The Energon Pub

This is for all you expert collecters out there. I'm 13 and my parents don't always hae time to give me my allowence. I don't like physical work, and i want some money to expand my collection. I can't sell on ebay, and i need some extra income. Please tell me how i can get collecting.

If you don't want to work, then pretty much forget it. Sorry, but that's how the world works.

Plus, you're 13. You'll be able to get a "real" part-time job in a few years, and then you'll be able to get more TF's.

Bank robbery's an option, but then it'd probably be even more physical than getting a part time job

Seriously though, why not ask your dad or mom for a birthday/Christmas gift in advance? Just tell them the stock from the ROTF toyline might not last until the end of the year or something.

Another thing that might work is to promise to get an improved result in a coming exam for some subject you suck at, and just work at it.

Being 13 limits your job options because whatever income you can make won't be enough to get you a significant expansion of your collection. I mean, you could do something like a paper route(though you did mention you don't like physical work) or even mow lawns during the summer and shovel driveways during winter. Those are the kinds of things I did at that age to make money for comics and video games. It's good exercise too.

As already suggested, your parents are going to be the main source of Transformer acquisitions. Morally I don't agree with motivation for improved school work coming from desire of getting Transformers but it's a good option. Birthday and Christmas presents in advance sounds like a good idea if you want something in the near future.

Oh, i will tolerate physical work, i just don't like it. But yeah, thanks for the advice.

That fastest way to get income w/o physical work would be selling stuff on eBay which you mentions you can't. I made some spending money on eBay back when I was in college along with part-time job at retail store. Hope that helps.

When I was a kid, I used to sell CD's at my school. I can't legally advise you to do so, but like I said, I dabbled in that field my entire highschool career and made enough money to support my video game addiction lol. Speaking of which, you can always try selling your old video games and systems at Gamestop or something. I've made money doing that in the past.

Get a job. Seriously, McDonalds hires at 14 for to work the counter. I'm 29 and I got my first job when I was 14 at a K-Mart with a completely forged work permit that said I was 17. The longest I was without work before right now was one month. Mow lawns, rake leaves, paint fences, walk dogs. Halloween's coming, look into one of those 2 month costume shops that pop up around now. You work as hard as you can until you come up with a way to work smarter.

JetOptimus23 wrote:Oh, i will tolerate physical work, i just don't like it. But yeah, thanks for the advice.

I suggest when you have money, you buy 'used' at garage sales and so forth. Then when you get more money, you can by more, and more often.

Sha na na...get a job.

Depending on where the OP is from, a 'job' (as opposed to a sort of handy-man oddjobs type thing) might not *legally* be an option. Some states in the US you must provide proof that you are 16 years old before they will hire you.

Know what I'd do? If you have a leaf blower at home, ask dad if you could use that to make some money--go to your neighbors in the next few weeks when the leaf fall really starts to hit (again, presuming you live in a place with deciduous trees) and leafblow their driveways and yards. It's not particularly demanding physical work--easier than mowing a lawn or shoveling snow--and might impress the 'rents at your desire to be a little entrepreneurial. Heck, they might agree to be your first customer, and donate to the toys fund themselves.

If you have a relative that gives you crappy holiday presents (ahem, gramma with the shiney orange acrylic sweater, I'm talkin' to YOU!), you might HINT that you'd much rather have a gift certificate to a toystore or, better yet, one of those Visa gift card things? They're like a gift card but don't have to be spent in any one particular place. I know this still means waiting till a birthday or holiday, but rather toys than underpants, right?

HK, tell me I'm not the only one who gets underthings for Christmas? Thanks mom.

hellkitty wrote:Depending on where the OP is from, a 'job' (as opposed to a sort of handy-man oddjobs type thing) might not *legally* be an option. Some states in the US you must provide proof that you are 16 years old before they will hire you.

Know what I'd do? If you have a leaf blower at home, ask dad if you could use that to make some money--go to your neighbors in the next few weeks when the leaf fall really starts to hit (again, presuming you live in a place with deciduous trees) and leafblow their driveways and yards. It's not particularly demanding physical work--easier than mowing a lawn or shoveling snow--and might impress the 'rents at your desire to be a little entrepreneurial. Heck, they might agree to be your first customer, and donate to the toys fund themselves.

If you have a relative that gives you crappy holiday presents (ahem, gramma with the shiney orange acrylic sweater, I'm talkin' to YOU!), you might HINT that you'd much rather have a gift certificate to a toystore or, better yet, one of those Visa gift card things? They're like a gift card but don't have to be spent in any one particular place. I know this still means waiting till a birthday or holiday, but rather toys than underpants, right?

HK, tell me I'm not the only one who gets underthings for Christmas? Thanks mom.

