Vintage Pins

[SmartBlondeGPhB]

Yes, I find that incredibly interesting and I'm going to try to make a point of copying and saving this whole thread somewhere so I can have it for future reference.

And sniping is a great invention............

[ISUKappa]

wptw

Interesting facts, thanks!

Question: Why do the serious collectors (people that pay $500+ for an item) collect GLO badges? For their historical value? For their aesthetic value? To tick off people? ( ) Just because? Are many collectors members themselves of GLOS or other similar organizations?

Just curious, that's all!

Hee hee, I won a pretty antique beaded bag with fleur-de-lis on it by sniping! Had to spend the last 5 minutes constantly refreshing my screen, but I'm glad I did!

[texas*princess]

Originally posted by wptw
Collectors would very rarely overpay for a given badge, but members would do it every day (and still do - usually those new to GC as SmartBlonde mentioned). Collectors would bid their maximum and let the auction take its course (or snipe at the last minute), whereas individual members would sometimes place tens of bids throughout the entire auction.

Standing ovation for wptw!

I couldn't agree more. Just by reading several 'ebay pin' threads in multiple forums and the thread in the ADPi forum as well, it seems like members are bidding several times a day or throughout the course of the auction.

Just because say a collector or non-memeber is the highest bidder at the moment, it won't help if you outbid them if the auction still has 5 days to go (unless of course that is your absolute max you will pay). Because the collector or nonmember or member whoever could go online and bid again.

LIke someone else mentioned sniping is a wonderful thing

[wptw]

From the Kappa forum...

Originally posted by ASUADPi on 3/18/04
What is worse is that collectors usually make the pin prices astronomical amounts.

It's a persistent perception, isn't it?

Did you ever notice whenever someone is telling you about a car accident they were in, it was always the other driver's fault?

wptw

P.S. ISU Kappa, I wasn't ignoring your question about why collectors pay big bucks for special badges. But I feel like I've already monopolized this thread, so if you search my posts, you'll find my past replies to similar questions. The majority of my posts are on this subject, so it won't be hard to find.

[MysticCat]

Originally posted by 33girl
This post completely sums it up. The key word is EDUCATION.

Actually, the key word is WILL. Don't count on a greaving family trying to work its way through mountains of stuff to remember that your badge is to be returned to a headquarters they may not know the address for. If it really matters to you that your badge goes back to HQ, put it in your will.

[Lady Pi Phi]

Originally posted by MysticCat81
Actually, the key word is WILL. Don't count on a greaving family trying to work its way through mountains of stuff to remember that your badge is to be returned to a headquarters they may not know the address for. If it really matters to you that your badge goes back to HQ, put it in your will.

No, I still think the key word is EDUCATION. If we constantly drill it into our members heads that our badges are special and they must be returned to HQ/passed on to a legacy or chapter/buried with the owner, then our members will remeber to leave specific instructions in a will so that family members will know what to do with it.

However, there are always those evil family members that will try and sell it after the members death, and there won't be anything we can do about it.

[ISUKappa]

Originally posted by wptw
P.S. ISU Kappa, I wasn't ignoring your question about why collectors pay big bucks for special badges. But I feel like I've already monopolized this thread, so if you search my posts, you'll find my past replies to similar questions. The majority of my posts are on this subject, so it won't be hard to find.

I did find some, and that helps a lot. You do a wonderful job of explaining it objectively and eloquently. Thank you!

[XOMichelle]

While it's annoying to have all these non-greeks out collecting pins, I don't think it's evil! One of our advisors collects antique Chi Omega badges, and she has some really cool stuff from before badge standardization. I'd love to get a collection like hers going.

Personally, I'd rather have my family hold on to my pins and heirlooms than send something back to HQ. But I'd be really hurt if they sold it! In that case, I'd want my badge to go back to my chapter.

[wptw]

Originally posted by XOMichelle
While it's annoying to have all these non-greeks out collecting pins...

Arrgh! Collectors ARE greeks.

Originally posted by Lady Pi Phi
If we constantly drill it into our members heads...

