stated above, the ball is probably not worth $20. A grown adult buying a ball from a kid could be viewed unethical and I personally would not do this unless the ball was very special to me in some way (my child's, relative's home run ball and I would talk to the parents as well to show the meaning of the ball). Also, nobody has stated that the ball may not have had that much meaning to the kid and the $20 might mean a lot more as he could buy something that means more to him. Should the kid have to keep the ball then if the ball does not mean anything to him?

[sox83cubs84]

There are also times, too, where a slick kid can take advantage of a clueless adult. One need look no further than the Nolan Ryan rookie card case of about 20 years ago.

A suburban store owner had a Ryan rookie card out with a price tag that read $3000. A smart but unethical kid asked to see the card, and asked the woman behind the counter if the card was $30.00 (not $3,000). The woman, the owner's wife, who didn't know a rookie card from a Christmas card, agreed, and sold the kid the card for 1% of the actual price. The kid's purchase became a news story in our area...the kid's dad, from whom he apparently learned his lousy ethics, defended his kid's actions, while the store owner filed a lawsuit. The issue had a happy ending, though, as both parties agreed to put the card up for a charity auction, in which the card, now slabbed and authenticated as THE Nolan Ryan rookie card (from the dispute) went for around $5,600.

Kids have a image of being ripfor the pickings by smamrmy adults, but, once in a while, the kids (and their parents) are smarmier than the adults who want to deal with them.

Dave Miedema

[mad87man]

When i was growing up (not too long ago i am 23 now) i always worked as a teenager/older kid. When i was about 12 i believe i would cut my 2 neighbors lawns for around 25$ each a month. It was big money for me at the time but i used to get to spend some of it and i wish i knew about things like this. not on this grand a level as a whole jersey or such expensive things but i always loved hobbies.

About the kid selling the ball to the guy? I find that to be a little weird myself. I mean maybe the kids was intimidated by the older man. I think if i was in the kids shoes and was young young i prob. would of yelled and ran away lol.

[mdb240]

I'm new to the board but I would like to chime in on this. This past baseball season I went to a minor league baseball game with my family. On my way to the concession stands a foul ball ended up landing near me while I was drinking out of the water fountain. A Group of kids ended up with the ball, probably around 14 Years old or so. My older brother just bought a new baseball glove that day and brought it to the game. He never caught a foul baseball and thought he would like something for his new glove. I offered the girl who caught it $10 which was what I had in my pocket. She was hesitant at first because she wanted more money which is what it was for her. I said take it or leave it, I'm just trying to do something nice for my brother. She agreed as well as the group of friends. I got back to the seats and the the ball to my brother. I had no problems with this deal since she was there for the social aspect of the game. Btw, I was 28 and my brother was 32. He loved the ball because I thought enough to get it for him.

[coxfan]

This topic brought a lot of really good and diverse opinions. The big issue concerns the rarity and/or uniqueness of the item, and whether a kid is competent to judge its current and potential future value. I think most of us would want parental consent before buying a rare or unique item from a kid; as is the case with a HR ball from a team in running for a national title. That occurred here, since the gamecocks won the College World Series later that season. You can't always put a price-tag on a memory, and on an artifact from that memory.

But the minor's age is also relevant; there's a big difference between 10 and 17. And yes, kids sometimes exploit adults. I've seen kids beg for balls, while hiding the two they already have that they'd
already begged from others!

And it's true that some adults never had a chance to get g-u stuff as kids. I grew up in a small town that was 500 miles from the nearest MLB city. My first g-u item was a minor-league foul when I was in my 30's. I got that only because it rolled under my car, out of sight of kids.

For that reason, I plan to teach my grandsons not to beg for balls from adults; just be patient and get their own the usual way. And don't sell them!