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GUIDE Patience is a Virtue (Never need a pin that bad!)

I just want to share some advice to all who seek their holy grail or special pin.
I have two stories to tell about having patience. The most recent one is my wanting an average Pin.

Pin 67660: DLR - Piece of Disney History I - Disneyland® Railroad
I have seen this pin on EBay for $100.00 on average and it is the last pin to complete our set.

At a recent PTN there was a person there who wanted a pin that had a value of well over $150.00 for it. I was not going to trade. If I am capable of making a long story short, I had done a trade with a new pinpics friend and asked if they happened to have this pin and they did not.

They did mention that they were going to the trade city event and would keep their eyes open. On the second day they sent me an email that they got one for me. They looked at my traders and the pin they choose was one that my son traded a cutie for on the kid's board. (Granted it was an LE1000) and they accepted this pin.

I honestly thought they probably made a mistake and got me the SS Rustworthy from series 2 but they went out of their way so there is no way I would question it. When it showed up in the mail, It was the right pin and on a perfect backer card.

I almost paid someone $80.00 for this pin.

One more example is my daughter saw a Dalmatian pin she wanted. DSF Dalmatians eating Spaghetti and we found someone who had one. This person looked in my good book (Mostly DSF and Disney Shopping P.I.N.S. stuff) and was like, I like this pin, and this is nice and after saying that about 5 different pins, he said he would take these 5 for it.

Rather than saying what I felt, I said thank you anyways. A week later my daughter had someone want a pin in her book and when she looked at the ladies pins, she saw the DSF pin we were trying to get. She asked what else the lady may want for that pin and she said, "nothing" this is fair. It was pin for pin DSF's.

Moral of the story. Everyone has a different value of their pin. If the TRADED EASY for it, they may trade easy and vice versa. Never need a pin that bad. When the time is right, you will get the pin you want.

Even with super high dollar pins, while one person may want $400.00 for a given rare pin, another seller may only be asking $250.00 for the same pin and maybe even in better condition.

I am sure you have all had similar experiences. My kids refer to some of these people as SHARKS and the worst part is when a SHARK tries to take advantage of a child. My kids are Savvy and will put the SHARK in a bowl!
 
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Patience is a Virtue (Never need a pin that bad!)


That is so true. I don't know how many times I have to hold myself back from bidding on a pin for big bucks only to find it either much cheaper elsewhere, or on trade a few weeks or months later.
 
It is a tricky game though.....I have been burned the other way to. I had too much patience and then the pin was not available anymore and I had to pay more for it...
 
If you give it time, eventually it will come to you. Again, every trader has a different value aspect of a pin and you just have to find the right trader. Never giving up is a big part of it. The pins are out there and in time, someone may need to sell their set or just not really like or need it anymore. be optimistic. Even if it goes up it is usually temporary and in time it will come back down or like I said, just finding the right trader can make all the difference.
 
you mind if we move this to the Guides and FAQs forum? It's a very useful/important lesson. Thanks Dan! :D
 
Im in this exact situation now, as Im after pinpics 52782 (pin is my avatar) and its $225 on ebay and I really dont want to pay that, I offered $150 and the person told me couldnt accept that lol

So Im in the state of mind do I bite the bullet and buy it (after a few weeks of saving the money) OR just leave it to see if Im lucky enough to get it off one of the 2 people trading it...and out of them traders 1 person has said he would trade for 1 of 5 Jessica pins and they are quite hard to find.

