ebay etiquette
 

I've been updating our lists, and reading the posts concerning sisters bidding on pins, and I truly think we need to develop some guidelines as to what is and is not acceptable while bidding on Alpha Delta Pi merchandise on ebay.

I would like to see some dialogue on this, which can then be posted on PO. It should be understood that a sister who gets on the "safe list" should show courtesy to another sister. This can be through emailing other bidders with an explanation of why you want that particular item, or through GC & PO, or whatever.

I feel a little strange about keeping a "safe list" and have it cause disunity.

The floor is open, let's talk this out...

I think the first thing to do with regard to this is find out what the official policy on ADPi pins or historical items is from EO.

Then find a way to make it work with ebay or make a suggestion to update the policy. This may include a proposal to the foundation or some other group to create an official fund for saving things from ebay.

With the freedom of the internet and ebay - it should be an organization policy if you all want anyone to follow it. It certainly should be led by the women who have an interest in ebay and are trying regularly to protect the history of the sorority.

It doesn't seem to me that there ever was a clear written/documented policy on ADPi items in the COB or elsewhere. Except regarding the Alpha Pins - which clearly state they are property of the chapter and are loaned to the alpha member during her pledge period.

I wish this hadn't gotten so difficult and expensive. There isn't any one of us that saw the ADPhi pin that wouldn't have wanted it for ourselves or for the sorority.

i agree.... the problem will arise when there is something of great value to all of us that is exceedingly scarce, if you know what i mean. someone can say, "i really really want this" when another sister feels the exact same way. so it's tough to say first come first served when obviously not all sisters that use ebay use GC. i may have been "one of those people" who outbid some of you prior to my finding this site!!

i agree that we don't want our badges or other paraphernalia in the hands of non-sisters or collectors. i just worry about who holds the trump card on a particularly rare item that many of us desire.

unfortunately i have no solutions or suggestions to add to the policy. :( just wanted to throw in my $.02.

also, honey, my ebay screen name is jwright25 too if you are updating the list anytime soon. :D that was one of the first places i ever had to register with a screen name, and that's the one they suggested, so it has become my name for everything everywhere!!

Ive used ebay to purchase ADPi items since I came in in 99. I did not know of a safe list until I joined GC this year, but before then I was a college kid and didnt bid on any pins since I didnt have that kind of money.

I will say ots a hard situation. So many people all over the US who use ebay and have family or friends who know they are ADPi and may bid for them to get a pin.

My thing is this. If you are ON the safe list and know the person you are bidding against is on the safe list, I really think you need to message them and try to come to an agreement. Theres been many pins Ive wanted and someone has messaged me and said, I really really want this pin and Ill back off because they are my sister and as long as a sister is getting it, Im fine with it.

I do have a sort of request if we do decide to have a understanding with people on the pin safe list, IF you have emailed someone and begged to get a pin and they back off, PLEASE make sure you can get it. I know Ive seen pins other people were bidding on, not me, and they may have forgotten about it or something and in the last minutes a collector comes in and the other person doesnt bid again. I know if its in the last seconds its too hard to, but if you are bidding on something that means that much to you that you had others not bid on it, make sure you can be home when the auction ends to make sure you get the pin.

For me the BIGGEST thing, is to save the pins. I know people collect and that is really nice and all, but I dont want the pins all going to collectors when they can go to a sister who understands about the pin, it means more to, and they will take good care of it. Or else EO where it can be preserved.

Now, EO knows we have a pin rescue. The thing with it is we cant get every person to give us their ebay name and/or adhere to being on a safe list. EO cant monitor ebay all the time. This safe list is going to have to be a list that people who are willing to be on it, are on it, and people who arent, arent. That means we can bid over them too though since they arent on the list.

My only problem again is if you are on the list, you need to show respect to the others on the list. You had to have added your name to the list or someone asked if you name could be added, so be respectful. On that note, maybe we need to contact all people on our safe list somehow and find out if they are willing to be on the list still and see if everyone can come to an agreement of respect. I know I look to see whos bidding and if they are on the list, I wont bid.

I also email other people on the list to find out why they are bidding and let them know I am bidding. Not always, but if its a HUGE pin sale or something, I want to know who they are, if they are ADPi or a collector.

I do think we should try to get into the Adelphean. I know we cna make everyone be on a list, so if we advertise about the pin rescue Brianne has, she also has a yahoo group for it, we can have them join it and join the safe list if they are interested. Most of us know who people are. We bid reguarly and look out for sisters names and we know whats going on ebay because we are on there so much. I just think respect is the key if you want to be on the safe list.

