Naughty Children Lose Gifts To Ebay

[NATO AIR]

bad little fuckers get what they deserve

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6753901/

Naughty children lose gifts to eBay
‘I’m crying on the inside,’ Houston father says as tree comes downThe Associated Press
Updated: 4:38 a.m. ET Dec. 25, 2004HOUSTON - The kids were naughty, Dad put the presents on eBay instead of under the tree — and Mom’s been crying ever since.

Now, even the tree’s down.

Saturday morning was sure not to be very jolly for three brothers — 9, 11 and 15 — who didn’t straighten up when their father told them Santa wasn’t too pleased with their fighting, cuss words and obscene gestures.

Dad and Mom had warned their sons that the Nintendo DS video system — and the three games that go with it — were headed for the auction block if they didn’t get their act together.

“No kidding. Three undeserving boys have crossed the line. Tonight we sat down and showed them what they WILL NOT get for Christmas this year. I’ll be taking the tree down tomorrow,” the man announced in his eBay posting.

“If you don’t buy them, we’ll return them to the store,” the seller known online as magumbo—2000 reported on the site.

Thursday night, the auction wound down with bidding at $465.01 — below the price the man had set. He said he would probably list the items again.

A very bad day
A single day of particularly bad behavior set the Christmas crackdown in motion.

“These are normally really good kids,” said Dad, who asked the Houston Chronicle not to reveal his name.

Dad even admits he and Mom are partly to blame for being too lax at times.

But enough was enough. The warning of an impending sale came earlier in the week at a sit-down between offspring and parents.

“We told them they were destroying each other and the calm and peace in the household. It had to stop,” said the man, who did tell the paper that he works as an information technology specialist and lives in Pasadena.

The boys pledged to be nice, but were back to their old ways the next morning.

That night, Dad announced that he would indeed be putting $700 in video games up for sale on eBay. The oldest boy double-dared his dad to make good on his word.

Son shouldn’t have done that.

Dad said Mom has been in tears since the showdown.

“I don’t do it outwardly,” he said, “but I’m crying on the inside.”

© 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

 

[insein]

its sad that the parents let it get to that point, but he did the ballsey thing. The parent thing. I don't know if i'd have the courage to do that. Good for him man. ITs time for parents to take a stand against their kids outrageously childish behavior.

 

[Johnney]

you wont find too much of it. now days if kids dont like the way its going at home they can find someway to get a lawyer and go to court. you guys remember that kid who took his parent(s) to court over smoking in the house?

 

[UsaPride]

That sucks that the kids got that far, and to take their gifts, man, that's bad, but congrats to the parents for sticking to their word! Wow! Not alot of parents would have kept to that threat!

 

[Doc Holiday]

That'll teach his kid not to dare him.

 

[UsaPride]

That'll teach his kid not to dare him.

Exactly! If I'd had dared my mom or dad of something, I'd have no lips cause they would have smacked them off my face!

 

[Patriot]

My kids felt that a vacation away from mom and dad in the safety of their grandparents would somehow excuse their poor behavior. WRONG! Daddy made good on his ultimatum and had grandma ship their sorry asses back home on the first plane he could find.


Then when the hellians got home they got a REAL taste of how bad life was going to get. Lets just say that they had NO birthday party AND will start to receive their allowence in the new year. Needless to say the my teenagers wont be pulling that "I am free and away from my parents watchful eye" bullshit any time soon.

 

[theim]

Ooooh, know from firsthand experience...NEVER call you parents out on a suspected bluff. Only bad can come of it.

 

[Bullypulpit]

Serves the little sots right. Of course if I'd given my parents any lip, not only would they have given my gifts to charity, they would have beaten me soundly and sent me to my room.

 

[KarlMarx]

Serves the little sots right. Of course if I'd given my parents any lip, not only would they have given my gifts to charity, they would have beaten me soundly and sent me to my room.

True... if I gave my Dad or Mom any lip.... BANG ZOOM TO THE MOON!!!!!

But, really, it is too bad that the parents let the kids get to this point.... an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure (or in this case, several tons of it)

 

[Shattered]

Presents returned gifts because siblings do what's normal, which is fight and argue?? Sounds a little outrageous to me - there's no mention of what *actually* happened to make the parents finally lose it around Christmas?

The eldest child "dared" the parents to return said gift? That right there is reason for returning it, but what does that have to do with the two younger childrens gifts? Why were they punished because the oldest one lipped off?

 

[Johnney]

Presents returned gifts because siblings do what's normal, which is fight and argue?? Sounds a little outrageous to me - there's no mention of what *actually* happened to make the parents finally lose it around Christmas?