Hey Lady Pi Phi, can I borrow that drill when you're done with it?

wptw

[Lady Pi Phi]

Originally posted by wptw
Hey Lady Pi Phi, can I borrow that drill when you're done with it?

Only if you promise to use it for good instead of evil

[wptw]

Rats!

I just thought a power tool would be more useful than saying the same thing over and over.

Oh well.

wptw

[honeychile]

Originally posted by GtownGirl98
So this got me to thinking one day... isn't selling badges really selling stolen property? So I asked my boss (who is a lawyer) to help me argue this case... we came down to this...

A. It would be really hard to argue the case because those clauses aren't made known to all. For example, the little old man who dies and his evil children sell all his goods at an estate auction (not everyone is evil... just being funny)... unless the children had it written in a will or stated elsewhere, how would they know that it would be stolen?

B. Those clauses have only been around for most groups for the last 20 years, any Badges sold that are dated before that, might not fall under the clauses.

There were a few other points that he brought up, but I don't remember them all right now. The only way I think that we could stop the sell of badges and consider them as stolen or fenced goods would be to make the public aware that they are fenced if sold and that you can go to jail or pay fines for purchasing such goods.

Anyone reading this post now knows that the "you do not own your Alpha Delta Pi pin, International Headquarters does" clause was in effect at least since the 1960's, according to a sister to whom I just talked - not within the last twenty years.

[ebayfan]

As moderator of the yahoo club for collectors of fraternity and sorority pins, only ONE member is not in a social fraternity or sorority. He went to Harvard and these groups weren't there when he was there. He is one of the original 7 main collectors I have have had the pleasure of knowing since pre-ebay times of 1997 when listserves were where it was at and members did "trades" and I would come home frm antique shows with pocketfulls of pins every weekend. For those larger nationals (and you know who you are), I would walk past your badges for $25 as 5 in my collection was already too many. Then ebay came along and I could have bought a house with the $200 run of badges for this particular group. Oh, yes, that's right, I did buy a house with the proceeds (well the $4,000 closing costs anyway).

Hats off to my friend wptw who I finally had the good fortune to meet this past fall. He is so eloquent on this topic that I only lurk and knod (sp?) in agreement.

Yes, the heyday of $200 popular nationals has past - for now - since it has been about 20 months since our dear friend the NYTimes writer joined us at Pinfest. That, my friends is what brought the "members" (not collectors) out fo the woodwork. And, as my dead friend B in TN (a fellow collector) said so eloquently in that ballroom in Cleveland, "No good can come of this". Little did he know how right he would be.

A long time collector just told me today he was planning to liquidate his 1600 pin collection "slowly so as not to flood the market" and that his "focus has changed". Unfortunately for him, prices have come down and also, he paid a bit too much. Unlike wptw and myself who can fund our first childs first year at college when we liquidate our collection on ebay in 2016 (will ebay be around then...hmmm?), some collectors might not get what they paid for the pins.

Good night all. I am going over to ebay to check and see what auctions I won today.

ebayfan...yep, that is my license plate!

[queequek]

LOL ... wait till I get all the money to save our pins! You'll spend THOUSAND of dollars to buy ours, if you haven't get ours yet, since that's my goal I will hold high: become a Theta Delt keeper. Bring it on!

[GtownGirl98]

Honey... the 20 year thing was just a year... I don't have the precise year that everyone added the clause. I just know that most GLOs didn't start off with the clause in their charters.

As to AGD education... in our Quarterly they have badge deposition forms in every edition. Also New Members are made aware that their badge is not their's. Also one overlooked function of the Alumnae Chapters is that they are to contact family members after a sister enters Chapter Grand and politly ask if the family knew of the sister's wishes for her badge... it isn't meant to be intrusive on the family's mourning time, it is just meant as a simple reminder to the family that the badge is either buried (which you don't have the ablility to just wait till the mourning period is over), or it is returned to IHQ. One good thing about it's return to IHQ is they will hold onto the badge and if a great grand daughter joins AGD, she can request that that be returned to the family.

I just hope that I am one day able to do as one of my fellow AGD GC sisters and buy badges with the sole purpose of returning them to IHQ.