1904 (??) ADPi badge on eBay
 

<crash>

Sigh.

Another badge on eBay, this one with the date 11/06/04. Since the description says it was purchased through an estate, I will assume that is 1904 and not 2004...but I will let you ladies decide, as I would not be able to tell. I just thought you might want to know, since this is potentially over 100 years old.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Design-A...QQcmdZViewItem

There is only one bid so far.

Thank you for visiting, Blondie93 - you're welcome to crash at any time (if you play nice!). I've PM'd the dealer before, and asked her to specify that the pin she has is from 2004, not 1904. Unfortunately, she hasn't.

But we all appreciate your generosity in sharing your information! I hope we can return the favor some time.

Thanks honeychile.

Very sad that a badge from just *four* years ago is already being sold.

HC - I wonder if you can report the listing to ebay for false representation?

The seller is obviously trying to get more money for it by saying it's "vintage" and from an estate.

I decided to do a little sleuthing via the ADPi Member Search... I found the member's name. I wonder why her pin is for sale...

Wow! I didn't think about that. Would it be creepy to send her an email or something (although mail would probably take too long) like that to let her know?

I would sure like to know if my pin was EVER up for sale because it would not be consensual!

I also think I found her on Facebook... I was going to send her a message, but I don't want to creep her out.

*crash*
You should definitely contact the member and cc the appropriate person at your HQ. If it was stolen and a police report was filed eBay will pull the sale.

Well, I messaged her on FB... we'll see if I have the right person. I'll keep y'all posted.

I was going to say that it's definately a 2004 pin because I "saved" a pin from Ebay about two years ago from 1915 and at that point they were putting the entire year on the pins.

Can the seller be reported for possible theft? It sounds a bit fishy that the seller is claiming it is a "vintage" pin and that it came from an "estate".

Well... apparently it wasn't her on FB. :(

Besides, in 1904, we were still the Adelphean Society. From 1905-1913 (?), we were Alpha Delta Phi. In fact, we were admitted to the NPC as ADF. I hadn't realized that it was that long - I'd practically kill for an Alpha Delta Phi pin!

OH MY GOD!!! THAT IS MY PIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR IT!!!!! THOSE ARE MY INITIALS, MY CHAPTER, AND MY INITIATION DATE!!!!!:eek::eek::eek:

The seller is lying. It is not an estate. 11/6/04 is when I was initiated. I am going to try and win it back. It is mine!!! Where in the world did she find it?

Now that is amazing!

Wow! I hope you have luck getting it back!

I hope you're reporting to Ebay as well.

I am talking to ebay now. I am trying to halt the selling of it.

OhMyGoodness! :)

Smiley, I hope that you are able to get it back.

It is such a hassle. Ebay makes things so difficult.:mad:

Smiley, Did you realize your badge was missing? This is fascinating! I hope hope hope you get it back! Let us know if we can do anything.....like mass-email the seller or something. EEEEEKS!

Ummm WOW. The world gets smaller everyday. Smiley, good luck getting your pin back!!!!!!!!!

Wow, what are the odds of finding your badge on e-bay. I lost mine years ago and it was the saddest thing. It had such emotional value. Good luck on getting it back. Oh, and I do not know everything to know about the history of our badge, but usually you can tell the newer pins by the raised hands. The real 'vintage' ones have somewhat flat hands. I don't know if the is always the case, but just what I have seen. I know of an ADPi with an AD PHI badge. She e-mailed me a picture. It was really cool to be able to see.

So it says bidding has ended for the item.. is that because time ran out? or was the listing pulled?

WOW. Small world.

How can they "force" the seller to give it back?

This is really interesting... I hope it turns out in smiley's favor.

Smiley -- when did you realize your pin was missing? Is the seller in your area?

I wonder if it was stolen and then sold to a pawn shop or something and that's where the seller picked it up?

I didn't get my pin. In the middle of me trying to talk to ebay, I got a horrible phone call. This led to me running out of the house in tears and pure anger and I drove to my best friend's house. I wasn't able to focus on getting my pin. So I had a very miserable afternoon.


