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KKC, it seems like you and I are talking about two different things. You're talking about pin DEALERS, whereas I'm talking about pin COLLECTORS.
The pin dealers on eBay are out to make a buck. They buy low and sell high. Raising the price because a motivated purchaser (read: member of that GLO) is bidding is plain old capitalism.
I think it's totally obnoxious when a dealer refuses to disclose info on the back, but if that creates a lot of headaches for him as a businessman (read: 100 angry e-mails from chapter members demanding to buy back the pin at a low price), I understand why he won't do it.
As for dealers blocking bids from GLO members, that's horrible. I just can't believe that it's very common, because it's against the financial self-interest of the dealers. A lot of the people willing to pay $500+ for a pin are members of that GLO, and a dealer who refused to sell to a motivated purchaser wouldn't be in business for very long. All they see is green, not blue & blue or cardinal & straw. If you know of obnoxious individuals doing this out of spite, it's amazing that they can afford to continue.
All that being said, I do understand that it can be painful to see a representation of something you love treated like a commodity. The only way to avoid that is to get your members to hang onto their pins.
A lot of people on GC take great exception to pin COLLECTORS as well as dealers. I view this the same way I would view a person who collects & displays flags of other nations. A French flag collector cannot possibly understand what the U.S. flag means to a U.S. veteran who fought in Korea...but it still has both aesthetic beauty and a beautiful open meaning that non-Americans can appreciate.
Just my 10 cents...
Ivy
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