Selling your own GLO's badges on EBay
 

I know we've discussed the sale of badges by non-members before, but I came across a couple of ebay listings that got me thinking about this issue from a different angle. How do you feel about people who sell the badges of their own GLO on Ebay? Especially when they are badges that have historical significance to the GLO? For example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lambda-Chi-Alpha...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Theta-Kappa-Nu-P...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lambda-Chi-Alpha...QQcmdZViewItem


Personally, I think that it's really sad that people are so disloyal to their GLO that they would stoop to selling their badges to non-members. Don't most GLO's have policies to deal with such traitorous behaviour?

Oh dear. I've only been an ASA for a couple of days, but I love my badge and everything it symbolizes. I can't imagine parting with it, let alone selling it to a stranger on ebay. Maybe the seller deactivated from Lambda Chi Alpha and is selling the pin because he left on bad terms?

I've come to accept the fact that there are pin collectors and sellers out there. What I can't accept or fathom is someone who would sell a pin of their own GLO for profit. If you have a pin that you no longer need - why not donate it to either your HQ or a local chapter? You could still get a tax write off.

I would NEVER sell my own Alpha pin! That is ridiculous and disloyal. When I don't need something, I give it to a younger Brother. If it is of value, I would sell it to BROTHERS. To put your own pin on ebay, especially if it has historical significance..... shame.

I agree.

It took me a long, long time to see and accept the reasons why pin collectors do what they do, and while I still wouldn't do it myself, I recognize that they're not evil and horrible. I don't, however, understand people who sell their own GLO's badges. Why? Is it the money? Do they just not care about their organization that much? I think donating them would be a much better alternative than trying to get as much $$$$ out of them as possible on eBay.

That it's your own GLO's pin makes it even worse ... I always kind of assumed that pin sellers/traders/etc. were mostly GDIs who just didn't understand. That's really sick.

:(

No one sells their own badge. At least in my world, I can't fathom anyone actually selling their own badge.

And as an aside, I personally NEVER trust an ebayer that only accepts money orders. The buyer has no recourse if the item isn't as described or never shows. Well, technically they could go to the cops but that's pretty fruitless.

For instance, this seller sold an ADPi badge. http://cgi.ebay.com/Alpha-Delta-Pi-P...QQcmdZViewItem
It sold for $61, even though it was plain, because the listing asserted that the badge was 103 years old. However, the "04" had to have been for 2004 - ADPi did not exist under the name ADPi until 1913.

So some poor buyer was led to believe that they were buying a pin with over 100 years worth of history. They have no recourse against the seller because they paid by money order. If you pay by paypal, you have a level of protection, and if you pay by credit card you have another layer of protection.

So not only is this person selling pins of their own orgs, they are ripping off members of other orgs by blatantly misrepresenting their pins.

Selling your own badge is completely deplorable.

This seller, from Kansas City (according to Ebay), also is kind enough to also sell other glo badges :rolleyes: ...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=260076124842

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=260101696574

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=260098648549

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=260098655381

You MUST wonder what kind of sick bastard would do such a thing to make money off their own brothers! But, to do it to ALL greeks, is just... WOW.

I think it is sad anytime a GLO member sells his/her own badge. I don't agree with it, nor do I understand it. I try not to pass judgement on the seller, though. Once, I bought a badge from an ADPi on Ebay. Her story was sad and she was glad to see it go to a member who would cherish it. However, some non-member easily could have outbid me!

After seeing so many badges on Ebay that come from estate sales, I have instructed my husband that, upon my death, my badges go to specific members & to our Executive Office if those members have pre-deceased me.

It drives me nuts when I find my own GLO badges on eBay but then the seller usually doesn't know any better. This guy seems to if his user name is anything to go by.
I just posted a thread in my GLO's forum the other day about badges on ebay. Seriously, have a little respect.

I agree with everyone that selling your own badge it wrong!!! Period!
But is it just me or are these people selling these badges for almost nothing!! I say that because I paid a big grip for my badge, which is 10k gold w/20 real pearls. For things that are worth so much to people you would think thay would sell them for a lot more money than $35 (some I saw were way less than that).

When I lost my orginal badge, and I announced here, I had a CHAPTER sister PM me and tell me I could buy hers (plain one, that she would have sold to me for more than the price I could have bought the most blingy badge for straight from HQ) because she was just going to put it on ebay otherwise. I couldn't afford the price she was asking, so I assume she went through with it. I also saw another sister selling her own badge and her own COLONY FOUNDER'S pin - yes, folks, she was a colony founding member of Alpha Sigma Alpha who sold her badge on ebay. I alerted HQ to it, and they figured out who it was. I don't know what happened, but I really hope her membership was terminated, because it obviously didn't mean anything to her anymore!!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :( :( :( :(

Exactly. I would never sell my APO pin! If I was ever in such dire financial straits that I had to sell APO things of value, I would sell to Brothers and Brothers ONLY.