The bidding time ran out. The seller does live here in Jacksonville too. The last time I had my pin was last fall for an Alpha Ceremony. Then I thought I left it in my car. In the last few months I have been looking for it. I don't know where I lost it.

Woah. Truly a bizarre turn of events. O_O Bidding's ended, hope the last bidder was you!

I did not get a chance to bid.

What about contacting the winner? I mean unless the person has already been charged.

I'd say keep talking to Ebay. Your pin, for all intents and purposes was stolen from you and sold on Ebay. That should have null and voided the transaction. The problem might be if you don't have a police report.

Does anyone know if the winner is a collector or a sister? If it is a sister they might just be willing to give it back, I know I would.

I am still trying to contact the winner.

If I am having trouble with ebay, can I still contact the police? I don't know if that is considered "worth their time"....I have never done that before.

Yes, the lack of a police report might be a problem - but if you have people to back you up that your pin went missing (do NOT say that it was lost, you simply don't know if it was lost or stolen), you might be okay.

Yes, it IS something worth their time! The last thing ebay wants to be known for is as a fence for stolen items!!

And, I hope I speak for everyone here when I say that we would ALL be willing to email ebay about your pin! Just say the word, and I'll fire off an email in minutes!

Then please email them!!!

I am waiting on the Trust and Safety team of Ebay to get back to me. My email is lost in a line. I hope I can get it back in time.

Smiley, you are with PM.

Have you contacted the seller, to tell her that your pin was most definitely NOT part of an estate?

My stupid account is not allowing me to send email. :(

The item number is 160206082646. If you guys can send emails about it, that would be so awesome. Send it to the seller!! If you need to know my name, pm me.

Okay, I just sent the following message to the seller:

Dear colleenscornerltd,
I contacted you to tell you that this pin is from 2004, not 1904. It seemed odd to me that someone initiated only 4 years ago would have an estate. I am a mod on a chatboard, and know the woman who rightfully owns this pin. Her initials, chapter, and initiation date are all the same as this pin - which went missing right after her initiation.

My intention isn't to threaten you. She's heartsick, and I've offered her another pin, but it's just not the same as the one she was initiated with. She has filed a complaint with ebay, though, because it's the RIGHT thing to do. The man who won the auction is a pin collector, not someone with a such a strong sentimental attachment to this particular pin. If you need her name, chapter, and date of initiation, I'll supply it.

Please do the right thing, and let her buy her own pin. If she won't, I'll buy it for her, and get it for her. It's HER pin in the first place.

I thank you in advance for hearing me out.
honeychile
********

I then sent the above to the buyer, too, and asked his help in restoring this pin to its rightful owner.

Let's hope and pray that we* get a response, that they see reason prior to ebay even getting involved!

*I say WE, because this involves ALL Alpha Delta Pis, ALL Greeks! This isn't an anonymous pin; we all know that it's Smiley's. This is definitely a matter of "No matter what the letter, we're all Greek together!"

Hope it helps...
 

Okay Smiley, I went to bat for you too. I emailed the guy who won the auction, since it is possible that he has already paid for the item.

(and excuse the teeny white lie in the first line.. I am certain that we *would* be friends, so I just took a little liberty when writing the note! Hope you don't mind!)

Here is my note:

I know the person who was the original owner of the ADPi badge that you won today... her initials, initiation chapter and date are all on the badge. It was lost a while back and she has been devastated since.

Please consider returning the badge to its original owner. She has no idea how it wound up in the seller's possession.. but I can assure you that it is only 4 years old and NOT "vintage" or "from an estate" as the seller indicated.

This piece of jewelry has tremendous sentimental value to its owner.. imagine a wedding ring or such- it means *so* much more to you than anyone else.

Please understand that I mean no disrespect, and that you of course would have had no idea the story behind this badge when you placed your bid. But I do hope that you will consider allowing the original owner an opportunity to claim it back.

Thank you for your consideration.

Anyway, hope that it can help... I am really pulling for you!

Thank you guys so much. I am still waiting on a reply from them and ebay.

Any update?

Not yet. :(

wow. that's crazy. unfortunately at this point i'm sure money has already been exchanged. :(