NEED ADVICE!! How Do I handle This JERK Who Messed With My 9 Year Old Son

[Junk_Puppet]

OK, bear with me and read through...

A month or so ago I am at a sale, a guy who's probably in his mid 60's is trying to haggle a guy down on a vintage recurve bow, the owner wanted $20, the guy was offering $10, so I piped up and said "Ill give you $20" The 60 something scowled at me, pulled out $20, paid the owner and drove off (The 60 something guy is everywhere, not to popular among us other buyers, we know eachother by face)

Soooo, last week my adorable son and I are at a sale and so is the 60 something dude. We are looking at a stack of Nintendo DS games, I look at the owner of the games and ask how much, she says $1 each. My son has a Nintendo DS so I say, pick a few out buddy and we will get going. 5 seconds later the 60 something guy yells over and says "Don't worry about it buddy, I just bought them all" He is a strict jewelry buy and wouldn't even know what a Nintendo DS game is....

OK, he owned me one, I get it...But with a nine year old with me holding one or two of the games he wanted?? There is low and there is low. I had half a mind to pull a handful of grass from the peoples lawn and stuff it in his mouth...But I resisted. I see him weekly and have been thinking of something to say or do. He has about 15 years on me so I will win a physical event BUT, I am well beyond that way of handling things.

Any ideas? He broke the kids heart and could have picked a different time to get me back.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Minelab PRO-FIND 35 Waterproof Pinpointer Metal Detector for Experts with Tone ID & Adjustable Sensitivity - Grab it through Amazon!

[kali_is_my_copilot]

I don't have any advice for you, that's a crap situation and he's the one behaving in a crap manner. If he really wouldn't have paid 20 for the bow then he should have let you take it, otherwise he should put up or shut up. Sniping DS games from a child is ridiculously petty.

 

[Keppy]

No you started it with your $20.00 .. You got what you asked for ... You gave him a low blow and he got back at you ...So you think you can step on people and no one is allowed to step on you ?

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I agree with Keppy, you got revenged with nukes. You started it.

 

[jerseyben]

OK, bear with me and read through...

A month or so ago I am at a sale, a guy who's probably in his mid 60's is trying to haggle a guy down on a vintage recurve bow, the owner wanted $20, the guy was offering $10, so I piped up and said "Ill give you $20" The 60 something scowled at me, pulled out $20, paid the owner and drove off (The 60 something guy is everywhere, not to popular among us other buyers, we know eachother by face)

Soooo, last week my adorable son and I are at a sale and so is the 60 something dude. We are looking at a stack of Nintendo DS games, I look at the owner of the games and ask how much, she says $1 each. My son has a Nintendo DS so I say, pick a few out buddy and we will get going. 5 seconds later the 60 something guy yells over and says "Don't worry about it buddy, I just bought them all" He is a strict jewelry buy and wouldn't even know what a Nintendo DS game is....

OK, he owned me one, I get it...But with a nine year old with me holding one or two of the games he wanted?? There is low and there is low. I had half a mind to pull a handful of grass from the peoples lawn and stuff it in his mouth...But I resisted. I see him weekly and have been thinking of something to say or do. He has about 15 years on me so I will win a physical event BUT, I am well beyond that way of handling things.

Any ideas? He broke the kids heart and could have picked a different time to get me back.

Ugh. You started it!

There are 2 kinds of people at sales that I cant stand and both are represented in the story above: The aggressive guy who is always where I am messing up my buys and the guy who thinks it is his business to "keep order" at garage sales and creates drama.

 

[masterjedi]

I would have not let him buy the games. If I had them in my hands and he was not even near them I would have just smiled, let my son pick the ones he wanted, smiled, paid and went to the next sale. He would not have won...

 

[trdhrdr007]

I'd have let you buy the bow for $20......& then felt like I owed you one. IMO breaking into someone else's negotiation is just wrong.

 

[Paleo_joe]

There's nothing wrong with paying a seller's asking price at the same time another buyer is trying to bargain that seller down. I will stand right there and say "I'll take it for $20" and not feel bad about it at all. It is a competition.

When you sell your house, you don't take it off the market when a buyer sends you an offer. And you're looking at a low-ball offer when a full market value offer comes in, you don't sell to the low-baller just because he was there first.

The guy who is low enough to mess with a kid is the issue. He was just trying to turn a good deal into an even better one, lost out, and then got mad. He should be mad at himself... pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered.

But I would just walk away. Life is short. Anger destroys. People who hurt kids never win. Let karma settle it.

 

[kingskid1611]

I would have to ask you, what lesson and learned behavior do you want your child to learn?

