PinPics Grading Service is Live

[mylittletyguy]

I'll pass. I can think of about 9,083,632,610 things I would rather spend my money on then pinpics grading my pins. Yikes.

 

[Tbird]

I'll never use this 'service'. pinpics has been shady since the take over, and there is no way I would ever let them take my pin, rip it off it's original card, let their 'expert' 'grade' it and then lock it away.

And as for values of certain pins in 10 years..let me tell you about Wet Paint, Flubber, Inaugural, Stitch Mummy....lol The likelihood of the hot pins now being hot in a decade....beanie babies anyone?!!!

LOL.....we think to much alike Kim!!

 

[LuvSimba]

LOL.....we think to much alike Kim!!

Great minds think alike.

There are so few of us 'old timers' left in the hobby, and we've pretty much seen it all. I think our advice is pretty solid vs a company who is trying to make a dollar (which I never begrudge anyone, but to sit there and say the value will only sky rocket over time...bah).

Also, what other collectible hobby rips the collectible out of it's original packaging and claims it's MORE valuable??

 

[chroll]

Im newer to pins, but I would never do this. That's my first instinct, and then hearing the "old timers" say that they would never do this... just reinforces my instinct. I'll pass on pin grading.

 

[Rasputin]

Sorry to say this, but take everything Lucann says with a grain of salt. He IS getting paid to be the mouthpiece of PP.

 

[OlafOlaf]

I started pin trading in September so I'm still new-ish, but I'd never do this. I'd rather spend my money on some nice DIY frames with a creative print, than stuffing them in a see-through box that just looks bleh. Or on another grail lol. I collect pins because they're pretty, not because they're worth $$$.

My parents did trade in DLRP about 10 years ago and I have some of their pins. Not one of them has degraded in quality to be honest, just because we took care of them, putting them in pin bags and such. So I think I'm good. But I guess it's a nice service for whoever who wants it and has cash for these things.

Can I ask why PinPics is shady though?

 

[rik1138]

and lets face it, yes this is not for your hidden mickey collections but for insurance and for appraisal value as a inheritance it is an invaluable service as the cost will only get smaller with time and increase in value,,,,,,,Think that Designer Princess set is costly now , wait 10 years...Think that Punzel PODM or LE 100 BATB is worth bucks now? Imagine what its worth than ?

If this was actually true, the only 'grading service' that's going to be desired is the one that includes the original packaging in the grading and encapsulation. I still can't help but to think this whole thing is just a money-making scheme designed by someone that doesn't actually collect anything.

Also, what other collectible hobby rips the collectible out of it's original packaging and claims it's MORE valuable??

To date, this is the only one apparently... I still hate when collectors take the pin backs off the pin, and then press the pins through the plastic bag and put the pin backs on pin on the outside of the bag.

The other thing with these pins is that they are made of metal and enamel and other materials that are difficult to damage if you handle them carefully (which most of do, we don't just throw the pins loose into boxes, most of us either pin them side-by-side in displays of some kind, or carefully place them in pin bags/holders). Other hobbies like comics and cards aren't so lucky. Even just gently holding them or turning the pages essentially causes damage to them, thus the desire to lock them away so they can't be further damaged. It just doesn't seem as necessary with pins.

I also can't remember if the site said this or not, but are they using museum grade UV blocking plastic on the boxes? That's something else that 'encapsulated collectors' would want as well.

And as others have said, this hobby really is about 'collections of opportunity'. Most of the pins gain value when they are released and during the hype of a certain franchise or series. The trend seems to be fairly consistent that they all go down in value over time. PODM and Designer Princesses are (or were recently) 'The Thing'. In 10 years from now there will be a whole set of pins/series/franchises that all the new pin collectors will want. They are likely to not care much about a 10-year-old pin they've never seen... There's a couple of other collectibles fields I'm in that are the same way... It's all 'Sell, sell, sell for big bucks' while it's in everyone's mind. 12 months later you can't re-sell the same pieces for even 1/3 of what you paid for them (and these items are largely one-of-a-kind collectibles, not mass-produced in anyway). The pin collecting market could change, you never know what will happen in the future, but it seems that current history shows that they always go down in value once the initial mayhem ends.

