The Energon Pub

after countless hours searching on june 2nd for leader class optimus, finally found it at a target, but then this little kid was there and I felt like a total ass so I gave it to him.

So, anyone else got a story like that?

Dude kudos for you man. I havent been in a situation like that from what i can remember... but its probable in the future

I have a kinda similar one. I was in TRU about a month back poking around the TF and Starwars sections when I saw this kid and his dad shopping. The kid was oggling the large Luke Skywalker x wing from the crash scene, you know the one.

To cut it sort. He pleaded, dad said no, too expensive. It reminded me of when my mom refused me fort max. So when his dad got distracted by the daughter running up, I snuck the kid the cash to buy it with and split before the dad could try and get me the cash back.

So, I'd like to think that if it came down to one TF, me and a kid, I would do the same. However, ya never know how badly I may want it.

i guess it was just a moment of weakness because I felt bad, since I recall getting very angry with myself later that day for doing it.

Never been there, yet. Not sure what I would do. May depend on my mood.

Bonger wrote:I have a kinda similar one. I was in TRU about a month back poking around the TF and Starwars sections when I saw this kid and his dad shopping. The kid was oggling the large Luke Skywalker x wing from the crash scene, you know the one.

To cut it sort. He pleaded, dad said no, too expensive. It reminded me of when my mom refused me fort max. So when his dad got distracted by the daughter running up, I snuck the kid the cash to buy it with and split before the dad could try and get me the cash back.

So, I'd like to think that if it came down to one TF, me and a kid, I would do the same. However, ya never know how badly I may want it.

you snuck him the cash? damn man. The whole idea is nice but cmon, don't be contributing to spoiling em =p. Kids gotta learn to earn his own money or strike a deal riding on some kind of merit. Struck a deal with my rents in 4th grade for optimal optimus, str8 A's for one. Wasn't that hard, but man was it worth it.

As frequently as I visit the big retailers, it happens from time to time. I always let the kid have it. If they don't get it, then I pick it up.

Sometimes I help parents out by giving recommendations.

yeah i met some weird parents about a week ago looking for a toy in the aisle and they asked for my suggestion about what movie toy they should get him, so I said they can't go wrong with leader class optimus and they said no it has a gun too violent. They ended up getting him voyager ironhide just because it was in alt mode, and they were completely oblivious to the kinda heat he's packin', so they thought it was just a mere toy pickup truck. I didn't say anything because I wanted the kid to enjoy the toy, but seriously I especially hate parents who condone their kids from any sort of entertainment filled with action, because I used to have parents like that, and I just completely hated their guts for it until they realized that it alienated me and that I genuinely hated them as humans. Needless to say I got a big ass fat stream of transformers toys right after that as comepnsation.

sandmunky wrote:

Bonger wrote:I have a kinda similar one. I was in TRU about a month back poking around the TF and Starwars sections when I saw this kid and his dad shopping. The kid was oggling the large Luke Skywalker x wing from the crash scene, you know the one.

To cut it sort. He pleaded, dad said no, too expensive. It reminded me of when my mom refused me fort max. So when his dad got distracted by the daughter running up, I snuck the kid the cash to buy it with and split before the dad could try and get me the cash back.

So, I'd like to think that if it came down to one TF, me and a kid, I would do the same. However, ya never know how badly I may want it.

you snuck him the cash? damn man. The whole idea is nice but cmon, don't be contributing to spoiling em =p. Kids gotta learn to earn his own money or strike a deal riding on some kind of merit. Struck a deal with my rents in 4th grade for optimal optimus, str8 A's for one. Wasn't that hard, but man was it worth it.

Naw, I wasn't spoiling him. I was saving him from the regret that would eventually lead to him becoming a Star Wars collector and going broke due to it as an adult.

Nah, in seriousness, noone ever did that for me. I figure this way he'll remember me and maybe do the same for another kid in the future. Moment of weakness on my part. I normally hate kids.

i've given away just about all the cool figures i ever had to my sons, it just felt cruel telling them it's mine and they can't have it. especially when i tell them to share.

on the other hand, karma's been good, since now they're both huge transformers fans and get all kinds of cool toys that I want to play with.[/u][/b]

Well let's see. I remember passing a TM Blackarachnia to an 8 y/o. Only one I ever saw. The last Tiatanium Diaperwave I saw to another 8 y/o. Lots of parents at the local Wally-Worlds and TRUs love to see me walk down the aisle when shopping for thier kids. Can't remember who it was but gave a 6 y/o the figure I had in hand at the check out line cause I found it first and he pointed to his mom saying I want one. Damn I suck!

