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I learned that there is an '82 class ring for sale on eBay.  You can view it by clicking on this link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3628943126&category=39726

The auction closes on 1 Oct at 0859 Pacific time, so there is little time left to react.

I've tried contacting the seller to no avail.

In order to get this ring off the market, I'm informed that interested parties will be bidding on this ring.  If you are bidding on this ring, PLEASE STOP and contact me immediately so that we can coordinate and avoid a bidding war!

If you have any info regarding the original owner of this ring, please advise ASAP.  It looks like the name in the ring is "Robert" something.  The AOG has already sent e-mails to every "Robert" they have an address for, but so far there has been no response.

I've been on contact with the Jostens' rep and learned that no records exist concerning who bought what ring--long story, but you can get in touch with me for the details.

The AOG is aware of this sale, and is taking all appropriate steps.  In the past, they had been successful in getting eBay to cease/desist from these sales, but that is no longer the case.

My contact info is as follows:

(937) 236-9306 (home)
(937) 609-3792 (cell)
(937) 255-8696 ext.3444 (work)

Thanks,
Jim Ratti

Update, 1 Oct 03

Happy Ending...

Great news - it turned out the ring was originally owned by Rob Sanford.  He lost the ring some 18 years ago while attending Cullen Bankole's wedding.  He won the eBay auction ($910 -- ouch!) and should have his ring back shortly.

Cullen saw my e-mail message last night (sent out via the AOG's "grad mail" -- is YOUR address on file with them??) and immediately got in touch with Rob.  Rob called me at work this morning, and I put him in touch with Rich Downing, '70, VP of Alumni Relations at the AOG, who already knew about the sale.  Rich had been bidding on the ring on behalf of our class in an attempt to get the ring off the market.

Rich got the approval of Jim Demarest (our class president) to use class funds to bid on the ring, in the hopes that once the AOG got possession of the ring, they'd be able to recover the funds by selling it back to the original owner for the auction price.

Although it's not a widely advertised policy of the AOG to do this, they will do so under certain circumstances.  Rich wrote a blurb in the most recent Checkpoints (Summer 2003, Page 108-109) outlining their process.  I'll quote portions of it here:

"...Once we are alerted of a ring, we contact the seller and explain the uniqueness and pride grads have in their rings.  We then ask the seller for a description of the ring and anything that is engraved on the inside to try to ID the owner.  If we can find the owner, we put the owner and the seller in touch with each other so that they can come to a mutual agreement on returning the ring.

"We may also ask the seller to donate the ring to the AOG (nonprofit organization) for a tax deduction.  Our final option if the seller is not willing to help, is to contact a class officer of the affected class and ask them to authorize class funds in an attempt to buy the ring back.  Either way, once we get the ring back, we will continue to attempt to determine the actual owner.

"What can you do to help?  First there is a lost and found area on the AOG web (Services/Class Rings) that gives directions on how to report a lost ring.  If you've lost your ring, report it to us with a good description so we can enter it in our log.  Second, if you find a ring on eBay, in a pawn shop, in the newspaper, or know someone who has found a ring--report it to us for action.  To date, we've been quite successful in recovering rings and getting them back to their original owners.

"What shouldn't you do?  Please do not contact the seller directly unless you are planning to buy the ring.  We have found in trying to recover rings, we (Army and Navy) are more successful in ASSUMING the current owner got it legitimately.  Even if it might have been stolen somewhere along the line.  We have all failed to recover rings because of the good intentions of grads that verbally "beat up" the seller.  A recent recovery not only led to the ring being returned to the grad (the ring had been stolen in this case, not by the seller but by someone who had pawned it before the seller purchased it), but the seller provided information on the pawn shop so the grad could notify police to try to track the real thief through the pawn shop.

"If you have a lost or found ring to report, or have comments about the process, please contact us at classrings(nospam)@aog-usafa.org."

So all in all, it worked out pretty well.  Rob is very happy that he will get his ring back.  He had it insured, so the money isn't really an issue.  And, we don't have to worry about the ring being in the wrong hands any more.

The only sad thing is that this particular seller was a butthead who wouldn't respond to any of our e-mails asking for info on the ring.  I tried (twice!), as did Rich Downing.  The Mother of a '93 grad even sent the seller an emotional appeal to convince him to return the ring, to no avail.  This bonehead knew what he had, and refused to turn off his greed.  By the way, it was this '93 grad's mom who originally alerted me to the auction.

The seller's eBay account name is "charminggarden", so if you see anything for sale by this uncooperative swine, please move on to another sale.  Of course, if it's an academy ring (or other service academy memorabilia), then see above!

Thanks to all of you who e-mailed with info or other help. And thanks especially to Cullen for getting to Rob so quickly!