Is everyone giving this kid free ponies?! (IG Trade)

[shelvesofwhimsy]

This is a long story but to sum it up:

Around Jan-Feb of this year a IG user asked to trade my Parasol for a custom pony of his, and he chose a perfume puff style Minty. I said yes because I thought "why not?" even though I didn't really need a Minty.

Flash forward the kids birthday is coming up (and I know this because he's made it very obvious) so I decide to send him his pony Parasol early so he can have it for his birthday. He has told me a few times that he will be sending it soon but his mom needs money first? But anyway as a birthday gift I throw in 2 extra ponies - including a Fashion Style Celestia.

For the next few months I would politely ask when he would be sending my pony, and was met with tons of excuses. Finally sometime in March I basically asked him up front if he would ever send it. This was after he had claimed a pony from my sale, and when I asked for his paypal info he told me "oh I have no money nvm" as if he would be getting it for free. This upset me and prompted me to confront him.

In the end he said "I probably won't be able to send you the pony I'm so sorry about this."

So I blocked him, and then he wrote some hate posts about me blocking him for giving him free ponies 

Flash forward to now and I can see via IG that all of these people in our pony community have been giving him what I can only assume to be free ponies. Maybe it is because they feel bad? I know at first I did, he is 15 and maybe doesn't have a lot of money to spend on a hobby. But I want others to be aware if they've been in contact with him. Maybe he has completed some trades, but at least on my end this is considered stealing. Even if you're 17 you should know better than to take advantage of others kindness. I've told some of my close friends about this but I wanted to come forward in case others have had a similar experience.

I'm not sure if he is a member of the arena but on Instagram he has been mlp_positive_vibes, mlp_positive_vibes_photography, and is currently mlp_positive_vibes_2k18


Has anyone else traded with him?



Mods: please let me know if I should remove screen names.


*I have many screenshots if anyone is interested.

[Mewtwofan1]

Even for a child, that is not very nice. I get it if you want to have a hobby. But actually have the money before you ask somebody for something. It's just a baisic rule of buying things. You wouldn't go into the Starbucks, order a coffee and say "I'll pay it later." No. You buy it or no coffee/pony for you! I'm not on instagram anymore, and have never traded with this fellow. And writing hate posts? Really dude? That's what you do? It's your own fault. You did it kid. You dug your own hole, be prepared to sit in it. And if the kid is 15-17 years old, he should be able to, at least in Canada, get a part time job. If the kid needs money, starts working. Shovel people's driveways or mow the lawn or something kid!

[Taffeta]

I don't think age is an excuse. I did my first trade online when I was fifteen, back in 97. Someone kind trusted in me and sent me ponies long in advance of when I could return the favour, and I took this kindness so seriously I went out of my way to hunt down the best trade ponies to give to her in return (ending in a huge trade of almost a hundred ponies when she visited her UK family in early 98). I also traded a lot with a girl in the late 90s who was then just twelve (anyone else remember Li'l Tot?) and she was one of the most mature and honest traders you could ever meet. It's not an age problem. It's a me-me-me attitude problem and that has no particular age limits, unfortunately.

This is clearly entitled brat behaviour and it should be outed. There are a lot of young people who would rather curl up and die than act like they deserve free stuff just because they want it.

[LadyMoondancer]

Totally inappropriate to back out of a trade without sending the trade pony back . . . That's flatout scamming.  And he definitely sounds entitled.

I think it's worthwhile warning people about his behavior, BUT . . . after that point, there is no point in worrying whether people are sending him free ponies.  If they want to send him ponies or trade with him, after having been warned about him, well, that's their business.  Don't let their decisions affect your happiness, it's just not worth it.

[Galactica]

Hmmm... can you reach his parents somehow?

What a brat. I wonder if they know he is scamming people.  Or maybe they taught him this behavior... 

[Duenia]

Hmmm... can you reach his parents somehow?

What a brat. I wonder if they know he is scamming people.  Or maybe they taught him this behavior...

It might be possible to pull a FB profile from his Instagram and sniff out his parents that way...

[Galactica]

Hmmm... can you reach his parents somehow?

What a brat. I wonder if they know he is scamming people.  Or maybe they taught him this behavior...

It might be possible to pull a FB profile from his Instagram and sniff out his parents that way...

Also- presumably the OP has his address if she sent him ponies.

She could send a letter to them letting them know what happened and leaving her email address...

I might do that.  This kid needs to hear from someone that scamming is a really poopy way to be a human being. 