My $.02:

I don't think pin rescue is a high priority to EO. They're a very small staff and focused on operational issues effecting chapters and associations. Grand Council, the strategic arm, is planning programming, etc. So I admire what your group is doing to preserve ADPi history.

One of the international officer teams is the ritual and heritage directors. Why not contact the director of chairs for this group (EO can give you the woman's name) and work with her on an action plan for paraphernalia rescues from online and live auctions?

Another recommendation is writing a letter to the editor of the Adelphean and having them cover a story for you (I'll be happy to write it, if you'd like) about the cause.

Good luck!

just a little devils advocacy here....

if two sisters can come to an agreement about bidding, thats fabulous. but what happens if they cant? maybe they should just bid, after all, isnt that was ebay is for? not to be a total b****, but ebay wasnt really made for people to just buy things, it was made to be an auction. while its wrong to up bid just to raise a price, the point of an auction is so alot of people can have a chance at getting an item.

while everyone on our end is arguing, there will be a collector that will swoop in, and we arent going to know what hit us because we were bickering.

side note ~ i TOTALLY support all this VV and pin saving stuff, and 1 day i want to help (when im rich and famous and eating caviar and drinking champange) but if 2 sisters REALLY want something, maybe they need to just hash it out on ebay like the site was meant for

1 more note ~ consider this situation......2 sisters, we will call them, i dunno, octavia and eugenia....right now the pin is at, $100. octavia has $200 she can spend and eugenia has $500 maybe eugenia has said "octavia, im not going to bid, i know you really want this pin". with 27 seconds left the auction goes to $250. octavia cant afford to win the pin, but if eugenia was still watching the auction, she could still afford to get it and it wouldnt have gone to a collector.

Maybe we should think about this:

Eugenia wants a special type of pin, and has $300 to spend on it.
Sophronia wants a different type of pin, but likes ALL pins, and she has $800 to spend on pins.

Eugenia sees "her" pin on ebay, and asks Sophronia to let her win the bid. But! The bid goes over $300, Eugenia can't afford it, Sophronia thinks Eugenia is going to snipe for it, and it ends up in the hands of a collector. But!

If Eugenia would tell Sophronia that she wants the pin, but can only go up to $300. The bid goes over $300, so Sophronia now knows that Eugenia won't be bidding any more, so SHE can now bid on it in good conscience.

The secret is (surprise!) Communication! If there is a special type of pin that you want, you need to let people know WHAT you want, and HOW MUCH you're willing to spend. Maybe we need to develop a wishlist?

Anyhow, that's 1¢ out of my 2¢ - but I plan to add more!!

I think the key here is communication .

Personally, I have been in this situation several times, and prior to finding my way to GC!
I've had eBayers (who happened to be sisters, as I would find out) email me as high-bidder to tell me why this item was important to them. Had they simply said, "I want this", I may have been inclined to respectfully tell them that I also want it, let she with the deepest pockets win! (I mean, if we are just talking 'want' there is no gauge for who should win.) I've also contacted a competing bidder, to ask what her interest is in the item, only to receive no response, or worse, a very rude one! ("Yes I am a sister, not that its any of your biz, and I want that item and I'm not letting you win!" - words to that effect. Nice, huh? Yeah, that compells me to back off - NOT!)
However, these eBayers who could express a sentimental reason why the item had meaning to them (an item from their chapter, replacing a similar lost item, etc) which as a Sister, I respectfully let them win (or exchanged for cash if my bid was way high...).

Ebay is a free market, but we should act as Sisters, respecting one another. I don't think we could really create any policy, only the guidlines to Communicate with competing bidders and the Respect your sister!

That's my $0.02, which was really more like $2.00, but keep the change. ;)

[/soapbox]

I agree completely with FD!! I was one of the sisters who contacted her and told her that the item we were both bidding on was a bracelet I had lost (and here it was a KD bracelet!!). But she was gracious enough to back down, because we communicated!!!

Also, I had an experience when I was bidding on one lot of ADPi items, but only wanted one. I contacted the other sister bidding on it, explained that I only wanted the one item, and would give her the rest if she gave me her address - and got a really rude response (without the address)!! I still feel badly about that one.

Communication & kindness settles quite a bit, IMHO!

I totally agree. I just feel noone communicates anymore. I know I email people if I want something for some reason. I just feel like we need to find some middle ground cause the COLLECTORS laugh at us and how much we outbid each other. When we communicate things like that dont happen as much.

