Stupid Ebay Auctions - Page 2

_Lisa_ · #1 12-01-2003, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by wptw
I have known some fine Sigma Kappa ladies, and I sincerely hope there are still a few hanging around this forum who can remind you two about philanthropy and compassion.

wptw

I appreciate your sentiments, really I do. Let me remind you though, he could be lying. He could have a job, no family & drive a Mercedes. I don't care what the reason is, it is disrespect in the highest form.

GeekyPenguin · #2 12-01-2003, 04:04 AM

Y'all, he's doing his job. Like wptw said, estate liquidating is a real career. Right now there are Sigma Kappa badges all over the world belonging to women who (gasp) aren't Sigma Kappas. Want to do something about it? Many organizations, mine included, have an organization of sisters dedicated to rescuing badges. To do this, you'll have to work with your Headquarters, and you'll have to be NICE to collectors. We've been nice to some and it's paid off big-time - now they'll only sell to us. He acquired the badge legally and he has every right to sell it, wear it, melt it down, whatever he wants. The problem lies with your sister who didn't tell her family what to do with the badge when she died, who didn't report it stolen when it got taken from her house, who sold it at the pawn shop for some money, etc...

Aquastar · #3 12-01-2003, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by GeekyPenguin
Right now there are Sigma Kappa badges all over the world belonging to women who (gasp) aren't Sigma Kappas.

No need to be sarcastic.

SigKapKatzue · #4 12-01-2003, 02:44 PM

I understand that and I wasn't MEAN to the vender. I just got upset to see that my badge was on Ebay, that's all.

I don't understand why I'm getting disrespect. I am not being cruel to anyone, including that man, I merely told him that as a buyer, it upset me. I mean I was on their looking for Sigma Kappa flip flops, and it was entirely on accident that I saw these.

Please don't be rude or sarcastic to me about it. If I upset anyone, I'm sorry. If I am ignorant to real estate liquidation, then I'm sorry too. But please don't insult me because there really is no need for that.

pirepresent · #5 12-01-2003, 02:50 PM

Everything that GeekyPenguin and wptw have said is true. On top of that, having a badge in your possession doesn't make the sister. It doesn't magically transfer membership of an organization unto the person who holds it. It doesn't invoke any official rights or privileges. Wearing it doesn't suddenly infuse the knowledge of rituals or the meaning behind the symbols and letters. When push comes to shove, it's a piece of metal. Sometimes the metal has jewels on it. Sometimes even dangles.

Sure, I get upset when I see our badges on Ebay. It annoys me. It's a part of my sorority and is something cherished by all our sisters. But I know that if someone who is not a sister chooses to buy and even wear one of our badges, they're not anything special. I haven't heard very many stories of monster pin collectors who put on sorority badges and then go out and create havoc on the town, thus disrespecting the group.... It sucks when non-members have badges, but it's not the end of the world. To a non-member, it's just a pretty piece of jewelry.

I don't mean to come off rudely, if I do. I just have been following this thread for a little while and I wanted to include my $.02....

SigkapAlumWSU · #6 12-01-2003, 02:58 PM

It seems to me this is an issue that has come up time and time again. Although a lot of us who have been around longer are aware that there are many badges for sale on Ebay, not just ours (something to remember), some of the newest member to our board are not aware of this, and it still comes as quite a shock to them. Although our national office has tried to be informative about what to do with our badges (send them back to NHQ or be buried with them) it seems like there are still plenty out there. This is no fault of their own; I know there are plenty of elderly members that might not have taken their badges into account when it came to their estates, and some members who just might not have cared, as hard as it is to hear. Most of the new members I have met have an ultimate respect for our badges, and hopefully this will lead to better caretaking.

I know that there are also a lot of sisters out there who will email a seller about a badge, unaware that we have someone at NHQ who has the job of being on the lookout for badges on ebay. Yes, we have the choice to form groups like Keepers of the Key (KKG) and bid on our badges that way. I personally think that it may serve to drive the prices up, but other times, a good rapport with a vendor might get you just what you need later, as pointed out by wptw.

Maybe there is a way for the moderator of the forum to post an info piece on badges, what to do and what is being done. I know that a lot of well meaning women might be too worked up to do a search about it before taking action, and it might help to calm tempers.

In the end, you have to remember: Our badge is just a symbol. Yes, it's hard to see them being sold, and we all wish it didn't happen, but what really matters is the Sigma Kappa you keep in your heart. That's something that can't be sold.

wptw · #7 12-01-2003, 05:43 PM

SigKapKatzue,

As far as I’m aware, posting to (and even arguing in) the Sigma Kappa board is perfectly OK as long as GC rules continue to be followed. However, if it makes you uncomfortable I’ll gladly repost in Greek Life.

No one blames you for being upset that your badge is being sold. That is perfectly OK. You’ll notice I never criticized your feelings about the pin being on ebay. I criticized your reaction to this seller’s email.