 

[G.I.B.]

What goes around, comes around.

 

[gravityrules]

I agree with Paleo_joe's points. There is no 'exclusive right of negotiation' at a garage sale, surprised so many think the OP did something wrong ... must not be looking at this from the seller's perspective.
I would want to hear other buyers saying they will pay the asking price. For example, as a seller I would be unhappy with a buyer grabbing all the best stuff that had other interested buyers at the opening of a sale and then trying to negotiate 50% off.
If a seller wants to start an auction between potential buyers, well that's certainly within their rights. Houses in some areas are selling for MORE than asking price because of competition between potential buyers.

 

[adamBomb]

You are way over thinking this. The guy was upset that you jumped in his buy so he jumped in on yours. I guess if you can jump in on his buy why cant he do the same?

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

He was a butthead with out a doubt, but I would just let it go, there will be another sale you can pay him back if you wish..........

Something to remember, many of us "old guys" have been known to be armed...... Never think because someone is 15 years older than you that they will be easy.... Many of us "old guys" have military training, prior martial arts training and are armed as well..... Personally I am always armed with a .45 when I leave my home......

 

[stealthycat]

I kinda agree - you kinda started it and he showed you up in front of your son later on ... did you have to explain to your son how and why it all went down like that ?

 

[releventchair]

It reads like the ol man burned you for interrupting his previous negotiation. Played you like a fish to do it too. Timing on his part was perfect.
If your kid was holding money and a game or two to buy and he had inquired prior as to cost from seller, I would have been willing to argue his right to buy what he held with the rest going to another buyer. Only to a point though with the kid there if the ol man wouldn't let the kid differ from you as the source of his desire to acquire the games. Win some loose some.
If you were the buyer and the ol man sniped your games you could have offered him a couple bucks each and called for a truce down the road at further sales.
Other wise, I'd admit the ol man was settling an old score and tell him " I get your point".
Or at least explain to the kid afterwards you had messed up a sale for the other buyer and got paid back later and how to avoid that unpleasantness in the future. See something you want, get your hands on it and buy it if it's available.
Etiquette varies among generations. So does explaining it, by words or actions.
Mending fence sucks, uneasy truces as well, but the alternative is not peaceful, and sales should be somewhat more enjoyable to buyers than having to look out for others you disagree with..though there seems to have to be individuals who make sales a near combat sport; why create more?

 

[GibH]

Short answer: get over it.

If the seller told me a stack of DS games were $1 each, I'd have said "Sold!" and been done with it. You said yourself that it all started over a bow, so obviously he isn't just a "strict jewelry buyer".

 

[jerseyben]

He was a butthead with out a doubt, but I would just let it go, there will be another sale you can pay him back if you wish..........

Something to remember, many of us "old guys" have been known to be armed...... Never think because someone is 15 years older than you that they will be easy.... Many of us "old guys" have military training, prior martial arts training and are armed as well..... Personally I am always armed with a .45 when I leave my home......

Believe me, it is something I think about all too often.

"Is some trigger happy individual going to shoot me today".

 

[trdhrdr007]

There's nothing wrong with paying a seller's asking price at the same time another buyer is trying to bargain that seller down. I will stand right there and say "I'll take it for $20" and not feel bad about it at all. It is a competition.

How is that different from what the "old guy" did? He paid for the games while the OP was trying to decide what to buy. After all, it is a competition.

 

[Paleo_joe]

How is that different from what the "old guy" did? He paid for the games while the OP was trying to decide what to buy. After all, it is a competition.

You're right.

 

[billjustbill]

Apparently you buying the bow out from under him really got to him down to the core.... His actions to "win" and "retaliate" got you back through the heart of both your child and you. This kind of guy marks his worth in the world by making sure others are "less" than he sees himself as.... Look up the word "Sociopath". Your only hope is that he will stop his get-even actions. If he doesn't, he will dog your life at future sales and make comments to the garage sale seller as you approach, shop, and after you leave the sale. He may even copy you vehicle's plate number to carry it farther....

Unfortunately, these kinds of people don't go around with a bumper sticker that says,
"Honk, if you want to see my Uzi."

The hardest thing to do is not to treat this fellow as an average guy with confrontational words and actions, and expect it to end like an average person would cool off and go away. The cardinal rule for dealing with a Sociopath is total avoidance and the defensive action is on your shoulders to keep your distance or drive on when you see him.... It is not fair, but it's smart. If he doesn't stop his actions toward you and your family, it is a major indication it's going to take months and even years to get rid of him.... He lives to keep getting even.