Lapse Of Reason wrote:As frequently as I visit the big retailers, it happens from time to time. I always let the kid have it. If they don't get it, then I pick it up.

Sometimes I help parents out by giving recommendations.

I'm the same way. Some things mean more to kids that it would for adults. Toys are one of those things. As a kid once myself, getting a Transformer was like one of the coolest things I remember. I didn't care about preserving the box (who knew these things would be worth so much?), the toy was meant to be enjoyed and played with. I have a soft spot for kids.

Usually, I just stand back and let the kids have first picks, unless no one is there, then I help myself.

sandmunky wrote:after countless hours searching on june 2nd for leader class optimus, finally found it at a target, but then this little kid was there and I felt like a total ass so I gave it to him.

So, anyone else got a story like that?

Yes I have that only thing sometimes it is turned around

I sorta had the same thing happen.

I was at Wal-Mart and found Armada Megatron (it was the first time he was due out), and there was only one on the shelf.

Just as I reached for it (and I had a hand on one edge of it) this kid grabs the other end and looked up at me with the saddest puppy dog eyes and I just couldn't take it from him, I let go and said "Have fun little man, I think you'll like him."

He started heading for the corner as his mother was coming down the aisle, and she said "No. Your birthday was yesterday and you've gotten all of your presents, plus spent all your birthday money. NO!"

I looked away, because that's just awkward...and then she came over and said "I couldn't help but overhear how kind you were. I appreciate that. This one's your's, and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks."

Another time, I was at K-Mart, trying to buy another Armada figure, and I had actually gotten the item, put it in my cart and went to another aisle. I noticed a kid following me, but I didn't pay much attention to it, I figured "kid being a kid" and thought nothing else of it.

So, I reach down on a rack below the cart to grab a case of water and I hear "WHAM!" and the cart rolls from me. The little punk grabbed the TF out of my cart and started running, and yelling "I got it! I got it!" to his dad, who said "Then get up here! Hurry! If you want it, we gotta cash out!"

I yelled "Oh no you don't oh hell no! I had that in my cart, heading to the cashier right after this! Your son grabbed it from my cart!" The dad said "Well too bad, you should've went to the register to pay for your stuff before this. Ain't our fault. Besides, you're too old for this kinda stuff."

I yelled "GET ME A MANAGER! NOW!" and the cashier did exactly that, along with stopping them from making the purchase. At first the manager said "Whichever one of you gets to the register first and pays for it, is the owner. Until then, it's anybody's game." I told her about how it was in my cart, and that a camera in the aisle caught it. She said it didn't matter, and I said "Oh yes it does. What if it was your purse in the cart and he grabbed it and ran? It's your's, so it's not right for him to take it. I have the cash, it was in my cart, he had no right to take it." Finally she agreed, and so did the cashier and the father put up a huge stink (and show right there in the store).

The manager said "I'll need to go pull up the security tape, or one of you can tell me the truth right now. Did you take this from his cart? Which is actually against store policy." The kid wouldn't answer, his dad did and lied for him.

The cashier said "Oh no, I heard you tell him he should've paid for it first."

The father said "You know what? F*ck this, and f*ck you. All of you. Give it to the asshole, son." the kid THREW it at me, I caught it and the dad said "I hope you're happy, you took joy away from my son. What goes around comes around." I told him he was raising a thief, and to get the hell out of there.

....oddly enough, the father was in the police blotter, one week later for receiving stolen goods, from his own brother. lol

People suck. Bad parents and managers, even more so.

Autobot032 wrote:I sorta had the same thing happen.

I was at Wal-Mart and found Armada Megatron (it was the first time he was due out), and there was only one on the shelf.

Just as I reached for it (and I had a hand on one edge of it) this kid grabs the other end and looked up at me with the saddest puppy dog eyes and I just couldn't take it from him, I let go and said "Have fun little man, I think you'll like him."

He started heading for the corner as his mother was coming down the aisle, and she said "No. Your birthday was yesterday and you've gotten all of your presents, plus spent all your birthday money. NO!"

I looked away, because that's just awkward...and then she came over and said "I couldn't help but overhear how kind you were. I appreciate that. This one's your's, and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks."

Another time, I was at K-Mart, trying to buy another Armada figure, and I had actually gotten the item, put it in my cart and went to another aisle. I noticed a kid following me, but I didn't pay much attention to it, I figured "kid being a kid" and thought nothing else of it.

So, I reach down on a rack below the cart to grab a case of water and I hear "WHAM!" and the cart rolls from me. The little punk grabbed the TF out of my cart and started running, and yelling "I got it! I got it!" to his dad, who said "Then get up here! Hurry! If you want it, we gotta cash out!"