You said it Shannan!! While I rarely bid on things on ebay, I still try to see if the bidders are sisters (safe) or not. But really, how hard is it to email the bidders? Maybe we should all make more of a concerted effort, things would start to fall into place, and pins would fall into our laps!!!

cosign with what Honey, FD and Shannan are saying.

Communication is the key!!!!!!!

JaimeNicole, I welcome your opinion whether I agree with it or not and I applaud you for stating your opinion. (If I knew how to do clapping hands I would do it but I don't know how).

No matter what, we are sisters and I say as sisters we owe each other respect. Now this is not to say that all sisters are going to be "nice" when emailed about why they are bidding on an item and your invested interest in the item.

All I know is that I've been the victim of a sister coming in and outbidding me with 23 seconds left in bidding. My ebay name very specifically states that I'm an ADPi, so she knew she was bidding against a sister. Doing something like what she did is not cool in my book and would never be cool in my book. She never once attempted to contact me via email and had she I would have told her that the pin meant a lot to me because it was my birthstone.

We can't control everyone on ebay, that's just a given. But let's RESPECT EACH OTHER, as sisters we SHOULD be doing that anyways.

Just my 2 cents.

Feel free to agree and disagree just respect that it is my opinion.

I definitely agree with what everyone has said about communication, and I also agree with JaimeNicole's post. What if there are several sisters who want one item?

I think our original goal was that we wanted our pins to go to sisters, and not collectors. If we are achieving this goal, even if that means we lost an ebay auction, we still achieved the goal, right?

I mean, maybe I'm saying this b/c I'm a poor college kid who can't really afford to spend hundreds of dollars on pins at any given chance, but I feel that if a sister won the pin, we still won. There will be other pins... I can almost guarantee it, so there's no point in fretting about one lost auction.

Of course my above opinion would vary on the circumstance.. like for example if my pin was stolen and I found it on ebay, and I emailed one of the sisters bidding, then yea, I'd be more than upset if they still bid on that knowing it was my pin that was stolen.. but yea, ya'll get my drift!

thank you asuadpi :-)

just to clarify for everyone, i didnt intend to say dont respect your sisters, i just could forsee a situation where 2 women think they have an equal right to a pin, and it would be impossible to determine who has more of a right to it. (granted there are exceptions, ie, that bracelet that came up or someone having a stolen item placed up for auction). i guess what im trying to say is that if 2 people really want something, and neither want to back down, and there isnt an extenuating circumstance (like stated before) how is it someone else place to make some kind of rule about who is allowed to bid on what and against who?

this is just my opinion.....im not trying to stir up any trouble. girls scouts honor :)

Is "inkydiva" an ADPi? I have noticed this bidder bidding on other ADPi items.

Has the badge rescue group emailed the bidders?

In my opinion, it is not any one person's place (or any group's place) to rule on who can win what auctions. We should just encourage sisters to act as sisters, and suggest that they respectfully communicate.

I've had a sister tell me what she bid, saying that unless I wanted to top that, I was just driving up the price. (this is a paraphrase; she was more eloquent, respectful and tactful.) I was glad to get that email, b/c I was not interested in outbidding that price :eek: and was wasting my time on that item. Again, the key here was communication.

(how did I get on my soapbox again???)

Jamie, I totally agree with you. I think we should always respect one another...its in our open motto. But I also don't think there is going to be a perfect way to create guidelines for these situations (but I would love it if someone proved me wrong).

This is a tough area for several reasons. One, it is just hard to determine who wants it more. Of course, as many have said communication helps and many times it can be worked out, but not always. Also, while the list is a fabulous tool, everyone isn't on it and it doesn't begin to include family and friends of ADPis who buy items as gifts. I know my boyfriend has looked at things for me and I would feel bad if I found out he out bid a sister at the last minute or something, but he wouldn't have a clue what he'd done.

Also, while I don't mean to sound like we should make time to respect our sisters...some people just don't have the time to find out if another bidder is a sister and what the reason is or whatever. I know, it only takes a minute and many of you may want to argue this point, but sometimes things get hectic.

I would not love it if a sister outbid me at the last minute, but I would understand. She just wanted the item too and may not have known about the safe list or for whatever reason bid on the item anyway. I hate to hear that this causes tension among sisters, when she may not have even realized what she was doing...there are tons of sisters who don't check PO or GC and may not think it is wrong to bid against a sister. After all, that is the point of an auction.