 

[BugCatcherJenna]

 

[disneykins]

Curious?

Can I ask why PinPics is shady though?

As a long time collector, I also would like to know why PinPics is considered shady? I do not understand the hostility towards them. During the DizPins days, PinPics was highly regarded.
Now there are new owners and they seem to be trying to advance the hobby to a different level. It may not be for everyone and that is a personal prerogative but why the mistrust?

 

[Psycho Pixie]

Not going to go into the rest of your quote. it all has been discussed before, multiple times since the grading got started earlier this year.

That's always the downfall of any collectible hobby when someone starts thinking it's a good idea to seal them in plastic boxes with a number stuck on the side (because as soon as someone does this to their collectible, they instantly think it's with 4-5x more than what it's been selling for forever)...

however this bit right here, ^^^ I want to touch on. Stamps, coins, old documents, money, baseball cards, sport memorabilia in general.... Grading, expertising and encapsulating has been a BIG positive for those hobby's.

Comparison:

• Pins are metal, encapsulating can help protect from corrosion, much like coins.
• Pins are limited edition pieces of art ((take the Gomes for example)) graing can improve value and attract attention from ART collectors rather than "just us pin folks"
• Pins cannot be remotely compared to old gaming systems. technology in general becomes obsolete and recycled. Pins do not. Pins are designed to be collected and/or traded. Game consoles and games were designed to be played until dead.

While the grading system, pricing, and future values are still fluctuating badly and still getting the tweaks needed, it is a decent idea for items such as the R/C Rapunzel, the Gome's LE100's, and other VERY HIGH valued pins.

 

[Nathan95]

I really don't see what the big issue is about all of this. Yeah its new but nothing is perfect right out of the oven. If i have something thats in superb condition I'm gonna want it to be preserved and protected from any future damages it could get. I believe thats what the whole point of this is. Yeah there were some sold on Hakes but that doesnt mean the purpose is too make pins a high valued collectible. Just because its graded and encapsulated doesnt mean its worth 4X the original amount, the value is all up to the eye of the beholder. Whoever bought that Rapunzel RC for $5,000 clearly thought that is what its worth, that doesnt mean all the Rapunzel RC are worth that. If you don't like the service then don't have your pins graded, nobody is forcing this on anyone.

 

[Tbird]

I really don't see what the big issue is about all of this. Yeah its new but nothing is perfect right out of the oven. If i have something thats in superb condition I'm gonna want it to be preserved and protected from any future damages it could get. I believe thats what the whole point of this is. Yeah there were some sold on Hakes but that doesnt mean the purpose is too make pins a high valued collectible. Just because its graded and encapsulated doesnt mean its worth 4X the original amount, the value is all up to the eye of the beholder. Whoever bought that Rapunzel RC for $5,000 clearly thought that is what its worth, that doesnt mean all the Rapunzel RC are worth that. If you don't like the service then don't have your pins graded, nobody is forcing this on anyone.

no one was saying that we were being forced into anything, we are simply just giving our opinions of what we think about the service. It's just everyones opinions and some are different then others, not saying one is more right then the other. I just know that this service is not for me and I wouldn't waste my money on it, that's all.

 

[SetAlone]

no one was saying that we were being forced into anything, we are simply just giving our opinions of what we think about the service. It's just everyones opinions and some are different then others, not saying one is more right then the other. I just know that this service is not for me and I wouldn't waste my money on it, that's all.

+1

 

[ethanwa]

PASS!!!

What a LAME money grab by PinPics AGAIN!

 

[Cjvandever]

As a long time collector, I also would like to know why PinPics is considered shady? I do not understand the hostility towards them. During the DizPins days, PinPics was highly regarded.
Now there are new owners and they seem to be trying to advance the hobby to a different level. It may not be for everyone and that is a personal prerogative but why the mistrust?

Really? I'm a bit surprised by this question because I'm pretty sure you have been around and posting in threads where some of the recent issues with Pinpics were being discussed. I could be wrong and if I am, I apologize. Anyone who has been on this forum in the last six months should be able to see why PP has been earning the mistrust of the majority of traders here. This is not meant to be a confrontational question, but I'm curious. Do you work for Pinpics or write for them or moderate on Pin Talk? I ask because, with a very few exceptions, the only people that I see defending PP here or on FB are the people who work for them or who are personal friends of the owners.

