ebay items - Page 3

thetygerlily · #31 10-05-2009, 10:59 PM

Crashing too but wow, the 1944 badge is incredible! I also hope that a Theta is the proud new owner, she would get a LOT of enjoyment out of that badge!

How in the world do these ebay sellers find so many badges, especially such unique ones? Are they just trolling antique shops? I know many orgs have their own groups that hunt for badges (Kappa has the Keepers of the Key), I wonder how many they've saved from going to ebay and the like.

AZTheta · #32 10-05-2009, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thetygerlily

Crashing too but wow, the 1944 badge is incredible! I also hope that a Theta is the proud new owner, she would get a LOT of enjoyment out of that badge!

How in the world do these ebay sellers find so many badges, especially such unique ones? Are they just trolling antique shops? I know many orgs have their own groups that hunt for badges (Kappa has the Keepers of the Key), I wonder how many they've saved from going to ebay and the like.

good question. I'd like to know. I suspect that many sellers "haunt" estate sales, auctions, etc. Some parts of the country have more "vintage" items, due to a variety of factors.

I'm hoping against hope that the buyer renegs and it becomes a "second chance" item, unless (of course) a Theta was the successful buyer. Speculation is silly, I know, but I sure would like to learn the provenance of that badge. Have to wonder...

AZTheta · #33 10-06-2009, 12:14 AM

theta sisters, PM me

Amy Kates · #34 10-08-2009, 09:37 AM

Or Staff archivist reports that this badge is NOT one of the lost Grand Council badges. Those badges were from the 1890s and this badge, while beautiful and certainly an antique, is newer. The Dyer badges (with the elongated points) were made by a Jeweler in Indiana so it probably belonged to a Theta in Indiana or someone with an Indiana connection.

thetalady · #35 10-08-2009, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amy Kates

Or Staff archivist reports that this badge is NOT one of the lost Grand Council badges. Those badges were from the 1890s and this badge, while beautiful and certainly an antique, is newer. The Dyer badges (with the elongated points) were made by a Jeweler in Indiana so it probably belonged to a Theta in Indiana or someone with an Indiana connection.

Well, it is at least nice to know a little more about what that badge was NOT. Thank you so much for the research, Amy!

AZTheta · #36 10-08-2009, 01:37 PM

This badge came from a member of the Gamma chapter @ Butler University, so there's the Indiana connection. The seller was from Terre Haute IN.

Thank you to Amy, and to our archivist at HQ, for your research and followup.

PJS · #37 10-08-2009, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amy Kates

Or Staff archivist reports that this badge is NOT one of the lost Grand Council badges. Those badges were from the 1890s and this badge, while beautiful and certainly an antique, is newer. The Dyer badges (with the elongated points) were made by a Jeweler in Indiana so it probably belonged to a Theta in Indiana or someone with an Indiana connection.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AzTheta

This badge came from a member of the Gamma chapter @ Butler University, so there's the Indiana connection. The seller was from Terre Haute IN.

Thank you to Amy, and to our archivist at HQ, for your research and followup.

Pardon the crash, I'm not a Theta but I happened to see the badge on ebay and it was indeed gorgeous. The name engraved on the back was Maxine Smith, in addition to Gamma [chapter] and '44. Often the pictures on ebay do not have that high a resolution and you can't read the engraving on the back of a badge.

I assume I'm not divulging anything inappropriate as the ebay listing was obviously in an open forum. Just thought someone might know/be interested in the original owner. . .

ThetaPrincess24 · #38 10-09-2009, 11:53 AM

Let this be a lesson to us Thetas.....please have written instructions regarding your pins following your death. If it is to go to another Theta or to a chapter, please state this in writing somewhere. If it is to be sent to HQ, please place this in writing somewhere (which is what I have done in my will because it is that important to me).

Otherwise sisters, pins will continue to end up on eBay and estate sales. I'm all for the purchasing/selling/collecting of pins between other Thetas but it hurts me and makes me quite irritated to keep seeing our beautiful badges on eBay (especially today since i just watched my chapter initiate our new members last night and got a "ritual refresher").

AZTheta · #39 10-09-2009, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThetaPrincess24

Let this be a lesson to us Thetas.....please have written instructions regarding your pins following your death. If it is to go to another Theta or to a chapter, please state this in writing somewhere. If it is to be sent to HQ, please place this in writing somewhere (which is what I have done in my will because it is that important to me).