I yelled "Oh no you don't oh hell no! I had that in my cart, heading to the cashier right after this! Your son grabbed it from my cart!" The dad said "Well too bad, you should've went to the register to pay for your stuff before this. Ain't our fault. Besides, you're too old for this kinda stuff."

I yelled "GET ME A MANAGER! NOW!" and the cashier did exactly that, along with stopping them from making the purchase. At first the manager said "Whichever one of you gets to the register first and pays for it, is the owner. Until then, it's anybody's game." I told her about how it was in my cart, and that a camera in the aisle caught it. She said it didn't matter, and I said "Oh yes it does. What if it was your purse in the cart and he grabbed it and ran? It's your's, so it's not right for him to take it. I have the cash, it was in my cart, he had no right to take it." Finally she agreed, and so did the cashier and the father put up a huge stink (and show right there in the store).

The manager said "I'll need to go pull up the security tape, or one of you can tell me the truth right now. Did you take this from his cart? Which is actually against store policy." The kid wouldn't answer, his dad did and lied for him.

The cashier said "Oh no, I heard you tell him he should've paid for it first."

The father said "You know what? F*ck this, and f*ck you. All of you. Give it to the asshole, son." the kid THREW it at me, I caught it and the dad said "I hope you're happy, you took joy away from my son. What goes around comes around." I told him he was raising a thief, and to get the hell out of there.

....oddly enough, the father was in the police blotter, one week later for receiving stolen goods, from his own brother. lol

People suck. Bad parents and managers, even more so.

I can't help but notice you not pointing any fingers at yourself there. The father wasn't exactly a saint in this, but damn. Seriously, you really did take joy away from his child. Way to be the bigger man.

Toys are meant for kids. We collect them for whatever reason, but in the end, it's all about the kids. The idea of an adult collector acting like that sickens me.

edit: just to clarify, I'm not sickened by you in general Autobot032, your first story suggests you're not a complete bastard, but regardless of the circumstances I feel you were wrong in what you did in the second.

Bonger wrote:I have a kinda similar one. I was in TRU about a month back poking around the TF and Starwars sections when I saw this kid and his dad shopping. The kid was oggling the large Luke Skywalker x wing from the crash scene, you know the one.

To cut it sort. He pleaded, dad said no, too expensive. It reminded me of when my mom refused me fort max. So when his dad got distracted by the daughter running up, I snuck the kid the cash to buy it with and split before the dad could try and get me the cash back.

So, I'd like to think that if it came down to one TF, me and a kid, I would do the same. However, ya never know how badly I may want it.

Nice idea, but to any parent that sets off alarm bells-

DO NOT GIVE KIDS ANYTHING!!!!!!!!

It is a very very bad idea, it could potentially get u in alot of trouble. People could think that u are a pervert grooming a child-u do not want to be the local creepy, possibly a predo guy. Nice as u were being as a parent and a teacher i gotta say don't do it again for ur own sake.

Although if i was the kid in question i would love u forever, although maybe thats a little creepy too

Saya wrote:

Autobot032 wrote:I sorta had the same thing happen.

I was at Wal-Mart and found Armada Megatron (it was the first time he was due out), and there was only one on the shelf.

Just as I reached for it (and I had a hand on one edge of it) this kid grabs the other end and looked up at me with the saddest puppy dog eyes and I just couldn't take it from him, I let go and said "Have fun little man, I think you'll like him."

He started heading for the corner as his mother was coming down the aisle, and she said "No. Your birthday was yesterday and you've gotten all of your presents, plus spent all your birthday money. NO!"

I looked away, because that's just awkward...and then she came over and said "I couldn't help but overhear how kind you were. I appreciate that. This one's your's, and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks."

Another time, I was at K-Mart, trying to buy another Armada figure, and I had actually gotten the item, put it in my cart and went to another aisle. I noticed a kid following me, but I didn't pay much attention to it, I figured "kid being a kid" and thought nothing else of it.

So, I reach down on a rack below the cart to grab a case of water and I hear "WHAM!" and the cart rolls from me. The little punk grabbed the TF out of my cart and started running, and yelling "I got it! I got it!" to his dad, who said "Then get up here! Hurry! If you want it, we gotta cash out!"

I yelled "Oh no you don't oh hell no! I had that in my cart, heading to the cashier right after this! Your son grabbed it from my cart!" The dad said "Well too bad, you should've went to the register to pay for your stuff before this. Ain't our fault. Besides, you're too old for this kinda stuff."

