Greek Pin Website

[JonoBN41]

Originally Posted by susan314

I don't know about the policies of anyone else's organization, but it is completely in violation of Alpha Gamma Delta's badge disposition policy for these badges to appear on eBay.

It's a nice idea, unfortunately Alpha Gamma Delta's policies don't apply to the rest of the Free World. Your policies are only valid within your own organization.

Even assuming you could ban the sale of badges on ebay, each seller's main recourse would be to melt the them down as scrap gold.

Maybe that doesn't bother some people, but it bothers the hell out of me, and it should bother anyone who has lost a badge and hopes to one day recover it.

Jono

[susan314]

Originally Posted by JonoBN41

It's a nice idea, unfortunately Alpha Gamma Delta's policies don't apply to the rest of the Free World. Your policies are only valid within your own organization.

You may have overlooked the part where I mentioned that we lease (not own) our badges. Not sure if any other GLO has a similar policy, but I specifically signed a document when I took possession of my badge about it being a lease (not a purchase).

Using a non-Greek/non-badge analogy: You own a rental company. I rent some power tools from you to do some projects around the house. I (or my family) sell the tools to a neighbor down the street. The neighbor in turn lists and sells the tools on eBay. The person who purchased the tools on eBay assumes that he made a legitimate purchase. But that doesn't mean that the purchase actually was legitimate, since you are the rightful owner of the property. Does the purchaser of the tools on eBay have a right to claim that the lease agreement between myself and your rental company is irrelevant to them and "doesn't apply to the rest of the free world?"

Now, I realize that it wouldn't be practical or feasible (in terms of manpower and cost involved) to take action against the sellers of all these badges. And I'd imagine this is why GLOs haven't done this already. But just because a group recognizes that they can't recoup all of the improperly obtained badges out there does not mean that the people who are engaging in the transactions are conducting legitimate business. You can't sell something that isn't rightfully yours - in another analogy, you could purchase a home and reasonably assume that the title is now legitimately yours. Then, lo and behold, it turns out that the title wasn't actually clear and someone from 4 transactions ago still has a legal claim to what you thought was your home. (Which is, of course, why people purchase title insurance for protection.) Just because items are being sold and purchased doesn't mean that the people involved in the transactions are the rightful owners...and while it may not be feasible to follow up on the improperly obtained badges, it doesn't make it right.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by susan314

You may have overlooked the part where I mentioned that we lease (not own) our badges. Not sure if any other GLO has a similar policy, but I specifically signed a document when I took possession of my badge about it being a lease (not a purchase).

Many sororities have a similar policy.

It's doubtful how enforceable they are legally, for a variety of reasons. (One potential problem with these policies: When a member of a sorority with a policy like this dies and the family reports the death to HQ, does HQ inquire whether the badge was buried with the member and, if not, demand its return? If not, I see a problem with later trying to claim "ownership.")

And so far as I know, most sororities that have such policies/documents only instituted them in the last decade or two, so even within those sororities, the policies wouldn't apply, at least not with any possible legal force, to people initiated before the policy was instituted. So, regardless of the policy now, if the badge inquestion belonged to someone who was initiated prior to the policy's institution, and who did not sign a document like the one you signed, there's absolutely no legal prohibition on someone else owning it and selling it.

Originally Posted by susan314

. . . it is completely in violation of Alpha Gamma Delta's badge disposition policy for these badges to appear on eBay.

eBay isn't a party to and isn't bound by Alpha Gamma Delta's policies. Neither is any other non-member who comes into possession of a badge. That's the point Jono was making, and he's right.

Originally Posted by ΑΓΔSquirrelGirl

Ebay will take down auctions that are objectionable. I wonder if pointing out that those badges are essentially "stolen" property would get them removed from ebay?

No, because most of the time, they are not essentially stolen property.