I have bought a couple APO badges and pins off Ebay. I don't like to see things like that going to non-Brothers. (And I did tell people I bought them from that I am an APO Brother.)

I don't get why someone would sell their own badges. Seriously, donate to a local chapter. If they don't care about their own organizations badges, why are they even IN a fraternity or sorority?? They could just buy badges from their IHQ and re-sell them on eBay to make a profit.

And to dupe people on top of it is just disgusting.

I would like to point out that the listing for the item I quoted above is WRONG. The chapter isn't Las Vegas, it is from the Reno chapter. The seller has LXA in their name, so the fact they can't even get their own chapter right, and also selling their groups badge is very tragic.

Maybe the person is perping LXA? If they were an LXA with all tese badges why not donate them for an honor badge at a chapter or send them to the Main Office? Very suspect! Either way it is tacky and fraudulent. Of course poor taste isn't an eBay violation, but incorrect item descriptions are.

Caveat emptor!

something to think about
 

Long time lurker....

I am pretty sure the ebay seller you are talking about is on GC.

I REFUSE to believe that somebone that's part of THIS community would stoop so low.

you can...
 

You can "believe" what you choose. However I have first hand knowledge of the ebay seller. I buy badges off ebay and send them to our National Organization. The last one I purchased was from this seller.

I think I know the badge you mean and it made me sad that this person was selling off another GLO's pin.

hee hee hee


You're a funny man.

IF you didn't know better, I can understand why GLO pins would seem like a cool thing to collect: they are beautiful and historic and often have variety, etc.

But a member of any GLO would have to understand that GLOs have rules about who can possess badges and pins and what should happen to each even after a member's death, so you would understand that your collection reflected failures to follow ritual by as many members as you had pins. That would suck the joy out for me.

(I think you'd have to be a sick little puppy to enjoy having a collection that devalued the rules of the groups that gave the items meanings. You only want it because it's XYZ and XYZ doesn't want you to have it?)

But people who SELL the badges and pins, even after they understand the wishes of the groups, really gross me out, and I think we should all be vigilant that we don't create a market and we fully inform others so they don't contribute.

(In the second case, I'm thinking of moms and dads who might not be Greek, but who think their sons or daughters would like the item. They might not fully understand that even though they are buying the item for a member, there's still a problem.)

For some reason, as a Lambda Chi, this doesn't bother me as much as the majority of people on this thread, so I will offer the dissenting opinion on this topic. Personally, as a Lambda Chi, I would never sell MY OWN pin, never ever, ever. My father gave me his pin, that he got from his mother, and I hope to pass it down myself one day. I am totally against the selling of your OWN pin. I cannot hold it against someone if their faith in their own fraternity, has diminished less then mine, in my opinion its a personal life choice. I hold some things in higher regard then some of my brothers, I plan to be a life long member of LCA, and thats my choice.

Regarding the selling of pins/badges/random swag on Ebay, for a younger undergraduate brother like myself it is a great opportunity. Regardless of the motives of the seller(s), finding a 60+ year old TKN badge for sale only comes around a few times in a lifetime. I love buying items off Ebay, especially older items, and if I had the money I would snatch these up in seconds. The fact that this is being sold by a brother, and I have a good feeling who it is, I will automatically assume these things: 1. He is a life long brother of LCA, hell his name is LCAz1. 2. These are NOT his pins. 3. At some point he either had to buy them himself, or they were given to him. 4. $300 for a TKN pin is a steal, he by no means is trying to rip us off. It is actually worth a great deal more.

As a collector of LCA gear in an age where my fraternity is coming up on its one-hundredth anniversary, it becomes increasingly harder over the years to acquire these old items. This is one of the only avenues to get these things nowadays.

I think the general consensus is that brothers giving away/selling their pins for profit is a horrible thing, I will agree and disagree. Circumstances surrounding these pins are not by any means dishonorable, collectors are collectors. Odds are the money received is going to his chapter, or going to purchase other items he doesn't have. Keep in mind, many people I know buy several pins for themselves. Luckily, I got a very expensive pin from my dad, probably was worth several hundred when purchased, so I am told. Many people start off with cheap pins, and buy new ones when they can afford it. If they want to sell the old one, so be it.

Conversely, I think selling your own pin is like giving up your allegiance to the fraternity. I think I rather have someone sell their pin and it goto a brother who appreciates it, and if it has to be returned to the fraternity by monetary means, so be it. Someone had to pay for it, its priceless and expensive all at the same time.

