Well, many of these posts have made me feel better about the practice. I like that a good pattern can continue to live on. Unfortunately, it makes the temptation to give in to the PAS I suffer from (Pattern Acquisition Syndrome) even stronger!
What bothers me most now about the pattern I wanted to buy, that prompted my original post, is that the selling price was $2.50 with a shipping cost of $2.50. There was no mention of a plastic cover, or not folding to fit into a standard envelope. Seems excessive, and that auction ended without a sale.
I already have hundreds of quilt magazines acquired over the years. Maybe I should cut out the patterns I want to keep and place the remains in the recycling bin. I know I can take old quilt magazines to the library and leave them for people to pick up for free (I called). That seems like the generous thing to do. But, after all, I did pay for the magazines originally. It just feels like I am mutilating them if I cut out a few pages and throw the rest away! And it also doesn't seem right to give away a mutilated magazine.....