Sorry, just wanted to go along with what Jamie said. I do agree with all the posts on communication and I hope some helpful guidelines are created, I guess I just wanted to remind sisters to try and give someone the benefit of the doubt if it does happen.

I know for me (and maybe for Shannan and Jennie to which the same situation happened too) is that the sister who outbid me with 23 seconds left in bidding, HAD NEVER bid on the item previously. So it wasn't like I could email her and have a discussion about it. I couldn't tell her "this is why I want this pin". Nor could she tell me.

I respect everyone's opinion about this, but no matter what, I am always going to think it is rude when someone on our safe list outbids a known sister with less than a minute left in bidding.

ASUADPi, I definitely see and understand where you're coming from.

To play the devil's advocate though, what if the sister didn't know you were on the list?

I mean, I don't check the list on a regular basis even though I frequent this site. She may have agreed to be put on the safe list, but that doesn't mean she has a list of everyone's IDs burned into her memory, so how would she have known you were on the list?

i'm having a hard time here understanding some of the places that you're coming from asu. i do understand and value the efforts that you've made so that communication between sisters is possible and regular between the those that are bidding leading up to the end of the auction. this could truly help in some of the situations that have been described here.

my issue is that you see yourself as a "victim" of another sister who probably saw the pin when the auction started, stuck it in my ebay, and didn't pay attention to it until the very end when she saw that she would be able to still bid within her limit, and then did so. not everyone on ebay takes the time or HAS that amount of time to search the internet for ebay adpi safe names, or keep up to date on them. i know i don't bid on something until the last minute, so you're not going to see me on there to email me til the very end, because i don't want to drive up the price for five days. and i'm probably not paying attention to who's bidding either, because i don't check in until the end. i don't have the time to follow ebay that much. and as i've stated before, that IS, whether or not everyone likes it, one of the ways ebay works. sniping happens. this is ebay, not a real auction. these bidder's actions, however, aren't necessarily stemming from a malicious attitude of disrespect. and you can still email the bidder who won to see if you can convince them to let you buy it from them if you have such an emotional attachment to it. chances are if she would have bowed out, had she known of your earlier intent, she'd let you buy it off of her afterwards as well.

I agree with what you are saying, but another problem is when there is a bidding war between sisters. We need to make sure when that happens someone emails them and lets them know they are a sister and attach the information about the safe list.

sweetie adpi, I respect your opinion but I feel like you are trying to tell me that I'm not allowed to feel that it is rude what that sister did to me. What another sister did to Shannan and another to Jennie. You have no right to tell me that I'm not allowed to feel this way so please don't try to.

Now if this was not your intention, I'm sorry, but from how I read your post that is what I took from it.

i'm not telling you that you can't feel however you want to feel, but i am urging you to evaluate your response to their actions when taking into account their intent - generally when someone is rude to me, they usually have every intent to be.

i'm saying in this situation, it's highly probable that these sisters had no idea that anyone would be victimized or upset by their actions. so maybe instead of continuing to be so upset about something that is inevitably going to happen again, and defining it as callous and rude, do something positive about it, (which you are trying to do, and that's great) but why waste time and energy judging these sisters actions (which you seem to continue to do) or become bitter over something that you see as a sister disrespecting you when that was probably never the case.
geez that was a huge runon but i don't have time to edit it. sorry.

Sweetie adpi, again I respect your opinion but again I feel that you are trying to tell me what I can and cannot feel which is completely not your call.

Secondly, just because I'm judging the particular sister who outbid me doesn't mean I'm judging every sister, so please don't assume that I am.

Thirdly, how would you feel if you were the high bidder for like two days and then suddenly with 23 seconds left a sister comes in and outbids you? Also, I should mention that my ebay name states ADPi in it, so she knew she was outbidding a sister and it wasn't like it was a bidding war between us, it wasn't, she never bid on the item before.

This thread is not about what happened to me, to Shannan or even to Jennie it is about Ebay etiquette.

So back to the point of the thread.....

Again, I believe it is all about communication. Communicate with the high bidder if it is a sister and you would like to bid on the item.

Good point.

I agree.

I also think that in dealing with those eBay snipers, and everyone else we deal with, we should strive for tolerance blended with humility. It it unfortunate that we can't always expect others to act the same (not even other sisters). All one can do is her very best to live up to the ideals of our Creed.

ASU, I def. agree with you when you say communication is the key, but I also have to agree wth sweetieadpi because she also made some valid points.