I yelled "GET ME A MANAGER! NOW!" and the cashier did exactly that, along with stopping them from making the purchase. At first the manager said "Whichever one of you gets to the register first and pays for it, is the owner. Until then, it's anybody's game." I told her about how it was in my cart, and that a camera in the aisle caught it. She said it didn't matter, and I said "Oh yes it does. What if it was your purse in the cart and he grabbed it and ran? It's your's, so it's not right for him to take it. I have the cash, it was in my cart, he had no right to take it." Finally she agreed, and so did the cashier and the father put up a huge stink (and show right there in the store).

The manager said "I'll need to go pull up the security tape, or one of you can tell me the truth right now. Did you take this from his cart? Which is actually against store policy." The kid wouldn't answer, his dad did and lied for him.

The cashier said "Oh no, I heard you tell him he should've paid for it first."

The father said "You know what? F*ck this, and f*ck you. All of you. Give it to the asshole, son." the kid THREW it at me, I caught it and the dad said "I hope you're happy, you took joy away from my son. What goes around comes around." I told him he was raising a thief, and to get the hell out of there.

....oddly enough, the father was in the police blotter, one week later for receiving stolen goods, from his own brother. lol

People suck. Bad parents and managers, even more so.

I can't help but notice you not pointing any fingers at yourself there. The father wasn't exactly a saint in this, but damn. Seriously, you really did take joy away from his child. Way to be the bigger man.

Toys are meant for kids. We collect them for whatever reason, but in the end, it's all about the kids. The idea of an adult collector acting like that sickens me.[/i]

It was in my cart! Not on the shelf! I was heading to the register right after the water! If the kid had asked me, like what happened in Wal-Mart, I'd have been more than happy to give it to the kid for purchase. This little brat just ganked it from my cart and ran like wildfire because he knew I'd try and stop him.

Here's a question, what would you do if someone pulled stuff out of your cart? You'd be pissed. How would that person react if you pulled stuff out of their cart?

When it finally happens to you, I hope you hold yourself to that same "high regard" (and I do mean that in the most sarcastic way possible) that you have for other collectors. Perhaps you should look in the mirror and see what kind of person *YOU* are.

An oblivious one, because you seem to miss the key points involved.

Or

An ignorant one, because you did see the facts and chose to see otherwise.

Either way, you have no place to be telling me what I did was wrong in how I handled it. And for your information, I wasn't expecting a pat on the back either. They wanted some memories recalled and posted, so I did. You get what you ask for, I gave it.

You can't handle that fact, apparently.

Now, go sit in the corner somewhere and sulk, hate me if you must, I don't care. Just don't talk down to me like you're someone better, because you're not. Far from it, in fact.

Autobot32 I am 100% with you. If the kid has asked nicely, whole different story. But the kid was being a little punk and seems like the type to end up in Juvey sooner rather than later. Not to mention, you could have been buying a gift for a kid. It makes no difference really. It was in your cart. What the kid did is about a stones throw from stealin in my book.

As for me, I think half the reason I did it was because the kid's dad just seemed so freakin disinterested and I took and immediate disliking to him. Maybe subconciously I just wanted to show him up?

Bonger wrote:As for me, I think half the reason I did it was because the kid's dad just seemed so freakin disinterested and I took and immediate disliking to him. Maybe subconciously I just wanted to show him up?

Don't Matter, Its still bloody dangerous-hell i know people who would have presumed u were a pedo and proceeded to stab u-

Which would really suck

GrimSqueaker wrote:

Bonger wrote:As for me, I think half the reason I did it was because the kid's dad just seemed so freakin disinterested and I took and immediate disliking to him. Maybe subconciously I just wanted to show him up?

Don't Matter, Its still bloody dangerous-hell i know people who would have presumed u were a pedo and proceeded to stab u-

Which would really suck

Mmm, wierd world we live in now huh when you can't buy a random kid a toy. Since I am not a parent, I probably do not see it the same way a parent would. I see where you are coming from though. Actually, normally, I just ignore the kids. But this was love at first sight, between the kid and the toy. I felt I HAD to help out. It was like I was the kid, if you know what I mean.

Autobot032 wrote:It was in my cart! Not on the shelf! I was heading to the register right after the water! If the kid had asked me, like what happened in Wal-Mart, I'd have been more than happy to give it to the kid for purchase. This little brat just ganked it from my cart and ran like wildfire because he knew I'd try and stop him.

Here's a question, what would you do if someone pulled stuff out of your cart? You'd be pissed. How would that person react if you pulled stuff out of their cart?

