Pin Collectors
 

As you may have heard, there are people who collect fraternity & sorority pins for whatever reason. One of the easiest ways to do this is by watching online auctions such as ebay, and bidding for various pins. There are two schools of thought about this: One, that the pins should belong exclusively to the members of that GLO and Two, as long as people don't physically wear the pins, it's a harmless hobby.

You may have heard of KKG having a "Keepers of the Key" organization, whose sole purpose is to keep the Kappa key in the hands of Kappas only. Alpha Delta Pi has a similar group, "Guardians of the Diamond". I've met some wonderful sisters while agreeing not to bid against each other for one pin or another. One ADPi has a massive collection of various ADPi pins; wouldn't it be lovely if a poster could be made of the different pins? We are very fortunate to have such a wide selection!

There is an interesting debate on the Alpha Phi message board, entitled "Unusual A Phi Pin on ebay". I would encourage every sister to read this thread! You will understand my restraint after reading it.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and the thread mentioned.

Loyally,
honeychile

And while I'm thinking about it, not to be morbid, but have you made arrangements for the disposal of your ADPi diamond after your death? If you don't have a legacy to leave the pin to, consider leaving it to a chapter for use as a President's Pin, a Scholarship Pin, or even a Spirit Pin. Another suggestion is to stipulate that your pin be returned to EO, so that another Alpha Delta Pi may enjoy it. Just a suggestion.

honeychile

joining the group?
 

How do you get involved with the Guardians of the Diamond? We have been talking about this on our chapter listserve. In fact, several of us have started bidding when we can (sorry if we are bidding against you). I contacted EO about this and they said there was nothing they could do and didn't mention any groups of ADPi's that were doing anything like that. It would be nice to have a listing of the ID's of people in the group so that we wouldn't bid against eachother. However, I wouldn't post it here because of the ease of access to sellers. I know of a sister who is looking to replace her pin which was stolen. Thanks for any information you can provide about Guardians of the Diamond.

I won't say that it's underground, so much as by word of mouth. If I see someone bidding consistently on ADPi items, I will usually email them, asking them if they are ADPis.

I heard about the Guardians from Beth Hamilton, EO VP of Housing (or something similar, I'm just awful at titles!). She's such a lovely lady, and she told me that *** is the sister who has the awesome collection. Beth gets pins for Alphas she knows & loves, and will let *** know if she's bidding, so that *** will opt out.

Just jump in, bid, and if you question someone's status, email them! If they don't answer, or won't step down if you explain that you're after that pin for a specific reason, it's a pretty safe guess that that person isn't an ADPi!

And by all means, if I'm bidding against you, let me know! I would rather that we don't run the price up against each other!

honeychile

edited for identities; I'll pm them to you!

I think having a Guardians of the Diamond is a great idea.

I know this might sound kind of crazy, but if EO had a database of eBay identities of all ADPi's they would know if a real ADPi was bidding on the precious badges or other items.

Making a database that huge would be very time-consuming I'm sure...

I know a lot of the International Officers themselves try to bid on pins and what not, and out Grand President is one of them. So you can always send emails her way directly, and she will try to bid on them or find someone who can.

What category at ebay would you find this pins? I tried doing a search and I couldn't find any badges from ANY GLO. Not that I would bid, but I'm just curious who these people are that are bidding on these!

L & L,
Jennie

Just type in Alpha Delta Pi! Pins aren't always up for bid (thank heavens!), but that's where they will be, when they are. I was able to get a pin that had been made into a ring for less than it would cost to have my own pin made into a ring! :) Of course, I will have to have it sized...

L&L,
honeychile

bid LATE!
 

I have heard differing opinions on this topic but one piece of advice I would offer is to bid late. If you start bidding early, it is a sign to collectors and/or the seller that you are willing to pay more for it. If you let it set until the last day (even the last few hours), the price will typically remain fairly low. This helps ADPi members have a chance and picking up a badge for a lower cost. The earlier the bidding starts, the more people bid and the higher the price goes. I have seen that happen on a few items there. Just my thoughts. What do you all think?

I think that's sound advice, Jen. I usually either put something on my watch list, or make the lowest bid possible (if I'm first), then lie low until the last day.

Of course, do I have to tell you who's nigh on to a heart attack in those last, frantic minutes? :rolleyes: :)

L&L,
honeychile

Greetings ladies!

I just wanted to let you know there is an ADPi badge on ebay that is due to end in 3 days.