I am by no means trying to tell you how you can and cannot feel, but sometimes you have to take into account the other person's intent.

The winning bidder might not have bid on the item before, but many people, myself included, will not bid on an item until the very end of the auction. My whole logic in that is, why am I going to drive the price up during the entire duration of the item, when I can wait at the end? If the item is still at a reasonable price level, I will bid on it then, if not, then I'll look for something else to spend money on ;)

Like I said before, I do agree with you that communication is the key, but maybe if the unfortunate situation really bothered you, you could try communicating with the winning bidder and see if you could buy the item from them like sweetieadpi suggested.

While I agree with the majority of the posters on this thread, I'm a little reluctant to form set "guidelines" to follow.

*PLEASE* don't anyone take this the wrong way, but we have rules for everything... rules for our conduct, living in the house, etc., do we really need guidelines to bid on ebay?

I'm all for respecting sisters, and communicating, but we have a zillion initated members... and a lot of them have access to computers and to ebay. There will be times that more than 2 or even 10 sisters will want the same item, so I think sometimes situations like that will come down to whoever wins it out in the bitter end... even if it means waiting until the last 10 seconds.

I don't want to sound negative at all, but I just feel this is a little much :(

I agree wholeheartedly with Texas*Princess. That is exactly why I have not chimed in up to this point. I personally don't think ADPi revolves around Greekchat, nor do I feel that ebay is something that we can set guidelines to. Besides, even if we did, the women who are bidding against us are the exact women that would never see these guidelines. So what are we accomplishing by this thread, other than causing rifts between sisters of opposing sides.

I mean no harm or offense with my post. I just felt it was time to finally speak up.

I'll chime in as well and agree with these statements. We can set all the guidelines we want but unless these are adopted by EO and perhaps ebay, they really wont go far. The other problem I see with guidelines is that we're only establishing how to interact with other sisters on ebay but there will be instances where a collector might swoop in with 23 seconds left and win the item. What kind of protocol will be established then?

Also remember that just because you may be the highest bidder it does not mean you have a claim on the item. You don't get to say it was yours until you've paid for it so if someone outbids you its probably not malicious, the person is just following the rules of an auction.

What heresy!! The WORLD revolves around GC! SHOOT those who haven't logged on yet!! ;)

Sorry. I'm not well. I need a vacation...

Seriously , you have a good point that the women we would want/need to reach by setting guidelines won't be reading them, so this thread is really just moot.

I think the whole reason this thread was started was to establish etiquette and protocol with sisters we know are using Ebay. For example between me and shannan or me and sherra, etc... (I really hope I'm making sense although I have a feeling I'm not).

Obviously like HBADPi said, unless EO/Grand Council adopts rules we can't expect every ADPi to accept them.

Now I could be wrong on why this thread was started, it is just my guess (since I'm not the thread originator).

Okay, my responses on a couple levels:

1) As we've said ad nausem, communication is the key to a good ebay experience. If there's something you REALLY want, you need to let people know! Let us know here on GreekChat, go to PO and tell them, email the other bidders - keeping polite, but realizing that not all sisters act sisterly 24/7. There has been more than one pin that I have been interested in, but stepped back because some other GC ADPi seemed VERY interested. BUT WE ALL HAVE BUDGETS!! I think you only get a few chances to say "I REALLY want THIS particular pin!" and you should use them wisely. If, say, texas*princess tells me to back off on eight different types of pins, at some point, I'm going to remind her that my money is as good as hers, wish her luck, and tell her that the best woman will win the auction!

2) Which brings us to courtesy. I think those of us who frequent GC "know" each other better than those who don't, and we show each other a bit more courtesy than someone who registers with our list, but never posts or tries to get involved with the sisterhood. I didn't know Leslie when I emailed her about "my bracelet", but I'd like to think that I was polite about it, and she was very polite in return. In an ideal world, everyone who has ever been an ADPi would do the same, but I'm afraid it's never going to happen. Some sisters will never live the Creed; they will never learn the joy of Living for Each Other. Count it as their loss, for you have learned the more valuable lesson!

3) I would encourage each sister here to try to go to a "real" auction. Why? Because you almost always lose. You will become a much happier ebay buyer if you learn to lose graciously. There will ALWAYS be someone who sits back and snipes. Auctions are a "game" of chance; you will win some, and you will lose some. And since GreekChat, PO, or even computers are only a small portion of the Alpha Delta Pi experience, we cannot reasonably expect our list to be memorized or respected by all.