My opinion is not necessarily that they are shady (in the sense that they have illegal business doings), but that they are poor business people who would rather resort to bullying, intimidation and punishment rather than actually listen to their customers concerns and address them. I could make a list of specifics if you want.

 

[Psycho Pixie]

As a long time collector, I also would like to know why PinPics is considered shady? I do not understand the hostility towards them. During the DizPins days, PinPics was highly regarded.
Now there are new owners and they seem to be trying to advance the hobby to a different level. It may not be for everyone and that is a personal prerogative but why the mistrust?

**puts on Switzerland hat**

RUMORS abound about shady activity from pinpics. As no PROOF has ever been provided, it has to stay rumor. I will not perpetuate the rumors by listing them but I am sure by now you have gotten PM's from the various folks who feel the rumors are valid. I am NOT saying the rumors are true, but perhaps a couple mistakes were made along the road? Or perhaps not. Either way, without actual proof, it is very hard to discuss the question you pose in direct context to the topic.

However:: In general, folks in most hobbys are resistant to change. And some of the changes being offered/made are drastic enough to cause distrust, strife, and overall uneasy feelings for those who do not want the changes. In a hobby where a fully functioning database was free, and fairly user friendly, now to get all the features it is a pay site, and the changes made are hard for some folks to adjust to. Now the site has rights to Acme pins and licensing to sell Disney pins, offers grading, and puts items into higher end ART style online auctions. This is a hard thing for people to get used to. Sink or swim, this is the direction the company chose to take.

I personally feel grading in the long run will be good for the collector hobby, and will bring more collectors in who would otherwise have been dismissing pins as not worth their time. And the idea of pinpics getting licensing to sell pins is just one step in a road to possibly a brighter future with new artist edition series and other nice NEW LE series that can be designed and produced for the hobby. I see the Acme contracting and exclusive rights as a first step to a very interesting future and a door opening to potentially awesome stuff. But.. I AM a glass half full type of girl

And before folks get all weird about it, NO, I am not being paid by pinpics nor do I work for/Volunteer for them. These are my personal opinions based on: discussions I have had with the owners over the last year or so... AND based on what i have observed in this hobby for the last 4 years.

edit: fixed font color.

 

[AgentOfAnarchy]

pixie you might want to change your font colour, even highlighted it is next to unreadable ^_^ might just be me though.

 

[KT07]

lol.. if u act shady people will think you are shady.... As far as the grading being good or bad.... It would b a good thing if the people doing it were not so out for the money.

I now have a new idea of how to rip people off... I want to find another hobby that has a free site that almost all members of said hobby use. Than I will do a little crappy update and charge people to use the new site. Wait wait.. I have not even go to the best parts of this deal... Next I will now use the email list of all members using said free site to send out sells adds and email flyers. Oh wait one more time it gets better as always. Not only will I now get paid for what was always free... and I get to sell to all those people because I know they like what I sell ( that's the trick with buying a free hobby site) and than I start a grade house. Talk about conflicts of interest!!!



Side question???? Any one know were I can get a good deal on sum fake art work. I read there is good money to be made if you have good hook ups. Maybe I need to make a trip to china. LMAO
:facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:

 

[BugCatcherJenna]

:facepalm:

 

[Cjvandever]

Pixie, you have always tried to be neutral and I wasn't thinking of you when I mentioned those who work for Pinpics. And Jenna, you are right. This has been hashed over many times and it's time to move on. Sorry for engaging. It's just that I couldn't resist such a direct question. :lol:

 

[disneykins]

Pixie, you have always tried to be neutral and I wasn't thinking of you when I mentioned those who work for Pinpics. And Jenna, you are right. This has been hashed over many times and it's time to move on. Sorry for engaging. It's just that I couldn't resist such a direct question. :lol:

Sure, I can answer you directly. I do not work, moderate or write for pinpics or any forum. When Dizpins was in existence, I knew Joette and Bev from the site. I used to travel back and forth from Japan and purchase Disney Mall pins for the membership and sell them at cost. When DS stopped selling pins and Dizpins closed shop, I pretty much left the pin community. Recently, I came back and found this site. But much has changed in that time...... There is so much more hostility now then there was then. I would use pin collecting as a way of enjoyment. Hopefully, that will answer your question.

