This reminds me of why I hate the People's Court

[Calhoun07]

Judge Judy's husband, Jerry, had a case on one episode of the People's Court where a kid's mother was suing a comic book store owner because her son had paid like $25.00 or maybe even a little more for a rare, out of production action figure (I don't recall from what series, but it wasn't Batman, but this thread reminded me of it). She was suing the comic book store guy because she went to K Mart the next day and found the same action figure in a discount bin for like five bucks. The comic book guy got the kid to buy it by telling him that the action figure was out of production and no longer available, so the kid bought it.

Judge Jerry basically could care less what the comic book guy had to say. Because the mother found it at K Mart, they were lying to the kid that it wasn't available anymore (and I am going, HELLO! It was in the DISCOUNT BIN! It was DISCONTINUED at K Mart and they marked down what they had left!) and he was livid that the comic book store "took advantage" of the kid and ruled that they give the kid back his money! Talk about BULL! From that time on, I had no respect for anything Judge Jerry ruled on, stupid TV judge anyway. $25.00 for a discontinued action figure at a comic book store is pretty much an average price!

[Calhoun07]

This was intended to be a reply to the How Dumb Can You Get? thread.

[Beyond Batman]

I never saw that episode, so I don't know how old that kid was. How old was he by the way, do you remember?

Well, to justify your complaint against Judge Jerry, his verdict was going according to law. According to the books, that situation is called entering a contractual agreement by a person not of majority age. Majority age is usually age 18. 16 in certain states. But if you are a minor not of majority age, if you make a contractual agreement without the consent of an adult, that contrat may be potentially voided. The contract/transaction may be terminated.

I once read a case study where a 16 year old kid bought a car, with no co-signer, smashed it up after a week, and was able to claim his money back in court. To top it off, he even won additional claims for punitive damages Can you believe that? It turns out the seller was obviously at fault for not taking the proper precautions when he sold that car.

If many minors really knew what their rights were, they could get away with almost anything. I'm not encouraging anything, but that's how the law works.

But to keep this subject on topic, I know there are some shady comic book sellers out there. I don't wanna step on anyone's toes but I've witnessed a few terrible acts of comic-to-seller experiences. Like the "Comic Book Guy" from the Simpsons. I know it's funny, but I know a few sellers who act just like him.

For you collectors out there, I'm sure you already know this. For you newbie collectors be careful when buying collectables, especially if you're willing to spend a lot. You may not get the real deal or you could get jipped by spending more than you have to.

[Calhoun07]

So buying an action figure is entering into a contract, according to the law? I guess I learn something new every day.

The comic book guy wasn't shady, at least I don't think so in that transaction. The figure was discontinued, which drove the price up. I see discontinued action figures for that price in comic book stores all the time. He got blasted cuz K Mart had a couple left.

[nerdgirl]

Hi calhoun!

I remember this case back on The People's Court last year. What you described was right, but you forgot something very important. Unless my memory is playing tricks on me, I think what the guy got in trouble for was first buying the same figure at K-Mart himself, then marking it up and selling it at his shop. I remember the mother saying that she scraped off the sticker to find a K-Mart sticker underneith. He got in trouble for hoodwinking, and he had to pay.

Have a cool day!

nerdgirl :)

[Beyond Batman]

Originally posted by calhoun07
So buying an action figure is entering into a contract, according to the law? I guess I learn something new every day.

The comic book guy wasn't shady, at least I don't think so in that transaction. The figure was discontinued, which drove the price up. I see discontinued action figures for that price in comic book stores all the time. He got blasted cuz K Mart had a couple left.

Any transaction where you exchange money for goods or services is, yes, a contractual agreement. Whether it be a car or a stick of gum, the exchange of money for goods and services is always a verbal contract. Offer and acceptance. That's the idea. Like I said earlier, learning your rights could be very interesting.

[Beyond Batman]

Originally posted by nerdgirl
Hi calhoun!

I think what the guy got in trouble for was first buying the same figure at K-Mart himself, then marking it up and selling it at his shop. I remember the mother saying that she scraped off the sticker to find a K-Mart sticker underneith. He got in trouble for hoodwinking, and he had to pay.

nerdgirl :)

"Hoodwinking?" That's a new term I've never heard before. What does that mean?