Watch out for werid neighbors though I thought I was the only one who always gets clothes from grandparents when I was a kid.

Back in those days collecting was hard. I refused to work because it was basically slave labour considering how much you got payed, so instead I learned to horde money.

Birthday money, collecting change, doing odd jobs for neighbours...put together and get yourself summat pretty! That's how I got my alternator collection. It took two years to do, but I've got every figure I wanted, even Mirage and Skids.

Being 14 myself, I may be some help.
If you will tolerate work, do some work!
Just come up with a few set jobs for yourself to do.
Like:

taking out the trash
vacuming the floors
cleaning your room
etc.

After coming up with them, make sure that you do them consistently.
The more work you do the more you can charge your parents for allowence.

Sadly, for me, it works the opposite way.
I can do as much work as I want, but my mom will always pay me $14 for allowence.
Luckily, I can do seperate work for my dad, which means seperate pay.

My mom just expected me to tidy the house, and still does. ;p


Granted now I'm basically getting free board in the holidays, but back then, wtf!





Thankfully my nan's kind enough to give me £40 a month, and now that I'm back at uni my parents give me £100. So living is sweeeeet.

JetOptimus23 wrote:Oh, i will tolerate physical work, i just don't like it. But yeah, thanks for the advice.

Congratulations, you are officially normal.

Seriously, though--see if you can get some odd job(s). Mow lawns, clean cars, whatever. If TFs are that important to you, and you need the dough, you're going to have to do things the old fashioned way.

let's see, I was 13 about 23 years ago...so I did not work either. I was lazy and truth be told (DO NOT DO THIS) but at 12 I was an amateur thief. I would hit stores after school and basically cower behind aisles and go to work. back then no one really had boxed TF's and money was tight. My mom got a hefty raise, and my dad started to visit me when he got out of the hospital, so I began to actaully get TF's alot. My mom found out about my thieving habits and either destroyed the TF's, or made me return them to the store, buy them with my allowance, and then give them away.

But by 13, I was a pretty good kid, so I got a lot of G1 toys through out the year because of my parents separation.

I guess they were buying my love to take sides. As I got older, I saved money and got TF's until I turned 16, when I got my last TF from my mom, Powermaster Prime.

well i am 15 and i do chores, make and sell yu-gi-oh decks on ebay, and some i ask for and i get them. if you dont work the your f*cked. and next summer im getting a summer job, so more money there!

Doubledealer25 wrote:well i am 15 and i do chores, make and sell yu-gi-oh decks on ebay, and some i ask for and i get them. if you dont work the your f*cked. and next summer im getting a summer job, so more money there!

People still play Yu-Gi-Oh cards?

shonenfan4 wrote:

Doubledealer25 wrote:well i am 15 and i do chores, make and sell yu-gi-oh decks on ebay, and some i ask for and i get them. if you dont work the your f*cked. and next summer im getting a summer job, so more money there!

People still play Yu-Gi-Oh cards?

Yep.
Lately, they've been playing on motorcycles.

Jacob P. Galvatron wrote:

shonenfan4 wrote:

Doubledealer25 wrote:well i am 15 and i do chores, make and sell yu-gi-oh decks on ebay, and some i ask for and i get them. if you dont work the your f*cked. and next summer im getting a summer job, so more money there!

People still play Yu-Gi-Oh cards?

Yep.
Lately, they've been playing on motorcycles.

O rly?

shonenfan4 wrote:

Jacob P. Galvatron wrote:

shonenfan4 wrote:

Doubledealer25 wrote:well i am 15 and i do chores, make and sell yu-gi-oh decks on ebay, and some i ask for and i get them. if you dont work the your f*cked. and next summer im getting a summer job, so more money there!

People still play Yu-Gi-Oh cards?

Yep.
Lately, they've been playing on motorcycles.

O rly?

Maybe this is the extreme sports version of collectible card games?

EXTREME!!!

Drink Redbull.

shonenfan4 wrote:

Doubledealer25 wrote:well i am 15 and i do chores, make and sell yu-gi-oh decks on ebay, and some i ask for and i get them. if you dont work the your f*cked. and next summer im getting a summer job, so more money there!

People still play Yu-Gi-Oh cards?

yup! its very secretive at my school. i stopped watching the show a long time ago.

Doubledealer25 wrote:

shonenfan4 wrote:

Doubledealer25 wrote:well i am 15 and i do chores, make and sell yu-gi-oh decks on ebay, and some i ask for and i get them. if you dont work the your f*cked. and next summer im getting a summer job, so more money there!

People still play Yu-Gi-Oh cards?

yup! its very secretive at my school. i stopped watching the show a long time ago.

Hmmm, secretive card games. Back on topic, garage sales, swap meet, and flea markets are your friend.