Why Not Ship Knives To Minors?

Lone_Wolfe said:
You're pretty much spot on there. Anger and impulsiveness can make a bad combination, and written words don't just fade away. OTOH, some of you kids have shown yourselves to be young men and women that I can respect and would gladly trade with. Dbag is another example. You guys are the reason I don't restrict my trades to over 18 years old automatically.
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Now, I feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside :p

But, I think if I were in all your guys' position I would probably be cautious of the minors too. Sometimes things aren't perfect, and they freak out and go blaming people on the forums before talking to the person. I guess its just their personality to assume they've been cheated and freak out. Though IMO I don't think that's a valid excuse.
But then, there is a good portion of us that are pretty chill. I guess it's just the luck of the draw
 
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brandonnash said:
....... My opinion of whether or not I would sell/trade with a minor is dependant on how well someone represents them self.
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Thisb right here is the big thing, no matter the person's chronological age. One of the biggest pissing contests I ever had on here was from a buy not much younger than me, and I'm over 50. We each had knives the other was interested in, so he asked for an offer. I offered, based on what I thought each of our knives was worth. He came back angry, accusing me of wasting his time, trying to pull a scam, and worse. All he really need to do was say "no thanks' or counteroffer. I admit I got a laugh when that person sold the knives later for less than I'd offered for them.
 
I would never sell to a minor because they might realize how sharp the knife is and buy a crack rock to try it out on. So now the kid is an addict because he's a minor. Then all of a sudden I've got angry soccer mom's suing me for all my leopard print stockings, just because I sold my Opinel to a guy with no self control.
 
I love when young people show interest in knife collecting. Unfortunately times have changed and everything that has been happening across the Country have got people under a microscope and scrutinizing everything. The fact is it's illegal some States to even sell a box cutter to a minor. Not only do I not want to be subjected to a lawsuit from a parent I do not want to face criminal charges. So the right thing to do is have your parents conduct the trades and purchases and not jeopardize the adult members of the forum exposing us to legal actions.
 
In addition to the state to state differences regarding the legality to sell a minor a knife, there is also the issue of the state to state differences regarding the minor's ability to enter into a contract. Some states have laws that protect minors from entering into contracts (written or verbal). The protection given to minors allows them to legally back out of any contract that did not have their guardian's approval. I will not (knowingly) participate in a trade or sale to a minor as there could be the possibility that their end of the deal could fall through with no accountability.
 
It's to CYA against any laws against selling to minors or to avoid a potential lawsuit. If I ever sell on here I won't sell to minors. I don't know the laws and there could be one somewhere about it. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
 
Everyone has mentioned weapons related laws, but I think it's as simple as contract law.


You cannot enforce contract law against a minor, so if you have problems with a bad deal you're screwed.

The same as why no one ships outside of CONUS They can sell it anyway without potential hassles,
 
alex1577 said:
Why Not Ship Knives To Minors?
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I've been keeping this under wraps because I was approached privately. One of out younger members here emailed me asking if he could pay me for a small Sebenza a little at a time. He had to work after school to earn the money, and couldn't possible pay for it all at once. I told him I needed to talk to a parent, got the contact info and did, then we hammered out the details. This person has been sending me $10 a week until this week, when he was only $10 shy of the price. He politely explained what was happening, that is might be a couple more weeks before he could pay that last $10. It made me feel like a million bucks to email him back with his tracking #, telling him I considered him paid in full.

Why did I agree to this and sit on a knife for a few months that I could have sold 3 times over? Because he was polite, honest, and did exactly what he said he was going to do. I think he's growing up to be a fine young man, and I hope that Sebenza serves him for a lifetime. I know he'll never forget working for it.
 
Lone_Wolfe said:
I've been keeping this under wraps because I was approached privately. One of out younger members here emailed me asking if he could pay me for a small Sebenza a little at a time. He had to work after school to earn the money, and couldn't possible pay for it all at once. I told him I needed to talk to a parent, got the contact info and did, then we hammered out the details. This person has been sending me $10 a week until this week, when he was only $10 shy of the price. He politely explained what was happening, that is might be a couple more weeks before he could pay that last $10. It made me feel like a million bucks to email him back with his tracking #, telling him I considered him paid in full.

