So for Christmas, my sons got me some very cool cars, including a silver chrome AW Batmobile body sitting atop a NOS T-Jet chassis, a souped up AFX red Monza, and a Gold-chromed AW Thunderjet Batmobile. They got them from various sellers at the Parsippany NJ show. The Gold Chrome Batmobile was sold still looking like it was new in its case. The pickup shoes weren't even worn. It was missing the guidepin. But no big deal, right? Well, it still didn't run at all. Dead as a doornail. I opened it up to find that there were no motor magnets! My 13 year-old who bought felt embarrassed and ripped off that he paid for what he thought was a new or almost new car as a present for me. The body is in perfect shape, and I told him I can easily get magnets for it, so not to feel bad. But who the heck sells a kid a slot car with a gutted chassis, sitting in its original box like it was new?!? So much for trying to encourage kids getting in to the hobby, eh? If the seller was up front with him, and said it needed some parts, okay. But this is a bit like stealing candy (and money) from a kid. Just not right.
I don't know who the seller was. But my four boys and I go that show twice a year. And the Bob Beers Superbowl Sunday show in LI. He'll likely be there too. My son will point him out to me, and I'll have a little chat with the guy. I'm not worried about the magnets... It's the principle. If I saw a young kid showing interest in a somewhat aging hobby, I'd do everything I could to make sure he got a good running car. Now maybe the seller himself didn't realize it. So I'll give him the benefit of the doubt to a point.
Most sellers at the shows we go to treat kids like royalty. Helping them to pick the best chassis. Answering questions. Even throwing in extra stuff from time to time. I've seen them them do it for other kids too. My sons have invited their friends to the shows. And it's been great to see how most guys bend over backwards to help get a kid started in the hobby. But there's sometimes a schmuck that can ruin the experience.