Hahaha decisions decisions :( shame though as its 1 of 3 I need as well...any advice on what I should do rather than just waiting around etc
 
I'll start by saying there is no way I would spend $250 for a single pin. So that leaves one choice; if he's willing to trade that Stitch pin for a hard to find Jessica pin, seems kind of even to me. I haven't looked at the edition size of each pin, but if you have the Jessica, and he has the Stitch, I would say do it. Stitch is your holy grail and I bet the Jessica is the other persons holy grail. Now if they want all five Jessicas for Stitch, follow Dan's advice above, the part of "Thanks but no thanks". It'll come along. I have a few grails myself and I've had offers to trade for them, but they were not fair to me for what they had. Just wait, it'll come to you if your meant to have it :)

Just my two cents! :)
 
I saw your previous post somewhere I think.
I believe you may have been referring to this pin and the DSF Ellie Badge.
When you say he wants (or she) a hard to find Jessica pin, at $250.00 the Stitch could be considered hard to find, if it were not, why is it $250.00?
If you have the Jessica pin, he has the Stitch Pin and both were on the table, which one would you really rather have?
How much is the Jessica Pin worth? See it may be a $100 - $125.00 dollar pin to you and to him, as mentioned, its hos holy grail and in his eyes worth $250.00 to cover the cost of what he wanted for Stitch.

Do what makes you feel right but I personally would not pay that for it. Prices have come WAY WAY down. I remember when the Ellie Badge was going for almost $200.00 and now I think you can get them for around $60 - 80.00.

Which is harder to find? You say only 2 people are rading the Stitch, how many trading the Jessica?
 
I totally agree with this one. Don't be afraid to wait it out. The pin will show up sooner or later and until then just enjoy trading. I do one of two things. Get the pin when it first comes out or put it on the back burner and wait... I usually end up getting them when I least expect it.
 
Remember, the fact is most pins have an absolute value to each trader. I have an LE 100 princess pin which this one trader states its a fifty dollar pin based on eBay. I personally value at $100-$125. Does this make me a shark? No. It is how a value my pin. My belief (rightly or wrongly) is the value; and calling me a shark will not change this belief. If I never trade the pin, so be it as it will sit in my pin bag. If the trader wants the pin so badly for $50.00, then that trader can purchase it. Over the last year and half the trader continues to ask me for the pin.

While people can disagree about the value of a pin (sometime dramatically), the simple fact it takes two to trade. And simply waiting for a pin to show up can be difficult and disheartening. Especially when it come comes to older (pre-2000) / low LE / rare pins.

I have waited to my advantage and to my disadvantage. I had the chance about five years ago to purchase a number of old Gargoyles pewter pins for 40 dollars each. I chose not to purchase them; they have not shown up again to my knowledge. I regret not purchasing them at the time. Maybe one day they will; however, I don't have the time to constantly search the secondary market for them.

On the flip side, I recently acquired the two Animal Care pins I had been looking for (bat and komodo dragon) off eBay for significant less (less then $15 each) then the people trading wanted for them (between $30 to 50 each). Based on their lack of popularity, i felt that that the pins were not worth that much and was rewarded for my “patienceâ€.

Finally, remember, you should be realistic about the value of a pin (either trading or trying to trade for it). eBay price is just one indicator; and sometimes bizarre things occur on site. I have seen Disney Store 100 Years of Dreams pins sell for $50 dollars. They are not worth that. If I try to trade my pin for that much, I will never trade it away.

I have seen 1799 (Disneyland Haunted Mansion Mickey) go for $2.00 in a pin lot with a number of other old pins. If I wait for that deal, or even paying 10 times that ($20.00), I will probably never get Pin 1799.

You should only trade / buy a pin for the value you happy with at the time and not worry "what will happen if my pin goes down in value". Over 70% of the pins are not worth what we buy / trade them at; we buy / trade because you like it. Speculative buying / trading will only lead you to having a bunch of metal in your bag that you don’t want.
 
This advice is especially useful when a pin first comes out. People get frenzied trying to get the newest pins, so people trading away the pin or selling the pin on eBay value the pin way higher than it will be if you just wait until later to obtain it. Occasionally a pin will keep increasing in value and show no sign of dropping over the years and you'll wish you hadn't waited, but waiting usually pays off. (I gotta admit, though, that I am not a patient person.)
 