 

[rik1138]

Not going to go into the rest of your quote. it all has been discussed before, multiple times since the grading got started earlier this year.



however this bit right here, ^^^ I want to touch on. Stamps, coins, old documents, money, baseball cards, sport memorabilia in general.... Grading, expertising and encapsulating has been a BIG positive for those hobby's.

Comparison:

• Pins are metal, encapsulating can help protect from corrosion, much like coins.
• Pins are limited edition pieces of art ((take the Gomes for example)) graing can improve value and attract attention from ART collectors rather than "just us pin folks"
• Pins cannot be remotely compared to old gaming systems. technology in general becomes obsolete and recycled. Pins do not. Pins are designed to be collected and/or traded. Game consoles and games were designed to be played until dead.

While the grading system, pricing, and future values are still fluctuating badly and still getting the tweaks needed, it is a decent idea for items such as the R/C Rapunzel, the Gome's LE100's, and other VERY HIGH valued pins.

Heh, first I head of it... I didn't even know someone was planning it.

As for the other collectible markets, as I mentioned, most of those items deteriorate just by being touched (and I don't just mean the corrosion issue). Folds, creases, less-than-perfect corners, etc all take a part in the condition of the item. You could handle them with museum-grade gloves and still be causing damage. And most of those have an initial standard to base from. Coins, for example, all are made to an exacting standard. So, with the exception of stamper errors that are obvious and rarely get out, every coin started out nearly exactly the same. So that's your perfect 10 to start with, all others are based off that.

When PP grades a pin, are they considering a weird shape in the metal of the pin as a defect? What if that defect was in the mold and _every_ pin has it? Then it shouldn't be considered a defect, should it? And how do they know, especially for a pin they've never seen in person before? What about offset of silk-screening? If every pin in a LE300 is printed a little 'off', then should that affect the grade?

Obviously there is some way to grade these things for those that want that to happen, I just didn't see enough details spelled out that would push a pin to 10, or just between 9 and 10, or just between 8 and 9. These things are _very_ clearly spelled out in every collectible you mentioned above. If I have a coin graded 8 (on a 1-10 scale for example), I can look at it and see exactly why it got that grade. And the grading is usually based on wear-and-tear of the item (especially coins). When an LE300 pins is released, and 300 people that are pin collectors buy it, amost every one is going to remain largely 'mint-in-package'. So what do you base the grading on? If there's no obvious physical damage, then it's just manufacturing discrepancies to take into account, and how do you know if any of those are unique to the pin you are looking at, or present on every one of them? Take a look at the graded pins on eBay. Can you tell me why any of those pins didn't get a 10? Even take a guess? Is there somewhere you can even look up why it got the grade it did? (I assume there will be eventually, but I couldn't find it. This should be available to the general public without have to pay for an account, too...)

The pins aren't protected 100% from corrosion as they are still exposed to the elements (the plastic boxes aren't completely sealed, moisture can still get in and cause damage). If you want to protect them perfectly, they have to be sealed in an inert environment after being professionally cleaned of any skin oils and other contaminants. Not impossible, but even more expensive than what PP is charging.

Using your gaming example, these pins aren't limited edition works of art, they are limited edition _PINS_. They are meant to be worn on your clothes, backpacks, whatever. When they get too scratched up, you throw them away. That's what they are meant to be. _WE_ made them collectible. It's because of people starting to collect them that the expensive, LE1s etc started to come out. Just like the video game market, sure they were meant to be played and maybe recycled, but _we_ (game collectors, that is) have made them collectibles. We pay disgusting amounts of money for the original art that was painted for the box cover of an Atari 2600 game (something that was frequently just thrown away). Limited edition versions of games and consoles are released, and yes, people have them graded and sealed in plastic boxes...