When it finally happens to you, I hope you hold yourself to that same "high regard" (and I do mean that in the most sarcastic way possible) that you have for other collectors. Perhaps you should look in the mirror and see what kind of person *YOU* are.

An oblivious one, because you seem to miss the key points involved.

Or

An ignorant one, because you did see the facts and chose to see otherwise.

Either way, you have no place to be telling me what I did was wrong in how I handled it. And for your information, I wasn't expecting a pat on the back either. They wanted some memories recalled and posted, so I did. You get what you ask for, I gave it.

You can't handle that fact, apparently.

Now, go sit in the corner somewhere and sulk, hate me if you must, I don't care. Just don't talk down to me like you're someone better, because you're not. Far from it, in fact.

He's a kid. Kids do stuff like that. You can't hold them to the same standards as adults. The father wasn't exactly sporting, but he still had a point. As I said in my previous post, Transformers are for kids, and as such, if there's a kid hanging around wanting to buy the same Transformer as you, it's my opinion that you bloody well let them have it! It really doesn't reflect well on you if you don't, regardless of the circumstances.

Speaking of which, you asked "what would you do if someone pulled stuff out of your cart?" I can answer that quite simply. If someone pulled stuff out of my cart, yeah, I'd be pissed. However, buying children's toys is completely different to normal shopping, and as such, if a kid pulled a Transformer out of my cart I would ruffle their hair, call them a little ruffian and let them have it.

This is because Transformers are for kids.

And honestly, its because of attitudes like that towards kids misbehaving, that most kids these days are massivaely misbehaved, and are mostly just growing up to be trash like their parents.

Yeah once I had some hard to find Marvel legends, and after collecting almost the entire line, I felt like I had waisted my money, so I gave up three figurews in the store to some kids who were looking at empty pegs for like 20 minutes trying to figure out if they wanted something else.

I will be selling my Marvel Legends toys on ebay soon

But I'm definitely keeping my DC Direct 13" figures. They are just better, even over the large Marvel legends figures!

But yeah the whole giving up a toy to a kid thing, I would rather do that then be an ass and walk away from there with a toy, its their time to enjoy it, so I would feel very bad taking it away from them. Heck I make video games for kids, so I'm kinda in that line of work already.

Bonger wrote:And honestly, its because of attitudes like that towards kids misbehaving, that most kids these days are massivaely misbehaved, and are mostly just growing up to be trash like their parents.

I agree with you on principle, but that doesn't mean you have to be a total hardass all the time. That just breeds malcontents like me.

Saya wrote:

Autobot032 wrote:It was in my cart! Not on the shelf! I was heading to the register right after the water! If the kid had asked me, like what happened in Wal-Mart, I'd have been more than happy to give it to the kid for purchase. This little brat just ganked it from my cart and ran like wildfire because he knew I'd try and stop him.

Here's a question, what would you do if someone pulled stuff out of your cart? You'd be pissed. How would that person react if you pulled stuff out of their cart?

When it finally happens to you, I hope you hold yourself to that same "high regard" (and I do mean that in the most sarcastic way possible) that you have for other collectors. Perhaps you should look in the mirror and see what kind of person *YOU* are.

An oblivious one, because you seem to miss the key points involved.

Or

An ignorant one, because you did see the facts and chose to see otherwise.

Either way, you have no place to be telling me what I did was wrong in how I handled it. And for your information, I wasn't expecting a pat on the back either. They wanted some memories recalled and posted, so I did. You get what you ask for, I gave it.

You can't handle that fact, apparently.

Now, go sit in the corner somewhere and sulk, hate me if you must, I don't care. Just don't talk down to me like you're someone better, because you're not. Far from it, in fact.

He's a kid. Kids do stuff like that. You can't hold them to the same standards as adults. The father wasn't exactly sporting, but he still had a point. As I said in my previous post, Transformers are for kids, and as such, if there's a kid hanging around wanting to buy the same Transformer as you, it's my opinion that you bloody well let them have it! It really doesn't reflect well on you if you don't, regardless of the circumstances.

Speaking of which, you asked "what would you do if someone pulled stuff out of your cart?" I can answer that quite simply. If someone pulled stuff out of my cart, yeah, I'd be pissed. However, buying children's toys is completely different to normal shopping, and as such, if a kid pulled a Transformer out of my cart I would ruffle their hair, call them a little ruffian and let them have it.

This is because Transformers are for kids.

Funny, I see ages 5+ on the box of my transformer, which, I'm thinking I'm the +. I don't see "for kids only" So I'd say it's for anyone ages five and up. It's not right to take things from other people's carts, so why reward a kid for bad behavior?