In conclusion, it doesn't bother me. There are worse things that a person can do their fraternity, this is not one of them as long as the intentions are honorable, in this case I can guarantee they are.

Thanks,
John Dever
High Kappa
Lambda Chi Alpha - Gamma-Tau Chapter
The Ohio State University

And you can speak with such certainty.... how?

And the misrepresentation of the ADPi badge....?

And how about if you wanted to sell your own badges, badges of your own fraternity, why must it be done on ebay, where there is no assurance that the purchaser is a member of the org....

Just doesn't make sense.

Are you the seller?

But there's no guarantee that a 60 year old LXA badge will end up with a brother via eBay. Wouldn't you rather see the seller offer them via an LXA group or site and have them go to actual members, than risk the chance they'd end up in the hands of non-members?

It just seems skeevy to me that SO MANY badges are for sale from this person. It looks more like someone buying and selling for profit more than anything, especially since they are not being accurate and selling badges with false information.

Somehow fraud doesn't seem to be in line with the ideals that LXA puts forth, at least on its website. If someone is committing fraud while flaunting your letters, that's kinda bad.

I am not the seller. I am pretty positive I know who it is, and the fact that I do, does not bother me one bit.

Secondly, I agree with you that there should be a better avenue about how to go about selling of things like these. I just hate ebay, but unfortunately this is the world we live in and no matter how much I hate ebay it is the most convenient.

I am well aware that this could go to someone who is not a brother, and the only reason it would bother me would be if someone was using it to falsify their membership in the fraternity. There are some honorable people out there that collect badges of this caliber from numerous sources. Does it bother you that someone from any of your GLO's might have a Lambda chi badge because they bought it because it was pretty or they have a collection from several GLO's? History is just that, history, and you cannot fight the fact that some people are historians and they collect items. Personally if someone from a different GLO, or just a regular individual, wants to collect a LCA badge because they recognize its brilliance and beauty I take that as a compliment.

http://www.hjgreek.com/index.cfm?eve...wOrganizations

I or anyone else could go on their website right now, and order official badges from any one of those GLO's, and they don't have to be a member of that GLO. My mother could go buy me one, and she doesn't have to prove that she or I am an Lambda Chi. Our Lambda chi badge was originally inspired by Kappa Sigma's badge in 1912. Ancient history, our founder had no nefarious intentions by owning one of these.

In a perfect world, I agree that those badges should goto a Lambda Chi. I also contend that there are motives other than greed when buying or selling these items.

Sorry, I missed a few posts and skipped to the end before I posted. I cannot speak for members of other GLO's, or other individuals about how they feel about their badges. And to state the fact, these are my individual opinions and don't represent anyone else, nor am I trying to influence anyones faith in their GLO.

I looked at the ebay threads, the highest selling badge was $60, and that was for a 100 year old badge. That isin't a lot of money, if he was trying to profit he could easily have set the reserve to several hundred higher and it would still probably sell. Odds are thats what he paid for it. The other badges are around a few dollars to 20$ ish.

It seems to me that the basis of the argument is people not wanting other GLO's to own their pins, and that people from a GLO should not sell their own pins. I agree with the second with reservations as stated before. He could own badges, and not sell them, and no one would ever know that they still existed. Then it wouldn't be a problem? It seems to me that this collector, hes obviously not just selling 1, is trying to give the badges back to their owners, or whoever appreciates them the most. It is also obvious that he is not trying to profit off the sale of these pins, because almost all of them could go way over the asking price.

I am not trying to inheritantly defend the person selling the items, more to offer an explanation that doesn't involve the individual being a horrible person. I don't think that the other items being sold are being misrepresented. At no point does he say that he is a member of the sorority of the pins hes selling. Its the trade of history, it just happens to be in this case viewable on ebay. It happens each and everyday, public, and private. And most of the transactions you will never ever hear about. Some people honestly like collecting and selling old things. I have accepted the fact that there are plenty of things that are missing from my chapter that will never be seen again. I rather find it on ebay, then never at all. Stealing is a different story, this is not stealing.

I believe that part of being the official jeweler for a group involves verifying with the group the membership of who orders the actual badges. I think you can order a lot of the other stuff, but I don't think you can actually get the badges without their confirmation with your national group.

And I think the point about the 100 year old badge is that it couldn't be as advertised because the name ADPi wasn't in use in 1904.

ETA: You have to do more than confirm through IHQ. You have to order through IHQ.

Sorry, I missed that point entirely. I have no explanation for that, most likely a misunderstanding. I cannot comment on the validity of the items being sold, I only know about my own badge. I jumped in too quick into the discussion, didn't read all of the comments.

