ebay(again)
 

just a FYI.These orgs have pins (unless otherwise noted)on ebay. The number represents how many were being sold. as of 5/28 12:45pm PST


AOPi
ASA--crested ring
Phi Mu (2)
Chi-O (2)
Alpha Xi Delta (2)
Sigma Kappa--crested paddle
Kappa Alpha Theta (2)
Gamma Phi Beta--handbook and badge
AEPhi--crested paddle
Alpha Phi
SAI--Songbook and badge
SGRho--crested mug

You forgot to mention
ATO: 3- pins



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Faced with the Divine, I was asked; "What one gift do you seek?"
I answered ever so meekly; "I seek Honor, Truth, Integrity, and Wisdom, yet those are four. How am I to choose?"
The answer came as a pounding whisper; "The four you seek are but one. I grant thee Compassion; for without it the four make none."
Author - me

I figured I'd probably miss some. Thanks

There are two Alpha Chi Omega badges on sale...
Just to find out...how many people are actually offended by this? I have no real problem with this, but as I have only been in Alpha Chi for a few months, I guess I may not be a real authority.

BrownieGrrrl

while I'm not happy about this stuff getting sold, I'm not real angry, either. I figure most of the people selling it don't know or understand why they shouldn't be doing so in the first place. And the rest of them probably know that enough people will be upset enough about it to spend a lot of money to return it to its home. It's unfortunate, but my understanding was that many national GLO's (and maybe BGLO's?) were working to prevent Ebay users from selling badges, etc. in the future.

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SilverTurtle@greekchat.com
Phi Beta Fraternity
Phi chapter

XGIRL - THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP!!!

You're welcome! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

This whole ebay thing is really getting under my skin! First of all for many GLOs the badges are property of the fraternity so no one has the right to be selling them, besides we all worked hard for the right to wear our badges, why should any Tom, Dick or Harry be able to just purchase them off the internet. Second, some sellers are trying to find out significance of some of the badges. None of your freaking buisness! Get a different hobby!

I have no real problem with this, but as I have only been in Alpha Chi for a few months, I guess I may not be a real authority.[/B][/QUOTE]

I have been a proud AXO sister since 1994 - welcome aboard! But, it should bother you because you have worked for the privilege to wear the beautiful Lyre of pearls over your heart! These people on ebay know that they shouldn't be selling this stuff. I know a girl who did buy another organization's badge so she could sneak into meetings and whatever! How stupid (of course I told her this). My friend told me every bit of her sorority ritual and it means nothing to me - I would never share my ritual experience because it is sacred...as is my badge because of what it represents. Everytime you put it on you should be reminded of the day it was first pinned on you! Just a few weeks ago an AXO sister was selling an AXO badge she had found. I wrote her and told her how ridiculous this was and that she didn't deserve to wear her own badge if she was willing to sell one to anybody! I guess my thought on the whole thing is that I have such AX pride that all my family knows if something happens to me that my badge is to be kept until my nieces go to college. If none of them go AX then the badge is to be returned to headquarters. Good luck to you as you strive to seek the heights :-)

I think the people actually auctioning our pins/badges DON'T know what they're selling. Of course there's that chosen few who do know what they're selling and, as i think someone else said earlier, they know we'll pay to keep it in the organization.

The thing about eBay that bugs me is eBay should have better control over what is being sold on their site. I know Delta's Legal Counsel has contacted eBay about this. EBay is NOT an AUTHORIZED vendor for our merchandise and I'm sure this is the case for many other orgs. I think we should all ban together and sue the stuffing out of eBay for copyright infringement. I'm sure they'll get the message much quicker than if they dealt with individual orgs.

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Kelli
12-DN-94
SSU c/o 1997

Here are several links to previous discussions regarding items being auctioned on ebay. Actually, one discussion & two other threads from people looking to purchase certain items:

Topic: eBay http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/...ML/000287.html

Topic: Sorority pins http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/...ML/000069.html

Topic: Teddy Bears http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/...ML/000080.html

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John Hammell
Network Administrator, GreekChat.com

Check this out: I go to ebay and find 2 badges for sale, and one of them says "AXO Harp" - well of course the symbol of AXO is the Lyre (and although often used interchangeably with harp it is incorrect). So I email the guy to tell him if he wants to sell something sacred to me that the least he could do is get the symbol right (how hard is it to click on the national organization website). I get this reply back:

"It is a shame that you don't have the manners to talk nicely. I am sorry for
not knowing the difference between the 2 musical instruments. I certainly
hope that the sorrority taught you more than how to be a terrible person.
Also, if it were such an afront and you really cared, you might have thought
to sign your name.
Harold"

I was so mad - I couldn't believe that he decided I was a terrible person for emailing him. I told him it wasn't just me, that a lot of Greeks didn't appreciate this selling of badges. I'll let you guys know what happens, but I thought I'd share with you the stupidity out there! Guess he thinks I'm a terrible person because I belong to an organization (like all GLO members) that is sacred to me! You notice that he NEVER addressed why he was selling the badge, how he acquired it, etc. He just wanted to put me down because I called him on his error!
I always try to email when I see any badges for sell on ebay - its not just mine, its all greeks...no matter what the letter....Peace!

Well, okay...I can understand now how this is a problem. It seems if you'd have the energy to put the badge on ebay (and have the nerve to call it a harp!), it seems like you can just click on the website and find the correct way in order to return the lyre to Headquarters. Plus, what was that guy's deal? R-U-D-E.