The eldest child "dared" the parents to return said gift? That right there is reason for returning it, but what does that have to do with the two younger childrens gifts? Why were they punished because the oldest one lipped off?

it had to be something in order to get this type of treatment. specially this time of year where it would get alot of attention.

 

[insein]

Presents returned gifts because siblings do what's normal, which is fight and argue?? Sounds a little outrageous to me - there's no mention of what *actually* happened to make the parents finally lose it around Christmas?

The eldest child "dared" the parents to return said gift? That right there is reason for returning it, but what does that have to do with the two younger childrens gifts? Why were they punished because the oldest one lipped off?

I'm sure whatever they did it had to be bad. These parents seemed to let things go up to that point. They had to have been doing something really awful for these parents to snap.

 

[no1tovote4]

Presents returned gifts because siblings do what's normal, which is fight and argue?? Sounds a little outrageous to me - there's no mention of what *actually* happened to make the parents finally lose it around Christmas?

The eldest child "dared" the parents to return said gift? That right there is reason for returning it, but what does that have to do with the two younger childrens gifts? Why were they punished because the oldest one lipped off?

It appears that they all misbehaved and that the "double-dare" was simply the result.

I would make the children go down to the homeless shelter and donate their gift, along with about three or four of their favorite things. Obviously they do not appreciate what has been given to them in the past and on a year-round basis. They would also be "volunteering" at said homeless shelter on a regular basis from now on, until it was clear that they were more thankful for their blessings.

 

[Shattered]

I'm sure whatever they did it had to be bad. These parents seemed to let things go up to that point. They had to have been doing something really awful for these parents to snap.

I take it you know these people personally, then, and can tell the rest of the story.. No? Well, then isn't that an awful lot of assumption? "Well, it just had to be bad." Everyone is just assuming these kids deserved it, and nobody is questioning the lack of detail in the article.

I just wonder if there isn't a whole lot more to the story.. Why didn't the parents return the items to the store, rather than putting them up on eBay where they know they'd take a loss? If they were insistent on getting rid of them, why did they put a reserve on the auction so that they weren't required to sell if they didn't get X amount of dollars? They're going to be "relisting on Monday" (I believe it said..) - again, why not take it back to the store where it was purchased?

 

[insein]

I take it you know these people personally, then, and can tell the rest of the story.. No? Well, then isn't that an awful lot of assumption? "Well, it just had to be bad." Everyone is just assuming these kids deserved it, and nobody is questioning the lack of detail in the article.

I just wonder if there isn't a whole lot more to the story.. Why didn't the parents return the items to the store, rather than putting them up on eBay where they know they'd take a loss? If they were insistent on getting rid of them, why did they put a reserve on the auction so that they weren't required to sell if they didn't get X amount of dollars? They're going to be "relisting on Monday" (I believe it said..) - again, why not take it back to the store where it was purchased?

Because video games, once purchased have half the value that they did when bought brand new. Even if unopened. Due to the easy accesability of cd/dvd burners etc, a standard return policy prohibits most returns from customers on video game products. Nevermind the fact that these were probably DS games that are tiny little cartridges that are unable to be copied. Stores like Gamestop and Electronics Boutique screw the customer royally when it comes to returns.

So i can easily see them placing it on Ebay. Not to mention the fact that the scarcity of the Nintendo DS before Christmas would have driven its price up to most people. He probably just listed at the wrong moment.

As for the parents, they obviously buy their kids everything from my observation. They seemed to have let bad behavior go before. So then for this action to occur, my deduction is that the kids must have truly stepped over the line. ALL OF THEM. Just because there arent specifics doesnt mean that the little angels got drug down with their older sibling.

 

[Shattered]

Because video games, once purchased have half the value that they did when bought brand new. Even if unopened. Due to the easy accesability of cd/dvd burners etc, a standard return policy prohibits most returns from customers on video game products. Nevermind the fact that these were probably DS games that are tiny little cartridges that are unable to be copied. Stores like Gamestop and Electronics Boutique screw the customer royally when it comes to returns.

If unopened, and accompanied by an original store receipt, games/boxes can be returned for a full refund in the manner in which you paid.

So i can easily see them placing it on Ebay. Not to mention the fact that the scarcity of the Nintendo DS before Christmas would have driven its price up to most people. He probably just listed at the wrong moment.

Anyone that's ever sold on eBay knows that they wouldn't get full price for an item, even if unopened and never used. Waste of money (listing fees, etc.) on his part.

As for the parents, they obviously buy their kids everything from my observation. They seemed to have let bad behavior go before. So then for this action to occur, my deduction is that the kids must have truly stepped over the line. ALL OF THEM. Just because there arent specifics doesnt mean that the little angels got drug down with their older sibling.