We have a long way to go before we develop the guidelines that the Keepers of the Key, the Crescent Catchers, and other such groups have already done. We need to put the past behind us and start thinking towards the future.

So - let's get back on topic. In what ways can we help our Executive Office develop guidelines for those who wish to keep our pins in the hands of Alpha Delta Pi?

Please, no more accusations, no more bitterness - just IDEAS which we can pass on to EO, please!

Here's my $.50:

It's just an online auction. They're just items. People can bid on whatever they want, and they don't have to rescind a bid just because someone asks them nicely or meanly. If they want it, they will have it. That is why this is America. Just because one person wants something and watches the auction more closely than another doesn't make the late bidder less deserving.

I don't think ADPi needs to regulate its membership on Ebay. If there is a committee established for the purpose of educating the membership on chapter history and ritual, and the subpurpose of preserving (or rescuing) paraphernalia through sorority funds and member donations, than so be it. A great place to start is with the Ritual and Heritage Director/s, and to form a specific task force. Work with pin collectors, instead of fighting them, to buy before the auction begins, if it comes to that.

In the meantime, the only etiquette one need abide on ebay is that s/he with the most cash wins, and for everyone to show good sportsmanship all around. These are just material things, and yes, they may have historic and sentimental value, but come on.... to quote William Shater, "It's just a[n object] people!"

Win some. Lose some. Let's agree to disagree and move onto the next thread.

/End $.50... I think I may have just saved a penny!

The only thing I can think of is that maybe not enough is done during years spent as a delta teaching to our sisters how you should value your pin. When I say this, I don't mean like, putting it in your will or stuff like that, I mean teaching sisters how all the things that makes ADPi different from all other sororities are in that pin (ie what the symbols on the pin mean). I know for me personally I am one of those sentimental pack rats and i would LOVE to be able to keep my pin and in 20 some years give it to a family member to use or to have for alumnae purposes etc, but for every one person like me, Im sure there is one that just sees their pin as that thing you have to wear to meetings because to them, they don't pride themselves on the physical pin itself but of the experience they had and the memories they are making while in ADPi.

*Its really late at night. Did that make any sense at all?*

Yes, pins are beautiful and important...but our entire sisterhood does not rest in the pin. Our sisterhood is so much more than that little pin.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my pin and all of the symbolism and meaning behind it. But I would love ADPi and all of my sisters past, present and future, just as much if there never were a pin. Wouldn't you?

Its so funny you said about going to a real auction. Its always so hard to lose something you really had your heart set on. You do get over it though.

I know I went to my first auction back in 00 for my major. I was doing a Interior Design internship and we were decorating this couples house in antiques, they said it had to be antiques. Anyways there were these 2 paintings that this auction was having and they sent me to go get them. Bad idea lol. I had no clue about auctions. I was used to ebay then, but had never been at a real one. I knew we only could spent so much and I was sad to see it go WAY up past that. Needless to say I didnt get it and my boss was upset, but she realized we may have lost it and she took me to another auction that weekend to show me exactly how to bid and some tricks, not that they work if someone has much more than you to spend.

Only thing I can really think of, if you REALLY want a pin because of something that means so much to you from your chapter, for a diamond sister, or something, Id email the seller. It may not always be a nice email you get back, but at least you tried all you could. A diff sister may want that pin for the same exact reason and saved more money to get it. You can try to get them to back down and you can send them an email, but thats about all you can you. It is a online auction and you do win some and you do lose some.

Another thought on etiquette:

There are 1,000s of living, breathing ADPi's living all around the world. We have less than 100 listed on the safe sister list of bidders. I think it is safe to assume that you have plenty of ADPi's not on the safe list (who also don't have "ADPi" listed in their ebay screen name).

Let's make it a policy to stop harrassing bidders with mean emails. It's really not going to accomplish anything, except to alienate people. I found I was really successful by using the following format. I got a response from EVERY high bidder I emailed (3 were ADPi's we added to the safe list, one was the mom of an ADPi, and one was an ADPhi fraternity alumni who dropped out of the bidding after I showed him that he really wasn't bidding on a vintage fraternity badge):

Congratulations on being a high bidder of the _ITEM_! I'm a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, and I just wanted to pass along to you the significance of this item. (Explanation HERE). Again, good luck on the auction! Should a member of ADPi not win, I just wanted to let the potential winners of this piece know its history a little bit better. I know you will treasure it.

Best,
ADPiUCF (sign your real name)

So my advice: BE NICE.

adpiucf, I agree wholeheartedly!