Also, would anyone actually purchase the badges just to prevent a non-GLO member from having it, not really knowing what it means? I actually considered it...

Jacqui

If I had tons o' $$$, I definitely would!!! Buy it & send it back to the national HQ. This whole thing of selling pins makes me violently ill. What's next, selling medical diplomas ?

I was curious if there was a similar situation on Yahoo! auctions. So I searched Alpha Chi Omega, Zeta Tau Alpha, and Alpha Kappa Alpha (I believe these 3 GLOs have had issues with badges being sold on Ebay). Here are the results:

AXO: http://search.auctions.yahoo.com/sea...ale=1us&acc=us

ZTA:http://search.auctions.yahoo.com/search/auc?p=Alpha+Chi+Omega&alocale=1us&acc=us

AKA: http://search.auctions.yahoo.com/sea...ale=1us&acc=us

None of these include the sale of any badges. I think the most being sold are T-shirts and wooden-block cutouts of letters.

Kelli, yeah, I agree. We should sue the stuffing out of these people These people have no right to sell our stuff. I did a search on my Fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, and found a long list for sale.

Beta Theta Pi Song Fest 1950
Cassette MINT US $8.00 - 06/01 18:12

Story of Beta Theta Pi,Shepardson,1930/good c US $15.50 2 06/03 00:09

1947 BETA THETA PI Fraternity History Book US $18.05 3 06/04 16:58

Beta Theta Pi Parking Sign US $9.88 - 06/05 01:57

344725195 Beta Theta Pi Dance Card 1896 Victorian US $10.60 4 06/05 10:24

Beta Theta Pi 1903 steel engraving matted US $9.99 - 06/05 12:05

Beta Theta Pi 1908 engraving matted US $9.99 1 06/05 12:58

Songs of BETA THETA PI- 1957 college songbook US $2.99 - 06/05 20:28

SON of the STARS- BETA THETA PI 1957 Pledge US $2.99 1 06/05 21:28

BETA THETA PI STREET - CUSTOM STREET SIGN US $11.95 - 06/06 17:37

1943 Songs of BETA THETA PI US $5.99 - 06/06 18:21

Beta Theta Pi 1940 Songbook US $5.00 - 06/06 19:38

10K GOLD~BETA THETA PI~FRATERNITY PIN~DIAMOND US $43.00 3 06/06 20:00

Songs of Beta Theta Pi 1930 Fraternity music US $7.00 - 06/08 08:56

Kevin Mullinix
Beta Theta Pi Alum
Epsilon Mu Chapter
George Mason University

Kevin,

I too found alot of historical artifact that most of us would love to own. Many of them are from the early days of my fraternity. I don't mind people selling t-shirts or part favors, but many of these people are selling old pins, manuals, etc. It really bothers me to see my history going to the highest bidder. My guess is that most of you have a national list serv. I encourage you to write to the list serv and tell people not to buy anything from Ebay. If we eliminate the demand, the supply won't be there.

I'm undecided on this one. The idea of sacred pins, manuals, etc. going to someone who is not a member of that organization really offends me. However, I'm wondering who the buyers usually are -- do most items sold this way wind up back w/a member, or are people who do not have membership buying them? If so, what would they want them for?

Just curious as to whether anyone has any insight on this.

Personally, I'd rather buy back anything I see offered for sale from my sorority than risk it going outside again...

I agree w/SigEpYoda that the party favor, etc. sales are not as troublesome, though how many of those have fraternal crests on them?

SigEpYoda: I think thats a great Idea. I know I'm going to say something about this. We all need to get the WORD OUT to make a stop on anyone buying our stuff. Spread the word around campus and your various chapters. Or at least make a strong effort at discouraging the practice. I agree, these Ebay people dont get the big picture or importance of selling our historical effects like pins, manuals, etc.. at the highest big. It definitely looks pretty cheap if you ask me. By the way, I used to work with one of your Sig Ep brothers(Marquette) in Sacramento, Ca. named Chris.

BFulton: I dont know specifically how Ebay works. I have a feeling that members can buy the items, but then I dont think that there is any way you can stop a non member from buying the items. SigEp is right I think. We have no choice really but to get the word out to discourage the buying or influence Ebay somehow that it isnt profitable to allow this buying/selling to happen. It would be nice if there was some kind of legal solution to this but I dont see how it effective it would really be.

Kevin Mullinix
Beta Theta Pi Alum
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia

Did anyone else read the last ebay topic? There is a good argument in that message about the legalities of selling this stuff on ebay or elsewhere. I think we can all agree that nobody (greeks) likes the idea of this stuff being sold, that it is unethical (especially for greeks, because we know better) to sell these items, but, it is not illegal. In the other message "just the facts" made comments regarding the legal aspects which make a lot of sense to me. It's OUR responsibility to make sure that our badges & other items are handled properly by us during life and that they are also handled properly (through planning) after death. If we fail to live up to our obligations about how we handle these items, then it is noone's fault but our own when someone buys these items at an estate auction & sells them on ebay. And there doesn't seem to be a legal means for us to stop the sales, because the items were purchased legally (estate sale laws) and are also being sold legally. I agree with BFulton in that I would rather buy back the item than take a chance of it getting back in the wrong hands. If we stop bidding on these items it will only be more likely that the people who should not have the item(s) will get them after winning the auctions. I think we need to hit the heart of the problem by educating our members about how to plan for the future with regards to the handling of our badges and other items.