My big complaint with it is that coins, comics, sports cards, etc all have a value range that isn't largely affected by whether it's professionally graded. Other hobbies (and I'm not sure if pins will be one of them) will take an item that has consistently sold for $1000, and then suddenly want to sell that same thing for $5000 now that it's been graded a 9.8 and sealed in a box... If the cherry-mint, perfect condition (but not encapsulated) one sold for $1000, what basis do you have for upping that price to $5000 just because someone else said it was in 'cherry-mint, perfect condition' and charged you $200 to say that? This is what I've seen in every other hobby that starts encapsulating things. Maybe it'll be more controlled with pins, but I kind of doubt it. If people would list the item at the same price (maybe + a little to cover the grading), then it would actually seem kind of fair. This pin is worth $1000, so I had it protected and sealed up, so I'm selling it for $1100, which is what the pin is _worth_, plus a little for the cost of grading/sealing. Grading something isn't making it better in any way, it's just stating the obvious in the form of a number. It should have no affect on the value of the item at all, unless you are selling it a blind person. :lol: A mint pin is still a mint pin with or without a grade of 10. A scratched/damaged pin is still a scratched/damaged pin with or without it's grade of 5.

And pins is the first hobby I've seen that isn't considering the original packaging or the items shipped with the pin of any importance. That one still doesn't make any sense to me at all.

 

[markheardjr]

Well, Pixie kind of put on her China hat. She says unbiased but then kind of skews it. I can appreciate her, um, dedication to her opinion, but it was not "unbiased" Switzerland.

I'll try to post a synopsis of rumors and happenings, in a neutral way. But as rumors are usually negative, that's how they may come across, FYI.

Rumors, and actual happenings, with the new owners of PinPics, aka LANSAM, have been on going since they bought PinPics like 18 months ago. Someone who actually cares can put the exact date if they know it.

Things like, wanting pay for an already free service. (While a valid business enterprise, frowned upon by the masses.) Taking away features and information and reserving it for paying customers eventhough the data was free before and was submitted under the pretense it was for public use. Not allowing "groups" on the new site. Requiring you to log onto PinPics to see new Trade Requests (drives traffic to site which makes their site and it's advertising more valuable, exploitation 101.) Removing scrapper warnings on pinpics descriptions. Removing names of pin submitters on Pinpics, some say so it looks less like a public submission and more like PinPics owns the data. Banning accounts for disagreeing with them openly. Sending emails meant to be private that were not flattering and you wouldn't want your mommy reading. Making misleading statements like "Exclusive" pin sales when in fact it was an item open for sale to the public for a while. Trying to prove grading makes sense and instantly makes your pins super valuable. Calling it PinPics Grading Service when in fact they are a middle man and it's really Tomarts. And Questionably selling them at high values in a Hakes auction, where everyone knows the buyer and seller don't know who is who and therefore proof could never be supplied to actually paid that amount.

I will not get into the rumors of one of the actual persons who owns part of PinPics. But there are more rumors, probably on ALOT shakier basis than the above I dare not speak of here.

In general, people don't care for change, especially of a tried and true systemt that works. And usually asking for money for something that has been free all along is not going to win you any fans.

 

[KT07]

"I will not get into the rumors of one of the actual persons who owns part of PinPics. But there are more rumors, probably on ALOT shakier basis than the above I dare not speak of here."

its ok to tell them all your info. Some times the truth hurts. :banghead:

 

[Molly]

Go to the site, check it out, I think they explain the process and the EXPERTS, who do the judging in a fairly straight forward manner.

Declaring yourself an EXPERT hardly makes you one. None of these "experts" are endorsed by Disney, nor any other official pin manufacturer. Can you just decide that you are an "expert" in anything you feel like? Sure you can, the question is should you? There is no Disney Pin school or PHD program for these so called experts to learn what the industry standard is, so essentially they are making it up!!

I find it particularly offensive that PP feels that because someone from Tomart's is involved that it makes it more legitimate or even qualified to create this "10 point system developed by a world renowned enamellist" but considering that Tomart Corp is a SELF PUBLISHED* rag it actually devalues their expertise if anything. That is like me writing a book about spit, I have a lifetime of experience with it after all, self publishing it and then holding myself out as an author or better yet a spit expert.....come on.

I stick by my original belief that this "service" will fail miserably. I only hope that people that are actually considering using it look into what exactly qualifies these people to seal up your pins in plastic boxes and charge you an obscene amount of money for doing so.

*Being self published means that you have to pay to have your book/magazine printed because no legitimate publisher is interested in working with you.