A nasty note from a pin seller on Ebay

[ElleDelta3]

Recently my sorority had told us if we found any Tri Delta pins on ebay to buy them, send them into nationals and then our nationals would reimburse us. Seeing that the seller would get the money regardless, I felt that this was wrong, as the pin did not belong to the seller. I am not sure how other sororities and frats function on this topic, but when a Tri Delta dies, the pin is to be returned to nationals, to keep it out of the hands of non Tri Deltas. I was offended to see that 2 of our pins were on sale. These are sacred to us, as I am sure your pins are to your organization. I nicely asked the sellers to take them off auction, as it was disrespectful, here is one of the responses I got:

"Delta Delta Delta Can I help ya, help ya help ya?

I am a member of the brotherhood of common people. In our bylaws it states that we are not bound by any other organizations bylaws. On page two of our bylaws it states that thou shalt endeavor to make a profit.
This should answer your first question about why I am selling the pin. I do not know the person named on the pin and since its a low number she may have passed away. In answer to the rest of your e-mail I would suggest that you become the high bidder on the pin andyou can return it to the nationals. If you fail, I am afraid that the pin would fall into the hands of another member of the brotherhood of common people. Our membership is huge. Good luck and Happy Trails."


My question is..what should I do? These sellers were really quite nasty to me and they really disrespected my sacred sorority. Can I contact ebay and say something? Any suggestions?

Michelle

[AGDAlum]

Michelle,

Most NPC groups consider their members to have "life-long leases" on their badges. When a member dies the badge should go back to the fraternity or be buried/cremated with the member.

However, this is a MORAL lease, not a LEGAL one. Unless there is a signed lease in which the member and the fraternity have agreed that the badge LEGALLY belongs to the fraternity, then there's not a lot you can do about the eBay dealer or vintage jewelry seller who bought a badge at an estate sale.

What YOU should do is be SURE that you have included the disposition of your Tri-Delta badge in the instructions to your survivor and/or your will. Most likely your husband or your children do not know where Tri-Delta's headquarters is or even that you've made that moral commitment.

I commend Tri-Delta for its willingness to pay the going rate to retrieve forgotten badges.

[dzrose93]

I doubt it would do any good, but you could always e-mail E-bay and lodge a formal complaint against the seller. However, being rude doesn't go against E-bay's guidelines and I don't think the seller would be reprimanded at all. I fully agree with you, though. That is one witchy response! Sounds like someone who doesn't like Greeks and sees selling badges as 1) an easy moneymaker and 2) a way to get back at us for some imagined slight. She's probably just jealous that she wasn't a Tri Delt! heehee

[dzrose93]

By the way, what is the E-Bay name of the person that was so rude to you? I'll watch out for them if a DZ badge ever comes up for auction.

[aopirose]

This may sound lame but be the highest bidder.

Many organizations have similar policies about returning badges upon death and to avoid selling/buying badges on on-line auctions. Last year, an attorney for NPC (to show a united front) sent a strong letter to eBay covering points from copyright infringement to the sacredness of our badges. The result has been a signficant drop in the number of badges sold for a while but it didn't stop completely.

The main problem is that when a member dies, the heirs think that the badge is just another pretty pin in the jewelry box. It then gets sold at an estate sale where anyone can buy it for almost pennies. To alleviate this make sure that there is a provision in your will to dispose of it properly!

Originally posted by ElleDelta3:
Recently my sorority had told us if we found any Tri Delta pins on ebay to buy them, send them into nationals and then our nationals would reimburse us. Seeing that the seller would get the money regardless, I felt that this was wrong, as the pin did not belong to the seller. I am not sure how other sororities and frats function on this topic, but when a Tri Delta dies, the pin is to be returned to nationals, to keep it out of the hands of non Tri Deltas. I was offended to see that 2 of our pins were on sale. These are sacred to us, as I am sure your pins are to your organization. I nicely asked the sellers to take them off auction, as it was disrespectful, here is one of the responses I got:

"Delta Delta Delta Can I help ya, help ya help ya?