I have tried very hard to abide by a couple of our seasoned traders motto: "If its meant to be in your bag, it will eventually find it's way". One of my examples was the DA Halloween Poster 6-pin set. Ebay was posting them (when they did show) at $55-$125 per pin and on Pinpics a maximum of three people were trading them (zilch TA request responses). After three years, I had pretty much accepted they were my "unobtainables" :( One day the entire 6-pin set (MOC) popped up on Ebay for $175, at a time when I had the spare cash!!! :eek2: Yes, they are now IN MY BAG! :stitch:

So, back to the motto: "If its meant to be in your bag, it WILL eventually find it's way"!
 
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Stitch2814 said:
Im in this exact situation now, as Im after pinpics 52782 (pin is my avatar) and its $225 on ebay and I really dont want to pay that, I offered $150 and the person told me couldnt accept that lol

So Im in the state of mind do I bite the bullet and buy it (after a few weeks of saving the money) OR just leave it to see if Im lucky enough to get it off one of the 2 people trading it...and out of them traders 1 person has said he would trade for 1 of 5 Jessica pins and they are quite hard to find.

Hahaha decisions decisions :( shame though as its 1 of 3 I need as well...any advice on what I should do rather than just waiting around etc
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Danny,
I don't mean to be rude, but the pin in your avatar is actually 29089 (DA LE100). 52782 is(DS LE250). Both pins may be worth any one of the Jessicas to you, and as long as you have these pins to trade it would be totally up to you. Now I assume you do not have the Jessicas, since they are not on your trades, so it could be just as costly depending on the Jessicas you are looking for. Everyone has to put their own value on a pin, but it is true what many have said in the thread discussing how individuals obtain their hard to find pins, "buying is often easier than trading".

PM sent
 
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Buying can be easier than trading; if you have the cash. It all comes down to the timing and the situation. My most recent HG, , was obtained through trading. Unknown to me, a pinpal had been holding this gem for me - again, another one I thought never to obtain. The purchased pins I exchanged were less than what Ebay was listing Malie at - TOTALLY worth it to me; and knowing my pinpal, she used those trades to make other pinpals happy! :hug:

For me this hobby revolves around the trading, the hunt, and the challenge (quoted from another of our DPF members), AND making fun friends.

Also, Dan, you're bang on - Patience is a Virtue.
 
I have also noticed that with some traders, they will value their trader pins of the character(s) they collect more than their other pins. For example I have seen where a person will have a Maleficent pin and want a lot for it, come to find out they collect Mallie or villians in general. Then I will find a Tinker Bell collector that has the same Maleficent pin and will trade it easy but don't try to trade for the Tink's in their collection! I am not saying that is the way it is with every trader but with some. I have also heard traders tell other people wanting to trade with them that their is are levels of characters.... In other words, Stitch is the best pin with Tink after that and so on. They will not trade a Stitch straight across for a Mickey etc. It is truly the trader you are trading with.

Timing is also a big part of it. I have recently made trades for pins I tried for a year to get and couldn't. Now with Christmas coming up and being unemployed for over a year I have traded easily for them. It has been a blessing to be able to trade for these as money is tight and it gives me a chance to get some pins for those I know are pin traders without spending a lot of money. This year I am truly grateful for PINS!
 
Sound advice.

It is still frustrating when you have several what you consider as high value pins on someone's want list and they won't even consider trading or at least opening a dialog. All you get is "no thanks" or worst yet no reply at all.

In my opinion if you will never be satified with any pin offer maybe you should not have the pin listed as one of your traders in the first place. You are just wasting my time and yours as well. Am I wrong to think this?

Besides its all about the journey.

I guess the moral of the story is if you were meant to have the pin it will be yours.
 
Patience Pays

I wanted the Haunted Mansion trash can pin from the 2001 series very badly. I had completed the rest of the series except for this ever-elusive pin that I just could not find by trading anywhere! I knew it was on eBay going for about $150 but buying it would take the fun out of it. So I passed on it. Hmmm...I knew that if I was patient, I was would find it...eventually.

