Aces Up Trading Post

As a person who has done a lot of business with Michelle the owner of Aces Up over the years, I can tell you that she is a very nice person. The fact of the matter is, it is a business. The only person to blame is the man himself. Regardless of if he is mentally handicapped or not, he made the choice to sell the bike. It is a business, it is the way that Michelle puts food on the table for her family and a roof over their heads. If the man wanted the bike, he shouldn't have sold it in the first place. And, as for getting $50.00 for it; well if she were to have given him the amount for it that she could sell it for then how would she had made a profit? If he truly only wanted the bike, then he shouldn't have went into a pawn shop to sell it in the first place. I don't really care if he knew the value of a dollar or not, business is business. If she would have given him more money, she would have put her own business and family in jeopardy. If she would have refused to do business with him, people would have complained because she refused to do business with somebody because they were mentally handicapped. The only person that should feel ashamed is the man who made the choice to sell the bike. Even if he didn't understand the value of a dollar, he knew that he was selling the bike that so many people worked to get for him. And, Michelle doesn't just take an item and hand somebody the money. I have sold things there many, many, many times and she says ""$50.00 is what I can give you, does that work for you?"" And, at that point he knew what he was doing. It is easy to place blame on somebody who isn't really to blame. The truth of the matter is, if the bike meant so little to this man that he was willing to sell it then he doesn't deserve the damn thing. more

I have never really been a big fan of pawn shops because I have always heard of the lack of business ethics that many owners encompass. Recent events at the Aces Up Trading Post have solidified my judgment of these so-called businesses. \r \r Yesterday, a local Oswego man, who lives in an adult assisted home for people with special needs, sold an adult bicycle to the pawn shop for $50. Some would question why this is such a big deal, but to local community members, including employees from Sharons Hair Gallery, Patz Restaurant, and friends, spent most of December raising money for this bike which is worth $400-$500. Their idea was to bring back the true Christmas spirit and give to someone who really deserved it.\r \r Earlier this year this man came into Sharons Hair Gallery with a lottery ticket and one of the employees helped him understand the rules of the game. She asked him, If you win a million dollars, what will you do with it? His response was, I would buy that pretty blue bicycle at Wal-Mart! To him that would be worth a million dollars because he said he had never owned a bike before. \r \r So this employee, along with people she had told, set out a jar for the Bike Fund. Customers and employees donated all month to raise money to buy the bike and just before Christmas the bike was purchased at, a local bike store. The owner of the bike shop even showed his Christmas cheer by giving the bike to them at cost. \r \r Everyone was so excited to see the joy this gift would give this local man, so they set up a party at Patz with many members who had contributed. The man was brought there as a surprise and the bike was revealed, with a helmet and a bike lock. They continued the evening with food and drinks, with everyone enjoying this heartwarming experience.\r \r As you can see it is saddening that a local pawn shop owner would take advantage of someone that doesnt have the full capacity to understand what he/she is doing. Employees from both businesses explained to the owner about the circumstances, less than 24 hours after the transaction. Two of them even offered to buy the bike back for the $50, but she refused. The employees were told that this is a business and this is how she makes money. How can a human being..business owner or not act in this manner?\r \r The police were involved as well, but the owner told the police the bike was sold this morning, less than 24 hours after she received it. It seems that the police were not aware of Business Law 101it is illegal to take advantage of mentally impaired individuals and the contract should be considered void. ***WEST'S BUSINESS LAW (10th Edition) states that a contract needs to meet certain criteria for it to be valid; which one element is that BOTH parties must be of sound mind to enter into the agreement. Anyone who has a guardian, such as a minor or a mentally impaired individual, does not fall into this category. Not only should the validity of the contract be questioned, but also the fairness. In order for a contract to be valid it must be fair. The bike was only a few weeks old and in mint condition. \r \r If he had a million dollars and would only want a bike, it seems obvious he does not understand the value of money! This whole situation is so disheartening and sad for the good people in this city that were trying to do something nice. YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!\r Cons: Rude Owner/ No ethics!!! more