I am a member of the brotherhood of common people. In our bylaws it states that we are not bound by any other organizations bylaws. On page two of our bylaws it states that thou shalt endeavor to make a profit.
This should answer your first question about why I am selling the pin. I do not know the person named on the pin and since its a low number she may have passed away. In answer to the rest of your e-mail I would suggest that you become the high bidder on the pin andyou can return it to the nationals. If you fail, I am afraid that the pin would fall into the hands of another member of the brotherhood of common people. Our membership is huge. Good luck and Happy Trails."


My question is..what should I do? These sellers were really quite nasty to me and they really disrespected my sacred sorority. Can I contact ebay and say something? Any suggestions?

Michelle

[dzrose93]

Originally posted by aopirose:
This may sound lame but be the highest bidder.

It's a great idea, aopirose. If it were only that simple. The problem is that many collectors have more money than they know what to do with. Some freak got one of our badges on E-Bay just last week for over $500. I wish I had that kind of money, but I just don't. Even when a lot of my sisters throw in cash together to get a badge, sometimes it's just not enough.

[aopirose]

I can sympathize because one of ours went to a collector for $560.

Originally posted by dzrose93:
It's a great idea, aopirose. If it were only that simple.

[dzrose93]

Isn't that nuts? We've got one up there right now that's over $700. Do these people have money trees in their backyards??

[AXO Alum]

Dear Common Brotherhood Member -

I appreciate your maturity in response to my email. Saturday Night Live is really quite a remarkable program.

While I understand completely that your desire to "belong" to an organization greater than the "common people" is unfulfilled, I would like to point out what you are missing. By being nothing more than a "common" member, you are missing out on what is truly important in our lives. We have genuine friendships that are forged through sad times of bonding together -- recognizing that life isn't always going to be happy, but also recognizing that sorrows divided are easier to bear. Our friendships have grown stronger through the good times when we can multiply our joy amongst our sisters and brothers. Our community and society have benefitted through our dedication and support -- and because we work to help the "common" people, we make all people stronger. We are the ones who provide the blankets for the cold, the food for the hungry, the stars in the sky for the people who can only see them through their imaginations when we read to them. We are the champions of true brother and sisterhood because we believe in every single member -- not just those who proudly wear our letters, but those who have letters to wear proudly of their own. We are bound by other organizations bylaws - because we believe in a system of mutual respect. We may not agree with the bylaws of another organization, but we will respect them because we believe in treating others in the manner in which we wish be treated. Its the "Golden Rule" but its worth much more than any gold or precious metal. And while I do recognize that the membership of "common" people is huge, I will say that it could never be as strong as the power of even two united for a common purpose under greek letters. So you see, sir, that the pin we proudly wear as greeks is not simply a piece of jewelry to be worn with our favorite red sweater, or with our faded blue jeans. It is worn with pride always and will always reflect the pride of its membership at large. Even though it is small and weighs hardly anything, the value of it is priceless because you can not put a price on memories. Looking at that badge, the "common" person probably would think that its property to be bought and sold like any common item that has lost its place somewhere along the way. But we the sisters and brothers know its place - it belongs in the place where it will be cherished for what it is - the home of the organization is where it belongs. It will proudly be displayed as part of our history - as part of the Bond that makes us who we are. It is not common and therefore it is not for a common person, but only for those who recognize priceless treasures when they gaze upon them. It just takes someone extraordinary in spirit to understand.

Most sincerely,
An Extraordinary Member of an Extraordinary Sister/Brotherhood

[dzrose93]

Originally posted by AXO Alum:
Dear Common Brotherhood Member -

I appreciate your maturity in response to my email. Saturday Night Live is really quite a remarkable program.