Otherwise sisters, pins will continue to end up on eBay and estate sales. I'm all for the purchasing/selling/collecting of pins between other Thetas but it hurts me and makes me quite irritated to keep seeing our beautiful badges on eBay (especially today since i just watched my chapter initiate our new members last night and got a "ritual refresher").

Amen, ThetaPrincess24.

I attended Initiation at a chapter on Saturday, and reflected on how badges could be lovingly used in chapters, as honors for outstanding new members, for scholarship, etc. The actives love to look at my badge and hear me talk about my own initiation.

And the historic badges ... our Archives certainly are a fitting repository. When we study our history, and the history of our badge, it becomes all too painful to think of where badges are going on Ebay.

Stay tuned, Thetas.

ComradesTrue · #40 10-09-2009, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThetaPrincess24

Let this be a lesson to us Thetas.....please have written instructions regarding your pins following your death. If it is to go to another Theta or to a chapter, please state this in writing somewhere.

This can't be said enough.

I have it stated in my will that my three badges (I have purchased 2 vintage pearl badges on ebay) are to go to three of my Theta friends. When I mentioned to my friends that they were in my will they seemed surprised that I was doing this, but then flattered that I thought of them. It was also a great opportunity for me to remind them that they should also make provision for their badges.

Each friend also promised to return the badge to my daughter should she one day pledge Theta.

I also put the reminder at least once a year in our alumnae chapter newsletter. We have several 75 year Thetas in our area, and a bunch of 50 year Thetas, who have received special recognition pins from HQ. I would hate for either their badge or recognition pin to wind up at Estate sales.

kaokite · #41 11-11-2009, 01:17 AM

Hi All, clearly I don't check greekchat very often or I would have seen this thread a lot earlier.

Dyer-Ratliff is/was (their phone has been disconnected, but their website is still up??) a jeweler based in Indianapolis, and has been making badges for the last ~100 years. sidebar: does anyone know definitively if they have gone out of business? While they are not the official fraternity jeweler, it is/was possible to order a custom badge with a gem of your choosing. Many of the Indiana Chapters (Alpha, Beta,Gamma specifically) ordered up custom badges during the 30's-60's for their members, often in custom gem configurations like this. These badges are/were not cheap, but of a MUCH higher quality than the standard badges of today. You get what you pay for!

My chapter has a Dyer badge as the president's pin, which I ordered when I was the chapter VPF. It is plain, with no gems, but it has such spectacular elongated points that it does not need any embellishment. Part of the officer job sell for the president is that you get to wear the pointy badge! I was very disturbed to find the badge was damaged and almost lost over the last 2 years-I worked with the chapter president to get it repaired and it is now being worn again, proudly at official chapter events. Yay!

a few words on the winning bid price. Dyer badges come up on ebay every so often and sell for top dollar, usually upwards of $500. ( vs. the ~$100 or so for std pearl badges from balfour/burrpatt) This opal dyer is the first to show up in 10+ years, and maybe the third opal badge to come to ebay ever. Hence the high price and the willingness of the winning bidder to pay top dollar. I've written at length about badge collectors (I consider myself one and have many collector friends) on other threads in the Theta forum so I won't rehash any (polarizing) opinions here.

Incidentally, there is no prohibition against opals (or any other gem combo) in our current badges-you just have to do a custom order from the jeweler. In the interest of full disclosure I should mention modern day opals are not as high a quality as those in older pieces (good opals are not cut up into small chips nowadays!). If you choose to order a custom badge, i would recommend you ask the jeweler to send you a few loose gems for approval prior to shelling out the $$ for a custom badge you might hate. The deposit on the stones should around $50. My husband did this for me a few years ago..

With the holidays coming, I'm going to remind everyone about the crummy 'marriage' pieces starting to appear on ebay, just in time for the holidays. (in jewelry terms, a 'marriage' = 'multiple pieces not originally meant to be married together'). Anything w/a coat-of-arms on it is suspect, so be wary. There have been a number of ebay sales this year w/loose c-o-a pieces for sale. These get purchased and glued on cheap base metal trinkets and resold for high profit. Often they are marketed as 'old'. If the listing doesn't state the specific metal content (10k/14k/sterling) it probably isn't a quality item. Look at the photos carefully! Re-read the listing and look for language around the age of the piece too. Buyer beware! I've seen so many of these over the last 2 years go for $$$, and those buyers were completely conned! If you have a specific question-just PM me. I'll try to be better about checking my messages here.

