amelia-air

My Feedback: (82)

I have a plane for sale in the Classifieds,and a 14 year old boy wants to trade/buy it.I had to tell him,that I could not do any bussiness with him. I was jus wondering how other members felt ? --Thanks R C U.. best site in the Universe

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

Why wouldn't you? Thats kind of rediculous. If you have a question, call his parents. If his money is good, what the heck diff does it make how old he is. Thats kind of being short sighted and closing the door pretty hard on a young modeler unless there is a real reason for not selling it to him other than his age. [:@]

BasinBum

My Feedback: (2)

I think your smart for doing it. I could think of several potential problems when entering into a contract with a minor.

As a matter of fact they should limit the posts of minors in the forums or at least have their minor status next to their name so you know who you're talking to.

ben flyn

Sell it to his Dad. Then you know if he's suppose to have it.

JoeAirPort

My Feedback: (41)

Such as? Just curious.

I guess the only thing I would not like is doing business with someone that may not know what he is doing and cause headaches later on in the deal (like their parents yelling at you to give him money back, had no permission making the purchase etc). If his parents were involved that would be better. In any case, parents or him, you want to do business with someone that knows what they are doing or there will likely be problems later.

I agree there. They should make showing your age mandatory when you post.

CHassan

My Feedback: (13)

Good call. I would not sell it unless you could speak to his parent or guardian to ensure they are ok with the sale.

BasinBum

My Feedback: (2)

Well Joe in most state you have to be eighteen to enter into a contract so legally it would be hard to make a binding agreement over the internet with a minor. If the parents didn't agree to the deal there could be repercussions. If the kid wasn't mature enough to have resonable expectations they might want to renig on the deal (this could happen with an adult also).

I know these are all kinda vauge but I think Amelia's instincts here are good.

t to the maxx2

My Feedback: (1)

well im 14 actually and I buy and sell cars and car parts(rc of course) all the time on the internet. Me and my parents have but one policy, they get to talk to the the person selling or his parents before eitehr of us ship...

depfife

My Feedback: (14)

I don't know of any age restrictions on selling RC planes to minors. If a 14 year old went into a LHS could he purchase the same items you are selling? Probably not a legal restriction, but is it a good idea? I agree with Ben - get the teen to have his guardian contact you.

BB - do you have a suggestion as to how RCU should determine the age of its members? Requiring members to provide a credit card number to use the Marketplace was not popular. So unpopular that many of the members said they would not use the Marketplace if this was a requirement. If using a credit card is the answer, then members can already restrict their ads to only sell to verified members. You have to provide a credit card to be listed as a verified member.

Eric

Groucho fan

As long as it's not alcohol, tobacco, firearms or porn, why not sell to him as long as he has parental permission? He could go to his LHS, cash in hand, and buy anything in the store, except maybe certain glues.

rw Guinn

A wise policy. I like it. I used a very similar one with my son, who is now a fiscally reponsible College freshman, with his own checking and credit accounts.
PAranoia is a wise policy when dealing on the internet. Talking to the kid's parent(s) can avoid hard feelings and legal ramifications.
The only kid I know of who wanted to buy some of my stuff bought it--after he brought his dad over to look at it--at our insistence. It works.

amelia-air

My Feedback: (82)

Guess I watch too much judge Judy. I know in Ohio,you can not make a contract with a minor. Had he not told me he was 14 ,I might have sold him the plane. Once he did tell me he was 14,I severed all contact . Nothing was mentioned about parents. It would be easy for him to say he was his Father,and we could have still done bussiness ,I suppose.Thanks for the imput.

STLPilot

My Feedback: (21)

Your solution is REALLY simple. Ask for the money via however you want to get it. Paypal, MO, Personal Check or whatever method you take. When you get it and it clears, send the goods. If your that worried just say "can I talk to your parents". If he sends you a check and the address on the check is the same as where he wants it shipped, your safe. If he sends you a postal money order for the exact amount you wanted, how do you think he got a hold of that? Do you think the post office takes credit cards from kids? No, but they will take cash from kids. If he got the money order with CC, then his parents did it for him. If you use PayPal and you get him a tracking number after you ship, your 100% safeguarded.

Another solution would be to give me his contact info and a link to your goods for sale. I'll buy it and sell it to him. Or perhaps sell him something even better.

What's the problem with him being 14? Since when do you discriminate against 14 year olds buying toys? What's the difference between you selling him the plane and a him walking into a Hobby Shop and purchasing it? Do you actually think you'll be liable if he gets hurt? If so I can assure you that will never happen. Also what's this crap about binding contract? What contract? You get the money ... you ship the goods. Since when do you need a contract to buy something off RCU?

Paranoia may be a good policy, but the other policy is just being smart. I've seen more bad deals go bad from adults on RCU then minors. Obviously the kid didn't lie to you about being 14. He could have said he was 25. So I already see trust involved.

My company ships a couple thousands of products every month. We've never asked a customer how old they were. We taken orders from kids using their parents CC on the phone hundreds of times, without speaking to their parents. How many times have we been burnt, none.

I'm sorry, but it saddens me to see that people will not sell to minors, there is no reason for that. That does not set a good example. Spend the extra 2 minutes and do your homework or take redundant steps to make sure the deal won't go bad. Kid or adult, it's your own fault if you get burnt.