Fast forward 6 years. On my last trip to WDW (just last fall), I was at the Orlando airport waiting on my flight to go home. To kill some time, I was browsing in the Disney Store. To my utter shock, there was an employee in there who was wearing that pin on their lanyard. After I had picked my jaw up off the floor, I made a beeline for this employee and asked for a trade. I was still wearing my lanyard as the airport is often a good place for last minute trades. He looked over my lanyard, spotted my jungle boat GWP pin (I had two of those pins) and agreed to a trade. Score!!

I was one happy camper as I boarded my flight. I was prepared to go home disappointed that the pin had eluded me once again. It pays to wait. Finding one of my Holy Grails in one of the most unlikely of places is proof of that. :)

Laura
 
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Fantastic story, labtech_laura!

I have a patience is virtue story to tell to.

When the UK Disney Store first released this pin - I had my ideal moment to buy it but I was too shy. Really could kick myself. From then onwards I have been dying to get this pin
pin17079
. Emailed traders - one promising to trade and never bothered to get back to me :( I then won it on Ebay but the woman ripped me off and ran off with my money :(

I then managed to get another kind trader to trade for it on my behalf. At this time, I too was sending out requests on pins that I saw on Ebay that I could buy to trade on. That very same day, the trader managed to make a trade and so did I. I did have to purchase the Aladdin & Sword pin for £10 so it was worth it. So now I have 2 pins of my Holy Grails that arrived at the same time - both from America! I normally trade on extra pins, but these two mean the world to me so they are kept in my pin bag side by side so that I can remember my years of anguish and troubles and then with the positive outcome of two arriving at the same time :)
 
I haven't been trading / collecting for very long, I don't even think I hit my 6 month mark yet, but being on this site makes patience that much easier! My grailiest grail pin was pin 33350, no ebay listings and 5 people trading it with no replies. Thanks to some serious leg work from a member here though she has managed to secure it for me! I still can't believe it. Though I was feeling the sting of impatience thanks to a very patient pinpal here I will be receiving my grail!

Patience is a virtue but having patient and awesome friends who have been at this hobby longer are even more awesome. I would say ask your more experienced friends about expensive pins as they can steer you right and stop you spending just too much for a pin that could show up later, they can also help you get that one pin if it just seems impossible to get!

Thanks for the advice here guys!
 
Personally Im a very, very impatient person and when it came to me collecting pins it didnt change as if I hit the wall with no trades etc I just went to ebay or purchased my pins elsewhere as that was the only way I was going to be getting my pin.

Now Ive been collecting almost 2 year come october and within a week or 2 after hearing all about pins, scrappers, PTN pins etc I added the dreaded PTN Stitch pin to my list and I suddenly got a wake up call as to how hard it was to trade for it and I never bothered as I simply didnt think I would ever own it.

Well after a year and a half of being ever so close to winning it on ebay before being outbid or it going to high that I couldnt afford it. just a few days I was able to win it and I cant wait for it to arrive. Its the only pin thats been on my wants list from the beginning and the only pin I have had patience to wait to get it.
 
I feel you, yesterday I definitely got sharked on a DA i got...it is an elvis stitch DA but le 1000 i ended up trading the new jessica DSF star and a DLR D for it when I walked away i felt like an idiot...I need to start getting better for my pins
 
I too have found that everyone values their pins differently. I know that some pins have a sentimental value and others simply a monetary value. I've made tons of trades in the past 7 or so years of pin trading. Some I feel like I came out way ahead, and others I feel like I may have given up too much. Ultimately it just depends on what you like. I was wondering how you (the disneypinforum family) tend to value your pins? Do you do it by character, rarity(whether it be LE# or otherwise), how much you paid for the pin, or how much ebay says the pin is currently worth?
 
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