Here is the URL:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=11145

[QUOTE]Originally posted by texas*princess
[B]Greetings ladies!

I just wanted to let you know there is an ADPi badge on ebay that is due to end in 3 days.


Just so you know, an ADPi did win this badge to replace hers that was lost (she's a sister from my chapter and let us know)

Jennie

[QUOTE]Originally posted by polarpi
[B]Yippee!!! I'm so glad that the Diamond has a good home!! I really try to be understanding of pin collecting, but sometimes I get a little miffed at the non-ADPis who run up the price on sisters!!

honeychile

I think it is good that a sister who is replacing her badge won it (especially since it was on sale by a fellow Sister). There is another badge online right now with guard and charms. Just thought I would pass that info along!

I completely agree Jen!

Do y'all call them "charms" now? We called them dangles.

That pin is beautiful! I just hope it goes to an ADPi!

honeychile

We call them dangles in my chapter...

Checked on ebay a few minutes ago...there are two pins up for sale right now. One looks to be a part of a collection, and the other I think is being sold by someone who just sold another one within the past week or two...this is so distressing, but a good reminder of how much the pin means to me!

Wow, polarpi - what a beautiful way to think about the pin! :) You've inspired me!

L&L,
honeychile

Well, I just think about the billions of women out there, and how few of them will actually wear the ADPi badge...that's what helps me to remember to cherish it and what history it has behind it!

L&L,
Jennie

This is getting serious...one of our sisters found an ALPHA pin up for sale on ebay. Here's the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=11145
I can't believe this...and tyoregon has the highest bid at the moment, so I'm hoping a sister can beat him out in the last second!

Jen, thank you for pointing it out! I see an EO officer has bid on it; I've put in on my watch list and I'll bid on the last day (if I can afford it!).

What really irks me is the seller's name: betapifiji. This person is probably a greek, and still profits from this. Shame on him/her!!

*glowering*
honeychile

FYI: Since reading Jen's above post, I checked ebay again. I didn't see much under Alpha Delta Pi, but under "Collectibles:Historical Memorabilia: Fraternal Groups:Fraternity, Sorority " I found pins etc from all sorts of fraternities & sororities. There are dozens of pledge pins from many GLOs, as well as various other pins. I did notice an "Alpha Delta Phi" pin, and found it intriguing - if no one had already bid on it, I could have been tempted.

Guess who is high bidder on more than 5 different sorority pins (that I noticed)?! If you read the first post in this thread, you know the answer! So much for the theory that "My wife/daughter/aunt/niece/grandmother etc was an (insert your GLO here)!

I'm still looking...

L&L,
honeychile

You can find the Alpha pin if you do a search as ADPi Sorority Pledge Pin, and there is still one badge in the regular "Alpha Delta Pi" search. I put both of them on my watch list. In order for the highest bidder to have a relative of some sort as a (Insert GLO), he'd have to have a LOT of relatives!!!

L&L,
Jennie

TyOregon
 

Hey Sisters - bad news. TyOregon won the Alpha badge. If you check out other boards about their badges, you will see that he claims he has relatives in the sorority - the most common story is that his daughter is a member of X sorority. It does appear that he may have a daughter that is a KD and he buys badges for her. Either way, he runs up the price on a number of badges so if you see him bidding, bid late - he apparently doesn't have any cash flow problems. It also doesn't do any good to write to him and ask him not to bid. Anyway, just thought I would pass that information along.

I have a question though, as a "pledge pin" that has to be given back to the sorority - can't EO do something about that pin. Noone can buy them from the Sorority so the pin must have been "Taken" from them. Just a thought.

Oh, filing a claim for receiving stolen property would be such justice!! :D I had heard that he had Alpha Phi daughters - frankly, I don't believe 1/10th of it. The link I started out with is from the Alpha Phi thread; they say he's an attorney with deep pockets. I'm glad he paid as much as he did for it!!

Interestingly, my pledge class was the largest on campus when I pledged, so our Alumnae Association bought our pledge pins for us. I still have mine, in a little frame that they made for each of us. Alumnae can be cool at times! :)

L&L,
honeychile

When I read the title of this thread, I wasn't quite expecting what I read. After reading Alpha Phi's thread and completely reading all posts on ours, I'm pissed!!! I don't even think I can describe how mad I am. My parents paid for my pin and it means so much to me because they really didn't support me joining ADPi, but they bought my pin. I treasure my pin and I look foward to the day when I have a daughter and can pass it on to her. It really irks me that this guy is doing this to us, Alpha Phi and god knows how many other sororities. I wish there was a way for all of us, all greeks, to band together and stop the sell of our pins on ebay to people who aren't even greek and let alone a member or the particular sorority/fraternity.
I'm sorry if I offended anyone. This just really frustrates me.

