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Hi Jen,
No, your posts weren't offensive. Look, we work hard for our badges, they mean a lot to us and we hope that everyone values them as we do and treats them with the same respect that we do. That is certainly not naive or childish.
But to DEMAND such treatment because those are your beliefs is indeed naïve. And to talk and act the way some people have is outrageous. You have people in this forum using language like "crummy hands" or "slimy hands" when referring to a collector. You have people in this forum – Moderators! – who name the names of collectors and other people bidding on these pins, and then stalk them to find out what else they’re bidding on! You have people sending hate mail filled with expletives and threats of violence to these people, such that they start worrying about their personal safety and the safety of their families.
Sorry, but that is absolute crap. Someone is angry because another person doesn’t respect the high ideals their badge stands for, so in a spectacular violation of those ideals they send a vulgar threat letter? The irony is staggering.
Disagree with me if you like, but at least get all the facts straight. Collectors are almost exclusively buyers – not sellers. We are not profiteering from constantly buying and reselling pins. The people selling the pins are dealers, pawn shop owners, estate jewelers, etc. From their perspective, they’ve purchased these items legally and they sell them for profit because that’s what they do for a living. Collectors are almost exclusively GLO members, and the ones I know are exceptionally dedicated to their groups and to the Greek community in general, more so than the “average” GLO member I would say. Collectors often return badges to national HQs, especially in the case of unique or historically significant badges. The collecting community publishes alerts about lost or stolen badges, and is often successful in getting them removed from Ebay and returned to their rightful owner. Despite what you may think, we really do care about these items and what they represent.
Thanks for your reply, Jen. I would be happy to talk privately as well if you like.
wptw
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