AZTheta · #42 11-11-2009, 03:47 PM

Thanks to kaokite for the great information and updates. Regarding stones/jewels, here's an FYI- Tucson AZ hosts the Gem and Mineral Show every February (google it). It is the largest show of its kind in the world. There are spectacular finds and I imagine that quality loose stones can be purchased if one so desires, to put into a badge. I know that many of my friends buy loose stones each year to have put into custom jewelry.

The Tucson show is preceeded by a show in January in Quartzsite AZ, but I don't know what it's like, and I don't particularly want to drive out there as it is literally in the middle of nowhere.

ThetaPrincess24 · #43 11-11-2009, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaokite

Hi All, clearly I don't check greekchat very often or I would have seen this thread a lot earlier.

Dyer-Ratliff is/was (their phone has been disconnected, but their website is still up??) a jeweler based in Indianapolis, and has been making badges for the last ~100 years. sidebar: does anyone know definitively if they have gone out of business? While they are not the official fraternity jeweler, it is/was possible to order a custom badge with a gem of your choosing. Many of the Indiana Chapters (Alpha, Beta,Gamma specifically) ordered up custom badges during the 30's-60's for their members, often in custom gem configurations like this. These badges are/were not cheap, but of a MUCH higher quality than the standard badges of today. You get what you pay for!

My chapter has a Dyer badge as the president's pin, which I ordered when I was the chapter VPF. It is plain, with no gems, but it has such spectacular elongated points that it does not need any embellishment. Part of the officer job sell for the president is that you get to wear the pointy badge! I was very disturbed to find the badge was damaged and almost lost over the last 2 years-I worked with the chapter president to get it repaired and it is now being worn again, proudly at official chapter events. Yay!

a few words on the winning bid price. Dyer badges come up on ebay every so often and sell for top dollar, usually upwards of $500. ( vs. the ~$100 or so for std pearl badges from balfour/burrpatt) This opal dyer is the first to show up in 10+ years, and maybe the third opal badge to come to ebay ever. Hence the high price and the willingness of the winning bidder to pay top dollar. I've written at length about badge collectors (I consider myself one and have many collector friends) on other threads in the Theta forum so I won't rehash any (polarizing) opinions here.

Incidentally, there is no prohibition against opals (or any other gem combo) in our current badges-you just have to do a custom order from the jeweler. In the interest of full disclosure I should mention modern day opals are not as high a quality as those in older pieces (good opals are not cut up into small chips nowadays!). If you choose to order a custom badge, i would recommend you ask the jeweler to send you a few loose gems for approval prior to shelling out the $$ for a custom badge you might hate. The deposit on the stones should around $50. My husband did this for me a few years ago..

With the holidays coming, I'm going to remind everyone about the crummy 'marriage' pieces starting to appear on ebay, just in time for the holidays. (in jewelry terms, a 'marriage' = 'multiple pieces not originally meant to be married together'). Anything w/a coat-of-arms on it is suspect, so be wary. There have been a number of ebay sales this year w/loose c-o-a pieces for sale. These get purchased and glued on cheap base metal trinkets and resold for high profit. Often they are marketed as 'old'. If the listing doesn't state the specific metal content (10k/14k/sterling) it probably isn't a quality item. Look at the photos carefully! Re-read the listing and look for language around the age of the piece too. Buyer beware! I've seen so many of these over the last 2 years go for $$$, and those buyers were completely conned! If you have a specific question-just PM me. I'll try to be better about checking my messages here.

Great Info!

Smile_Awhile · #44 11-13-2009, 02:33 AM

Theta ladies:

Pardon the crash. I saw this on Ebay, and I thought you might be interested. It looks like a Dyer badge to my (untrained) eye.

http://cgi.ebay.com/10K-OLD-KAPPA-AL...ht_1874wt_1065

ThetaPrincess24 · #45 11-14-2009, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smile_Awhile

Theta ladies:

Pardon the crash. I saw this on Ebay, and I thought you might be interested. It looks like a Dyer badge to my (untrained) eye.

http://cgi.ebay.com/10K-OLD-KAPPA-AL...ht_1874wt_1065

Obviously the seller isnt greek, "Kappa Alpha Omega"