Trust me, you're not offending any of us! We all feel very strongly about the Diamond, and guys like that are simply childish in their desire to make people pay more than they really should. If he were a collector of one each, never wore them, and didn't lie about his affiliations, I might be more tolerant. Maybe.

honeychile

I doubt I'd be more tolerant....there's really no reason to bid on the pins if you're not going to use them...how many people have stuff lyin garound just because they "wanted it" rather than they "needed it"??? Just my honest opinion, but I wish the selling of any GLO pins would not occur on ebay. Grr....

Honey ~ Here is your original thread on the Guardians of the Diamond.

Just a nice little bump!

Re: TyOregon
 

Sorry to crash your board...... Tyoregon does have a daughter and mother and they are both Alpha Phi's our EO knows of his daughter and EO has seen her serious collection of Alpha Phi badges that daddy warbucks ( tyoregon) has bought for her. He is a not very nice man if you ever deal with him on an email level. Even if your the nicest sincerest person who emailed him a non threatening email he still is a creep.

He does run up the board to outragious amts and in my opinon is a creep. He tells everyone he has a daughter that is a KD,APHI,KKG,ADPI, etc... i don't know his reasoning but nonetheless a jerk

I love your idea of guardians of the diamond program to help "save " your badges... you all should be commended for trying to save your heritage like us all against creeps like him!

Laura

Thank you Laura! I'm sure our badge means as much to each of us as your's does to you. :)

Bid Early/Bid Late
 

Here's my thought and the logic behind...

Bid early with the HIGHEST AMOUNT you would be willing to pay.
THis was suggested to me when I first started bidding (and losing) on Ebay, and it is good advice. Obviously, we all want to pay as little as possible, and that is how ebay's proxy bidding works. For example, if you are willing to pay $100 - at MOST - but opening bid is $1, BID $100! Ebay will enter your first bid at $1. This way you will automatically out-bid anyone who bids later. Yes, these later-bidders *will* drive the prioce hight, so you've got to be willing to pay your bid price.

So, now you know my bidding strategy! If you see me bidding on ebay for ADPi stuff, you might want to PM or email me if you have a special request (I've been know to stop bidding or to sell for my purchase price TO SISTERS).

Loyally,
Leslie

PS - I also bid on Theta Chi (my dad's fraternity) items and NJ postcards.

I was always told to watch an item until the final day. Then if it is still reasonable, bid with your highest bid. This will keep the price from going up every time someone bids. Just my $0.02

^^ I've ALWAYS won auctions this way.

With highly coveted items (like sorority pins for example) there are some ebay members who simply bid to raise the price.

Say for example I placed a proxy bid and my max was $100, but the bid so far was only 45, people have been known to bid on the item simply to raise the cost.. so I would definitely suggest waiting until the end, unless money is really not a concern and you just really really want to be the highest bidder for 8 days straight on that one item :p ;)

Thanks, Princess. I never thought about people spitefully raising the price.

For those of you that do collect, what are your plans for your badges once you pass on??

VERY good question, Sherra!!!

I had always planned on giving my pin with sapphire points to my one "niece" and the pin with ruby points to her sister, but Kelly didn't go Greek, and Molly didn't have ADPi on campus. So, Plan B is: Sapphire points to my chapter for some sort of Reward program (Spirit?), Ruby points to a sister who has become very special to me (and who has a daughter), and all pearls to International HQ for someone who can't afford a pin.

All this is scrapped if I end up having a daughter, of course!! :) That poor child would be lopsided, from the number of ADPi and DAR pins she would be left...!

nah, she'll just have an assortment. :D

I'm lucky my great aunt had me to pass her down to. I'm sure i would have run across it after the funeral, but It was more special this way.

I am thinking that I need to have atleast 3 daughters right now. Or have 3 granddaughters. And if not, I have a neice, and two psuedo neices that just might benefit from my mini collection.

Otherwise, to EO or my chapter they go for a sister that can't afford a pin.

yep Finest, sometimes people do that :(

sherra, that was a very good question!!! I don't have a collection yet (mainly because I'm still a poor college kid!) but if I didn't have anyone to pass them on to, I would definitely send mine back to EO