Why did I agree to this and sit on a knife for a few months that I could have sold 3 times over? Because he was polite, honest, and did exactly what he said he was going to do. I think he's growing up to be a fine young man, and I hope that Sebenza serves him for a lifetime. I know he'll never forget working for it.
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These are exactly the kind of values that make me love our community! I wish more people focused more on helping eachother out rather then greed. Your definately a class act lone_wolfe
 
I see rewarding young people for good behaviour, hard work and sticking to ones word as exactly the way to go. As is not rewarding them for bad behaviour, being lazy and talking out their other end. He sounds like a good kid that will be a fine member of our community. :):thumbup:

Lone_Wolfe said:
I've been keeping this under wraps because I was approached privately. One of out younger members here emailed me asking if he could pay me for a small Sebenza a little at a time. He had to work after school to earn the money, and couldn't possible pay for it all at once. I told him I needed to talk to a parent, got the contact info and did, then we hammered out the details. This person has been sending me $10 a week until this week, when he was only $10 shy of the price. He politely explained what was happening, that is might be a couple more weeks before he could pay that last $10. It made me feel like a million bucks to email him back with his tracking #, telling him I considered him paid in full.

Why did I agree to this and sit on a knife for a few months that I could have sold 3 times over? Because he was polite, honest, and did exactly what he said he was going to do. I think he's growing up to be a fine young man, and I hope that Sebenza serves him for a lifetime. I know he'll never forget working for it.
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Speaking as an older member(over 60) I think the arguments opposing sales to minors are weak. Lawsuits might arise equally for selling a knife subsequently used in a murder by an adult. What's that got to do with age?

Federal laws? I need proof for that one.

Local and state laws? OK I'll concede that point because that spells trouble anyway you look at it. A parent's signature should be required for a sale that might be prohibited.

But...16 year olds can get a driver's license in most states and at least one locality is giving 16 year olds the right to vote. http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...7c52c4-bccd-11e2-89c9-3be8095fe767_story.html

Lets not rush to judgement and make unsubstantiated claims because there are an awful lot of young people out there who are just as responsible as older folks.
 
digdeep said:
Speaking as an older member(over 60) I think the arguments opposing sales to minors are weak. Lawsuits might arise equally for selling a knife subsequently used in a murder by an adult. What's that got to do with age?

Federal laws? I need proof for that one.

Local and state laws? OK I'll concede that point because that spells trouble anyway you look at it. A parent's signature should be required for a sale that might be prohibited.

But...16 year olds can get a driver's license in most states and at least one locality is giving 16 year olds the right to vote. http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...7c52c4-bccd-11e2-89c9-3be8095fe767_story.html

Lets not rush to judgement and make unsubstantiated claims because there are an awful lot of young people out there who are just as responsible as older folks.
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....but the reality is that there is a vastly larger number out there that arn't as responsible as older folks.

The arguments you see put forward here are hardly weak, they are just realistic. Kids are not exactly famed for their level headedness, good decision making or abilities to deal with situations like lost packages etc. In many places it is just quite simply illegal to sell knives to people under 18 so if you want to open your self up to that fire away, but understand why many do not. It is not my job as a seller to vet every single kid that wants a knife nor is my place or in my interests to give them the benefit of the doubt just because some kids are more mature than others. You are taking a chance dealing with minors and you have no way of calculating the odds of it being a disaster over a success. The same is true of adults of course but they are given the benefit of any doubt because of adulthood and all one can expect from it. I'll never say never but I'm quite happy to say no. :)
 
OP and the rest of you minors seem like great kids. You all seem very mature. I also got into knife collecting when I was 17 and had the same problem. My reccomendations are, wait until you are of proper age or connect with your parents and see if they fancy buying you that knife. Just don't break any rules or lawes and you will be okay. Most of us around here will respect you, so long as you don't piss us off then you will be just fine.
 
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