“…all I did was express distress at seeing a badge that means the world to me on sale for just a few dollars.” Well fine, but that’s NOT all you did. In your second post here you called the seller “ignorant”, with no basis whatsoever for that characterization. And I went on to point out the ignorance in your own posts. And now you’re “shattered” because I said you were ignorant. Hmm. From this I infer that it’s OK to call someone ignorant, but only if they’re not a member of Greekchat and unable to defend themselves. Cheap potshots against offboarders are apparently still OK.

You keep talking about how rude this guy’s response was, but I thought what he wrote was cordial and even thoughtful. So aside from his unwillingness to stop the auction and give you the pin, how exactly was his response rude? Which line? The only thing he wrote that’s even mildly adversarial is his last line: “Next time, please don't put someone down unless you know somebodys full story” …which I assume is in direct response to something you wrote (and perhaps edited out of the paraphrased version you later posted here).

You do a lot of complaining about various people disrespecting you and your organization, and I have to say that’s pretty ballsy considering the things you’ve said about this seller. Anyway, I never have understood the argument that ebay sellers are somehow disrespecting GLO members. As if it were a spite thing or something. “Disrespect in the highest form”, crzychx called it. I buy an estate and I’m supposed to pick through to find all the items that might potentially piss people off if I resold them, and I’m supposed to somehow already know exactly which items will piss those people off, and then I’m supposed to take all those items and simply donate them back to the pissed off people, and if I politely decline to do so, I’m disrespecting them. And I’m ignorant. And rude. And I’m making excuses. And my job is immoral. That doesn’t sound ridiculous to you?

Granted, he may very well be lying about the whole thing. Personally I don’t see why he would, since he obviously knows there’s nothing you can do to stop the auction anyway.

I’m not trying to insult you. I just thought you were being harsh, and that your anger toward this guy was entirely misplaced.

wptw

SigKapKatzue · #8 12-01-2003, 06:07 PM

I'm not angry at the Ebay vender, per se. I'm angry that he's selling my badge. I am angry at the idea behind it. I'm sorry that I've spoken of his ignorance--it is ignorance in the importance of these badges that perpetuates Ebay sales.

Ig"no*rance, n. [F., fr. L. ignorantia.] state of being uneducated or uninformed.

He IS uninformed and uneducated when it comes to greek badges, and he was extremely cordial about my "harassment" as you call it. I don't think he's an evil man, and he is merely working as you call it-- but I still don't feel it's okay. I'm sorry that I disagree with selling them.

However, I completely agree with what other GC'ers have said about the importance being in Sigma Kappa, not with the badge-- and that anyone COULD wear it, but not bear the pride and love and boast what the sorority is truly about.

I am not "shattered" but I am offended. I just really felt that I could post my distress on a greek chat message board and apologize to those that found me to be cruel or ignorant, I certainly didn't want to be any of those things-- I only wanted to see what could be done about the badges.

If you would like to direct any more posts to me, feel free to do so via private message.

SigKapKatzue · #9 12-01-2003, 06:10 PM

I don't mean that I am personally shattered, I feel that my opinion and post were rudely shot down and blown apart.

I do appreciate arguments and different opinions, I just feel that it was not done well. I know I'm feeling personally attacked, and I don't know why.

I'm sorry if I am being sensitive about this topic.

wptw · #10 12-01-2003, 06:21 PM

I understand what you’re saying. Don’t take it as a personal attack. I was just pointing out that this guy might have felt attacked himself.

But if ignorance is simply the fairly innocent state of being uninformed, why would ignorant people make you angry?

In any case, we can’t blame it on ignorance because many sellers know very well what the significance of these badges is. Many dealers have really worked hard to educate themselves so they can find the rare and desirable badges, which obviously sell for more money on ebay. And of course the collectors who also sell on ebay are very well educated in this area. I sell badges on ebay and I know more about them than just about anyone else on Greekchat. I’m not ignorant, or disrespectful or spiteful or whatever. I simply have a different opinion about it.

wptw

SigKapKatzue · #11 12-01-2003, 07:05 PM

>But if ignorance is simply the fairly innocent state of being uninformed, why would ignorant people make you angry?

Because they may not know better, or they may know better, either way I'm angry that my sister badge could be worn by anyone, but I am coming to accept it. So thank you.

>I simply have a different opinion about it.
And I respect that.

33girl · #12 12-01-2003, 07:16 PM

He should have simply said "I purchased this badge at an estate auction, if you would like to buy it do so" rather than going for the poor me, I have to support my family angle. People who beg for sympathy usually deserve very little of it. If this is what he's doing, fine whatever, but don't justify it by trying to make someone feel sorry for you.

wptw · #13 12-02-2003, 11:02 AM

Agreed, 33girl. But in my experience, there's really no response he could give that would avoid the "tongue-lashing". As a seller, I've alternately ignored, snapped back rudely, responded matter-of-factly, empathized and outright lied. No matter what I say or how I say it, the response is always the same. Fact is, unless you're willing to stop the auction and return the pin, you're going to be labeled as a mean, spiteful, disrespectful a-hole.

Hey, I resemble that remark!

wptw