What happens....
 

to all the pins that we rescue from Ebay and send to Nationals?

Does Nationals have some sort of display for all the pins that were sent to them?

Just curious.

I believe they get put into storage and can be purchased by sisters that have lost their own badge.

Do they sell them at a discounted price? Any info would be great. I have always wanted a nice white gold badge - like my mothers - but never the money to buy it. :(

if you are in the market for a new
 

badge call i.o. and see what they have. the prices are not inflated.....two years ago i replaced my plain gold badge with a white gold one with turquoise . the tips were pearl. i had wanted all turquiose but this one was readily available and i believe i paid about 70 or 80 dollars, which i thought was a fair price. and of course i returned my plain gold badge to i.o.!!! lisa

Awesome thanks! I'll keep that in mind when my birthday comes back around in November.

They do sell badges at a greatly discounted price and no need to turn in your old one. They keep them on hand to sell to members who have lost them. I've been told that TLC's buy a lot.

Several national officers have told me that returning items or badges to I/O after "rescuing" them is not necessary. Interesting or historically significant items go into the archives and are only pulled out for special occasions like Convention, if then.

I've been asked to catalog all the items I have but I had to stop. It was a little overwhelming but very cool. If I come to Convention, I'll bring a few unusual items.

To add to what LaRue said, I've kept the badges that I've rescued. It's been a small investment for me, so unless IO can reimburse me, I'm hanging on to them. I've loaned them out to alumnae to wear to ritual and whatnot, but always get them back.

I was thinking about it because, like Barbara said, it is a huge investment to buy those pins off Ebay. I've seen some of those pins reach above $500. :eek: I know that we can't expect Nationals to reimburse us for rescuing those pins. If Nationals were to reimburse us for the pins we purchased, our members probably wouldn't be as frugal about their bidding since they know they will get their money back. Also, the pin collectors would be happy since they will end up with more money knowing that Nationals basically has a policy of rescuing all the pins leading them to increase the starting bid.

We've had some beautiful pins rescued from Ebay and I'm sure that it cost our sister a lot of money to rescue it. Instead of selling it off to a member at a reduced price, I've always felt Nationals should make a display of some sort for our more unique pins. Many of these women had their name, roll numbers, and year engraved on the back. Maybe there could be a display case of some sort at Nationals that contains these pins and each pin would have a label of some sort with the name of the deceased owner, the chapter of initiation, and year. It would be something of interest for members to see when they visit IO.

I know that if I were to spend a lot of money rescuing a pin that I would rather it be put on a display of some sort than resold at a reduced price (and I wouldn't even be earning any money in that sale!).

I bought a pearl and sapphire badge last year from IO for $40. It was in perfect condition. I'm thinking about buying another one to add to my collection :)