[LadyMoondancer]

Just wondering, but did the OP directly tell him "That's scamming, you are stealing from me" after he said he couldn't ever pay for the pony?  I know it seems super obvious, but some kids are honestly dumb and 'don't get it' until they hear it directly, lol.   If the OP hasn't confronted him directly then my suggestion is:  do that.  Give him a chance to make things right.  Say "Within one month I expect either Minty back, my trade pony (it was a trade, right?), or this amount of money in compensation."  Something with a solid deadline, so he can't just stall. And if he doesn't make good, that's when you post to the Facebook group telling what happened, or whatnot.

I don't think sending a letter to his parents is a good idea.  I think most parents would find it super creepy to know someone is looking up their personal information, even if their kid did something wrong.

[shelvesofwhimsy]

Just wondering, but did the OP directly tell him "That's scamming, you are stealing from me" after he said he couldn't ever pay for the pony?  I know it seems super obvious, but some kids are honestly dumb and 'don't get it' until they hear it directly, lol.   If the OP hasn't confronted him directly then my suggestion is:  do that.  Give him a chance to make things right.  Say "Within one month I expect either Minty back, my trade pony (it was a trade, right?), or this amount of money in compensation."  Something with a solid deadline, so he can't just stall. And if he doesn't make good, that's when you post to the Facebook group telling what happened, or whatnot.

I don't think sending a letter to his parents is a good idea.  I think most parents would find it super creepy to know someone is looking up their personal information, even if their kid did something wrong.

So I don't think I ever said directly that he was scamming or stealing from me. From his general attitude all of my earnest comments were meant with extremely immature ones, so I honestly do not think it would have done any good. Also since this was a few months back I'm not sure I want to open this can of worms back up with him.


Transcript from a conversation I had with him after blocking (he messaged from his side account):

Him: Did you block me?

Me: Obviously you know I blocked you because you made multiple IG posts painting me as a villain. You were blocked for deciding not to send your half of a trade. End of story. I'm an adult and do not have time for people who mooch off of others kindness. I work hard for everything I have. Also I didn't call you out on IG and lie about what happened, and you got three ponies for free. So please let it go and move on."

Him: I have moved on 

Him: Lol you think I mooch off of other people's kindness plz 




No reply about getting free ponies etc. So I decided it really was not worth my energy to keep replying. But I see that he's been "trading" and just want the get the awareness out.

[LadyMoondancer]

Wow, that seems pretty straightforward all right.  He seems extremely immature.  :/

[Baby Sugarberry]

No personal information would have to be looked up - the OP already has the home address. 

Personally I think it's reasonable to send a letter to the kid's parents letting them know of what their child is up to online and (hopefully) have appropriate consequences.  Not correcting this kind of behaviour early can lead to a dysfunctional later life.

[bright rabbit 1]

If he gets in touch with me asking for free ponies. I'll tell him money first or I won't send.

If he doesn't have the money I'll just tell him that he robbed from my friends who sent ponies to him.

No one should do that to someone who has spent his or her life collecting ponies.

[Noxxbunny]

Hate to say it, but any time I get "I need to ask my mom/dad" I consider the transaction dead. 90% of the time they do not pay up after those words are uttered.

There's really no excuse for that. Age isn't one. When I was 14 and buying online...I got the OK and the money from my mom FIRST before ever even initiating the inquiry about an item I wanted to buy. If it wouldn't work in an IRL store, I don't try it online either. You can't go into any other place and claim an IOU in your parent's name.

Kid's being a little scammer and 15 is old enough to know better. Hate that happened to you when you were just trying to be nice.  But since his parents can't be easily notified of his behavior, then yeah, it probably is better to just ignore him from now on.

[kitkatvintage]

I successfully sold a pony to him once before I realized he was underage. He claimed a pony, and sent me his dad's PayPal info. I sent an invoice & it was paid with a note that was something along the lines of "thanks, my son will love it". Since then he has posted on some of my sale items hinting that he would like to have it or asking for a trade. I've ignored the random hints or replied that I'm not trading at this time.

I'm not sure how many others he may have dropped these hints to... but I can see where it's possible that he's taking advantage of people's kindness.

Also since his dad clearly paid for the pony he got from me, the parents are aware of his gaining ponies via Instagram on some level. I don't know how he's explaining getting trades if he's not sending trade items out... or maybe he says they are gifts??

[Blue Haired Ken Doll]

This is do rude! I judt blocked. As a 17/yo collecter whoS been in the hobby since 15, this really pisses me off as its people like him making people not trust teens im the hobby. I have my own money & paypal and wont ever break sellers rules or pull stuff like this, because i wanna be seen as a real valud collecter, not a dumb kid.