Where is yourt observation coming from? You don't have any access to any more information than the rest of us reading the article do. In one sentence, the parents state the kids are "good kids". In the next, they're rotten little swearing, obscene menaces.. suddenly out of nowhere? There has to be more to this story, but yet everyone is just sitting here yelling "Bad kid! Bad kid!" On the other hand, when it comes to a political story, the "media" can't be relied on... Why is the media suddenly so reliable for this one?

 

[no1tovote4]

If unopened, and accompanied by an original store receipt, games/boxes can be returned for a full refund in the manner in which you paid.

I think the guy is lazy, we don't know where he lives either. It may be a looonng drive to the store. (It is for us). However, he may want to make the threat real and set a price that nobody will pay for the items and then give it to the kids when the behavior has been modified. Or it may be that he opened the item and played with it (many fathers like video games too).

Anyone that's ever sold on eBay knows that they wouldn't get full price for an item, even if unopened and never used. Waste of money (listing fees, etc.) on his part.

A parenting opportunity is rarely a waste of money. He may be looking to get some of the cost back at the same time as showing the kids it wasn't the money that mattered the most. And as I said before it may be that he is only making the threat look real.

Where is yourt observation coming from? You don't have any access to any more information than the rest of us reading the article do. In one sentence, the parents state the kids are "good kids". In the next, they're rotten little swearing, obscene menaces.. suddenly out of nowhere? There has to be more to this story, but yet everyone is just sitting here yelling "Bad kid! Bad kid!" On the other hand, when it comes to a political story, the "media" can't be relied on... Why is the media suddenly so reliable for this one?

Taking the story at face value then forming an opinion is not a crime, nor even foolish, in this case it simply isn't something that effects the nation and therefore making a big deal about where the story comes from is overkill. The story doesn't appear to be either left or right.

I would like to think if my children misbehaved I could do what I said I would do if the behavior didn't modify. We can feel sad for the children, or simply realize it is only a video game, and they said nothing about other gifts. What about those from the extended family? What about all the other gifts? There is likely more gifts than the one XBox or whatever.

It may also be that the guy simply wanted to sell this crap and thought he could get a higher price if he made up a good story about misbehaving children.....

 

[insein]

If unopened, and accompanied by an original store receipt, games/boxes can be returned for a full refund in the manner in which you paid.

Wrong. Some of these stores f' you but thats another story. Plus as novote said, the gifts were probably opened already. Many parents that i know personally have a habit of giiving their kids the gifts well in advance of a birthday or christmas.

Anyone that's ever sold on eBay knows that they wouldn't get full price for an item, even if unopened and never used. Waste of money (listing fees, etc.) on his part.

Anyone who has sold on ebay knows that a hot item can go for way more than its worth. Nintendo DS was a hard to find item at christmas. You can take a look on EBay right now. DS's have bids of $170 up to $250 for just the system with the in box demo. Perhaps the father wanted to make a profit.

Where is yourt observation coming from? You don't have any access to any more information than the rest of us reading the article do. In one sentence, the parents state the kids are "good kids". In the next, they're rotten little swearing, obscene menaces.. suddenly out of nowhere? There has to be more to this story, but yet everyone is just sitting here yelling "Bad kid! Bad kid!" On the other hand, when it comes to a political story, the "media" can't be relied on... Why is the media suddenly so reliable for this one?

My observation is going on what i can read in front of me. Where is your opinion coming from that these are "kids that got screwed?" From what i have before me and knowing that key information is missing, i can surmise an opinion that these parents normally consider these kids to be ok as any parent would say of their kids regardless of what they did. Mothers of murderers come to mind when they say that they were such good boys or girls.

The media has obviosuly left something out of this story. What, i dont know. Perhaps they werent told the specifics. Based on what i see and what ive seen in my life of parents with young to adolescent children, kids do bad things and the more the parents let slide, the further kids will try to press the parents. Every parent has a breaking point though. To me, these kids were normal pains that usually arent severly punished. They did something extra bad that warranted the severe threat and the "dare" just pushed the parents, who IMO, normally let things slide to their breaking point. Thus the normal bluff turns into an actual threat.

Dont know what your thinking is on this. Care to explain alittle?

 

[Shattered]

I didn't say the "kids got screwed".. I said the older child dared the parents to take away Christmas - that warranted taking it away from the older child.. I asked what the two younger ones did, since everyone emphatically stated the kids all got what they deserved...how can everyone agree they got what they deserved with only half a story? As a side note I sort of asked what made this so newsworthy that Associated Press had to jump on it.. (that was mostly a rhetorical question, tho).