But just a comment, it's actually legal for comic sellers to do that. To buy things and sell them at their own "jacked-up prices. The reason why is because comic shops are usually small privately owned businesses/proprietorships. They have complete control of how much to sell and how much to sell it for. Look at baseball, basketball, football games and other events. That's why when you watch a ball game, water is $3 and a hamburgur is $5.25 At least a grown adult to a mature kid can say, "heck no, I'm not gonna spend $4 on nachos, I'll go buy a whole meal at McDonalds for $4!"

However, if a naive 10 year old kid comes in buying a toy worth $3.00 when he really pays $25.00, and the seller recognizes that but does nothing about it, that 9 year old kids deserves his money back. The little kid could easily be persuaded into almost anything because their judgment isn't mature enough. That's like stealing candy from a baby. It's just not right. That's why the law protects minors from contractual agreements.

Just my thoghts

[Bird Boy]

I've bought several Batman figures from a "scalper", as Star Wars collectors call them (and since I'm a major SW collector..I'll call em' scalpers too!). They were half off..got the following:

From the First Batman movie:

A toy Biz batman for $3
A Toy Biz Joker for $5

From Batman Returns:

Robin, $5

From the TV show:

Wind Blitz Batgirl $16, but I got her for $8

hehe..am I good, or am I good?

But, about that whole court thing. It is sorta stupid. and like you said, it was in a DISCOUNT bin, therefore, it was discontinued. My guess was it was a X-Men figure..hehe

-BB

[Trent Lane]

i hate scalpers. the ones around here get there moms to drive them to the toy and retail stores really early so they can pick up stuff before everyone else. when the star wars figures just came out, i remember seeing an employee giving a "friend (he handed the guy a twenty for his trouble)" first pick on the new arrivals. i was pretty angry but couldn't do anything, so i waited a couple of weeks till they were everywhere. it's not as bad now, i guess thanks to the SW: Episode I flood of merchandise, but it still pisses me off when i see these guys...

and as for the people's court thing, i remember that one. personally, i'm middle of the road on that one. yeah, the kid kinda got ripped off, but at thesame time what parent lets their kid buy a figure that expensive in the first place? i think the most i eve paid for a figure was about three or four years ago when i bought an MOC Poison Ivy figure for $10. stick to that price range, kid...

[Calhoun07]

Originally posted by flhero311
yeah, the kid kinda got ripped off, but at thesame time what parent lets their kid buy a figure that expensive in the first place?

Good point. But, unfortunately, parents are funny creatures when it comes to things like that. There was an incident that occured in one of the video stores I work for (not at my store, but one of them in the chain) here locally that got attention on the six o'clock news. A parent claimed that the clerk let their child rent a youth restricted anime movie that's for 17 years or older. However, the parent was the one who went in with the kid and gave the clerk the money! But after the parent found out what was on the tape, it was the store's fault!

I still side with the comic book store, but I understand the law being on the kids side. The law is an ass, that's for sure! As far as the owner of the store getting the figure for cheaper from K Mart, heck yeah, he has every right to do that. It is supply and demand. He found out the supply of the figure was decreasing, anticipated an increase in the demand for the figure, and acted upon it as any wise business man would do. I don't think that makes the comic book guy a bad character. Heck, I sold a rare import CD on Ebay for $187.00 and I only paid $25.00 for it from a record store in New York, and I don't think that made me a bad person (and I had no control over how much it went for. The bidders did!) I think Judge Jerry was against that man the moment he walked into the court room, and that's the thing I didn't like about his style as much as other judges on that show. He didn't see the kid come in and then say, "hey, I got this figure for $25.00." He was charging what any comic book store anywhere would charge for something like that (I got my out of production Harley Quinn action figure for $15 tho I saw it in comic book stores for $25). And that cannot compare to selling a car to a 16 year old! The dealer or person who sold that car to a 16 year old had it coming to them! But, then again, the law is the law, and oh well. But I just thought the comic book guy was doing what any other manager of that type of store would have done in his position.

[Trent Lane]

wow, those economics classes are finally paying off :)

i agree, some of these laws pertaining to a situation such as this are extremely stupid, but trying to fight it is useless, cause it's "always right"...