I'm Declaring War!!

[honeychile]

For those of you who use ebay, you probably have noticed a seller named 127yardsale, selling many New Member pins. At this moment, I know that this seller has NM pins from

ADP
AF
AFW
DSF
LCA
SSS
STF
FDQ
FM
CW

up for auction. S/He has made a small fortune on the trademark symbols of our individual sororities and fraternities, and frankly, I'm sick to death of it. S/He obviously has molds for certain pins, as each looks just a tad imperfect. I've noticed this for at least three years; it seems that there are always at least two or three on the block at any given moment. I've already contacted our EO, and now that Convention's over, they're going to see what they can do.

I'd like to see as many people who can contact their individual GLO Headquarters, ask them to contact this fraud, and to sic their attornies on him (or her).

Let's make this a truly All-Greek event, boycott this person, and get him or her to stop using our personal insignia!!


ETA more GLO's!!

[SATX*APhi]

I noticed the same thing.

[Leslie Anne]

Just to add to the list...

they sell Lambda Chi Alpha member pins too.

Hello, Tom?

[bekibug]

I've noticed them too. I just thought that it was someone who never sold the items and kept using the same pictures, because I don't really remember bids being made on the items before. I know that everytime their listings go up though, that the picture for the ChiO new member pin looks like one of the "feet" of the Chi isn't right.

[kddani]

If this guy is indeed making them himself, you should have no problem getting him kicked from ebay and i'd imagine filing suit for copyright infringment and making some $$$

I would suggest contacting the greeklicensing.com people (as much as I dislike them), but they refuse to go about things the right way on ebay (becoming a VERO member) and illegally contact members on their own, which holds no weight

[FSUZeta]

hooray for honeychile!!

[texas*princess]

Originally posted by Leslie Anne
Just to add to the list...

they sell Lambda Chi Alpha member pins too.

Hello, Tom?

Go HC!

Yes they almost always have the LXA "plain" badges up for auction as well as the other "regulars" that they put up for auction.

I think we always figured something was up with them when we noticed they seemed to have an infinite supply of Alpha pins and all of the others

[JupiterTC]

S/He is also selling Delta Sigma Phi and Sigma Tau Gamma pins as well.

[Sister Havana]

They don't have any now but I think this person has sold APO pins before.

[doves95]

I know a number of NHQ's have someone that monitors E-Bay, ours does. BUt when we complain this is the law we are told.

1) WHen you buy your badge it is yours and while we have guidlines about what to do when you quit the chapter or are deceased they are only guidelines and so the owner can do what they wish with their badge.

2) its not illegal to sell something that belongs to you (no matter how much I cringe and scream when I see one of my GLO badges etc on ebay).

3) we mearly try to identify the member based on the information on the back of the badge from the picture and contact them to tell them where their badge is.

unfortunately many people leave their stuff in an estate sale and so these sellers buy stuff and resell it.

[honeychile]

Originally posted by doves95


unfortunately many people leave their stuff in an estate sale and so these sellers buy stuff and resell it.

There has to be a TON of dead ADPi's, then, because we must turn in our Alpha pins when we are initiated. Plus, I've seen him sell AT LEAST 30 of these - and that was prior to noticing that he was selling other GLO's pins, too.

[EEKappa]

You go, girl! What he is doing is wrong, wrong, wrong.

*applause*

[tunatartare]

What you can do is get an ebay user who's never bought any pins before (I'd be willing to do this) to email him about a particular item and say "I love this pin, do you have any more like it?" to see what he replies. If the guy says he has like 30 of the same NM pin, then it's really fishy and he's either making them himself or stealing them from whereever it is they're made.

[Denise_DPhiE]

Asa frequent ebayer, I have seen him selling for a long time all of these gold gloss badges and pledge pins. I doubt he has anything to do with the manufacturer and he isn't do anything wrong. He probably bought this lot of "seconds" (imperfect things) and is selling them off one by one. He is no where near Mass or Indy where the two biggest manufacturers are. Mcellpe is correct.

It isn't worth getting worked up over. They are not fakes and they are not historically signficant so just don't bid.

DC

[honeychile]

Hmmm.... I think most of my sisters would consider our pins "historically significant". And trademarks are owned by the organization mentioned - and should not be abused by someone not a member of that organization. How would anyone feel about seeing your letters in a commode or on a disparaging t-shirt? Not too good, I'm sure.

All I ask is, if you see your GLO's pin being sold by a serial abuser, please let your HQ know about it! Our EO is looking into a suit, but can you imagine how much stronger it would be if the NPC & the IFC as a whole would rise up against this practice? That would put some serious teeth into the matter!