Like I said, PM me his email address, I'll take the extra step for him to make sure he gets what he has the money for.

randall1959

My Feedback: (11)

I agree with STL.....As long as you're not selling him guns, a real car, drugs, or anything illegal, his money is as green as the next guy's. I would have definately not just severed all contact. I would have given the young man the opportunity to have his parents call you or vice versa, at least.
Kids aren't like we were growing up. Some of them have some pretty substantial disposable income.
When my son was fourteen, he mowed yards, clean horse stalls, whatever it took and that little **** had more money in his pocket than I ever thought about
I basically let him buy whatever he wanted, up to and including firearms. He's always been responsible and hard working and is an avid and very good hunter. Now he's in the Army and doing very well.
It sounds to me like it's more that you don't deal well with kids. Imagine if everyone in the hobby treated that kid the same way. Maybe that's why this crowd ain't gettin no younger

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

No lie!

Some of you guys are pretty darn paranoid. Whats the deal with kids. I was buying airplanes by the time I was 12, and working my tail off mowing lawns to pay for it. Dad often used his credit card back then to help me order, and I would pay him. Didn't make him buy my toys!

There is absolutely no reason not to help a kid out with this hobby. It teaches them so much and keeps them on a positive track instead of out spending money on drugs and alcohol.

I can just imagine how the kid felt when you severed all ties with him because of his age. Thats pretty sick really. [:-] At least make the effort to talk to his parents. If your that worried about it, you shouldn't even sell to an adult becuase you can have the same problems or more with them!

submikester

My Feedback: (6)

By law 14 year olds are not responsible for their actions so I believe caution when dealing with them on the internet is not unreasonable.

I think I simply would have asked him to have his parents call me and clear the deal and complete the deal with the Parents.

Caution is not bad; but still - I would have given that route an opportunity.

STLPilot

My Feedback: (21)

What laws are you talking about? What contracts are you talking about? This is selling a piece of merchandise. The Internet/RCU has nothing to do with it. That was only the media used to tie the seller to the buyer.

Take caution with whatever you sell no matter on Ebay, RCU, Newspaper or mail order. The simplest solution, get the money, send the goods. Age has nothing to do with your transaction. If you sell the kid the plane and the parents didn't approve, they are responsible, not you. There is nothing they can legally do.

If you don't sell to a 14 year old kid, you are just plain lazy in my book. I would rather sell to a 14 year old kid then 24 year old adult any day of the week.

BasinBum

My Feedback: (2)

StLpilot
I think your perspective is quite differant than that of an individual who isn't in the hobby business. I'm glad you havn't had any negative experiances dealing with minors but on a one on one basis a little caution for us private citizens can't hurt. You really seem to be bothered by this topic which seems strange to me. When you only have one plane to sell you get to pick and choose who your customers are and go with the person you believe will be the smoothest transaction. When you need to turn a profit you gladly sell to everyone you can.

trioval00

My Feedback: (17)

i think we are missing something important here, most of you have said... " just sell it to him, whats to stop him from going to a hobby store and buying it". this is true. but here is the advantage of the hobby store, he can see if the kid is mature enough to handle the responsibility of an aircraft. we dont know that 14 year old when dealing thru the internet, he could be like my son at the age of 12 and flying projets at a high rate of speed. or he can be one of my nieghbors kids at 15, they can not trust him to be home alone for 15 minutes... we just dont know,
i believe at an age of 15 or younger we should just get the parents ok, takes just 1 phone call

these are just my thoughts

mark

submikester

My Feedback: (6)

The same laws that require parental consent for just about anything a child does beyond paying cash for something at a store. The law holds parents responsible for their child's actions. If a child runs up a credit debt the parents are responsible; if the child vandalizes something the parents are financially liable, etc.

In this case if the parents did not approve of the transaction they could raise a stink - that in and of itself is enough for me to simply want to talk to them to ensure that the transaction will be smooth. Otherwise it isn't worth my time.

Crashem

I'm sorry but this has to be the most asinine statement made on RCU this Week..

Whether the kid is "mature enough to handle the responsibility of an aircraft" IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS and not part of the sale. If you don't want to sell to a kid fine. But lets leave the maturity Appraisals to the parent/legal gaurdian

Nothing against the original poster thas statement just staikes me as being way to arrogant and out of place.

smokingcrater

wouldn't accomplish anything anyway, lots of kids carry visa, either an [link=http://www.visabuxx.com]allowance account[/link] through their parents CC, or through a check card which works as a visa.

STLPilot

My Feedback: (21)

I may be in the business, but I'm also a modeler and sport pilot. I also sell my own personal equipment and planes on RCU and Ebay from time to time. I use the Internet as a media to say "i have something for sale". However I don't blame RCU, minors or adults if I get burnt on a sale. I blame myself for allowing it to happen.

Heck yeah it bothers me to see a thread like this exist. Who in their right mind wouldn't sell a flying toy to a minor?

This thing about the kid being a minor and legal issues has nothing to do with the transaction. There is nowhere in the rulebook of life that says the parents must give consent to purchase a rc product. You are also allowed to let your children use your credit card if you want too. However 99% of the people that are posting on RCU are not using a credit card anyhow to accept payments. Ask for a postal money order or Paypal and your problem is solved.

If it was my own personal goods and I sold something to a kid and the parents objected to it. I would tell them sorry, talk to your kid about it. His money cleared and he has my goods. The parent is responsible, not the seller. I would simply tell them if you want to sell it, use the same media I used to sell it to the kid.

If it was my company, we have a return policy on certain items we sell. This policy works for young and old, black or white.

t to the maxx2

My Feedback: (1)

I have that

Steve108

My Feedback: (36)

I am 15 and have bought/sold a few plane things in the marketplace. I always ask for my parents approval and if asked, I will let the other person talk with my parents. I have my dad pay with his pay-pal account and then pay him back. If I were to be negotiating a deal with someone and then they just stopped talking to me I would bet quite angry. If your afraid that since he's 14 he will rip you off use ESCROW. That's what it's for. This is basicallly my opinion too: