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Thel91

Thel91

New DPF Member
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Location
San Diego, CA
Have you ever been a part of something but never really felt like you actually "fit in"? Have you ever put forth your best effort, but still came up short? Well, that's exactly how I feel right now. Like so many people on this forum, we don't live near DLR or DSF. Some may consider us "local" since we are from SoCal, and although we are closer that many, we have the unfair disadvantage of being so close, yet so far. We live only 10 minutes from the US border. The commute to DLR alone is about 1.45 hours (with no traffic) and to DSF is about 2.15 hours (without traffic). However, when is there never any traffic in LA on the way to Hollywood?!?


Anyways, my hubby got the heads up text about the Kevin PTD today from our friend Kim. Since our little ones have modified days at school on Tuesdays, it seemed like a good idea to head up there to try and get the pin. We headed up there just before 2pm and got to DSF at about 4:40 or so... Sadly, the realization came that they were just about to sell out and it did! We stayed in line anyways and ordered the ice cream that we came all the way up for. We had dinner at In & Out and then headed back home. :(


On the way back home, my hubby and I agreed that it sucks to be so close, yet still so far. It seems that it will be more cost effective for us to just buy the pins that we want, going forward. Most likely will have to be in the secondary market, which sometimes sucks! We definitely won't get the 8 hours back that we spent on our journey to obtain Kevin on Tuesday. The last release that we might try to make is the upcoming BT release. This one is making me very nervous since there are already so many people pre-selling and pre-trading them. Anyways, I'm very glad to have met some nice people on here and others that are not so nice too! Lol


Happy pin trading all! Thanks for letting me vent! Hopefully DSF comes up with either a higher LE or online registration system or something. I personally think there's a lot of sharks now swimming in the ocean and it's getting too crowded up in here! Lol ;)
 
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hey sweetie :( i'm sorry your journey was unsuccessful :( it sucks that it happened. i wish i could help you out, but i'm more useless then a one legged man in an *** kicking contest. i hope you manage to get him without forking out alot :( huge cuddles from me and karl. good luck with the BT looks like its going to be a hard one! xxxxxxxx
 
I'm really sorry you drove all that way and didnt get her :( I hope you manage to trade for her okay :D Good luck if you decide to do the BT?

p.s did you get your valentines? I sent it aaggggeeees ago and im really worried :(
 
Awww Thel :( Makes me sad to read this, I really hope someone will help you get Kevin at cost or trade because you are always helping others and hope they return the favor. Wish I could help. Hope you know I love you my friend :hug:
 
I know how you feel, hon. I live in Canada. I stayed away from the form for a long while recently, but I realized I love pin collecting, and Ill grab some when I can on ebay, cause thats my only choice. It sucks, but its a great hobby :D YOu will find the pin you seek. It took me months to get one of my grails I was sure NO ONE would have ;)
 
awe Thel no way! that sold out in a day...wow
Thel will you be comin up to DL in early april? i hope so...dont get to frustrated, you could be in NJ!
 
Aww that sucks....I'm sorry for your wasted journey, I really hope you get your pin xxxxx :hug: sending you hugs xxxx

imagine my frustration lol...I need a Kevin PTD, but living in scotland there's no way I can make it over before closing!! :hsd:
 
Thel91 said:
Have you ever been a part of something but never really felt like you actually "fit in"? Have you ever put forth your best effort, but still came up short? Well, that's exactly how I feel right now. Like so many people on this forum, we don't live near DLR or DSF. Some may consider us "local" since we are from SoCal, and although we are closer that many, we have the unfair disadvantage of being so close, yet so far. We live only 10 minutes from the US border. The commute to DLR alone is about 1.45 hours (with no traffic) and to DSF is about 2.15 hours (without traffic). However, when is there never any traffic in LA on the way to Hollywood?!?


Anyways, my hubby got the heads up text about the Kevin PTD today from our friend Kim. Since our little ones have modified days at school on Tuesdays, it seemed like a good idea to head up there to try and get the pin. We headed up there just before 2pm and got to DSF at about 4:40 or so... Sadly, the realization came that they were just about to sell out and it did! We stayed in line anyways and ordered the ice cream that we came all the way up for. We had dinner at In & Out and then headed back home. :(


On the way back home, my hubby and I agreed that it sucks to be so close, yet still so far. It seems that it will be more cost effective for us to just buy the pins that we want, going forward. Most likely will have to be in the secondary market, which sometimes sucks! We definitely won't get the 8 hours back that we spent on our journey to obtain Kevin on Tuesday. The last release that we might try to make is the upcoming BT release. This one is making me very nervous since there are already so many people pre-selling and pre-trading them. Anyways, I'm very glad to have met some nice people on here and others that are not so nice too! Lol


Happy pin trading all! Thanks for letting me vent! Hopefully DSF comes up with either a higher LE or online registration system or something. I personally think there's a lot of sharks now swimming in the ocean and it's getting too crowded up in here! Lol ;)
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Aw, Thelma *big big hugs* I felt terrible yesterday :( I saw you two in line and wanted you guys to get one so badly. Dan showed up too late (45 minutes after I got there) and so didn't get an extra :( When he came there was already 27 people in line behind me and I told him not to bother getting in line because I didn't think even I would get one. You and your family are hands down awesome. You guys are some of the kindest pin traders that I know and I absolutely LOVE seeing and chatting with you at the releases. Chin up and stay positive, I know getting pins at cost can be a supremely frustrating process sometimes, just don't give up *more big hugs* :hug:
 
Sorry friend! The worst part about yesterday was they had no pin after. It was like no consolation prize.

I was just telling my friend the same thing about Dsf. I was also noticing Dsf was raising their prices. We were wondering if that was a bad attempt at getting people to back off.

I told my friend that people used to tell me Dsf never had lines before. There used to be no stress or worry about pin releases. However, the amount of resellers have grown so now it is a pin buying world verses pin trading.

I hope we will still see you around. We might do the BT release as well.

::hugs::
 
I'm so sorry you didn't get the pin. It must be really frustrating when you're just out of reach of it. Its really frustrating for us UK people who have no hope of getting to these events, and no special pins to offer in return for them, so a lot of the time it ends up being more pin buying than pin trading for us too. I'm super bummed about the BTs in April cause I really want them but can't afford to pay $400+ for them. I am more than willing to pay somebody extra for going through the trouble of getting them for me, but increasing the price that much just makes it impossible for me - I'm a student!
I will keep an eye out for Kevin for you. Best of luck getting the April BTs! Fingers and Toes crossed!
 
Awe, thank you everyone for the kind words! I feel much better today then I did last night.

I don't really need this pin, it would have been a nice addition to our Pixar collection and I was hoping to get one for a friend that collects PTDs and of course to trade for pins I really want ..... Princesses!
:) :hug:
 
Whenever a new PTD comes out I get texts from tons of people with a heads up. And I forward those to people so everyone knows. Yesterday I only got 1 call and 1 text. Nice to know the people that are really willing to help even if money is on the line. Some won't text me until they are in line and know they are getting pins. Some text me after it hits eBay. But there are some people the second they find out they text/call their buddies. Those are the people I will remember. Nuff said.

I called a buddy to go up on his lunch break. He was there and he said ther were about 8 people in front of him. He said by the time he got to the counter, 9 people had joined one guy who continued to call people. They just kept calling people they knew in the area to come get it. I bet 30 people or more there yesterday didn't even know what a pin is, who Kevin is, even how much the pin is worth. They got a call and ran. 1 person in the valley had 3 listed for sale on eBay. If they are 1 per person and someone is selling 3 you know they got people to go with them.

I really hope DSF learns from this. You CANNOT do all surprise releases. So many of the shadiest characters in line keep whispering in Ed's ear to do all surprise releases. I have told him time and time again that only benefits people that live very close and can call tons of people to come. Or as many of us have witnessed, sharks with no shame will pay homeless people or entice tourists with free ice cream to get more pins. Proof is in the pudding. Kevin was Limit 1 per person on a Tuesday and was spoken for in about 6 hours. DSF knows, they know the guy that says "I need the fat kid, where do I buy it, someone said come buy the fat kid" that they are not pin traders. First of all, Kevin is the bird, Russell is the "fat kid."
 
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markheardjr said:
Whenever a new PTD comes out I get texts from tons of people with a heads up. And I forward those to people so everyone knows. Yesterday I only got 1 call and 1 text. Nice to know the people that are really willing to help even if money is on the line. Some won't text me until they are in line and know they are getting pins. Some text me after it hits eBay. But there are some people the second they find out they text/call their buddies. Those are the people I will remember. Nuff said.

I called a buddy to go up on his lunch break. He was there and he said ther were about 8 people in front of him. He said by the time he got to the counter, 9 people had joined one guy who continued to call people. They just kept calling people they knew in the area to come get it. I bet 30 people or more there yesterday didn't even know what a pin is, who Kevin is, even how much the pin is worth. They got a call and ran. 1 person in the valley had 3 listed for sale on eBay. If they are 1 per person and someone is selling 3 you know they got people to go with them.
Click to expand...

I think people wanted to keep this release low key to prevent a mad rush.
 
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Molly said:
Much more likely they wanted more for themselves and less for anyone else.
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How when it was one per person? Not all of us in Southern California are greedy and selfish like some people seem we are. We all look out for each other when things of this caliber are released and we're all connected in some way. I remember when the Designer Villains were released i received 145 phone calls from 15 different people the night they came out. For this release like Mark I only received one phone call. Bum rushes at DSF suck and we all can agree on that. I'm pretty sure those who were there didn't want mass hysteria to unfold and so they decided to keep it low key.
 
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markheardjr said:
Whenever a new PTD comes out I get texts from tons of people with a heads up. And I forward those to people so everyone knows. Yesterday I only got 1 call and 1 text. Nice to know the people that are really willing to help even if money is on the line. Some won't text me until they are in line and know they are getting pins. Some text me after it hits eBay. But there are some people the second they find out they text/call their buddies. Those are the people I will remember. Nuff said.
Click to expand...

I only have one person's phone # that had asked me specifically to let him know if I heard about Kevin coming out... He asked me back in Jan, and I sent him a text immediately when I confirmed it's existence. I only found out by someone casually posting here 'I see one on eBay, did I miss something?' I think for almost an hour there was nothing mentioned here other than me confirming that previous post. Either people were _trying_ to keep it quiet as long as possible, or they were all too busy driving/scrambling to get out of work, school, whatever...

markheardjr said:
So many of the shadiest characters in line keep whispering in Ed's ear to do all surprise releases. I have told him time and time again that only benefits people that live very close and can call tons of people to come.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, every way of handling these releases benefits one group more than others with the possible exception of a random lottery (preferably with a way to eliminate/reduce people entering it with fake names). Surprise release benefits the people that are closest. Normal announced release benefits people that can take 24-72 hours off of their life to sleep in a alley. There seems to be one group of people that always get the surprise releases, and one group of people that get the camp-out releases. No one else really has a chance at all...
 
rik1138 said:
I only have one person's phone # that had asked me specifically to let him know if I heard about Kevin coming out... He asked me back in Jan, and I sent him a text immediately when I confirmed it's existence. I only found out by someone casually posting here 'I see one on eBay, did I miss something?' I think for almost an hour there was nothing mentioned here other than me confirming that previous post. Either people were _trying_ to keep it quiet as long as possible, or they were all too busy driving/scrambling to get out of work, school, whatever...



Unfortunately, every way of handling these releases benefits one group more than others with the possible exception of a random lottery (preferably with a way to eliminate/reduce people entering it with fake names). Surprise release benefits the people that are closest. Normal announced release benefits people that can take 24-72 hours off of their life to sleep in a alley. There seems to be one group of people that always get the surprise releases, and one group of people that get the camp-out releases. No one else really has a chance at all...
Click to expand...

There are a lot of people that missed this release because locals called all their friends. The word was kept quiet and in no time the line was full. I heard plenty of people there telling me about the random non-trading people that didn't even know what DSF was or had ever been there. They were just told to ask for Kevin. So the few that live close found out, the info wasn't posted on FB, the pin listed on eBay wasn't immediate. I have an alarm on my phone for "pin trader delight" and it didn't pop up until my first text message about it which was at 1:11pm yesterday. The release was kept mum just so the locals could make as much money off it as they could.

If you do all surprise releases I bet every Friday and even more on Saturday, there will be a huge group of people just waiting to see what is released, if anything at all. It will cause even more problems.

My point was though, that Kevin PTD simulated very well what an All surprise release would be like. Locals find out, no info is posted, all pins are spoken for in a matter of hours with 300+ people cramming into Hollywood. Most not pin-traders but instead firends of resellers or profiteers. Even if you post it on Facebook, the locals will still be there in line first. They will build up a team of their friends to run down whenever a good pin is shown. All surprise releases don't work and will drive even more loyal pin fans away.

DSF needs to up their edition size, especially for the popular stuff. Tangled, Brave, Up, Wall-E, Pixar, Princesses, Ariel, Jessica. Make them Le500, 600, 900 like DLRP. Make the obscure ones 300. Even Stitch, Jack, Tink, Alice, etc. can be 500. They will still sell out. Even if it takes a day or two DSF has grown in popularity far beyond LE300's. Their rack can hold a few left over pins and then tourist pin traders will have some stuff to buy. I remember just a year ago there were BT's, marquee's, kites, camera's, etc. on the rack. Now it's Open Edition or Fairies only. DSF has been too slow to adapt. Dipping their toes in the water with LE500 PTD's for crappy characters and then again with LE500 marquees. I'm the marquee collector and I am fine with LE500 marquees. It means I have a better chance to get it. I'm not in it for the money. Pins will appreciate in value over time. But when they appreciate before they are even released so the true value is 10 times the retail price you will continue to create mass hysteria and continue to attrack people looking to make a non-taxable/reportable buck.
 
[FONT=Georgia, serif]Dear Friend, I like you find myself in the sameposition. Living in Northern Ca a full 7+hours away from the ability topurchase what should be a reasonably priced hobby/collectors item. I also am ofthe opinion that while there are some very very VERY nice people thatare members on this board there are others that simply use it as a fee freeebay right on down to "matching" ebay prices as if they were doing usa favor. Well I like most of you can use a computer so if I want to/can affordto pay ebay prices that is where I will be doing that from today forward. [/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]WouldI like to be able to help a fellow collector make a few bucks, absolutelyand I have done just that in the past and for some pins I even did pay themebay prices but I will no longer be party to what is by all mean highway robbery. I may be finding a new "hobby", I mean I would love to collect diamonds but my financial situation prevents that too.

I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

I also have to say I personally find the remark about spending time with your family offensive. Rest assured time spent in a car in what was undoubtedly a stressful situation is nothing to be treasured. If anything it shows children what greed does to the average collector, it shows them that the bottom line seems to be money and not friendship or kindness. Of course anytime you spend with your kids and partner are special in one way or another but to suggest that it would be a fun family outing ?? No not really.

[/FONT]C'est la vie
 
Nathan95 said:
How when it was one per person? Not all of us in Southern California are greedy and selfish like some people seem we are. We all look out for each other and we're all connected in some way. I remember when the Designer Villains were released i received 145 phone calls from 15 different people the night they came out. For this release like Mark I only received one phone call. Bum rushes at DSF suck and we all can agree on that. I'm pretty sure those who were there didn't want mass hysteria to unfold and so they decided to keep it low key.
Click to expand...

Nathan it is very clear that there were members there with several "extra" people that were being used as mules. While I do not know you personally I have read your 101 list so I feel that I do know some things about you which makes me feel like I do know you. Because you are a part of a group that "looks out for one another" you will never feel what we the outsiders feel on a regular basis. Because of that you cannot possibly imagine what a slap in the face that comment alone feels like. You are saying "WE" all help each other out, while the rest of you can just suck it, pay up or like most of us feel like we are outsiders looking into a group of back slapping friends that continuously say good for us and screw the rest of you.

I would never begrudge ANY collector from obtaining something they wanted. My and I know for a fact that I am speaking for pretty much anyone not in the area that is lucky enough to be in the small circle of those that "look out for each other" when I say that it creates a lot of animosity because although you may be looked out for you are also a member of the same group that is flipping pins on the backs of the rest of us.

Mass hysteria? You have to know somewhere in your mind that it was a simple matter of either not knowing or greed. PERIOD. Hysteria hit the second the rumored DSF employee put up the Kevin pin for sale on ebay. Again more for me, less for you and of course because the collecting community is so small I mean really think about what 300 pins means in the larger scheme of things, we all know who was snaking or sharking pins yet we still are in the midst of them.

Guilt by association is still guilt.
 
Yeah, don't worry I feel the same and I live closer. I feel like we always hear last.lol that's why I think PTDs should be 100% random and done mystery style(in the black bags). So that the lines don't get so crazy.
 
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