I wanted to note that I do understand your point about history and that some people might sincerely collect out of admiration. (Sure it would be cool to have all 26 NPC badges in real life.) But once you know the policies of the groups and that you aren't supposed to do it, well, continuing is jerky. Groups also have no way of knowing who is collecting out of sincere admiration and who is collecting with intent to wear them. If they are for members only, it's a pretty clear policy.

Dever, I think most of us have accepted that there are people selling and collecting badges. Granted, we don't believe that a member of a GLO should be profiting from the resale of his OWN GLO's pins.

The seller fraudulently misrepresented the ADPi badge. There is no "typo" involved. "While a plain Adelta Delta Pin pin, it is very old!!!!!
Date: 2. 4. 04. Makes this pin around 103 years old."

Granted "Adelta" is a typo, but this pin is three years old, NOT 103. That's a huge difference. This is not at all honest, it is blatantly misrepresenting the truth. And if this person deals in pin collecting like it appears, there is absolutely no excuse for his ignorance. It is fraudulent misrepresentation.

Okay, Devil's Advocate here, but sometimes the pins end up in estate sales, or the owner dies and her survivors aren't Greek and don't know what to do with it, so it goes to a collector. It's not likely, but it is possible.

There was a post in a Pi Phi thread about a really rare and lovely arrow pin being up on ebay and , truthfully, I would love to have been able to buy it in case one of my daughters ever pledges Pi Phi.

JMHO, but it might be the case....:)

Also, think about this.....you can also purchase jerseys with GL of any O you want and wear them. There are a tons of websites that specialize in GLO sewn and printed jersies, etc. They probably don't ask for any proof that you ARE a PBP, for instance. :confused:
I know it's not the same as your pin, but it is still kind of creepy to think that anyone could just buy your letters and wear them.....:eek:

Yeah, nobody likes the thought of nonmembers presenting themselves as members, but badges are different. I don't think there's a single group, as far as I know, who lets non-initiated people wear the actually badge (with maybe the exception of "pinning" sweethearts, in which case she still doesn't get her own pin). Almost every group lets new members wear letters of some sort before initiation and many allow letters on items for dates to functions, but I don't think anyone gives them pins of their own.

I cant quote our official policy verbatim but the jist is: Only active and associate members may WEAR the badge.

I don't recall anything about purchasing, or owning, I could be Wrong.

Let me start by saying that all of my GLO insignia is very precious to me. When I clean out my closets and make a pile to donate to Goodwill, I deliberately hold back my old sorority t-shirts because I don't like to think of a non-member wearing them. (Then I feel kind of guilty, because I envision someone who really needs a t-shirt having to go without.....) In short, I can't imagine selling my pin on ebay or elsewhere. :eek:

That being said, that pin is just a hunk of minerals. It's beautiful, and it's very meaningful to me and other members, but wearing it does not make you a member any more than wearing my old convention t-shirts would make you a member. In the final analysis, the membership pin is an inanimate object.

If one of my sisters is desperate enough to sell her pin to get a few bucks, my heart goes out to her. And if some non-member wants to throw their money away by buying it, .... whatever. There are many more important things in this world for me to agonize over.

You let "pledges" wear the badge? Who else does, do you know? We have a different new member pin.

My GLO stresses to tell your family whether you want to be buried with your badge or have it sent back to IHQ. Those are the choices. It seems pretty clear: "According to the Constitution and Standing Rules of Alpha Gamma Delta, each member takes a lifetime lease of the Badge at the time of Initiation. The Badge is either buried with a member when she enters Chapter Grand or shall revert to the Fraternity (through International Headquarters)."

Of course, I think we all know that we can't expect the rest of the world to follow our rules. We can only make sure they have very limited access to badges and a even more limited market to sell to.

Okay, I'm posting as a sorta-kinda KD pin collector... I've bought quite a few KD badges on ebay, researched their histories, and reported them to HQ that they are now in my possession. Though I'm pretty sure that HQ doesn't have a large database keeping track of where all the badges are (I'll check on this).

Anyway, I bought these badges with the original intent of replacing my badge that was stolen when my parents' home was burglarized. But then, I got addicted to learning the histories of these badges. One of them, of which I am quite proud, belonged to a (now-closed) chapter founder.

As an active alumna member of Kappa Delta, I would NEVER sell these badges on ebay or any open market. If there comes a time that I need to get rid of them, I will definitely donate them to the KD Foundation.

I DO understand how someone with no interest in their GLO since college could sell their badge...it's insignificant to them. But I just cannot understand if someone who is an active alum would sell any of their own GLO's badges, though.

Ha Ha
 

No, I am not the seller, but I do think you KNOW exactly who I am refering to. I am just waiting for him to make their entrance into this post. I know it is a matter of time.