While I understand completely that your desire to "belong" to an organization greater than the "common people" is unfulfilled, I would like to point out what you are missing. By being nothing more than a "common" member, you are missing out on what is truly important in our lives. We have genuine friendships that are forged through sad times of bonding together -- recognizing that life isn't always going to be happy, but also recognizing that sorrows divided are easier to bear. Our friendships have grown stronger through the good times when we can multiply our joy amongst our sisters and brothers. Our community and society have benefitted through our dedication and support -- and because we work to help the "common" people, we make all people stronger. We are the ones who provide the blankets for the cold, the food for the hungry, the stars in the sky for the people who can only see them through their imaginations when we read to them. We are the champions of true brother and sisterhood because we believe in every single member -- not just those who proudly wear our letters, but those who have letters to wear proudly of their own. We are bound by other organizations bylaws - because we believe in a system of mutual respect. We may not agree with the bylaws of another organization, but we will respect them because we believe in treating others in the manner in which we wish be treated. Its the "Golden Rule" but its worth much more than any gold or precious metal. And while I do recognize that the membership of "common" people is huge, I will say that it could never be as strong as the power of even two united for a common purpose under greek letters. So you see, sir, that the pin we proudly wear as greeks is not simply a piece of jewelry to be worn with our favorite red sweater, or with our faded blue jeans. It is worn with pride always and will always reflect the pride of its membership at large. Even though it is small and weighs hardly anything, the value of it is priceless because you can not put a price on memories. Looking at that badge, the "common" person probably would think that its property to be bought and sold like any common item that has lost its place somewhere along the way. But we the sisters and brothers know its place - it belongs in the place where it will be cherished for what it is - the home of the organization is where it belongs. It will proudly be displayed as part of our history - as part of the Bond that makes us who we are. It is not common and therefore it is not for a common person, but only for those who recognize priceless treasures when they gaze upon them. It just takes someone extraordinary in spirit to understand.

Most sincerely,
An Extraordinary Member of an Extraordinary Sister/Brotherhood

AMEN, AXOAlum!!!!!! Get it while it's hot... Copy and paste it, friends, and send it to your favorite E-bay seller today!

[AXO Alum]

[Having been eloquent and the "bigger" person about this matter...]

Short form reply:

"Screw you, jerk!"

~~~~~~~~~~

heeheehee

Please put his name and email on here - we have done this before since I too got a nasty reply from an ebay seller about a badge for sale. I know other GC'ers got behind me and also sent him emails about his rudeness. It was really quite funny.

The morning radio show I listen to has come up with a great plan -- when people/companies are rude to them or to the listeners and they want to get even, they give out the name, company name, and phone number so people can call and complain. So you have like 9 million people (exaggeration maybe!) calling repeatedly and bugging the heck out of them for being so rude in the first place. I would love to send emails out on all of my accounts (I have 9) and just say "YOU ARE RUDE!" That would be too funny.

[Tom Earp]

If it helps, when I bid on our Badge, and someone kept bidding against me, I E-M them to find out if they were a Brother and where from.
If they were I would quit bidding as we were doing the same thing and why bid it up when we could have got it cheaper.
I found out that a Brother I was bidding against was a roommate of one of the guys that I had been contact with even on the phone! Samething on the next but an Alum fro U of Ken. He got them and donated to his chapter!
Of cours if it gets to high because of a moron then so be it, as there is not much you can do. But you will find if no one keeps bidding up then it will come in at a rightous price.

------------------
Tom Earp LX Z#1
Pittsburg State U. (Kansas)

[LexiKD]

I think we have someone who looks these up and buys them. I have heard many stories about the badges and we brought it up at convention.
Maybe a letter to your national organization, maybe NPC delegate, would help them understand.
It would be cool to see a NPC committee dealing with the problem.

[33girl]

Originally posted by ecukd:
It would be cool to see a NPC committee dealing with the problem.

It would be cool to see NPC committees dealing with LOTS of problems...but that's a whooooole other thread (or maybe even a whole spool).

[chloeishere]

I had a little runin with an ebay bidder when I tried to bid on a Phi Mu pin for my mom. I looked up her profile, and it said that she was a Kappa Kappa Gamma. She went on an on about pins saying that they should stay with members of the organization, and it was basically evil to be a pin collector. I agree. I e-mailed her, and I asked why she was bidding on the pin. I was very nice. I mentioned that I was trying to buy it for my mother (her birthday). She says it's for a "friend" and to stop harassing her. I check her feedback, and she has bought multiple sorority pins. It made me so angry because she was such a hypocrite. She has since taken down her profile where she trounces her fellow pin collectors.

[This message has been edited by chloeishere (edited May 03, 2001).]